Chained to old wounds

The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride

CH101

Hayato

I went still, not understanding what she could possibly mean.

“What do you mean?”

Her eyes twinkled, and she twined her arms around my shoulders. She shifted her hips forward, licking her lips as she squeezed me tight and made me groan with pleasure.

planations can wait a little, can’t they? When has once ever been enough?”

letting her push me back and settle her full weight onto me.

elt like our wedding night all over again hundreds of years ago, before I’d had children, concubines, or anything else to worry about other than this bright, heady feeling I got with her. I lost count of how many times we pushed each other over the edge, chasing our pleasure and the taste of each other, but when we lay together in the soft grass, looking up at the sky together, the sun warming our skin. Haruka’s head rested on my shoulder, her breathing soft and even.

I couldn’t imagine a moment that I wouldn’t want to be here with her like this. This had to be

heaven.

v second. I turned to look at her, smiling, before kissing her again, this time slower, savoring every every touch. It was a kiss full of promises, unspoken but understood, a kiss that said more than

mouth. words ever could. Haruka giggled into my

“You’ve missed me, have you?”

“Always, I safth

“Stay with me a little longer,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I smiled, my heart filled with a sense of peace. “I would never leave you willingly,” I replied, my voice barely a whisper.

We lay there for a long time, simply enjoying each other’s company. And then, Haruka turned to me, her eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and pride.

“I trust those concubines of yours have been keeping you busy in my absence. More children to

dote on?”

1/4

CHIỎI

I laughed. “Not so much… It’s only been five years

She scoffed. “What idiots! They finally have me out of the way, and they didn’t even bother to use the time properly? Shame. I guess I couldn’t have expected any better of them.”

I laughed at that, shaking my head. “Haruka, please…”

“I’m serious. After all of their whining about how much time I have yours ok you’d have thought they would have made use of the time.” She pouted. “I was hoping for more children to dote on… Specifically, ones that hadn’t been turned into evil little monsters yet.”

“Tsuneo has killed two of my children so far. I’m sure I’ll make some replacements.”

She went still, staring at me with a searching gaze.

“… What did they do?” She narrowed her eyes. You wouldn’t have said it like that if they hadn’t done something egregious. Who was it?”

I smiled, folding my hands behind my head. “Why don’t you guess? You were usually good at that.”

“You are in an oddly morbid mood. It must have been terrible…” She hummed thoughtfully. “… Keiji and that awful sister of his, yeah?”

“On the first try?” I laughed. “You really haven’t lost your touch.”

“I strive to please you, dear husband. So what in the name of the sky did they do? To Tsuneo? He may be a dragon of destruction, but he does not go around destroying things without reason.”

I blinked. A dragon of destruction?”

She waved her hand. I’ll get into that some other time. We have plenty of time. My son killing your children?”

“Keiji kidnapped his wife,” I said. “I have a feeling that there was more to it than that, but that is

all he said.”

“The new queen, right? Morgan?” She scoffed, “He could never stand to let Tsuneo have his own things. And his sister? I forget her name.”

“You always do,” I said. “She tried to poison Tsuneo… Morgan interfered and ended up getting poisoned. I shuddered. “I was… certain he would go on a rampage when he woke up. But he was oddly calm. There’s something off about him…”

“He’s awakened. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’ll get around to explaining it to you one day…”

2/4

THIT

“He sent me off to rest and said he’d run the palace and get ready for the Convening…” My lips. twitched. After he apparently turned Ari human.”

She squealed with laughter. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. He put her on formal trial and everything.”

“Look at my son, stepping up into his crown. I’m glad that anxiety has left him

“I, as well. I know he feared losing me, but I could not be with him forever…”

She laughed softly. It was a secret one. Mischievous too.

“What’s so funny?”

“One day you’ll see. The full rich history of the dragon’s line. The convening, huh? Well, tell me all about it. I have no idea what that is.”

I thought back to everything I knew about the Convening and told her everything I remembered as we lay together. This meadow where we’d met seemed more vibrant than I remembered, more calming and secluded, but that might have been because of how long it had been since we had come here.

Maybe this was the effect of death.

“I wonder… where they went when they died,” I said thoughtfully. “I… can probably never admit this to Tsuneo, but even though they were terrible, I hope that they had at least a moment of peace before joining the reincarnation line.”

She chuckled. “You’re always so kind, my dear golden husband.”

“Not foolish?”

“Sweet,” she said. “And there is nothing wrong with being sweet.”

Slowly, I started to doze off. I fought sleep, knowing that when I woke, I wouldn’t remember her or

my past life or anything. I’d be a child in someone’s arms or maybe drifting through the afterlife, waiting to be reincarnated as a celestial or a human. But if there was even a chance, I couldn’t maintain some of these memories. I would be eternally grateful.

Tsuneo

Hours turned to days since the first meeting with the Elders and Ari’s trial. I continued to visit Morgan at the Pool of the Phoenix. Each day, I would kneel beside the pool, and feel my heart

3/4

CH101

aching with longing. Throfu was outright restless. We’d hardly slept.

Today, I hoped that she would at least float to the top or open her eyes or something, but she was still unconscious, her body still as stone.

Tarofu growled, his frustration rolling through me,

My darling fire, when are you going to wake up? He huffed. The longer you sleep, the more havoc I will be allowed to wreak.

I almost laughed at the thought. So far, all we had done was get most of the palace in line, take stock of what needed to be done to get the palace ready, and do random ritualistic things that turned the walls different colors and seemed to make the palace feel better. The Elders had practically fallen in line behind our orders, despite their initial protests.

“Morgan, is everything alright?” I asked aloud, reaching my hand into the pool. “Won’t you at least give me a sign?”