The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride
Chapter 43

MIDAS

She made him promise.

The day before they made the journey from which they would never return, she had taken it off her neck, pressed the pendant into his hand and made him promise.

It had been a gift from his father on the day of their binding ceremony and she wanted him to do the same.

So she made him promise that he would give it to whoever would sit beside him on dragon throne.

He had not wanted to take it.

He did not see the point.

She could give it to his bride herself if it was so important to her.

Besides he had not liked the way she spoke; like she would not be here with him when the time finally came.

If only he knew.

Midas sighs and pushes the feelings away before they can wrap themselves around him and bury their sharp, guilt tipped, venomous thorns deep into the flesh of his nearly non-existent heart. Thinking about that time would only making him angry and he does not want to make the day any more sour than it already is.

It is his binding ceremony after all.

He lets out a few curse words and walks out of the chambers he has now made his own, slamming the doors so hard, the sound echoes and travels through the walls of the entire west tower.

He stalks down the steps and towards the entrance of the suddenly very busy castle grateful it is the castle steward and not he who has to make sense of all the chaos.

He had wanted to dress up in his full armor.

The one with the terrifying dragon helmet he wore for battle.

But Leo would not allow him, not even when he promised to leave the helmet at home.

Something about bad taste and the proper attire for what was to be a wedding not war.

Which Midas had hardly found fair especially since the chief Ryder in question was going to be dressed fully in his own armor.

But his growling protest fell on deaf ears and the chief Ryder and the steward had ganged up on him to force him into long pants below a short length velvet tunic with long sleeves and an open round neckline designed with intricate gold embroidery. Shiny plates of thin, gold armor sat on his shoulders and as cuffs wrapped around his wrists.

But he had drawn the line when they pointed at the two swords now confidently strapped to his back.

His page had tried to take them away.

Midas had nearly bitten his head off.

He should be happy, or at the very least satisfied.

Dragon Ryders could go their entire lives not replaceing their tethers, especially if they were in other realms and yet, here he is about to marry his.

So maybe the circumstances surrounding their meeting had been less than ideal but he could have learned to live with it.

If only she was not a part of the realm that had taken away the only people he has ever loved.

The crown on his head glistens in the sunlight as he steps out of the castle.

The grounds are saturated in a flurry of activities.

There are dragonkin everywhere.

Readying carriages and horses, instructions and questions being shouted from one end to another as the castle's many servants run all over the courtyard carting and carrying barrels and sacks of food, dragging squealing animals about to lay down their lives for an impromptu ceremony Midas would rather not have at all.

Even though the announcement had been sudden, in their faces is reflected a joy and excitement Midas is unable to feel.

Because human or not, his people did not think this day would ever come.

And quite frankly, neither did he.

Because who in their right mind would want to be bound to a king who had so much blood on his hands.

"Your steed is ready your highness."

Unlike the bride, the king and his entourage would ride to the temple on horses, decked and decorated for the ceremony.

He nods at the bowing servant. "And the queen...?"

"The maids are with her at the moment. But I believe the chief Ryder has gone to fetch her."

He grunts his satisfaction with the news.

"Have the guards watch her carriage carefully, two of them riding on either side at all times. And tell them that if for any reason the queen does not make it to the temple, they might as well fall on their own swords." "Yes my King."

"Oh and No matter what she says, do not let her out of that carriage until we get to the temple."

No doubt his Ryders would think he is doing this for her protection and maybe that is partly true.

But there is another reason too.

He does not trust her, plain and simple.

She is cunning and crafty and insanely determined and it f*****g turns him on almost as much as it annoys him.

But if she should try to escape again, Midas will not hold back from teaching her a very overdue lesson in obedience.

Feet in the stirrup, he hoists himself up to mount the decorated horse.

Taking the reins from the servant, he resists the urge to look up at her window and without a moment's hesitation, sends his horse on a steady canter out the castle's gates, his entourage of Ryders trailing behind him. The red and gold of the dragon realm's flags flutter in the wind behind him as they ride at a steady pace towards the capital.

And the entire time, he can only think of her.

Did she hate that this was happening as much as he did?

Well, considering what he had done to her realm, the answer to that is most certainly yes.

His chest tightens and he struggles to breathe the pressure away.

But they deserved it. They did.

Why should he feel sorry when he has nothing to feel sorry for?

By the gods even when she is absent she still manages to mess with his head.

The streets of the capital are lined to bursting with dragonkin.

Almost every inhabitant of the 5th realm's capital is standing in the streets, waiting to watch the wedding procession, children running about in excitement and anticipation of an event they may not even fully understand. They cheer when he and his Ryders pass through the cobbled streets but Midas knows they are not lining up to see him, not really.

It is her they are most eager to see.

The human bride who has somehow managed to capture the dragon king's heart.

They could not be more wrong.

There is no denying that even against his wishes she has somehow managed to sink her talons deep into the recesses of his mind but Midas barely has any heart left to be captured.

Most of it had shriveled and withered away the same day he found out his parents were killed.

And whatever little of it is left, he sure as Hades is not about to gift it to the one responsible for breaking it apart in the first place.

The dragon temple looms large and imposing a short distance from the capital's west gate.

It is a magnificent structure made entirely of dark, polished, obsidian stone.

A long set of steps lead up to four gigantic pillars covered in creeping greenery and on which burn blue flames that are never extinguished.

In the middle of the pillars is the temple itself and on the very top sits a fierce, horned dragon made of pure stone, teeth bared and claws extended, its life like appearance and startling realistic snarl is enough to strike fear into the heart of all who see it.

No one knows how long the dragon temple has been in existence, or even how it came to be, but spectacular and ominous, it is the symbol and home of the Fire gods who give the 5th realm life and grant its dragons their powers.

Er'gan, as the very first dragon to ever exist is the physical embodiment of their vast power and as always, the closer they come to the temple, the stronger and more present the dragon inside of Midas became.

He can feel his veins pulsating with the ancient song of the gods who ruled over them, can feel their heat beneath his skin radiating out from his centre to every part of his limbs.

The line of dragonkin extends all the way from the capital to the temple's very doors and Midas stops his horse a few paces from the feet of the temple.

As he dismounts, a herald blows the horn and every dragonkin in sight bows.

The three kingmakers are standing at the top of the steps that lead to the temple's arched doors and he inclines his head at them.

He takes his place at the feet of the steps to await the one to whom he is about to bound to for all of eternity.

A sharp pain in the region of his chest spreads out as a chill to the tip of his fingers.

His dragon feels it too.

No...not for all of eternity.

Because Midas is immortal and she is not, he is going to watch time take its toll on her.

While he stays the same year after year, he is going to be forced to watch his tether grow old and die.

And when she did, the tether bond would nearly tear him apart.

Er'gan as well.

It is not an experience he is looking forward to.

But when her carriage finally arrives and Midas sees her, not even that matters.

He feels it in the top of his stomach, a feeling so strong and sudden in its intensity, it is almost like a physical blow.

Everything else fades into the background until there is only her.

Gods above...

How was it possible for something to look so delicately breathtaking?

Even across that distance, her eyes search the crowd till they meet his and hold.

She reminds him of the hurricanes he reads about in his texts.

Turning everything in his life on its head and causing a wide wake of destruction in her path yet he had never seen a more apt definition of a natural wonder. Only one thing echoes in his mind over and over again as his chief Ryder leads her towards him.

The voice of the dragon and the dragon king blending into one.

Mine...mine...

"Mine."

Even though she is trying her best to hide it, He can sense her nervousness, can smell the uncertainty in her steps.

Her hand is placed in his and she looks up at him.

The effect she has on him is even stronger up close when he can see the brilliance of her eyes and the blush in her cheeks. "Dragon King..." She whispers.

"Slave..." He whispers back.

She scowls at him and rolls her eyes but by the time they start up the steps, her shaking has stopped completely.

And the satisfaction Midas feels at being able to do that is almost worth everything else.

Almost.