SWNOVELS Chapter 107
MIRA
“Don’t go!” I hug him from the back as he prepares to leave me. This is breaking my heart. “Don’t go, Rien, please, don’t go!”
“Mira!” he turns to me and pulls me closer into his arms, breathing in my scent, “Everything is going to be all right. I am going to be back in no time!”
“You don’t know that!” I reproach him with tears in my eyes, “You are not the emperor’s favourite nephew anymore! He is angry with you! What if…”
“No,” he places a finger on my l*p to stop me talking, “Don’t say that and don’t think about that. Whatever happens, I will be back. For you, Mira.”
He places a long and torturous k**s on my lips. It’s painful because it as well may be our last one for a while.
“Lord Derrien Derwood, the archduke of Derwood is requested to be present at the Emperor Ghardin the First’s Council meeting concerning the current war with the Akyrian Kingdom. Arrive at the Palace as soon as possible”, the words in the letter stuck in my mind.
Although it’s perfectly normal that Derrien takes part in this kind of meetings, he says it himself that usually, the Emperor was inviting him mentally, sending some kind of sygnal. This letter alone signifies that everything has changed! He is not in favour anymore! And only the Gods know what will happen there…
“You know very well that if I don’t go it’s going to be even worse,” he says, kissing the top of my head, “Mira, I am going to return to you. You just wait for me here, alright?”
“Yes,” I stand on my tiptoes and give him a soft k**s on the lips, his hands clench around me immediately, pulling me closer. We k**s as if…as if it’s the last time. And when we break the k**s to catch up with our breath, flames of dark magic appear around him.
“Wait for me, Mira”, is all he says before disappearing and I break down in tears, falling to my knees.
“My lady!” Lina enters the bedroom in the morning, gasping in shock, “Why are you on the floor, my lady? This is not healthy! Oh, gods! You look so pale!”
“Is he back?” is all I ask when she helps me up.
“No, my lady”, the maid replies with a tense face, “But this is normal. Council Meetings may take several days, weeks even!”
I don’t like it! I don’t like it at all…
Lina helps me to undress and gets me into the bed, muttering something all the time about how I should take better care of myself. For Derrien.
“If he comes back and sees you like this!” she whines, “We would all be suffering consequences! Besides, I think he loves you this much because of your strength and…”
She hits a point. I am no weakling. And if something is truly wrong then Derrien needs me strong.
I raise from the bed against Lina’s attempts to put me back in.
“Just bring me breakfast,” I order her and she curtsies and immediately leaves, a faint smile on her face as she does it.
I gather myself, put on a dressing gown, take Aaron Brookland’s journal and go to the sofa in Derrien’s reception room. His scent is still there…
Curling up into the soft cushions, I start reading. The seller didn’t lie to Derrien. It was a book about dragons after all. It turns out that Aaron was fascinated by them and went on a whole journey to the lands of ancient dragon shifters. This land was called Agnegard and not only it was next to impossible to find the place but it was even more impossible to actually get inside. You had to go through the dragons’ test to enter their land. But if you managed to do it, then they welcomed you in as their respected guest.
Out of Aaron’s three companions, he was the only one who managed to pass the test and enter Agnegard. All others have failed.
And the knowledge he got there was priceless! No, they didn’t tell him all their secrets. But they shared some. And luckily my ancestor was very observant, so he learned some of the things about them himself. Just by watching them.
“There is nothing more important to dragons than their soulmates,” I read the page out loud for one hundred’s time, “As soon as they meet him or her, they become obsessed, they crave this person and they love this person so much that it drives them crazy. Once the dragon’s heart makes its choice, it is final. There will be no other. They will never need someone else. They would never require someone else. They could only be happy next to that one person. And if they are separated, the dragon will never be able to regain happiness of any kind again. That’s what she told me…”
Funnily enough, it turns out that my ancestor was a soulmate for one of the dragons. A beautiful woman that recognized him as hers. He describes her with so much love and passion, and there is even a sketch of her. A woman with long black hair and a playful smile. He said that she haunted his dreams after just one k**s… And that reminds me of something! But Derrien said that it’s a gerdian thing… What if…What if it’s a dragon thing instead?! He doesn’t seem to know much about dragons and their traditions since he was always the only one! Always alone in all this… He said that the Emperor was helping him as well as he could. But is that really the truth here? Considering how easy it was to fall out of favour, I wouldn’t say that Ghardin looks like the kind of man to care for anyone. I remember the story Rien told me about his mother, how she was Ghardin’s most beloved sister and how he was sorry when she died… An unpleasant feeling rises inside me. What if everything is not how Derrien thinks it is.
Of course, Ghardin would keep him alive. Dragon is a perfect weapon against anyone. And a loyal dragon is priceless. What if he was just using Rien this whole time?
I jump to my feet, not being able to sit anymore. Thoughts are flooding my mind. Of course, these are all just ideas. I have no proof. And if I am absolutely honest, I hope it’s not true. I hope that I am mistaken and Emperor Ghardin is actually a loving uncle to Rien, who would always support and forgive him and who would never hurt him…
But when Rien is not back after 7 days, I lose my hope…