The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

MIRA

The k**s is long and overwhelming. For a second there I try to push him away, but then something inside of me decides not to… As if he just read my mind, he squeezes me even tighter in his arms. When he lets go of me, because, let’s be honest, we both need to breathe, I almost fall to the floor. Why the heavens do I feel so dizzy every time?

He looks at my shuddering frame and touches his own lips in frustration while I step away. However, in just a second, he moves firmly in my direction and by the look in his eyes, I know exactly what he is thinking.

“Please, help Fawn!”, I say the first thing that comes to my mind stretching my hands before me.

He stops and sparks of dark magic start to dance madly in his eyes.

“Is that why you responded to my k**s just now?”, his voice is lower than usual and it makes me shrug, “To ask me for something?”

“Of course not!”, I say, appalled, and don’t even notice when he sweeps me off my feet and starts walking to the bedroom.

“Then prove it!” he smirks and throws me onto the bed.

“Excuse me!”, I gasp and start crawling away from him, “I don’t have to prove anything! And definitely not in a way that you are implying!”

“Uh-huh”, he nods sarcastically while he is on top of me already and I feel his hand sliding up my leg, lifting up my silky dress and creating more sensations than I want to feel right now. This is so strange… I breathe faster and somehow it feels that I need more air…

“Please, stop!”, I whisper, but he is already too busy kissing my neck as his hand brushes my thigh. Oh, Gods!

“Mira”, he breathes into my ear and bites my earlobe, “Somehow I feel that you don’t really want me to stop…”

“I-I do”, I squeak when I feel him touching the ties of my underwear…

“It’s very provocative, Mira,” he chuckles into my breast, “Who do you wear these for?”

“I wear these because someone destroyed all the other undergarments that I had!”, I retort, breathing heavily, “And something tells me that it was you!”

“Yeah, it was me”, Derrien’s hand suddenly leaves my thighs and I feel him trying to undo my dress’s fastening at my back.

“Admitting so easily?”

“I’ve promised not to lie, haven’t I?”, he smirks, “f**k, why is this so complicated?”

“Derrien,” I say, but he doesn’t react, still struggling with the buttons.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“To chaos with this dress”, his eyes shine so brightly with magic that it doesn’t promise me anything good. I remember far too well how he turns clothes to ashes in seconds!

“Wait”, I put my hand on his cheek and brush it softly, he looks at me in surprise and the magic is gone, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“What?”, he asks, almost in a daze.

“That we have work to do. Isn’t it time for us to go on that trip to Silver Mountains Chain, isn’t it?”, I ask bluntly and quickly and for a second there he just stares at me. Then he closes his eyes and puts his head on my shoulder sighing heavily.

“Did anyone ever told you, Mira, that you are a mood-killer?”, he g****s.

“Actually, yes”, I admit, “Once at the Academy there was supposed to be a…”

His lips cover mine quickly and greedily, taking my breath away literary and metaphorically. When he pulls away and sits up, I don’t know what to say.

“It’s going to be a very interesting trip, Mira. Be ready in one hour. We meet at the back door,” he says and flames of dark magic consume him. I lift myself up to make sure I am alone in my room and then fall back to the bed. Just what am I doing?! Have I fallen for him? Why would I let him do so much to me? Am I crazy? And just what did he mean by saying that the trip is going to be interesting?

The trip. This is the most important! Yes, that’s what I should be thinking about and nothing else! I am helping to find Bella’s murderer!

I stand up and run to the wardrobe, finding the warmest clothes and shoes. The Silver Mountain Chain is covered with snow, I’d better be prepared. I pick a dark green dress with golden embroidery and a hood attached to it – one of my own. Then I remember that Derrien gifted me a cloak trimmed with fur and take that as well. I also pack another dress and some necessities with me – just in case – and put on my favourite dark leather combat boots. Just because they are comfortable and gods know how much walking we’ll have to do there.

A knock on the door disturbs my train of thought. I have told the girls that I will be on a date with Derrien, so none of them should come for a visit.

“Hello, Mira”, Tristan smiles softly with corners of his lips, “May we speak? Please?”

“Uhm… I am a bit in a hurry,” I say, surprised. He is the last person I expected to see.

“It’s not a long conversation”, he sighs, “I wouldn’t take much of your time…”

“Alright, come in”, I nod.

“Mira, I think you are forgetting about the barrier in your room,” he says, confused.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. It allows people that I want to see inside in. Come in”, I confess. Tristan carefully touches the barrier and immediately takes it away as if in pain. I notice burns on his fingers.

“Oh, gods!”, I scream and run out to him to the hallway.

“Either that thing is broken or you don’t really want to see me inside,” he smiles sadly and puts his hand down. I notice that the engagement bracelet is still on it. But choose not to comment at this time.

“I swear to gods, just yesterday my friends walked in freely here”, I say quietly.

“It’s alright, Mira, I guess lord Derwood doesn’t want any men inside your chambers,” he says and does not look me in the eye, “I should have done the same when I had the chance…”

I look up at him in surprise, “What do you mean, Tristan?”

“I should have married you last year…”, he says with bitterness in his voice, “Then you wouldn’t be here. You would be safe and in my castle… But I… I thought you were too young… And you were so happy to be at the Academy so that I wanted to give you another year… I thought that you would always be there, you’ve been by my side for so long… I was sure it would never end…”

I feel a prick of pain in my chest. He has never spoken to me like that… I never knew what was on his mind…

“Mira, when I found out that you received the Dark mark…”, he continues, “It was the worst day of my life. The King gave me the list of names and told me to be strong… for the Kingdom… Only I didn’t care about the Kingdom or anything else at that moment. I wanted to go to the Academy and take you away! Marry you, at last, hide you in my castle from anyone! But the King… He ordered me not to. I already knew for a while before that I would be supervising the Dark Selection… And my task is to keep our countries away from war… I can’t take you back, Mira… It would be treason…”

“I understand”, I say quietly, “Ragnard family are considered the right hand of King Bendor of Akyria. Duty before everything is your family motto… I… I understand… We weren’t a real couple anyway, I didn’t even know you were serious about marrying me in the first place, so no hard feeli…”

I don’t get to finish my sentence as Tristan pulls me by my waist and k****s me for the first time ever… I gasp in shock and his tongue enters my mouth greedily and madly. It’s like he is crazy and out of control. And the Tristan I know is always in control… I try to push him away, but he just grabs my arms and pulls me even closer…

“You are going to die for this, Sapphire Knight!”, Derrien’s voice sounds like thunder…