The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride
Chapter 66

HERA

It started with the same premonition as the last time.

I was once again in that thatch hut, dressed in riding clothes and a cape around my neck, shivering and cold and afraid.

Once more, I had watched the tall white figure, with the skinny arms and dark hood, standing with their hand hovering above the moaning figure on the bed.

The only difference was that this time, the picture had appeared to be clearer, less hazy.

And as a result, I had recognized the standing figure.

Not who it was, more like what it was.

The skin of their arm was white, like sun bleached bone and covered in runes and sigils of shimmering jade and amber, markings that danced and writhed beneath the figure's skin as if with a life of their own. Exactly like the creatures that had attacked us back in the Elder forest.

The same malevolence that I had felt surrounded by those ancient, gnarled trees had also been all over the hut, and even in the dream, I could smell the same stench, like rotten flesh laced with an undercurrent of pure evil. The longer I had looked on, the surer of myself I had become.

The creature was definitely a dark elf and whatever he was doing to the moaning person laying on the bed felt wrong.

Terribly wrong.

And once again, as I looked on, unable to move, the moaning had stopped, leaving a deadly silence in its wake.

But rather than wake up as I had done the last time, the dream seemed to fold in on itself.

The images distorting and morphing, the colors beginning to bend into each other, spiraling and twisting until a new image appeared.

I had recognized it immediately.

I was back in the field from my first premonition, the one I had when I was cramped up in the back of that hay cart, attempting to flee the castle.

The one with Midas.

And as before, he was standing far away from me, smiling and handsome.

Utterly and completely unaware of the rolling, crackling storm darkening the skies and hanging above his head, ignorant of the cloud of doom swirling behind him.

The feeling of evil from the hut had followed me here, to this new place.

Except it had become stronger, much stronger.

I had tried to scream, to run to him but once again I found myself unable to move.

The cloud had grown into a swelling, expanding darkness that reached out from behind to wrap its tendrils around him, and just before it dragged him in, I thought I saw a face, hidden in the swirling mass of black ink but I could not be sure. All I had been able to do the entire time, was stand, hands hanging helplessly by my sides as tears ran down my cheeks and fear turned my blood to ice.

That is until I heard him say my name.

Over and over again, quiet whispers in the real world.

Like a rope tossed out to a man at sea.

I grabbed unto it, holding on, the only thing keeping me from drowning in the darkness and the fear and the building pressure in my head, letting it pull me out of my nightmares and back into reality.

A reality that had me wrapped up in the safety of his arms.

I could feel his hands, large and callused stroking my hair, pulling me closer into the warmth of his body

But I had not woken up, not in the true sense of the word.

So it was not long before I drifted off once more.

But I had no dreams again, and had slept peacefully and soundly until this morning when I awoke to the sound of the bell ringing happily.

Opening my eyes to a new day and discovering that once again, I have woken up alone.

I sigh, not even bothering to hide my disappointment.

After last night I had thought, hoped even that perhaps things would be different.

I shake my head

You never learn do you Hera?

A knock at the door and a timid, sorry looking Henette enters.

A curtsy is quickly followed by a bow, while refusing to meet my eyes the entire time. "Your Grace."

I toss away my covers and swing my feet over the bed. "Henette."

She is nervous, even more so than is usual, wringing her hands and twisting her fingers. "My queen...Hera, about yesterday, I...."

The words die in her throat when I throw my arms around her.

She stiffens and her eyes swell to become the size of dinner plates.

"Your highness!"

I pull away before she can manage to give herself a heart attack but still hold her at arm's length, my hands on her shoulders.

"There is no need to apologize. You were merely following orders."

She hiccups. "Be that as it may my queen, this is highly inappropriate. I am but a lowly maid and you are..."

"Your friend Henette. And I would like to think you are mine as well."

"Rules and social distinctions are there for a reason your grace."

"Pish posh Henette." I grin at her. "...besides, when have you ever known me to follow the rules?"

She shakes her head but I see the tiny smile she tries to hide.

I take my bath quickly.

Telling myself that I am hungry and eager to eat and that it is not the hopes of seeing him at breakfast that is fueling my speed and chasing me out of the bathtub sooner than I usually would. Henette helps me dress in the clothes she has set out for me and I absentmindedly put them on.

It is a different style from the gowns she usually decks me in but I am not paying attention. My mind is elsewhere

Dreams and premonitions aside, last night had been...easy.

It is the only word that seems to fit.

The words I had said out loud, admitting my less than conventional dreams and the role I had played in my family's death, I did not think I could do that without completely falling apart.

Yet I had done it and he had not called me crazy for saying I had dreams or visions of the future.

He had not looked at me with pity or thought that I was merely fishing for attention.

Instead he had simply held me and listened.

And when I had finally drifted off to sleep in his arms, my head against his chest, listening to the dragon king's heart beat out a steady rhythm, it had felt like a heavy weight had finally been taken off my shoulders. Somehow it had felt more intimate, more binding than even the times when we had made love.

The guilt is not gone. Not entirely.

But the crushing weight I had carried for so long finally seems to have let up.

At least for now.

I am not naïïve enough to think that everything is all of a sudden now fine and dandy.

He still hurt my people and my realm irreparably and while my weight might be somewhat abated, I have a feeling his is still very much there.

And before I can completely let go, I need to know why he did it.

Why he hates humans enough to slaughter us without batting an eyelash.

But even knowing this does not dampen the anticipation pooling in my belly at seeing him again.

I must be losing my mind.

Common sense dictates that I should stay away from the man who murdered my family not run towards him.

But then again, listening to the voice of reason is not exactly my strongest quality.

If Henette notices the tiny smile on my lips or the way my cheeks have turned an obvious shade of pink, she says nothing.

I go to sit in front of the mirror so that Henette, who insists on braiding my hair, can have her way but then I see my reflection, the cape tied around my neck and my heart stops.

My mouth has gone dry and I can feel my blood turning to ice in my veins.

Nothing but a dream...nothing but a dream....

I chant the words over and over in my head, knowing the entire time that I am lying to myself.

Because I have seen these clothes before.

Have seen myself wearing them.

They are the clothes from my premonition.

The one with the thatch hut and the dark elf and the moaning figure who I am suddenly certain is dead.

Goosebumps break out all over my arm and I resist the urge to scream, to tear off the clothes and the scrub their scent from my skin.

Nothing but a dream.

And then the room falls away.

I am still wearing the clothes, can still feel the purple velvet cape around my neck but I am no longer standing, I am kneeling in the dirt.

In the dirt in front of a hut made of thatch and mud and windows covered in animal skin.

The hut from my dreams.

My cheeks are wet, salty liquid running down into the corners of my mouth and dripping...one, two... falling through space to land on the face of the man cradled in my arms. My mouth opens in a wordless scream and suddenly I am back.

Standing in my room, unable to look away from other Hera who stared back at me from the ornate mirror with her eyes wide open in fear, her face completely drained of color. "H...Henette?"

She appears beside my reflection, frowning at the shaky tone of my voice and freezing when she sees how white I am.

"My qu...Hera, are you okay?"

"Where is the king?"

"The king your grace?"

"Yes, Henette the king. Where is he?!!"

I stop, lowering my voice when I see the alarm and fright on her face. "Henette please..."

My voice cracks as the image burned into my brain fills my mind's eye.

The dragon king cradled in my arms, eyes closed, unmoving.

I try to stop my hands from shaking but they won't stop. "The king Henette...tell me where he is"

She points behind her, towards the window and I run to it.

Warm sunlight bathes my skin and a not so gentle breeze plasters my hair against my face, obstructing my view.

I push it angrily out of the way, eyes rapidly scanning the busy courtyard below.

There he is.

Standing with Leo and a couple of his Ryders.

He is dressed in his armor, his two swords strapped confidently behind his back; handsome and breathtaking and incredibly dangerous. "Midas..."

A whisper...my throat is closed, refusing to obey me.

Being immortal means he will not age or die without cause.

But he can be killed and If he mounts that horse and leaves this castle, I will never see him again.

And for all my talk of revenge, it is the very last thing I want.

So I suck in as much air as my lungs can handle, lean out of the window as far as my body will allow and scream his name until my throat is raw and bleeding.