Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

Dinner was a quiet affair.

The fire was cheerfully crackling in the fireplace, warming up the formal dining room nicely. The candles had been lit on the dining table, bringing ambiance to the dimmed lighting.

Gentle music was also playing in the background to accompany the sounds of the snowstorm that was starting to hit them in earnest. From the sound and feel of the storm, they could be snowed in for days.

Süren glanced out the window without a care in the world. The most important person to him was already safe and warm inside his little world. Anything external would just have to wait until things thawed out a bit.

By then, he would deal with what was to come.

The attendants were starting to bring in the meal on rolling trolleys. Each covered dish emanated wonderful delicious aromas and he could see Lyra's eyes light up as they were placed in front of the three of them.

After the attendants had served the meal, Süren dispatched them all so he could have some privacy with Lyra and her mother. There were things that needed to be said, and it needed to be done without the servants around.

Roast goose, sweet peas, whipped potatoes, and onion soup; they were all his favorites. Unfortunately, Süren could barely taste any of it because he needed to figure out a way to disclose what needed to be disclosed to Lyra and her mother.

"Ermmm. Ahem." He cleared his throat and picked up his flute of champagne.

"To the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, and to the beautiful woman who gave birth to the most beautiful woman in the galaxy." He lifted his glass into the air.

Lyra giggled and lifted her lemonade-filled glass. Gwendolyn laughed as she picked up her champagne and drank to the toast.

Of course her daughter was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, and she deserved the best of the galaxy. This man was going to have to prove to her that he was the best that the galaxy had to offer for her daughter.

"So. Prince Süren. Who exactly was that girl at the space port?"

Lyra's face lost all signs of mirth. This was the number one question on her mind the entire afternoon they had spent in Süren's library, waiting for him to handle the emergencies that were on his desk.

"I was hoping to be able to explain my situation here in Avalia, but things escalated upon our landing that was beyond my control."

"You have time now." Gwendolyn took another sip of her champagne.

Süren nodded. "The woman who came to greet me is my fiancée."

Lyra's eyes suddenly lost her sparkle. That single loss hit Süren in the guts and almost made him cry.

"Your fiancée seems to be very attached to you." Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow. This would be a tricky situation to navigate.

Süren nodded. "At first, it was just a simple engagement declaration and neither of us were very interested in the other, but then as time went on, Sharina became more and more interested in me and began to treat me differently."

"It looks as if she's completely fallen for you." Gwendolyn's eyes narrowed.

It was the same old story.

When she first met Rex, she did not feel anything for him either, but at the urging of her father, she had agreed to be Rex's consort.

Once she married him, feelings began to grow, and they never stopped growing, even after two children and all that time of emotional abandonment.

She understood this girl Sharina more than anyone could.

"She's just a childhood friend." Süren shook his head. "I don't have any feelings for her. This engagement was an arrangement that our parents came up with on their own, without any input from either of us."

"So what are you going to do?" Lyra asked.

Süren stared at the pale liquid in his champagne flute.

"I need to figure out a way to break the engagement off without starting an internal civil war."

"Civil war? Is it that serious?"

Süren nodded. "Her father is the Grand Duke Julian Abberbie. He holds almost half the military power of the reptilians."

He threw back his head and tossed the remaining liquid down his throat, wishing it was a bit stronger than this little bit of bubbly froth.

"If I do something that seems as if I am slighting his daughter, which he takes as a slap in his face, he could start a war that would decimate much of the dragon worlds."

"Well that's not good." Lyra grimaced. "So she's basically a political bargaining chip."

Süren nodded again.

"You know," Lyra gave him a knowing look. "My brother is the Prime Warrior of Erenveil. Maybe we can ask him to…keep me 'safe'."

"That's—" Süren shook his head. "That's not something I can ask the Prime Warrior to do. If I hold more than half the military power of the dragon kind and I cannot even protect my own bride, I am not fit to be a husband."

Lyra grimaced and stood up with her arms akimbo.

"But I am not just a decorative trophy, nor am I a political bargaining chip." Her dazzling blue eyes were now sparkling, but with anger.

"Sharina has a father who is willing to back her up. I also have a father AND a brother who will back me up!"

Gwendolyn bit her tongue and tried not to laugh. The girl truly knew her worth. Rex and Slate would definitely back her up, even if it was military strength that she needed.

Süren shook his head. "I will figure this out in my own way. I have already sent a proposal to your father for your hand in marriage. I do not want to have to ask your father for help to secure it."

His face grew red with embarrassment.

"It would look as if I was going after you for political gain, and that is not true at all."

Gwendolyn nodded. Süren had a point. If he could not convince Rex that he was not after Lyra for purely political and military power, there was no way that Rex would allow Lyra to marry him.

Süren turned to Lyra with pleading eyes.

"Lyra. I honestly did not even know who you were when I first met you. I just went with my heart." He sighed.

"When I found out you were an Imperial Princess of Erenveil, I felt so hopeless. You were so far out of my reach but I still had to try to reach you because I knew I couldn't live without you."

Lyra's eyes grew large. Her hand automatically reached up for the large dragon opal around her neck.

"She doesn't have a dragon opal." Lyra murmured, barely audible.

"What?" Gwendolyn asked, unsure of what Lyra meant.

"I remember the moment I faced off with that brown hair girl. She didn't have a dragon opal on her." Lyra's eyes narrowed in thought.

"No. She does not." Süren acknowledged.

"Doesn't the dragon opal have some significance in your world?" Lyra turned her brilliant blue eyes at him.

"Yes. It is a gift that a male dragon gives to his bride on their wedding night."

"We aren't even engaged." Lyra fingered her stone. "How is it that I have this?"

Süren leaned forward and gave her a serious, earnest look.

"I gave it to you for safekeeping until I could present it formally upon our engagement." His eyes softened.

"At the time I handed it to you, I knew I had to immediately return to Avalia, but I needed for you to understand my intentions and I needed for you to be assured of my return."

He dropped his gaze to the dragon opal around her neck.

"That opal is not something I would give lightly away. It belongs to one of my ancestral grandmothers, over a thousand years ago. And now it is yours forever."

Lyra smiled.

"I formally accept."