Chapter 3

Meredith's POV

I grip the vial, my knuckles going white.

Growing up, all I ever wanted was to get out. I studied as hard as I could, got into a college far from home, anything to escape a place where every rule boiled down to the same thing: give it to Hannah.

But every time I came back for a break, my parents would get on my case. Said I couldn't even come home without hearing about how selfish I was for not spending every minute with my sister.

I thought Derek would be different.

We grew up together. He said he'd marry me more times than I can count. But in the end, he's just like the rest of them.

Looking back now, no wonder they had no trouble swallowing such an obvious lie.

They probably had it planned out long before today.

I close my eyes, unscrew the cap, and drink it all down.

The taste is bitter. A cold rush moves straight up into my head and down into my chest.

Like a scalpel dragged clean across the inside of my ribs.

Every bit of hurt, every grudge, every ounce of pain that's been building up inside me for years, and the love for Derek I held onto long past the point of dignity, all of it gone in one clean stroke.

When I open my eyes again, something is different.

The things that used to keep me up at night, Derek holding Hannah's hand, my parents looking right through me, five years of weddings burned to the ground, I can think about all of it now and feel nothing.

Like it happened to someone else.

"How do you feel?" Aldridge asks.

"Fine." My own voice sounds strange to me. Too calm.

"It's time." Aldridge nods to the woman beside him.

She opens a garment case and lifts out a wedding dress.

It's a black gown with gold trim, the hem embroidered with Dragon Clan markings, the gold thread catching the light as it moves.

Nothing like the white dress Derek had picked out for me.

She helps me into the gown, fixes the headpiece, and lowers a black veil over my face.

"Let's go." Aldridge leads the way out.

I follow him out of the room and down the stairs.

Outside, a row of cars lines the street, blocking everyone at the wedding from going anywhere.

My parents are pacing in front of the convoy, but the moment they spot the Dragon Clan crest on the cars, they go quiet.

Then they see Aldridge and the others coming out of the house and switch on their smiles immediately.

"Mr. Aldridge, what brings you..." My father's whole manner shifts. Careful. Almost apologetic.

"Don't mind us." Aldridge's voice is flat. "We're just here to pick up the Dragon King's bride."

"The Dragon King's bride?" My mother blinks, then catches on fast. "Oh, of course, of course. Please, don't let us hold you up."

There's an edge to it. Like she can't wait to see us gone.

I walk toward the convoy, the guards on either side of me.

A breeze lifts the edge of my veil, just enough to show a sliver of my face.

Derek is standing in the crowd. He goes still.

That figure. That profile.

"Wait!" He pushes through the crowd. "Who is that? Nobody told me there was another wedding today."

Hannah's face shifts. She grabs his arm.

"Derek, you promised me you'd only have eyes for me today." Her eyes well up, voice catching. "Is this about my sister? Are you seriously still hung up on her?"

"If that's how it is, then forget the whole thing. I don't have much time left anyway..."

Derek snaps back to her. "No, that's not it. I was just curious, that's all..."

I reach the car. One of the guards opens the door.

I glance back. Derek is still trying to calm Hannah down. My parents are herding the guests toward the church.

Not one of them looks my way.

I get in. The door closes.

Then a commotion breaks out near the house.

Several guards drag the four groomsmen out, faces bloody and bruised, and drop them right in front of my parents and Derek.

Aldridge's voice comes through the car window, cold and even:

"These men attempted to assault the Dragon King's future queen. As of today, the Aldridge family severs all ties with their families. The police have already been called. They will face charges."

The window goes up. The convoy pulls away.

One of the groomsmen is still mouthing off from the ground:

"Dragon King's queen, give me a break. That's just the woman Derek dumped. So what if we touched her? She's been through five weddings already, it's not like there's anything left to protect. Derek, come on, back me up."

"Besides, Hannah's the one who sent us up there. Told us to take good care of her..."

Derek's face goes gray.

He grabs the guy by the collar, his voice shaking. "What did you just say? Who did you put your hands on?"

"The... the woman in the room." The guy flinches at Derek's expression. "We figured you knew. Hannah said you were okay with it."

Derek lets go. He stumbles back a step.

He spins around and stares at the spot where the convoy was.

"No... that can't be right..."

My parents finally put it together, faces going white. They look at each other.

"The Dragon King's bride? Meredith? We have to go back, now!"