The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

The flames brought us to the middle of a forest and I looked at Demir, startled.

“Where are we?” I asked him, feeling slightly uneasy. One second ago we were in the middle of a luxurious palace and now dark woods surrounded us.

“I want to show you something,” he said and pulled me by my hand. I followed even though my shoes were not great for walking on the grass.

“If you brought me here to kill me and bury my body in secret then you’ve chosen a perfect place,” I mumbled.

“I am impressed by what a high opinion you have about me, Lara,” he chuckled, clearly knowing where he was going.

“W-well,” I tripped my leg and he caught me, “Can you blame me?”

“What do I do with you, Lara?” he lifted me up in his arm as if I weighed nothing and smiled, sending a few fireballs of dark magic to fly before us and illuminate the place.

For a second it seemed that we stepped into some bushes but I quickly realized that it was some kind of a barrier in disguise. We walked out in the clearing that was full of field flowers. On one side, there was a small lake, on the other a small but beautiful wooden house with carvings all over it. This was so not what I expected.

But what attracted me the most, was a huge bronze oak tree right next to it.

“Are we in Akyria?” I pointed at the tree, “Those only grow there, right?”

“Right,” the emperor was still holding me and a vague smile appeared on his lips, “But we are still in the Gerdian Empire.”

“But how is this oak growing here? I thought the climate was wrong for them here…”

“It is,” he looked bemused, and it started to annoy me. But Demir put me down onto my feet and turned to face me. “This place was a present of my father to my mother. They met each other back at Akyria and once assassins attacked them. They had to hide in a little hut in the mountains and… Well, they fell in love. That little hut meant so much to them but after they became the emperor and empress, they couldn’t visit this place as much as they liked to. My mother mentioned it a couple of times and father decided to make her a present. He created this place just for her. So that they could escape the noise of the palace once in a while and enjoy the quiet peace together. To remind her more of Akyria, he brought here this tree and then he covered the whole space with a protective Dome so that nothing happens to it. Here summer continues forever, flowers bloom, the water in the lake is always warm and the birds are always thinking happy songs. I didn’t understand why they need all this before now.”

He looked at me intensely and I felt how my heart started to beat faster and how much mixed flushed.

“I never wanted peace before,” he said, stepping closer, “I was born to become an emperor. I had set destiny and I was happy with it. Everything went according to plan in my life, and I thought that I was happy. But that was before…”

His voice broke and he stopped talking. But I needed to hear the rest. I needed to know what was in his head and in his heart.

“Before what?” I looked into his eyes which were already filling with sparks of dark magic.

“Before you,” he confessed with the most serious face and I didn’t know what to respond. Somehow, I still couldn’t process his words.

“What changed?” I whispered.

“Everything,” here blind without any kind of hesitation in his voice, “I feel like a blind person who’s able to see colours for the first time. They were always there but I had no idea. You made my life colourful…”

“I didn’t do anything,” I felt slightly embarrassed and looked away.

“You made me want things,” he smiled and cupped my chin, “Things to share with you, things to do to you… I never even thought about this place. But when the time came to take off the masks, I knew that our alone time will be over. And that’s the last thing that I wanted. I want to be with you all day every day, every minute of every hour… I’m becoming addicted to you.”

“Is that bad?” The question slipped off my tongue on its own and I realized that I was really scared to hear the answer.

“No,” he brushed his thumb over my lower l*p, “That’s not bad. In fact, I’m starting to believe that is exactly what I needed in my life. It seemed that I had everything, yet the most important part was missing. You make my life full, Lara.”

“Demir,” I bit my l*p and he leaned lower, almost touching me but not quite. And I decided to push him slightly, “K**s me…”

He touched me gently this time, just nibbling… and then he whispered into my lips, “I love you, Lara.”

A million butterflies spread their wings in my stomach and chest at his words, as I wrapped my hands around his shoulders.

I thought that I was so happy. That man had this effect on me…

In all honesty, I was supposed to be miserable now. Away from my homeland, disliked by pretty much everyone, betrayed by my own family… a normal person would feel like life was over.

But thanks to Demir, I felt that everything was just beginning… He made me happy and… content. It felt right to be with him. It felt right to be with him in any way…

His hands were caressing my skin as he devoured me and I broke the k**s, distancing myself from him.

He nodded understandingly and I stretched my hand to take of his mask.

“Tonight, I want us to forget who we are. Forget about the emperor of the Dark Gerdian Empire and the girl from the White Archipelago. Let this be our quiet place too,” I said and removed my own mask, throwing both of them to our legs. I got pins out of my hair one by one and while my fingers were touching it, I returned my natural colour. I wanted him to see me for who I was.

He was watching me with his lips parted, frozen… as if he was afraid to scare me off.

I summoned light to the tips of my fingers and turned around, walking in the direction of the lake… Clouds of light were leaving me, illuminating the scene and shining like stardust.

At the edge of the lake, I turned to look at Demir, who did not take his eyes off me the whole time. I smiled at him and sliding my hand over the hem of the dress, made it fall to the ground…