I hated my life.

  Which sounded ridiculous, considering it was objectively amazing.

  As the daughter-heir of the Fme Cn, I wore silk, ate like royalty, and had the finest tutors in all of Vestra. Anything I needed, I had.

  It was my wants that were the problem.

  I didn’t mind the parties or even court politics. But every day felt like a performance. Wake up, wear the right thing, say the right thing, smile the right smile. Never slouch. Never slip.

  And then there were the daily recitations. Don't even get me started on those.

  Sometimes, I just wanted to throw off my robes and embrace the wind. Shift. Soar. Scream.

  Just once, I wanted to be Kaida the girl, not Kaida the heir.

  But that wasn’t an option. Not for me.

  Nothing had made that clearer than my mother’s announcement that we would be holding a suitor ceremony to find my future husband. I groaned as I thought back to that moment.

  My mother, Queen Kyrina, and my cousin, Nyvara, Hand to the Queen, arrived in my sitting room one afternoon. Seeing my cousin wasn’t entirely abnormal, as we were simir in age and often hung out, but her arriving with my mother spelled trouble.

  “Kaida, it’s time for you to do your duty.” I had to fight to roll my eyes. Wasn’t I already doing my duty every day? Sure, maybe I shirked a few responsibilities here and there, but I thought I was pretty responsible.

  “You’ll be twenty-one years old in a couple of months. It’s time to find you a mate.”

  My eyes widened. It was that time already?

  “Isn’t it a little early for that? I’ve only just grown into my final dragon form.”

  Tension creased my mother’s face. “Kaida, it’s past time. I had my mate when I turned eighteen. I’ve held back because you didn’t seem ready, but we can’t wait any longer.”

  Panic fred through me. I didn’t want to get married right now. Logically, I knew I had to produce an heir, but that seemed so theoretical.

  Nyvara spoke up. “We sent out the official announcement for your suitor competition this morning. It will take pce in three weeks' time.”

  “Three weeks?” My voice squeaked. Then my mind caught up to her full statement. “What the hell is a suitor competition?”

  The gre my mother sent my way pinned me to the chair. “Kaida, watch your nguage.”

  I shrank under her gaze and said nothing.

  “The suitor competition will slowly eliminate potential suitors. There are three parts. First, each suitor must come with a gift. The top ten gift givers will move on to the second round. Next, the remaining suitors will fight you in a duel one-on-one.”

  My mouth dropped open. I would have to fight these guys? I was an accomplished swordsman, thanks to my tutors, but I would disgrace my family if I lost any of the duels. That was a lot of pressure.

  “Do I have to fight them all in one day?”

  Nyvara must have sensed the trepidation in my voice because she quickly reassured me. “No. There will be two duels per day, set over five days.”

  I sighed in relief.

  My mother continued. “The top five fighters will move on to the final piece of the competition. They must each pn a date for you. You will attend each date, and at the end, you will choose your mate.”

  Eagerness began flowing through me. I was finally going to get to go on a date. A chance to spend time alone with a man.

  “The dates will, of course, be chaperoned by Nyvara.”

  I defted. I should have known it was too good to be true.

  That conversation had led me to where I was now. I held my favorite sword in my hand and was practicing with my tutor. For someone only a few years older than me, he was an accomplished swordsman. I was determined not to lose any of my duels, so I had set up extra practice with him. Sweat stung my eyes, blurring my vision at the worst possible moment. I didn’t see the sword strike coming until the st second, so I was unable to avoid the strike.

  Searing pain shot through me as the metal bde dug into the skin of my thigh. My tutor looked horror-struck. He had never cut me before. He ran towards me, immediately pulling off his shirt and pressing it to my wound. Despite the pain, I took a moment to enjoy his chiseled physique. The man was toned from head to toe and sported a six-pack of abs that nearly had me drooling.

  I shook myself to focus. “It’s okay, Lyran. I’ll be fine. I just need to shift, and my healing will kick in.”

  He nodded and stepped well back. The training grounds were outside and covered a rge area for a reason. I stepped back, too, ensuring plenty of distance between us. I took a few deep breaths and let the shift happen.

  My thigh burned as it occurred, but within a few moments, I was in my hulking dragon form, and the cut immediately began to heal. I stayed in my dragon form for a few minutes while the cut finished healing, and then shifted back.

  I was met with the startled face of Lyran, who was staring at me, dumbfounded. He looked me up and down, and a blush spread across his face. Looking down, I groaned.

  I was naked.

  I hadn’t quite mastered shifting back into my clothes. I got it right 95% of the time, but there was the occasional shift where I was naked when I returned to human form. This, unfortunately, had been one of them.

  I quickly grabbed his bloodied shirt off the ground and threw it over my head. He was quite a bit bigger than me in his human form, so the shirt went all the way to my knees.

  “Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen. If Mother knows you saw me naked, she’ll fire you, no questions asked. And I don’t want that.”

  He nodded his head. “I’m so sorry, Princess Kaida. I should have looked away when you started shifting back.”

  I smiled. This would be fun. I wasn't lying when I said I did everything the daughter-heir was expected to do. My mother just didn't know about the other activities I engaged in.

  I moved closer to him and spoke softly. “It’s fine, Lyran. I’m confident in my body. I don’t mind.” I stepped even closer, grabbing his face in my hands, and lowering my voice to a husky growl. “Did you like what you saw?”

  His adam's apple bobbed as he gulped deeply. I traced my finger along the side of his cheek.

  “No one's here. You can be honest,” I purred.

  I pressed my hand to his bare chest, feeling the rapid thumping of his heart.

  “Of course you're beautiful, Princess. Everyone knows that.”

  “Don't feed me that line. I'm so tired of hearing it. I've seen you checking me out.”

  He looked aghast.

  I moved forward until we were chest to chest. I leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I think you'd fuck me if I gave you the chance.

  His breath hitched, but he didn’t push me away.

  I slid my hand down his chest to the waistband of his loose-fitting pants. His growing arousal pressed against me. I slipped my hand under the hem of his pants and grasped his cock. With my lips still pressed against his ear, I bit down on his earlobe as I pumped my hand up and down his throbbing penis. A choking sound fell from his lips.

  I removed my hand and jumped back, a wicked gleam in my eye. I pitched my voice to a low, sultry whisper. “Come to my room tonight, and we can finish what I started.”

  I winked and then changed into my extra set of clothes right in front of him. He didn’t look away.

  “Good boy,” I purred. “I’ll see you ter.”

  With that, I strutted away to head to my next lesson.

  ***

  A self-satisfied smirk crossed my face as the soft knock came at my door te that night. I knew he’d come. They always did. No one could resist a romp in the sheets with the princess.

  I opened the door wearing a silk, ce robe and found Lyran leaning casually against the door frame.

  He looked me up and down. “Princess.”

  I eyed him. He wore athletic shorts that hung low on his waist and a tight t-shirt that highlighted all his muscles. “Sword Master.”

  He gnced past me into the sitting room and then looked back at me, eyes searching.

  I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him through the door, shutting it behind him. Immediately, I pinned him against the door and crashed my lips to his. He was stronger than me, but I had caught him off guard. Our tongues began dueling, and before I could even react, he lifted me off my feet and carried me to my bedroom.

  We tumbled onto the bed together, lips never breaking apart. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and started pulling it up. Our kiss broke long enough for me to tug it over his head, and then he was on me again. He pressed kisses from my mouth, down my jawline, and to my throat, where he began lightly nipping at the soft skin there.

  I moaned. I had been trying to get him into my bed for months now, and he was proving to be worth the wait. Raking my fingers down his back, I no doubt left faint scratch marks.

  I pushed him away from me for a few moments so I could pull off my robe, exposing my naked body beneath.

  Lyran inhaled sharply. “You’re fucking beautiful, Kaida. I’ve wanted to fuck you since we started training together.”

  “Well, lucky you, your dream is coming true.”

  Desire swimming in his eyes, he pushed me back down to the bed and captured my nipple in his mouth. He bit down, and I arched underneath him.

  “Fuck, yes. More, Lyran.”

  His fingers trailed down my stomach until they found my pulsing center. He slid a finger down my slit, and without warning, plunged it inside. I gasped. He thrust his fingers in and out several times before crooking them to hit my sweet spot. Between that and the sucking he was doing to my nipples, my orgasm rose fast.

  “Fuck, Lyran, I’m almost there. Don’t stop.”

  He bit down on my nipple hard, and I saw stars as I reached my climax. His fingers slowly left me as my orgasm ended.

  Panting, I ordered him onto his back. He complied, and I slunk down towards his penis. I had gotten a sense of its size earlier, but damn, did he have an impressive cock. I looked up at him as I licked the tip of his penis, tasting a bit of cum. He moaned.

  I wrapped my hand around his penis and then quickly filled my mouth with it. I sucked as I moved my head up and down. I could feel his cock twitching in my mouth. When I thought he couldn’t take much more, I jumped up and sunk my pussy down onto his throbbing cock. I moved up and down, feeling my climax building again. He reached up and pinched my nipples between his fingers, and I was gone. I orgasmed and felt him come with me.

  “Fuck, Lyran. Yes.”

  His moans intertwined with my words as we rode out our climaxes together.

  ***

  As I y in bed ter that night, Lyran long gone, I fought back tears. I had hoped he might be the one. I’d always liked Lyran, and the fact that he was super hot was just a benefit. But no. Despite my attraction to him, the sex had felt...empty. Don’t get me wrong. Physically, it was amazing. That man did things to me I’d be thinking about for a while, but emotionally, I felt nothing.

  It was like this with every guy I slept with. I had always known I would end up saddled with a man I didn’t love so that I could produce an heir for the Fme Cn. I had taken it upon myself to find myself a man I wanted to be with, and my future husband would just have to deal with me having an affair.

  Sex always made me feel free and rebellious in the moment, and I never regretted having it, but I had yet to find someone that I actually connected with. With the suitor competition only a few weeks away, I didn’t have much time. Once I was married, it’d be much harder to find someone.

  Tears welled in my eyes. I wanted so badly to be in control of my destiny, but it seemed like fate had other ideas. I was to be cursed with amazing, but meaningless sex. There were worse things, I supposed.

  A dark thought, always hiding at the edge of my mind, snuck through. You’ll never find a connection with someone. All they will ever see is Princess Kaida. They’ll take the chance to bed you, but they’ll never love you.

  I cried myself to sleep that night, feeling more alone than ever.

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