The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Unsteady firund

EIRLYS’ POV

For days now, Solara has been teaching me how to sit without fidgeting, how to walk without looking at the floor, and how to speak with a confidence I don’t quite feel yet. I’ve learned how to hold a teacup without gripping it like a weapon, which spoon to use for what, and how to glide into a room as if I’ve belonged there all my life.

She calls it poise.

I’ve managed to pick up a few things-but the confidence part? I’m still working on it.

Sometimes, even during sword training with Orryx, catch Solara watching me from the sidelines. And every now and then, she doesn’t hesitate to call out my posture.

She says it’s important to maintain the proper stande-no matter what I’m doing.

There have even been a few moments when she corrected Orryx’s form, too. Which, judging by the way his jaw tightens, absolutely infuriates him.

Mirael was a different story.

She’s stopped pretending to tolerate me.

Ever since the day she walked in on Kierygan and me in the study-me glowing in his arms-her looks have turned sharper. Her comments, crueler. Not in front of others, of course. Just enough to sting.

Earlier, in my rush to meet Solara downstairs, I rounded a corner too quickly and collided with someone-hard. Mirael. She hadn’t been watching where she was going, and I hadn’t had time to

stop.

“Will you watch it,” she snapped.

I nearly fidgeted out of instinct, but Solara’s voice echoed in my mind. Stand tall. Don’t shrink.

So I straightened and met her glare. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I was in a rush. I didn’t see you.”

She folded her arms and looked down at me with disdain. “All these lessons, and you’ve learned nothing,” she said. “You’re wasting the kingdom’s resources.”

For a moment, I froze, unsure how to respond.

But then a calm, firm voice cut through the tension “What’s going on here?” Solara asked from

behind her.

Mirael turned slowly. “So, you’re the tutor,” she said, folding her arms again. This time, like a

challenge.

Solara didn’t blink. “I am,” she said evenly. “And I heard what you said.”

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* Chapter 31 Um teady Ground

Mirael’s jaw twitched, but she held her posture, brows arched in feigned innocence.

“If

you have concerns about resource allocation,” Solara continued, “I suggest you bring them

directly to the king. Unless you’ve forgotten who appointed me.”

“Maybe do a better job, then,” Mirael said sweetly.

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Solara took a single step forward. Not threatening. But the air around her shifted. “Or maybe it’s yo

u who needs a refresher,” she said. “On manners.”

The silence crackled between them. Then Mirael turned on her heel and strode off. I let out the

breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

Solara glanced at me, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “You held your ground.”

“I almost didn’t,” I admitted.

“But you did,” she said, her smile lingering. “And that’s what counts.”

Solara said nothing more. She simply turned and gestured for me to follow. So I did.

We passed through the council wing in silence. The corridor was quiet and sunlit, windows pouring

light across the stone floor. Past the walls, out into the courtyard, where the breeze smelled of earth and growing things.

I hadn’t expected our path to lead to the stables.

The scent of hay and leather hit me as we stepped inside. Sunlight filtered through the wooden

slats overhead, catching in the dust that danced lazily in the air. It was warm and dim, the quiet

broken only by the soft shuffle of hooves and the occasional snort of a resting mount.

“You’re going to teach me to ride?” I asked, blinking in surprise.

Solara gave a small nod, brushing a speck of straw from her sleeve. “A lady must know how to ride without bouncing like a sack of flour,” she said. “Posture, grace, and poise. Not just to impress, but

to endure.”

She moved toward a tall white horse near the back of the stable, his silver mane glinting like ice

under the dappled light. My breath caught.

I knew that horse.

I remembered the feel of wind ripping through my hair, his hooves pounding beneath me, that

single wild flight from the tower… my first taste of open sky.

“Blizzard,” I whispered.

Solara glanced back with a faint smile. “The king said he likes you.”

She stroked his neck gently, then took the reins and led him forward. “Today, we’re just getting you

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chapter 41 custody Ground

used to the mount. I’ll guide him while you learn to Balance. Don’t tense.”

My hands were shaking as I approached. She helped me place a foot in the stirrup and steady myself as I pulled up into the saddle. The leather creaked under my weight.

“Good,” she said. “Back straight. Shoulders relaxed Hands light. Don’t grip with your knees, you’re

not strangling the poor beast.”

I let out a shaky breath and nodded,

We started slow. She walked beside us, one hand lightly on the reins, her voice calm and even as she gave instruction, Step by step, I adjusted to the rhythm, the sway of movement beneath me. We left the stable yard and followed a winding trail toward the field that bordered the palace grounds. Green and wide and full of birdsong.

For a while, everything felt… peaceful, Until it didn’t

Blizzard gave a sudden, sharp snort and twitched beneath me. His ears were pinned back.

There was nothing there.

Still, something in the air shifted-something I couldn’t see, but he could feel. The next moment, he Jerked his head hard, his entire body lurching sideways.

“Hold on, Eirlys!” Solara called sharply, tugging at the reins.

But it happened too fast.

Blizzard reared just enough to unseat me, hooves scraping the earth. The world tilted. I tried to find my grip, but it was gone.

I fell. Hard.

The ground slammed into me, knocking the air from my lungs. Pain bloomed sharp and immediate in my ribs and shoulder. I barely heard Solara shout

All I could do was lie there, stunned, staring up at the endless blue sky, while the grass bent in the breeze around me.

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