The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

I looked with wide eyes at both men. At Demir, whose irises were now full of dark magic, and at Sean, who did not hurry to take his hand away from me.

I flinched away and he clenched his lips, turning slowly to face the gerdian emperor.

“So, this is who has been helping you all this time,” Demir spat. He didn’t move or do anything, but his aura became darker somehow, making the air in the room suffocating.

“Well, someone had to,” Sean smirked. He felt surprisingly at ease in front of his ex-friend, “She was all alone in this big new world, you know.”

“And you just happened to meet her?” the gerdian emperor scoffed, “What a nice and absolutely believable coincidence!”

“Oh, it wasn’t a coincidence!” Sarn was gloating, “Lara listened to my advice to run as far from you as possible! And I felt obliged to help her along the way. I am taking responsibility for her!”

I closed my eyes and exhaled heavily. This was the end…

“Who the chaos are you to take responsibility for my soulmate?!” Demir roared so loud that the walls around us shook.

“Soulmate?” Sean repeated after him and looked at me in disbelief. I never told him this and was not planning on sharing the whole truth.

“Yes, Lara is mine, and if you think that you can meddle into this…” Demir continued.

“Oh, please!” The red dragon interjected, “Don’t you see that I am doing you a favour here?!”

“A favour?! To me?! You?!” The eyes of the gerdian were glowing at this point, letting us all know that he was on the verge of breaking.

“We may be not friends anymore but I do not wish for your death,” Sean said dryly, “You know very well that you two will never be able to be together. Your prophecy… it’s simply impossible.”

“That none of your business,” Demir growled, “A traitor like yourself shouldn’t worry about such a thing. Besides, when did you manage to give my woman such “great” advice?! When you tried to abduct her the first time you met her or when you killed all those people in my palace, some of whom also were your friends once?!”

“The latter,” Sarn replied in a calm tone, “But does it matter really if I am right?! She needs to be as far from you as possible to stay safe!”

“She is only safe with me!” the emperor raised his voice and unwillingly Sean lowered his head, even though I saw that he was struggling with it. His scars started to fill with fire…

“Stop it! Both of you!” I stood up between the two of them, “Don’t you think you are forgetting something?!”

Sparks of hatred were not dying down between the two of them and none of them even spared me a glance.

“Really?!” I hissed at them, “Is anyone even going to consider what I want? What is my decision?!”

“I am not sure you are that great at decision-making anymore!” Demir finally looked at me and his words cut through my soul. There was so much pain in his gaze, and anger, reproach, anxiety, and desperation. He was hurting and I could see that.

“They are still my decisions,” I almost whispered, “I make them. Not you.”

“Listen to her,” Sean smirked and I wanted to slap him. He helped me a lot in the past, but he for sure was not helping now. He had his own agenda and it was clear as day.

Demir moved me behind him and I decided not to struggle this time.

“You have one hour to leave this place, Sean,” he gritted through his teeth, “The barrier will let you out. But just one hour. If you are not done by then, I’d finish what I started years ago. Go scheme somewhere else and thank Lara for the present of your life today. If she owed you anything, she just repaid it. So, forget about your games! And forget about her! The next time I see you, I will not be so generous anymore!”

Sarn clenched his lips. It seemed that he wanted to say something at first, but he changed his mind in the process. He took his jacket, that was lying on my bed, and turned to me before leaving.

“Check out the books I brought you, Lara,” he smiled even though the dragon next to me growled again, “I thought that you might like them…”

I had an urge to thank him at first but then decided to do it with just a simple nod. And said nothing when he left the room.

We stood in silence for a while, Demir with his back to me. And all my heart wanted was to throw myself at him, to give him my heart and share my warmth… But I knew I’d better not to.

He turned so abruptly that I was caught by surprise.

“How long?” he asked.

“How long what?”

“How long are you going to torture me, Lara?” he took a step in my direction but I stepped away.

“You are torturing yourself, Demir,” I sighed, “It doesn’t have to be like that. If you could just forget about me…”

He chuckled darkly. Not healthy…

“You think it’s that easy? Have you forgotten me already? Is that why my enemy was here? Did you even care that he is the last person I want to see you with?!” his questions were like slaps into my face.

“Nothing happened between us,” I said quietly, “I wouldn’t even call him a friend. But he helped me to get here, that’s true.”

“Does he know that you are not friends?” Demir scoffed, “He brings you presents and walks into your room like he owns it.”

“That’s on him, not me…”

“Lara, I cannot do this anymore,” suddenly he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me closer, “Don’t you see that we can’t escape destiny?! Even my enemies tried to hide you but ended up sending you exactly where I would find you again. You and I… it’s meant to be.”

“Unless it’s not…”

“I don’t care about that,” he breathed into my ear while pressing me hard against himself, “I’d better die happy with you by my side than live a miserable life without you. However long that is, it will never be worth it. I… can’t… without you…”

I let myself one last moment of weakness and stroked his hair with my fingers while tears formed in my eyes.

“And for me, it’s the other way around,” I said and felt him shudder at my words, “Don’t you see that I want you to live? It’s hard for you now but as far as I know, dragons live for a very long time. Sooner or later, I will become just a faded memory to you. Someone that you knew, someone that you loved… You will forget. And you will still be alive. Your Empire will still be strong. And I will die happy knowing that I didn’t destroy you. That’s what I want, Demir. That’s my decision.”

“And it’s a terrible one!” he distanced himself from me, “However, your desire to get rid of me is admirable! So admirable that I am starting to consider letting you be…”

I said nothing, even though my heart ached.

He understood that silence in his own way and dark flames surrounded him, taking him far away from me.

Lady Fiona confirmed that Sean was gone now. For good.

And so was Demir. “The Duke” stopped appearing during dinners and The Dark Selection events to the disappointment of other ladies.

I got what I wanted. He left me alone. Only that it didn’t help in any way. With every passing day, I felt worse and worse.

Each night I was sitting on my windowsill and watching the moon, trying not to fall asleep and not to call him in my dreams. But even when I failed, he never came.

I guess this time the emperor of the Gerdian Empire was truly done with me. And in the end, I started to cry myself to sleep.

A couple of weeks passed and I felt worse every day. Ramina and lady Fiona were worried for me and started making sure that I eat something because I was skipping meals. And only lady Gianna was fine with everything. She loved having a broken maid and often commented on how ugly I looked with my dark circles and hollow cheeks.

She was often giving me ridiculous tasks. That was probably her revenge. But to be honest I loved it that she kept me busy. At least in this way, I was thinking less about…him.

Gianna was the one who got most upset with the absence of the Duke. She really did count on him taking her as his wife. However, she wasn’t waiting for his return and made other plans with other gerdians at the Dark Selection.

Today she tried to desperately fit into one of the dresses that Demir sent her previously as she was getting ready for the Portal ball. It was an important event where gerdians and the girls were entering the portal of truth. If two of them truly wanted to see each other, if their hearts longed each other – they would meet at the other end of it. And if not – they will not… It was a good test to know what two persons really want and after that test proposals usually happened.

And Gianna had a problem. Even though she found two other admirers – one a count and another a baron, she was hardly sincere with any of them. That could only mean that she would fail that test with both men. And who knew what would happen after that…

So, of course, her mood was sour. And of course, she was letting all her frustrations on me.

“You are not trying hard enough!” she scolded me when I couldn’t close the gap at the back of her dress.

Honestly, Demir had a peculiar sense of humour. The first dress fit her perfectly and most of the new ones could be hardly done on her.

“If I pull it more it is going to rip on you!” I told her honestly and she turned with an angry face and slapped me on the spot.

My cheek was burning when she threw the dress into me, “Do whatever you want but fix it until the ball!”

I gathered the gown that would need a miracle to fit her figure and left.

Walking down the corridors of the castle, I clenched the fabric in my hands, feeling angry. I couldn’t wait until this Dark Selection would be done and all the ladies leave to their new gerdian homes, leaving the castle empty.

Although there was a big chance that Gianna would not be chosen and then she’d return next year! In that case, I would not be able to stay… Goddess of Light, how that woman annoyed me!

The light sparked on my fingers again and the dress was covered in white flames in no time.

“No!” I bit my l*p as I tried to put it down. I tried to summon Light back to me, but it didn’t work at once. So, by the time I was done, so was the dress…

“To chaos with it!” I threw the now-rag garment away and ran to the garden. It was late night already and no one would be there at this hour.

Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I knew I needed a place to let out my frustration and anger.

With a scream, I let out the Light that gathered in me for days and was burning me from the inside. I raised my hands to the air and released so much of it that it formed into bolts of lightning, white and beautiful. And it was something completely new. But I kept going at it, making the night sky bright.

When I was exhausted, I fell to my knees breathing heavily. My chest still hurt but overall, I felt better.

That was right until the moment I heard a familiar voice behind my back, “Well, this was…unusual.”