The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

His lips parted and clenched a few times while the eyes that were glued to my mark got darker. I tried to avoid that, knowing that his reaction would not be good. Of course, Gideon already knew what that mark meant. He wasn’t clueless at all.

“When did that happen?” he asked darkly and I swallowed, trembling slightly. I looked at the mark that was gleaming with Demir’s dark magic, wanting to cover it up again with the scarf. But when I was about to do it, I realized something important. That was my choice and I had nothing to be embarrassed of. We did it out of love. And we were going to get married. In the temple of the Goddess of Light or not – that did not matter. What mattered was that I chose Demir and everything that came with him. No one could prohibit me from loving him, no one could do anything about it. That man was mine and I was his. And I’d rather die than try to hide that ever again.

I took off the scarf and threw it away, the wind catching it and playing with the light silk.

“Not so long ago,” I replied honestly, “This is…”

“I know what this is,” my brother said through his teeth, “Do you have any idea how insulting it is for the Goddess?”

That was a jab at me, and I didn’t miss it.

“Is it though?” I raised my brow and Gideon looked at me in shock.

“Of course, it is! You betrayed everything we believe in!”

“No, I didn’t,” I clenched my fists, “You did. And Father did. When you tricked me into saying those words at the temple! I was just a little girl back then; I had no idea what was going on! There is no way the Goddess would approve of a marriage that starts with a lie!”

“A lie?!” Deon looked really hurt and I almost felt guilty. Almost… “Was it a lie that you loved me on that day? Was it a lie that I love you?”

“No,” I shook my head, “But it wasn’t that kind of love. You know it well.”

“It was for me,” he looked me in the eye, and I saw the pain that was coming from his heart.

“But for me, it wasn’t,” I sighed. All I wanted was for him to understand and accept. “I will always love you, Gideon. With all my heart. But only as my brother. The feeling that I have for you… they are not the same as what I have for Demir. And I am sorry if you feel differently. Goddess knows, I had no idea and never wanted it to be like that! I only wish you the best and want you to be happy. But it wouldn’t be with me as your wife. That’s impossible.”

The silence between us was heavy. But at the moment I was happy that at the very least we were not arguing.

“I want you to be happy too, Lara,” he said after a while and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, “I am sure we can find common grounds again. Come home and we’ll find a way out.”

“The thing is,” I turned and looked at Demir, smiling at the man that I was so much in love with, “I don’t think that my home is at the White Archipelago anymore.”

“Don’t say that…”

“But it’s the truth.” Very carefully I took my brother’s hand into mine, “A lot has changed. I still don’t know so much about myself… But I know one thing – my home is with Demir.”

“Are you really… sure about that?”

“I am, brother,” I tried to smile, and his eyes softened a bit, even though I still had this lingering feeling inside of me that something was wrong between us, “This is probably the only thing that I am sure of.”

“All right,” he exhaled heavily and pulled me for a hug. The mark on my chest pulsated painfully, letting me know that my gerdian was jealous. “If that’s the life you choose, I am going to support you.”

“Really?” I smiled happily.

“Really,” Deon brushed his palm over my cheek, “When is the wedding?”

“Soon,” I looked down awkwardly, I already promised my fiancé that Gideon would not be invited. And now I didn’t know how to tell him.

“I see,” it was as if he read my mind, “I am not a welcomed guest at this event, right?”

“What about the war?” I looked at him with reproach, “Why did you even start it?”

“Because I would do anything for you.” The reply made me sad. Deep inside I still hoped that I wasn’t the reason for all of that… And yet I was.

“It was wrong,” I furrowed my brows, “You are lucky that the gerdians and their dragons did not want to kill our people. It was very generous of them considering that you were the ones provoking them.”

“Is that what he is telling you?” Gideon snorted, “They were killing us just fine!”

I flinched at his words. But he didn’t shatter my confidence in Demir. Deep inside I knew that the gerdian did not lie to me. And, unfortunately, I couldn’t tell the same anymore about my brother. It was even strange to call him my brother now… Too many things happened, too many things changed…

“Deon, I have a question for you, and I want you to tell me the truth. Do you think you can do that?”

“Anything for you,” he smiled and wanted to touch me again, but stopped when his hand was in the middle of its way when he noticed me flinch. For us that was progress.

“What do you know about my real parents?” I looked him straight into the eye and he held my gaze.

“The same thing that you know,” Gideon did not hesitate, and I was slightly disappointed. I really hoped that he could tell me at least something. “Why are you suddenly interested in that as well, Lara? You stopped asking those questions a long time ago.”

“I became curious again,” I let out a chuckle, “A lot of things turned out to be not what I thought they were.”

“I am sorry you feel this way,” his wings twitched a bit, “And I wish I could help.”

“Maybe you still can,” I bit my l*p, not knowing if what I was about to do was the right thing, “Tell me, brother, what do you know about seraphim?”

This time his facial expression changed and it did not escape me. He took it under control very fast but it was too late.

“What about them?” he cleared his throat.

“So, you’ve heard about them,” I raised my brow, “What do you know?”

“I know that those are all fairytales,” he shrugged his shoulders, “None of those are true.”

“All fairytales come from somewhere,” I said it more to myself but noticed how his whole body tensed. He definitely knew something. But he was not going to tell me. And that was already an answer that I needed.

“Lara, would that be possible to see you again before your wedding?” Gideon was clearly trying to change the subject, “I don’t want to lose you. Even if we meet like that – it’s enough.”

“Is it?” Inside of me rage was growing. He was not honest with me again.

“It’s something,” he gave me a sad smile.

“I will think about it,” I said and turned away, walking firmly to the only man that I could trust. I heard the sound of the wings opening but dark flames already brought me into a warm embrace and I tucked my head into Demir’s chest.

“Take me away from here,” I whispered, and he obeyed.

“Did he make you sad?” the gerdian lifted my chin, when we were back at the palace, and looked me in the eye.

“I’ll be fine,” I answered honestly, “I hoped that he would tell me everything. But he chose not to.”

“I am sorry, Lara.” He pressed me to his chest firmly and kissed the top of my head, “We’ll find answers in another way. That I promise you.”

And I knew that he wasn’t lying…

~ * ~

“Just don’t forget the words!” Prim was adjusting the headpiece in my hair for the one-hundredth time, “The first impression is always the most important!”

“I know, I know,” I chanted. If she thought that she was helping – she wasn’t. She only got me more stressed than I already was.

Today was the day. Even though rumours about the emperor’s bride had already spread all over The Gerdian Empire, I still had to be officially introduced. And this was it. Demir would be announcing to the whole nation that he chose me, a practically no one, as his future wife and empress. And although chances were slim, I was still hoping that people would be able to accept me. I needed to be accepted somewhere.

I was wearing a pale grey dress made of thin transparent fabric which was embroidered with silver thread all over it, creating an intricate pattern that was shining in the sunlight. The lines were sewn with pearls and silver beads to add extra shimmer to this masterpiece. The firm corset and long sleeves with flares were giving me support and a slightly regal look, while at the same time low cut and bare shoulders made me seem delicate. There were diamond pins in floral shapes in my hair, while I had no other jewellery on, except for a few diamonds that Prim glued to my skin here and there over my chest and collarbones. They were, however, only there to attract more attention to Demir’s. Everything I wore today was made to set the mark off tonight and make a point that the choice was the emperor made was permanent.

“Gods were kind to me to give me such a beautiful soulmate,” Demir walked into the room, wearing a dark suit with matching silver patterns that somehow managed to look masculine on him. He wrapped his hands around my neck as everyone else stepped away and trailed his fingers over the line of my neck, kissing it gently and sending pleasant shivers all over me. He then looked at both our reflections in the mirror and I smiled at him.

“Aren’t we a perfect match?” he chuckled.

“We sure are…”

“Are you ready, my love?” He took my hand and I nodded in agreement. Dark flames surrounded us, and I hear a cheerful roaring of the crowd before we even appeared on the main balcony of the house.

There were so many people around us, filling a huge square and everything that was visible beyond us. I plastered a reserved smile over my face but to my surprise, everyone seemed so happy. They shouted Demir’s name mostly but generally seemed very happy to see me too.

And I thought that this would never end. Yet as soon as their emperor stepped forward and raised his hand, everyone got quiet.

“People of the Gerdian Empire!” he started in his imperious tone that made my toes curl, “Today I have the most important announcement of my life for you! As you all know, I looked for a long time for my queen. But the gods blessed me and I have finally found her! The one who will stand with me and rule with me until the day I die! The future mother of my heirs and your future empress! Meet Lady Lara Artes of the White Archipelago!”

Loud cheering emerged and I couldn’t believe that everything was going so well. Demir turned to me, smiling, and stretched his hand. Now it was my time to talk and for the first time, I was thankful to Prim for making me memorize what I should say. Otherwise, I’d mumble something silly for sure. I turned quickly to look at the princess, who stood slightly behind us and she gave me a reassuring smile, mouthing, “You can do this.”

I raised my chin and waved at the crowds, making them go wild. So that Demir had to lift up his hand again.

“It is a great honour to be chosen for such an important role,” I started my speech proudly and went through every aspect that we prepared beforehand, making all the necessary promises along the way. But somewhere in the middle, I heard a commotion behind my back. Ryker came closer to us and whispered something to Demir. My heart clenched because there was no way he would do that if nothing important happened. And it could mean only one thing – something was wrong!