Chained to old wounds

The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride

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Ari

Fury coursed through me, a white–hot inferno that threatened to consume me whole. The sight of Tsuneo, his face practically glowing with happiness as he leaned in to kiss that human… it was unbearable! Jealousy, a venomous serpent, coiled itself around my heart, squeezing the air from my lungs. He opened the door and ushered her inside. His eyes flickering with pleasure.

This couldn’t happen. He was mine, destined to be by my side. I would be and always should have been the future queen at his side. This human interloper had to go and fast. My carefully laid plans would need to be accelerated. No more waiting for the opportune moment, I had to act.

Now.

Stomping my foot, I stormed out of the hallway, expecting Tsuneo to follow, eager to discuss his upcoming duties. But to my further outrage, he didn’t even glance at me as he left down the hallway in the opposite direction. As if I didn’t exist. It was too much. The king’s door shut behind. that human, leaving me fuming in the corridor. No one even seemed to notice my presence. I saw the king through the door, but his attention was on that human. The injustice of it all! Years of loyal service, waiting to be crowned queen. How could they treat me like this? I turned to look

down the hallway after Tsuneo.

My voice echoed off the stone walls as I yelled, “Tsuneo! Where are you going? You need to start your duties for the coronation, and–”

He didn’t turn back to look at me.

“I don’t need your help, Ari. I can handle my duties on my own.”

My blood boiled. How could he be so stubborn?

“Don’t forget that I’ve been here all this time!”

He stopped and looked back at me. “What is your point?”

“You need my help, I—”

“I have never needed you, Ari,” he said. “You’re no more than a sister to me.”

I snarled. “I am more than that! I’m more than that human in makes it another week, if I—

any case! You’ll be lucky if she

I sucked in a breath. The shadows filled the hallway and surged towards me. I backed up, terrified

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my heart and my throat. Then, the darkness seemed to rise up, looming over me with Tsuneo’s eyes. But this wasn’t the man that I knew I was going to marry. This was his dragon, and I had never encountered him before.

“Do not speak ill of my wife,” he snarled. “If you can’t respect her, then you’ll have to deal with me. This is the only warning you will get.”

I faltered, momentarily taken aback by the intensity in his gaze. Slowly, the darkness retracted and I saw Tsuneo standing over me again, his eyes still blazing with fury.

“Cease this Ari. I mean it.”

He turned on his heel and marched down the hallway towards his office, and my anger flared up again. How dare he? How dare he let her come between us? He knew as well as I that we were always meant to be together. He was only putting on this show because of the Trial!

“Tsuneo, you can’t just walk away from me!” I shouted, chasing after him. My footsteps echoed loudly as I hurried down the corridor, but he didn’t slow down. He reached his office door and slammed it shut behind him.

I reached the door and tried the handle, but it was locked. I gasped. I had never been locked out of his office before.

“Tsuneo!” I pounded on the door, my fists hurting from the force. “Open this door right now!”

There was no response from the other side. My heart pounded in my chest, and my breaths came in short, furious bursts. How had it come to this? How had Morgan twisted him so completely against me? Against us? That human woman had poisoned him so completely. I leaned against the door, closing my eyes and willing myself to calm down. But the anger and betrayal were too strong. I wasn’t going to let this go. Tsuneo and I had a bond, a connection that couldn’t be severed so easily. Morgan might think she had won, but, I wasn’t going to give up. I’d kill her myself if I had to.

Soon.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped back from the door. If Tsuneo wanted to lock himself away, fine. But this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. I was going to be his wife. He’d see. Everything would be as it should be. Gritting my teeth, I stalked down the hallway, my steps echoing in the oppressive silence. I paced the hallway outside Tsuneo’s office seething. The nerve of him to lock me out. He’d regret this. I’d make him grovel for forgiveness.

Suddenly, a snatch of conversation reached my cars, and carried on the hushed whispers of two passing servants. Their words struck me like a physical blow.

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“…lost her favor, that’s for sure…”

“Just a matter of time before they throw her out…”

“Thank goodness, she’s so mean.”

“Did you hear how Ari lost it again? She’s becoming unhinged,” one of the servants whispered.

“Yeah, ever since the queen showed up, she’s been losing it more and more. Honestly, she only has herself to blame. She’s not even a real member of the royal family.”

My blood ran cold. My hands clenched into fists. They were talking about me! The very idea, the indignity of it all, sent a fresh wave of fury crashing over me. They thought they could talk about me like that? Like I was some kind of joke? I stormed around the corner, my eyes blazing.

“What did you just say?” I demanded; my voice laced with ice.

The servants, two young women, cowered under my gaze. One of them stammered, “N–Nothing, Lady Ari. We were just…““Don’t lie to me!” I roared my voice echoing off the stone walls. “You think you can gossip about me behind my back?” Ladvanced on them, my fury lending strength to my movements. “You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

The first servant tried to back away, but I grabbed her by the collar and shoved her against the wall. “You don’t know anything about me or what I’ve been through!” I shouted, my face inches from hers. “You think you’re so clever, so smart, talking about me behind my back? You think that human will save you from me? I’ll kill her too!”

“We all know who you are, and there’s nothing we said that’s wrong,” the other one said. “And I doubt you’ll get close enough to Lady Morgan to even scratch her.”

“What are you doing–”

“There’s no point in lying to her. Everyone knows the truth. She knows the truth. The crown prince never had intentions to marry you. It’s clear enough based on his care for Lady Morgan.”

The meeker one grabbed her arm. “You can’t say things like that–”

“No. It’s about time someone did! All the havoc she’s caused… The other servant turned back to me. “You heard what the queen said. And if she’s not careful, she’ll have to do more than just return things she stole.”

“You little–”

“If you didn’t want it to end up like this, maybe you should have considered your actions more

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carefully. When you failed the Trial, you should have been preparing for this, not terrorizing people.”

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Her words were like a match to the tinderbox of my rage. With a snarl, I pulled back my arm and let my claws extend. The woman screamed.

“Stop it you crazy bitch!