The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

I had a pounding pain in my head when I woke up and felt the rough sheets against my cheek. Remembering the previous events, I jumped up on the bed and looked at myself before anything.

Fully dressed. Oh, thank you Brighta, the Goddess of Light! Thank you!

“Had enough rest?” Sean Sarn chuckled and I noticed him sitting at a small table, not too far from me. He was drinking something hot from a big mug and writing in a leather notebook. He shot a glance at me and moved another mug in my direction. “Have this, it’ll help with the headache,” he said in a friendly manner.

“I’d be mad to take anything from the likes of you!” I snorted, trying to stand up and still feeling dizzy. I knew I was already unarmed but I still could use my skills and magic to fight him if I had to.

“It was necessary,” he shrugged, “You were killing yourself with all that flying and no proper rest. You needed those two days to…”

“Two days?!” I stared at him in horror. Was I out for two whole days?!

“Sorry,” he shook his shoulders, “I don’t think there was another way to stop you. Did you even have a plan or were you just flying away as far as possible? That money you have with you will only last so long…”

My hand stretched to my thigh, where I had my purse hidden but the pocket was now empty and I glared at the red dragon in front of me.

“So, what is your plan exactly?!” I decided not to kick around the bush and just asked him bluntly, “What do you want from me? Why did you keep me here for two days?!”

“To hide you, of course,” he smirked, “Demir was roaming these lands and he would have found you if not for me.”

My heart skipped a beat. He was looking for me.

And then realization sunk in – he did not find me…

But that was all right, of course. I did not want him to find me. That was the whole point of escaping…

“Don’t look so sad,” Sean reminded me of his presence, “Trust me, you are doing the right thing here…”

“Trust you?!” I jumped off the bed and started to pull on my boots, “I saw you three times in my life, and on the first time, you attacked me! On the second, you used me to plant an exploding artifact and kill people. And on the third time, you poisoned me and held me captive for two days! I’d be an i***t to trust you! Gods know what you were doing to me while I…”

I couldn’t even finish the sentence as I felt a lump in my throat. What if he did something to me while I was out… The thought alone made me sick. I saw an opened door nearby which seemed to be a bathroom and ran into it, emptying myself into the sink. It wasn’t much but I still felt better once everything was out.

Opening the tap with fresh water, I washed my face and finally straightened, seeing Sean right behind me in the mirror reflection. His scars were somehow brighter when he looked at me with remourse.

“I didn’t do anything to you, Lara,” he said after a pause and it even sounded sincere, “I don’t want to hurt you. It’s not what I do… Even though you have a different impression of me.”

“You bet it’s different,” I muttered, “Give me back my things!”

“Everything is in your bag,” he lifted up his hands in a defence motion, “I didn’t take anything and I’d even give you more money so that you could…”

“No thanks!” I interrupted him, “I don’t want anything from you!”

“Even so,” he agreed patiently, “Let me at least explain myself.”

“You have five minutes!” I g*****d, checking my belongings. Surprisingly, everything was there. But I still couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was some kind of trap.

“He would have found you, Lara,” Sean came closer and I stared at him, narrowing my eyes so that he knew that I was not afraid of him, “He could feel you and he was very close. If I didn’t help you, you would be back at that palace and going down with him. You did a smart choice, leaving him and I just wanted to keep you safe.”

“How noble of you!” I rolled my eyes, putting on my cross-body bag.

“I drugged you and you have every right to be furious with me,” the man continued.

“How kind it is of you to admit that!”

“I did it only because I knew you wouldn’t trust me enough to drink the potion yourself and without it he would have felt your presence. But since you were out, he didn’t feel anything when he was flying above. Your soul did not respond to his call and now he is gone from here. He will not be looking for you again in these lands,” Sean finished and looked at me expectantly.

“You do realize that there is no way I am going to thank you!” I chuckled, “Especially since I am sure you were following your own agenda.”

“Yes, I did,” he nodded simply, “And I am not embarrassed about it! Demir always has everything too easy in his life and for the first time I had a real chance to let him feel what other people around him feel. Now he knows how it is not to get something. Maybe it’ll help him to be a better emperor in the end…”

“Aww, how sweet! All you try to do is to make him a better emperor!” I opened the door, “Bye, Sean!”

He grabbed my hand and turned me to look at him, slamming that door shut.

“You don’t understand,” he said and I noticed how his eyes and scars fill with liquid fire. I already read back at the castle that red dragons were creatures of pure fire. And as a result, they were impulsive and hot-headed. I probably should have simply agreed quietly to everything and left unnoticed. But nope, someone pulled my tongue and made me do all those snarky remarks.

“Let go off me!” I warned him and pressed my hand against his hot chest.

“What do you even find in him?!” he gritted through his teeth, “A girl like you… with him! He does not deserve it!”

“And he doesn’t have me,” I said calmly, preparing the light if I was going to need it, “You won. We broke up. Congratulations.”

“You know,” he suddenly brushed his palm over my cheek, making me flinch, “I see now what they all are so crazy about. Your brother who is not really your brother… Demir…”

I swallowed.

“You may think that I am an awful person,” he continued, “But in all honesty, I was supposed to take you back to my camp and bring you to my Commander. Xander Rust is waiting for you for quite some time. And he has big plans for Demir’s soulmate.”

My lips part in shock as a part of me was still hoping that nobody else knew about me and Demir being connected in such a way. There were too many ways to use this information!

My scare did not escape him, and a vague smile appeared on his scarred face, “But as you can see, I did not go through with it…”

“Why?” I managed to ask him, and his glance lingered somewhere around my lips.

“Because I am not that cruel. Because I actually like you. A lot. Because maybe when all this is over, we could meet again and…”, he stopped but his eyes were telling me more than his words. “Never mind,” he came back from his daze and stepped away, “I am not your enemy, Lara. I just wanted to help, and I did the best way I could. Now you are safe and free. And you can go wherever you want to go.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled and prepared to leave again when I heard his heavy sigh.

“I have your wings, by the way,” he confessed lazily, and I was about to hit him with a wall of light when he added, “I’ll give them back to you. I swear. Just have something to eat first. I can give you a magical oath if you like that nothing will be drugged this time. There’s no need for that anymore.”

“It’s not like you are leaving me a choice,” I clenched my fists and this time he opened the door for me and led me downstairs.

The tavern was empty at this morning hour and the maid quickly brought us our food and Sean tasted everything again. Yet I still had no desire to touch anything this time. I’d eat somewhere else later when I escape this…company.

“So, what’s your plan?” he asked, stuffing his plate with a bit of everything and making me salivate at all the delicious smells.

“To go as far as possible from both the Empire and the White Archipelago,” I told him what he already figured out.

“You need a place to hide,” Sean looked me in the eye, “I can help.”

“No, thank you,” I snorted, crossing my hands on my chest.

“I just know someone who can hide you well,” he insisted, while breaking fresh bread, “My mother was from Akyria. That’s actually how I and Demir became friends. Because our mothers were friends too. And now thanks to that connection, I have a distant aunt in this country. She can help you hide and even give you work for the first few months. I would leave you there and you will not see me if that’s what you are worried about.”

I stayed silent. That was a bit tempting. To have a place to stay and some kind of a goal… I didn’t think anything through when I left Demir. And this little break could help me to gather my thoughts.

“All right,” I took a cup of coffee and sniffed it, checking it for any drugs, “Tell me more.”

“Lara,” Sean looked straight into my eyes, “Have you ever heard of the Dark Selection?”