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Father inhales slowly. “I don’t have time for your games, Poppy. Tell me what happened.”
A bit of his magic slips through his words. I’m not sure if he meant to, but I can feel the static from it in the air.
“I got my tubes tied,” she answers, her lips moving without permission.
My stomach sinks to my toes as her words register.
The alliance with the dragon shifters is all aboutbabies—because mixing fae and dragon shifter blood makes the bloodline stronger. But without the ability to have children, Poppy can’t fulfill the alliance.
Which would mean the duty falls to the second eldest daughter. Meaning me.
Father slaps his hands down on his desk. “YOU DIDWHAT?”
“I’m unable to have children,” Poppy says the words so casually, not even flinching at the harshness of our father’s voice. “I told you I didn’t want to marry the dragon prince.You should have listened to me and found a way out of the contract. Now your precious heir will have to marry him.”
My ears begin to ring, so I sit down in the closest chair.
“But…” my voice trails off as I glance up at my older sister. “Why would you do that, Poppy? You know what this means for the fae.”
“This is selfish beyond reasoning. You don’t know what you’ve done.” Father runs his hands over his face.
For the first time in my life, my father is scared. His eyes have never been this bright of an orange before. His hands tremble as he takes a shaky breath.
“Guards, cuff Poppy for me.” Father’s eyes quickly fade from orange to their natural color.
“Cuff me? What for?” Poppy shrieks as the guards hold her hands tightly together.
“You’re under arrest,” he says calmly.
“You would arrest your own daughter?” The fight goes out of her as the cuffs are tightened around her wrists. She stares at Father in disbelief.
“Do you not understand what you’ve done?” Father gives her a sharp look. “This is out of my hands. The council will now decide your fate.”
“The council?” Her face turns white as she gives him a horrified look.
“You’ll be lucky if they don’t demand your immediate execution.”
“Execution?” She falls backward, but the guards catch her and keep her from falling. “Father, please. Can’t you hide this? Fix it somehow?”
Father shakes his head. “I’m sorry.” He turns away from her and looks at me. “Go get Cypress and meet us in the council room. I will make sure everybody is there within the hour.”
I nod, jumping up from my spot on the couch. As I’mabout to walk out the door, I lock eyes with Poppy. The blue of her eyes is long gone—now they flash between yellow and orange. She’s terrified, but she only has herself to blame.
When I get to Cypress’s room, I pound hard on his door, waiting for him to answer. When he opens it, he has a scowl on his face, but when he sees the look on my face he instantly takes a step closer.
“What’s wrong?” He puts his hand on my shoulder, like he’s trying to comfort me. It’s then that I wonder what I must look like. I don’t think I could hide my emotions from him right now if I tried.
“We’re wanted in the council room.” My voice shakes as I speak.
He stands there, waiting for an explanation.
I take a deep breath. “Poppy is in a lot of trouble.”
At my words, he gets moving quickly. He grabs ahold of my hand and together we march toward the council meeting room.
Poppy may be dramatic, moody, and impulsive, but she’s still our sister. We love her, no matter what her choices. Neither of us wants to see her executed, but I’m afraid that is exactly what the council will want.
My stomach clenches as we make our way inside. The room is already half full. I’m sure everybody teleported here the moment they got the alert from Father. Emergency meetings simply aren’t called—ever. There definitely hasn’t been one in my lifetime, possibly not even my father’s lifetime. Everybody is curious as they look at Cypress and me. My brother doesn’t let go of my hand, even under their scrutiny, and I’m glad. I need his support right now.
