The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride
Chapter 117

MIDAS

The dragon king wonders if this is what it will feel like to go deaf.

Everything around you becoming almost deathly silent.

He is unable to to hear the cries and shrieks of the dying shades as they fall to the ground.

The sounds the swords make as they slice through skin and bone to maim and kill.

Everything else fades into the background.

Everything but the pounding of his own heart beat and the voice in his head.

He struggles to slow his breathing.

"What did you say?"

"Midas. Hermani has her. She says if you do not come right now, she is going to kill her."

"I did not open up my mind."

A pause.

"Does it matter?"

"Leo... I did not open up my mind. How are you able to mind link me?"

The quiet that follows will be one of the longest of the dragon king's life.

Who knew silence could be so painful?

"Leo what have you done?"

"Come to dragon temple now Midas. Time is running out."

The mind link drops and just as suddenly as it had disappeared, the noise and rancour of the battle returns. But it is distant.

Like it might be coming from a place far far away and he is somewhere different.

Somewhere under water and drowning.

A place where the only thing that matters are the words he has just heard.

"Come to the dragon temple or she dies."

"Your highness..."

What did this mean? She should be safe in the castle. Did they manage to take her somehow?

"...your highness"

And Leo...his best friend and right-hand...He would never...

Was it all some sort of trap?

"...king Midas!"

The firm hand on his shoulder like a fishers hook grabs unto him and pulls him back into reality.

"Your highness...is everything okay?"

Chest heaving, Midas looks around him, watching the last of the Shades fall beneath stormy skies to the swords of the dragon Ryders. A few manage to escape, fleeing into the Elder forest.

"Speak."

The Captain stands up straight.

"The battle is almost won but a few have turned tail into the forest. What will you have us do?"

The dragon king gazes out towards the weathered, ancient trees that have for time immemorial been a landmark of the dragon realm.

A place that over the years had somehow managed to become a twisted nightmare housing unspeakable horrors and standing in the center of his realm like a large blot of evil. "Come to dragon temple...or she dies."

"If we go after them and comb the forest, we might be able to..."

"Burn it down"

Barely audible but loud enough that the Captain stops.

"My king?"

Midas sheaths his sword and with a loud whistle calls for his horse.

The animal gallops towards him, stepping over the bloodied remains of shades and dragonkin soldiers alike.

"You heard me. Gather up your men and raze it all to the ground. No more hiding places. Not anymore."

"As you wish my King."

"And when it is done, ride out to Adarin and Radarth. Not a single one of those dark elves must escape." Come to the dragon temple...or she dies.

The captain frowns slightly.

"What about you my king?"

Midas swings his legs over the horse and turns it around with more force than is necessary.

"I am going to finish this once and for all."

"Shall I gather some men to..."

But Midas is already riding away.

If they have touched a single hair on her head then hades help him, they would be the ones needing men to defend them.

Every gallop send jolts of pain up his body.

He grits his teeth and wipes at the blood dripping into his eyes from a cut on his head.

"Gods be damned Er'gan you need to wake up right now!"

Again, the only thing he gets is a faint stirring.

Like an echo of the heat that would normally be rushing through his veins.

Er'gan the First is immortal.

And as long as their souls were bound together, dragon and dragon king, his powers made Midas immortal as well.

But now somehow, Hermani and her blasted dark magic had found a way to seperate them.

By sending Er'gan's magic to sleep, they had weakened it's powers.

And weakened Midas as well.

His extrasensory abilities...

His immortality.

If someone were to drive a sword through his heart right now, he could very well actually die.

It would be slow...but he would die eventually.

And yet not even knowing that scares him as much as knowing that she is being held hostage by forces too evil to imagine.

That he might lose her in this stupid war.

Gods above... if you can hear me... do not let them hurt her... please.

He jumps down from the horse before the animal even fully stops. The clouds over the dragon temple are darker than everywhere else.

They writhe and crackle with an aliveness that sets his teeth on edge.

Flashes of red and purple, like veins of blood streak through the heavy grey skies and the smell of smoke and black magic hangs thick over everything thing. He races up the steps to the yawning darkness of the temple's entrance.

Blinding pain shoots up his side from where a shade had sunken it's claws into his skin and he staggers slightly but he does not stop.

And the minute he is through the doors they swing shut.

Leaving him in stifled, dusty silence that is so sudden it is almost a shock.

The altar where he was wed stands in the distance.

The light from the arch of the two dragons usually bright and warming suddenly seems eerie.

His footsteps bounce off the far, moss covered walls so that it sounds like he is not alone and that each step he takes is followed by another behind him.

He can hear himself breathing loudly in the seemingly empty space as he swivels his head from side to side.

"Hera!!....Hera!!... Hermani I swear by all the gods if you've hurt her!...Hera!!"

But all that greets him is silence.

And then like a bolt of lightning he hears the voice in his mind.

A voice he has been calling to all day.

"Trap"

"Your highness."

Midas turns around to watch the man he called his right hand step out from behind a pillar and into the light.

"Leo."

"Given the circumstances I believe you would not mind if I called you Midas instead."

The dragon king narrows his eyes.

"Where is she?"

"Do you remember the manner in which my father died?"

Midas stills.

Because he remembers.

He always will.

Like every other kingdom and as with every other ruler, there would always those who were discontent.

Those who believed themselves capable of doing a better job,

And those who were ruled and driven by nothing more than sheer greed.

In Midas' case, it had been the latter.

A group of foolish mecenaries who believed they could plan a coup and take the throne for themselves.

They knew the king was immortal and so in their desperation to get information with which to plan their attacks, they connived and executed the kidnap of the chief Ryder and his son. Thinking to torture him for information about the king and how best to kill him.

But Leo's father would not breathe a word.

Not even when they beat him and broke his bones.

And so they turned to his son instead.

Said they would take out his eyes one after the other and kill him if his father did not give to them what they wanted.

But the chief Ryder simply shut his bloodied, swollen eyes and looked away

So to prove their point, they started to tear open the skin above Leo's eyes.

And perhaps they might have even succeeded if Midas, who had somehow found out the plan, did not show up when he did.

He tried to save them but in the resulting fight that ensued, the building where the traitors were hiding out was set ablaze.

The Chief Ryder died in the fire.

And his son Leo, was scarred for the rest of his life.

And now, as Midas watches him glare at him with eyes cold as ice, he realizes that that night, the boy who would grow to become his best friend and right-hand, had been scarred in more ways than one. Leo clenches his teeth.

"I asked you. Do you remember how my father died?"

"He died saving the kingdom."

"He died saving you!!"

"Leo..."

"Even my own father choose you over me. He was willing to give up his child, his only son before he gave up you."

"Leo."

The chief Ryder shakes his head and both men start to move at the same time.

Predators circling each other.

Steel grey against liquid gold.

"I have always lived in your shadow. I was never as important as you were...not even to the man who bore me. And I believed that I could live with it. Told myself that it was my fate, my lot in life. You are King after all." Midas eyes narrow.

"Leo. I understand your anger. But I will only ask you one last time. Where. Is. She?"

The Chief Ryder scoffs and draws his sword.

"You do not deserve her"

And then he attacks.

Midas slides out of the way drawing his swords at the same time.

"Leo. This is madness."

"Is it?"

The Chief Ryder swings at him again and Midas ducks under the sword, diving around and kicking him in the back of knee so that he staggers.

"Stop this. I do not want to hurt you.!"

Leo regains his balance and turns around to face him once more.

"Well that makes one of us."

Any other Ryder and even wounded and bruised, the fight would have been over in mere moments.

But Leo is second in command for a reason.

And Midas is injured in more places than he can count.

Their swords clash against each other, steel edges fighting for dominance.

Midas stares into the face of the dragonkin man who used to be his friend... his brother.

"What have they done to you?"

Leo stares back, grunting and straining.

"Nothing. They simply showed me the truth!"

He pushes Midas back and knocks the King's sword to the ground.

"Leo.."

But the Chief Ryder is done listening.

Grinning, he swings at the king again but Midas is quicker and he steps out of the way in time.

Leo, who had swung with so much force ends up spinning around and losing his balance.

Midas grabs him and forces his sword arm behind his back.

Bending it in an excruciating manner and forcing him to drop his sword.

Then he wraps his free arm around the Chief Ryder's neck until he starts to turn blue.

Leo grabs at the arm around his neck but it is no use. Midas is stronger.

He coughs and chokes.

"You always were faster than I ever was."

"It does not have to be this way."

"Yes it does."

Midas grunts. His voice strained with hurt and confusion.

"Why now, all this years I trusted you. You know everything about me, you could have gotten even whenever you wanted. So why now?"

"I love her"

Midas' grip slackens. "What?"

He realizes his mistake but it is too late.

Leo takes advantage of the distraction.

He drives his elbow backwards into Midas' wound with enough force to crack the ribs of a lesser man.

A blow that dragonkin or not Midas feels through every part of his body.

Leo slips out of the choke hold and spins around to push Midas way from him.

Midas stumbles forward then turns back around to face him.

Leo coughs and spit to the side.

"I love her and I have had to sit back and watch you hurt her over and over and yet...yet she still chose you. Once again."

"Leo why did you not..."

The dragon king falls to one knee as white hot pain shoots up his thigh.

It is a pain he has felt before and he knows she is here even before she appears from behind the dragon arch.

He clenches his teeth to stop from screaming out in pain.

"Hermani."

She giggles as she walks down the steps of the altar and towards them, finger outstretched.

Twisting this way and that way.

"Oh what a wonderful show it is all been. I almost hate to have to interrupt."

"You evil... arrgh!"

She twists her finger again and stars explode behind Midas' eyes.

She stops besides Leo.

Midas snarls up at her and attempts to get up by the pain drives him back down.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance."

She laughs.

"Yes. You really should have. But instead you let some stupid human girl change you."

"I swear to all the gods Hermani if you hurt her I will..."

"You will what...bite me?"

The dark elves queen pouts softly.

"Tsk....tsk...tsk....To be honest dragon king, you have become quite the bore and I am a little disappointed in you."

Still twisting her finger and using pain to keep him immobile, she squats in front of him and tucks his hair behind his ears.

"You used to be so strong and ruthless. Your enemies feared you because they knew how blood thirsty you were and that you would severe their heads from their bodies without blinking an eye. Now look at you." Midas turns away from her.

"What do you want Hermani?"

"What do I want? Well it's simple really...give us the key to unlocking the portal and freeing Azarath"

"You already know how to open portals."

Her voice and manner changes so suddenly that Midas is almost taken aback.

"Oh do not play stupid with me Midas."

Azarath had been a god.

An extremely powerful one at that.

To keep him locked up, the Elder gods knew they could not just cast him down like they did with the shades and hope he stayed down there.

So they took away his true form.

And hide it the key somewhere in the dragon realm.

"Give us the key and maybe we won't slaughter every single one of your miserable people.

Midas stares up at her. His eyes still and unblinking.

And then he spits at her feet.

"Over my dead body."

Her smile returns and her voice becomes sweet again. "We had a feeling you might say that didn't we Leo?"

The Chief Ryder says nothing but Hermani continues anyway.

"We knew you would be uncooperative which is fine. Because your right hand already brought me the key. Leo?"

"Actually..."

The sword moves so fast all that is visible is an arch of sweeping light.

Hermani gasps and stumbles backward, her hands clutching her middle. Midas stares up at him and Leo bows his head.

"My apologies your grace. She can listen to mind links. It had to be real."

The Chief Ryder reaches out to help but Midas slaps his hand away and gets up himself, grimacing at the pain.

"If it was all a ruse, Did you really have to hit me so hard?"

Leo grins and tosses Midas one of his swords.

Hermani stares at the Chief Ryder. Her voice tiny and small....almost like one who is heartbroken.

"Well, that part was real"

"You played us?"

Leo shrugs.

"If we're being honest here you played yourself. To think I would betray my only family because you brought your foolish whispers into my mind."

Dark blood appears between her fingers, running over hand and dripping to the earthen floor below.

She gasps again...

And again...

And again...

And then she starts to laugh.

Loud and hard until tears begin to roll down her cheeks.

Leo and Midas glance at each other and back at her.

She wipes at the corner of her eyes. "Oh my...I take it back. Definitely not boring."

She lets go of her stomach and where there should be blood and a gaping wound..

There is nothing.