The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

MIRA

I hug him and we just stand like that for a while… His pain is my pain and I want to share it. All of it..

“I am so sorry, Rien!” I say, trying to hold back tears, “I so hoped that you will be able to see him! That you would find some real family here…”

“You are all the family I really need, Mira,” he breathes into my hair, “But having said that – I did find some relatives in Agnegard!”

“Really?” I look up at him, suddenly excited again.

“My grandfather is still alive,” he smiles, “And also my aunt.”

“This is amazing!” I exclaim. And he k****s my nose, looking at me as if I am a child who just received candy.

“Wait until you know who they are!” he chuckles and my excitement dies down.

“And now you are simply scaring me! Who are they?” I raise my brow.

“The Dragon King and his daughter,” he says and I gasp.

“Oh, my! You are from royal families on both ends!”, I suddenly feel uncomfortable, “Way to give your fiancée an inferiority complex! Am I really worthy of such honour and…”

He covers my lips in his in a long and possessive k**s. And when he breaks it he smirks, “Sometimes you talk too much, little mage! There is no way you are ever getting out of this engagement, so don’t even think of things like this! You are mine forever. Don’t even start this who is worthy of who nonsense. You are my soulmate and there will be no other.”

“Good,” I bury my head in his chest, “And now tell me everything!”

He turns me around and points to the silver statue, “Mira, let me introduce you to my father, Demir the Daring.”

“Daring?”I raise my brow, “So, that trait of yours runs in the family then?”

“Naughty little mage,” he chuckles, pulling me tighter into his arms, “According to my grandfather I have nothing on this guy. He was simply reckless. A great warrior and a very strong dragon. But his personality failed him.”

“How did he die?” I ask.

“I don’t know yet,” Rien sighs, “The king promised that he will tell me when we see each other next. He also wants to see you. I told him that you are my soulmate.”

“And how did he react to that?” I bite my l*p really afraid to hear the answer.

“He was happy to know that I found some happiness out there,” he chuckles, “It just so happens that since dragons don’t leave Agnegard anymore they rarely meet their soulmates or create new families. You probably noticed that they almost don’t have children here.”

“Can’t they mingle with humans and gerdians a bit?” I turn to him and brush my palm over his cheek, “The last time they did they created you. And our world so needs more of you!”

“I am afraid I am one of kind, little mage,” he smirks but then sighs, “Also, I am just a half-breed for them. Not a pure dragon…”

“What do they know!” I roll my eyes, “They have been sitting here and doing nothing for centuries!”

“They say that they’ve been preserving their kind…”

“Well, they did. But there is a limit to everything. I am not sure that life without a future, life without love is worth living. Some of them probably have mates, but what about the others? Imagine if you and I never met and we had to live for centuries! It would be one incredibly boring life! I wouldn’t want it…”

“Neither would I,” he agrees with me.

We come back to our little house together and the guards are still at the entrance, bowing with respect as soon as we arrive. So, they probably know already who Rien is.

“The King will prepare new chambers for us in his palace tomorrow,” my dragon says when I push him to the sofa. There are only two bedrooms here and one is occupied with the boys while Isidore sleeps in the other one. And I don’t want to bother either of them. So Derrien lies on the sofa first and I snuggle into his arms.

“Are you happy that you are here?” I ask him before we drift off to sleep.

“I am happy that I am here with you,” he replies…

In the morning two girls bring us food, they both look startled when they realize that their newfound prince is sleeping on a sofa instead of a normal bed and look either at him or me with curiosity. Yep, it’s obvious that they don’t have too many new people in here. And when Rick and Dereck walk out of their room, both in new white shirts in the latest dragon fashion (or who knows, maybe they were stuck with that as well), the girls start giggling and whispering, eyeing them both.

“Ladies!” Rick shines his pearly whites, “What a beautiful morning that is! Especially now that you have lightened up our day by your presence.”

Ugh. I can’t believe anyone buys that! But the two dragonesses seem very pleased with sudden attention.

“Thank you!” Rien measures them with his gaze that says “it’s time for you to leave!” and they disappear within seconds.

“So, what is the news?” Dereck sits at our little table and this is when Isidore walks out of her room, wearing the simple white dress we’ve been given yesterday.

“Morning!” she says awkwardly while playing with her long braid. And I notice how Dereck’s mouth is still opened. I really want to c***k a joke but Rien pinches me under the table and I bite my tongue.

“Seriously, Der,” Rick snorts, “If you are not going to do anything about it then I might as well have to!”

A kick of the elbow and Rick is coughing vigorously and laughing at the same time. Dereck is all red and Isidore has no idea what is this all about.

During breakfast we share all the news with our team and after we are off to explore Agnegard. Although I am not sure who is really the explorer here. As wherever we go, people are looking at us like we are something extremely rare and peculiar.

“They really don’t have too many guests here,” Rick chuckles, wincing at new girls at the same time.

“You do realize that they are all older than your grandparents, right?” Isidore snorts.

“As long as they don’t look like them…” he waves to yet another dragoness and the rest of us rolls our eyes simultaneously.

The more we walk down the streets the more we feel the atmosphere of Agnegard. It seems like the people who live here have everything. There is definitely no poverty among the dragons, they are all dressed well, everybody wears expensive jewellery, no one looks hungry or homeless. The city is not just clean, it’s sparkling. Such an idyllic world they have here!

In some sense, I start to understand why they want to live separately from the gerdians, akyrians, and the rest of the world. There is no way we could live in such peace and prosperity for a long time…

And then we arrived at the palace. It was so different from the two palaces I’ve seen before. Milky white glassy walls were decorated with portraits in gold and precious gems. Everything around us was an expensive work of art. For a moment it even seemed to me that every jewel in the world ended up here.

“Dragons love their jewels. Especially rare ones,” Rien explains, pulling me closer, “That’s why my heart chose you.”

“Awww,” Isidore sighs, “You two are two sweet for your own good!”

Two doors at the top of a while staircase open and I have a deja vu as I see Agnes with two guards standing on top of it.

“The rest of you will enjoy a little lunch in the palace garden as Derrien and Mira will spend time with me and my father,” the dragoness says emotionlessly and I gulp.

I have never even bothered to ask Rien who his aunt is. And now I have a very bad feeling.

“Come nephew,” she says without even smiling and walks away as I look at my fiancé questioningly.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Oh, yes,” he chuckles, “Agnes is the daughter of the king and my aunt. She is also the next heiress of the dragon throne and the one who we should persuade to help us.”

Chaos!