The Dragon's Bride

All Catori had to do was follow the path where the doors were falling off the hinges.

She felt bad for not intervening, for not saying anything and stopping Fang before things escalated to this.

Now it all had gone too far, and she feared what he might do to Nita.

She somehow managed to get a glimpse of them as Fang was dragging Nita along. She struggled to break free of his grip.

Catori could even hear her begging someone to help her, but Catori seemed to be the only one around that could do anything.

She was afraid to leave and find anyone now, because she knew she would only get lost and would be out of time.

“Fang!″ Catori called.

“I hope that this will teach you some respect, and you will continue to be here until you do.” Fang’s voice growled over Catori’s.

After kicking a double door open, Fang threw his mate roughly on the dusty, blood-stained floor then slammed the door behind him.

“Learn some manners. Maybe then I’ll let you out.”

“No, no. Wait, don’t leave me in here.″ Nita banged on the door, crying for help, but Fang had already walked away, in a different direction from where he came from.

Catori rushed to the door. She tried to open it, but to no avail.

“Nita?” Catori called.

“Whose there?”

“Catori, I’m here to get you out.”

“It won’t work. Only the guards have keys to the dungeon.

“I’m going to get someone. Can you tell me where to go so I can get them here quickly? Maybe Rydstorm is back, he will be the best person for this.”

“It makes no sense. The King isn’t at the Palace. He had gone to make sure that the dragons spotted yesterday are of no threat to us.”

“What?” Catori asked, not understanding why Rydstorm was hiding something like that from her.

She shook her head, knowing that she should not think about that, but of a way to get Nita out.

“I’ll be fine Catori. All I have to do is ignore the whispers of the dead and them reaching out to touch me.”

Catori didn’t know if Nita was joking or not, but she didn’t see the reason for her to make such a joke.

For hours, Catori stayed with Nita to keep her company.

“I am going to get you some food.”

″That is awfully kind of you.” Nita said, glad that Catori was staying with her.

Once again, Catori was lost, which was something she feared because she didn’t want Fang to go back and hurt Nita.

(While she was away, Fang went back to his mate.

Nita scrambled away after realizing it was Fang and not Catori.

The man soon peered down at her smaller frame with nothing but hate on his handsome face.

“Get up.”

When she didn’t comply, Fang dragged her up by the hair.

Nita gritted her teeth, trying her best to not cry as he brought her out of the room and out into an open area where the cold air was biting.

“Leave!″ Fang pushed her roughly, almost causing her to fall down the side of the mountain.

Nita stood outside, scared, and confused.

“Where am I to go?″ She tried to ask him, but he was already gone.

Nita looked around, noting where she was.

Thunder boomed overhead. She glanced up at the angry storm clouds.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was standing behind her and gave her a push.

Nita fell over the side. At first she thought she could welcome death, but after seeing jagged rocks racing towards her, she tried to transform into her dragon.

But it was useless. It was as if she had forgotten what that was like.

And no matter what she did, she couldn’t grow her wings or even twist in the air to try and grab onto something to break her fall.

A small cry escaped her lips as she fell hard on the cold ground, causing her body to go limp.

The downpour of snow soon buried her, and unlike before, her body began to freeze, refusing to heat up like it should to help her survive such harsh weather.

Again, Nita was thrown from the same edge of the Palace.

This time, her wings did sprout, but they were useless, and she fell to her freezing death again.)

Catori tried her best to hurry back to Nita with a plate filled with meat and fruits and a liter of juice. Hoping that it could sustain the girl until Rydstorm got back.

But Nita was being tortured with false illusions.

(Now a dragon had her by the neck, and another was bearing its sharp teeth at her.

The sound of her own hot blood spilling to the cold ground cut Nita’s screams off and caused her to wake up.) She jumped to her feet, then banged on the door, begging to be let out.

A voice that held much malice came.

“Poor thing. If only Fang loved his mate as much as he loved me.”

A hand reached through the small door that was made in the larger one. It felt around for Nita.

But she stomped on the hand of the orange hair nymph.

The female on the opposite side roared out, “you bitch!”

Wanting to make Nita feel her wrath, she used her hidden power to make her see things that weren’t there.

Nita screamed, as she was now standing in a pit of snakes, one of which was wrapped tightly around her left leg.

As she stood there screaming, a snake slithered its way in her mouth and out of her nose.

Nita choked, trying her best not to throw up and fight off the snakes as best as she could.

“Stop it!” Nita screamed.

A green and purple snake slowly creeped its way up her body, wrapping itself around her as it went.

“Get away from there!” Catori yelled. In her anger, she threw the pitcher of juice at the nymph.

The girl turned to her with a hiss.

“Just can’t mind your own business, can you?”

Just then, Fang came along.

“Fang, you have to stop this. Nita is your mate. You can’t treat her in such a manner.”

“Don’t listen to her, Fang. Nita means nothing to you; you should teach her that lesson.” The orange hair nymph smirked.

Fang finally opened the door, causing Nita to fall forward.

“Get up!″ Fang’s voice demanded.

“Fang, I said to leave her alone. Who are you going to listen to? Me, your Queen, or some trash you picked up to pass time with?”

Fang sighed, then stooped down to Nita’s level.

“Listen, I can’t help it. I just hate you and there is nothing I can do.” Fang told his mate.

The nymph had a satisfied smile on her face, then turned back to smirk at Catori.

“There is nothing you can do.” The nymph said.

For some reason, Catori could see between the lies of the nymph. In fact, she didn’t think she was a nymph at all.

“I thought so. You have no true power here. Just being Rydstorm’s mate isn’t enough.″ The female said.

“Who are you?” Catori asked.

“You can call me Lilith, the river nymph.”

“Bullshit!” Catori yelled.

“Fang?” Lilith smiled. “Don’t you think it is better to kill her?”

“Fang, don’t listen to her. She is still your mate. There will be consequences for your action.″

“Like what? You know nothing of this life, Queen.” Lilith mocked.

Catori scoffed, ″I know there was something wrong with you.″

Lilith rolled her eyes. ″You are not even a dragon.”

“I am the daughter of n-” Catori stopped short, thinking she shouldn’t expose who her father was.

“Nobody important.” Lilith laughed.

Fang looked back and forth between the women.

“My Queen, it is best if you go rest,″ Fang suggested.

Catori huffed like a spoiled child, “I am your Queen. You don’t tell me what to do. I give the orders, and I order you to stop this madness and leave Nita!”

Lilith cast a dirty look at Catori, wishing she could rip her head off, but she knew that if she ever laid a finger on the girl, both Fang and Rydstorm would have her head.

Besides, she was alone. She was risking it all on being here to carry out her mission.

“Well, consider this your loss, Fang. It is either you kill your mate, or I leave.″

“Then go!” Catori hissed. “You are nothing but a whore, you have no use here.″

Lilith hissed at Catori, and her true nature surfaced a bit.

Catori smiled, “when Rydstorm gets back you will regret this.”

“If he gets back, he is on a wild goose chase that might just lead to his death.”

Catori’s face fell.

″Come on, why do you think he went but Fang didn’t? I want to make him king, then take it from him.”

“Thanks for telling me your plan.”

Lilith laughed.

“It’s not like any of you can do anything. By the time Rydstorm should get back. That’s if he lives. I will be gone, and this place will be my master’s.”