The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

The room was small and very simple. One window, one small wardrobe, and one bed. That was about it. Everything was old and wooden but of good quality. But the most important thing was that all this was mine and I was to live here alone.

On the bed, I found a set of fresh bedding that I was probably supposed to do myself for the first time in my life. And also I noticed two sets of similar uniforms. Simple dark grey dresses with white collars. Nothing special but that was probably implied that it was for me. Since I was now a maid… Me. Lady Artes of the White Archipelago… The soulmate of the Emperor of the Gerdian Empire.

A little laugh escaped me as I touched the soft fabric. It was expensive and pleasant to the touch. The Dark Selection was considered a big event, and everything here was supposed to be luxurious and worthy of the dark lords that were about to attend it.

Another pleasant surprise was that there was a small separate bathroom with everything necessary. Now I knew very well that it was a luxury after days of traveling and sleeping at local bed-and-breakfasts. And it was the first time I did after I made sure the door was locked – stripped naked and poured a whole bath full of warm water. There was just one bar of soap, but it smelled really nice and I didn’t have anything else, so I used it to clean my skin and my hair. All while soaking myself. Almost like I used to do in the past. Almost…

But this was for the best. I couldn’t return to Demir since I didn’t want to risk his life anymore. I couldn’t return to the White Archipelago since Gideon was there and I couldn’t imagine marrying him… I loved him, but not the way he wanted. He would always be my brother, and this was exactly what I wrote in my letter to him. The letter apparently did not help much.

I closed my eyes, thinking about everything. I couldn’t believe that he was capable of killing one of our own… And yet according to Sean Sarn, Keatar, our leader, who served the Goddess of Light for many years, was dead. It was shocking beyond belief.

What happened to Fabian? Surely he did not take it well? And what about his sister Bria? What is my friend doing now after she lost her father because of my family? I probably would never be able to find that out…

After the bath, I combed my hair. I still did not get used to how short it was now, curls reaching the top of my shoulders. But I had no regrets. All my life decisions were questionable but this one was the right one. My hair somehow always seemed to get me in trouble, and I was tired of it.

The hardest part of the evening was dealing with the sheets, duvet cover, and pillowcase. Who knew that doing your bed was so tricky. When I watched my maids doing it in the past, it seemed like it was easy. Those girls were dealing with my bedding effortlessly in less than a minute. It took me at least half an hour. But when I was done, it felt like a little victory.

I changed into the nightgown that I had taken with me from the gerdian palace. It was one of the very few things that I brought with me and it still smelled of Demir… I didn’t risk putting it on previously, but tonight was the night…

I sat on the windowsill before getting in bed and looked at the bright moon. It was the same moon that I watched together with Demir back at his empire… And now it was shining for me alone, reminding me of the past…

“Lara?” he looked like he couldn’t believe that I was standing in front of him. We were in his office and he probably fell asleep there again.

“You really shouldn’t work this much, you know,” I said nonchalantly, even though my heart was beating fast. I didn’t have any dreams about him since I left as I was exhausted most of the nights and the previous two I was completely out thanks to Sean. But now I was relatively rested and here we were…

“Where are you?!” he jumped to his feet and was next to me in no time, “Tell me, Lara! I’ll come and take you! I was looking everywhere for you!”

“Did you read my letter?” I asked him dryly even though all I wanted was to wrap my hands around him and feel the heat of his body again. But I distanced myself and noticed sparks of dark magic dancing wildly in his eyes. He was not happy…

“Is that all you want to say to me now, Lara?!” he snapped, “Of course I read your stupid letter! I’ve read it so many times I lost count!”

“Happy that this is how you feel about it,” I turned away but his hands caught me and he pressed me against his chest.

“What are you doing, Lara?! Why?” he whispered and it sounded…desperate and painful, “You wanted to save me? You are killing me!”

I choked on my own breath. All this was killing me too. Day by day a little part of me was dying without him… Yet I knew that this was the only way I could help him.

“Just leave me, Demir,” I said through tears, “Live your life and I’ll live mine! I am fine and I am safe. I am well taken care of and…”

He turned me forcefully, almost hurting me, and looked me in the eyes.

“Who?” he asked grimly, “Who is taking care of you, Lara?!”

I swallowed as this was not what I expected…

“No one,” I answered, “I can take care of myself, you know. I was doing it just fine for the past few days and…”

“There is no way no one helped you during those last few days,” the gerdian emperor gritted his teeth, “Someone hidden you under a barrier and I couldn’t find you, Lara.”

“You… you were really looking for me?”

“Of course I was!” his eyes were full of cold magical light now, “And don’t you think even for a second that I will ever stop! I will find you, Lara! And when I do, I’ll never let you escape again! Because in those last days there was one thing that I learned for sure! And that’s the fact that I cannot live without you! I need you to live, to breathe, to exist…”

My lips parted and he covered them with his in a greedy possessive k**s, holding the back of my head, pressing me tighter against himself… I couldn’t break it however much I tried but, in the end, I just stopped trying…

It was just a dream… It wasn’t real… I could…let myself enjoy him just for one moment.

But then he broke the k**s himself and looked me over from head to toes. He played with my hair for a few seconds and then leaned lower so that he was looking directly into my eyes while holding my chin in his palm.

“Tell me where you are, Lara,” he said and I felt an order in his tone. And when I just shook my head, he only smirked. “Good,” he let go of me, “Turn it into a chasing game. It’ll only make it more fun. And our reunion will only feel more intense.”

I bit my l*p at how sure of himself he sounded. I liked it too much for my own good.

“Goodbye, Demir!” I prepared to throw myself out of this reality whatever it took, “Please, just live your life!”

That last request did not sound too convincing and he only chuckled.

“Tell the one who is hiding you that I’ll come for him,” the dark dragon looked at me menacingly, “And… wait for me. It will not take me long to figure out where you are, Lara.”

A knock on the door made me jump on my bed and I noticed that it was morning already.

“Hurry up!” I heard a familiar voice…