The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride
Chapter 52

HERA

The castle itself is wide awake by the time I leave the passage that connects my tower with the rest of the building.

All the duties and activities of the day have begun as early as the 4th bell and while it is nowhere as noisy as it will be by the time the sun is high in the sky, the passages are already busy and I can hear the sounds of everyone going about their business for the day. As usual, most of the castle's servants pass by me without as much as a glance in my direction. Moving past me with no regard or with so much speed that I keep having to jump and slide out of the way to avoid having them run into me.

And they would, with almost no hesitation.

I sigh.

At least no one has said anything to me today...yet.

Must be too early for open hostility I presume which, though I hate to admit it, is something I am grateful for.

Because with the state I am in at the moment, I do not think I can stomach any of their mocking looks or whispered comments without bursting into tears.

Henette has told me to report them to the king or at least to the chief steward who surprisingly, is among the only ones besides Garwith and Henette, who does not seem to so thoroughly dislike me.

But what good would that do besides making them hate me more?

It would only make me seem like some spoilt pampered princess who is unable to handle anything on her own.

But I must admit that being the butt of their cruel jokes and barbed, thinly veiled insults is beginning to get to me.

It was easy to ignore them most times at first.

One because I have been too busy with my lessons and two, I did not come to the dragon realm to make friends.

But my continued silence only seems to have infuriated them even more and now they are getting more direct...more aggressive.

Just two days ago, a maid 'accidentally' threw a bucket of rotten cabbage water into the courtyard while I was standing by the door.

My dress had been completely ruined and the smell would not leave my hair for a day and a half.

I have not had breakfast or lunch or any meal really in the dining hall for the last four days but I figure with the king there today, no one would dare bring me spoilt, nearly rotten food like they have been doing whenever I mustered the courage to go down there. I know I am made from tougher stuff than they give me credit for but being so openly disliked, well it starts to take its toll after a while.

And no one seemed to be enjoying all this more than the dragonkin woman headed my way at this very moment.

I try to avoid looking directly at her incase making eye contact with a witch is enough to summon her.

But it is a narrow passage and Minth would never give up an opportunity to ruin my day.

She makes a beeline straight for me.

Her bearing, the smile on her face all coming together to make her the very posture of some beautiful, angelic being.

She smiles and curtsies, bowing her head to me.

And because Minth never bows to me, I know this is not going to end well.

I raise my chin to hide my apprehension.

"You may rise."

She does so, smiling sweetly the entire time.

"Beautiful morning isn't it your grace."

I smile back, just as sweet, just as fake. "If you say so."

"Oh but I do."

And then suddenly she leans in, bringing her face closer to mine.

I jerk back involuntarily, suspicion seeping out of every pore in my body.

"What are you doing?"

She frowns slightly, her eyes going wide.

"Oh you poor dear, would you look at the size of those bags under your eyes...oh you must be sleeping really terribly lately."

I know she is most likely lying but the effect of the dream comes back in full force and I replace myself raising my hand to my cheek before I can stop it.

She tuts gently, laying a hand on my arm.

Anyone within earshot would praise her for the concern in her voice.

"You should have your maid put a cold cloth over your eyes, helps me every time. Although...

She is smiling now, a little too wide, her voice dropping an entire octave lower. "...with the king tiring me out so much every night, I must admit I have been sleeping quite well...one might say almost like a baby in fact." Then she laughs. A beautiful, gentle sound.

But it does not reach her eyes; green and cold and calculating and just a little too bright.

Watching me to see if her words have had their intended effect.

And by all the gods they have.

The words feel like a slap to my face.

Sharp and stinging and sending my mind on a downward spiral to places I should not have to go.

Tiring her out....how exactly has he been doing that?

I have a pretty good idea how and it does nothing to help my mood.

I press my lips together, willingly myself to say nothing to her in response.

To walk past her and not give her the satisfaction of seeing how her words have affected me.

But my cheeks flush red in anger and my mouth forms the words, sending them tumbling out before I can stop it.

"The king has been spending the nights in your chambers?"

She covers her mouth with the tip of her fingers.

"Oh dear, it appears I have let the cat out of the bag. My apologizes your grace, I most certainly did not mean to upset you..."

She most certainly did.

"...I just figured you knew. Seeing how the king has not been sleeping in your room all this time. I mean..." and at this point the gleam in her eye is sharp and deadly and there is nothing kind about the way she laughs. "...where else did you expect he would be?"

The west tower.

At least that is what Henette had told me.

But now, the more that I think about it, the more stupid and unreal it sounds.

Why would the king stay in some other room, all alone when he could lie in the arms of his beautiful, willing, mistress?

I am not naïve enough to think that one night...one perfect, absolutely incredible night would be able to change everything.

He is still him and I am still me.

But goddamn it I thought it had counted for something, no matter how little.

Certainly people do not do what we did, do not make love the way we made love only to spend the next seven nights tiring out someone else.

Well, it only goes to show how much or rather how little I actually know.

There had even been times though, in the middle of night; times where I could have sworn he came to me, held me in his arms.

But he was never there when I awakened in the morning and I could never be sure if he truly had been there or if it had all been the product of a vivid imagination.

Nothing but a dream.

Now I know better.

He could not have come to me.

No....not when he was much too busy being with her instead.

I feel my body tense with hurt and anger.

I bury the hurt and embrace the anger.

Anger is easier...less gut wrenching, less painful.

He only slept with me in other to fulfill their stupid traditions; to avoid bringing bad luck to his realm and his people and once that was done, he had gone right back into her arms. Hades take them both.

I lift my chin, stand up straighter.

"Upset? Now why in all the seven realms would I be upset about a mistress doing her job?"

"I'd assumed...."

"Do not assume with me Minth. That would be a mistake and we would not want any of those now would we?"

Her eyes narrow but her smile ever fades.

It is quite a frightening combination.

One that raises the hairs on my arms.

"Ah...we most certainly would not your grace. Mistakes can be quite...deadly."

And with that cheery little statement she steps back, her gentle angelic smile back in place.

"This has been quite fun your highness. We should do this more often."

Hah! I'd much rather chew on broken glass.

"If you do not mind, may I ask where her grace is headed?"

I am tired of this.

Sick and tired of acting like all is well...like it does not drive me insane to keep standing here, smiling with Midas' mistress.

"As a matter of fact I do mind and you may not ask. Now let me pass."

From the look on her face, if I did not know better I would think she was actually hurt.

"Oh come on your majesty; please do not be like that. Jealousy is an ugly color on humans. Besides, I was only going to wish you a hearty breakfast." "Thank you." Curt and dismissive.

I attempt to step side her just as her maid whispers something in her ear.

Then suddenly she turns around and has the actual gall to link her arm in mine.

I am so shocked by the action that I do not say anything for a full second.

She smiles. "On second thought, I believe I shall join you. I am beginning to feel a bit peckish myself."

Peckish my foot.

She has probably just found out that the King is in the dining hall and now she wants to go there so she can rub their relationship in my face.

I grit my teeth and resist the urge to pull my arm away and throw her off least I end up looking like the crazy, jealous queen.

The door to the dining hall is open and as always he is the first person I see before we even get to the entrance.

And like a million times before, my heart skips a beat.

He is sitting at the head of the table, Leo by his side on the left.

The sleeves of his white shirt tunic are rolled up to his elbows revealing the sprinkling of dark hair on his forearms and the strings at the top of his shirt are undone, and I can see the top of his chest muscles, bulging and tensing with the movements of his arms. The chief Ryder says something and he smirks in response.

He looks relaxed and at ease... it is almost...almost human and seeing him like this quite frankly knocks the wind out of me for a few seconds.

Enough to make me forget my anger.

But before I can go in, Minth breaks away, shoving and pushing past me to go in first.

She floats across the room and as I watch, promptly places a wet, sloppy kiss on Midas cheek.

I can feel my eyes narrowing to slits.

That...darn...harpy.

"What in all the realms do you think you're doing?"

His voice is cold and menacing.

If I did not know better, if Minth had not told me all they had been up to, I would almost think he was disgusted by her touching him.

I exhale and walk in.

"How dare you..."

He stops mid-sentence, his eyes finally falling on me.

"Hera..." He looks surprised, corned even.

As if the one thing he has been trying so hard to run away from, has just walked into the room.

Well screw him.

I curtsey, refusing to meet his eyes. "Your highness."

"You may rise. Why are you here?"

I step side Minth, still refusing to look at either one of them.

"I believe the dining hall is where one comes to have breakfast my Lord."

He watches me quietly and I swear I hear him growl when I sit down next to Leo and not him.

"That is not your seat."

"It isn't?" I raise my head, fake surprise plastered all over my face.

"No...it is not."

I smile sweetly at him. "Well you see my Lord I would know that if you had bothered just once to eat in the same room as me." "Hera..."

Yes...definitely growling.

Leo pushes his chair back, gets up. "I believe the Lady Minth and I have some important matters to attend to."

"I don't..."

But Leo is already dragging her out of the room, leaving the king and I sitting in thick, charged silence.

"Come closer."

"Why?"

"Because I want you here."

"Are you absolutely certain? For all we know my sitting so close to you might have some untoward effect on your digestion for instance."

"Gods above Hera, just come here."

I sigh and get up, because I can hear the warning in his tone.

I sit on the chair on his right, shifting it just the tiniest bit away from him.

But he hooks his feet around the leg of the chair and with one smooth movement drags it across the floor and closer to him.

"You seem upset."

"How observant of you."

He narrows his eyes. "Are you...are you angry at me?"

The way he asks it, like the very notion of being angry at the dragon king is beyond absurd.

I clench my teeth and reach for a piece of bread, slathering it generously with warm butter even though I dislike the taste of butter on bread.

"Hera..."

I ignore him and reach for a cup.

He grabs my wrist. His grip firm and warm, sending tiny sparks all the way up my arm.

"Stop doing that."

"That...ignoring me."

I feign ignorance. "Stop doing what my Lord?"

"Oh, you mean like you have been doing to me the past seven days?"

He frowns. "I have not been ignoring you."

"Oh you haven't?"

"I've been...busy."

At least he has the decency to look away.

I laugh, harsh and bitter. "Oh trust me Minth told me all about how 'busy' the two of you have been."

He frowns again but then it disappears quickly...too quickly.

He leans in, one eyebrow raised. "Are you...jealous?"

"No."

"I think you are."

"Well you think wrong. I am not jealous and stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like...like you are hungry and I am food."

"Can't help it. You are f*****g breathtaking when you get mad and it drives me insane because I should be punishing you for your disrespect but all I can think about..."

His eyes roam every inch of my face and every inch below it too.

"...all I can think about is how badly I want to rip that dress off you and take you right here, right now."

Oh dear Zeus....

Am I sweating? Yes I think I'm sweating.

"Are you deliberately trying to distract me?"

His thumb traces over the sensitive, inner part of my wrist, right above my racing pulse.

"Is it working?"

Yes.

"You really need to learn to stop answering questions with more questions dragon king."

"Hmmm..." He mumbles distractedly.

And without taking his eyes off mine, lifts my hand to his mouth and places a gentle wet kiss on the inside of wrist and by the gods I feel it all the way to my toes.

He is pulling me closer, the kisses moving higher and higher up my hand.

My eyes are beginning to flutter close and I almost forgetting what it is that brought me here in the first place.

One more kiss and I'll lose my train of thoughts completely so I blurt it out before I can completely lose myself in him.

"I wish to leave the castle."

He freezes, my arm still in his. "What?"

I gently pull my arm back and repeat myself, quieter this time.

"I wish to leave the castle."

His eyes flash red and I already know what the answer will be before he even says it.