The Dragon King’s Substitute Bride
Chapter 87

MIDAS

His eyes open slowly.

Something is wrong.

And it is not just that he had promised her he would come to her and instead had ended up breaking that promise.

He gets up from where he had fallen asleep sitting up in his study.

The feeling that something is wrong is what had woken him up and it refuses to go away.

Hera.

He does not bother with walking.

One push and the large windows in his study fly open.

He has been lending Er'gan's wings more often in the past few days.

What was one more time?

He flies up to her window.

It is open and while it is useful for him at the moment, he makes a mental note to tell her that it is unsafe.

He flies in through the window and lands silently in the middle of the room.

She is lying in bed, fast asleep, legs tucked beneath her.

And most definitely not in danger.

Yet the feeling is still there and Midas does not understand why.

Perhaps it is worry.

Maybe that is why it is so unsettling.

He is not used to worrying about someone.

Come tomorrow, when they ride out into the Elder forest, he has no plans to let her out of his sight for even one moment.

Yet he cannot help but feel like something might go wrong.

He tries to tell himself that she will be fine.

But gods help him just the thought of her getting hurt frightens him more than even the thought of whatever battle awaits them.

He takes off his shirt and crawls into bed with her.

Letting the warmth of her body calm his racing heart.

Midas cannot remember the last time he prayed or asked the gods for anything.

But as he closes his eyes and inhales her scent, he replaces himself asking the Fire gods and all the others besides them, that they protect her. Please.

Because he cannot lose her.

He just can't.

The morning comes more quickly than he had expected, announcing itself rather spectacularly with strangely bright sunlight for what should be an autumn morning.

He tries to shield her from it but when the light hits her face, she stirs awake in his arms.

Turning to face him so that he is the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes.

A smile. Wide and uninhibited

"You came."

He pushes back the hair from her face.

"I said I would. Also it is mortally unsafe to leave your windows open the way you do."

"Oh that. Well after what happened last night I forgot all about it "

Midas frowns, remembering the feeling of unease that had woken him open.

"What happened last night?"

The frown deepns when she glances away and would not meet his eyes.

"Hera..."

"Look Midas it is nothing to worry about."

"Let me be the judge of that."

She sighs and opens her mouth but before she can say anything there is a knock on the door.

It is the servants, come to announce that the time had come for the king and queen to get ready to ride out.

Before he leaves the room to let her maids minister to her, he cups her cheek in his palm.

"You know it is not too late. Stay here."

"No."

"You'll be safer..."

"I do not want safe Midas. I want you. Now go or you're going to end up being the one who keeps everyone waiting"

And she is pushing him out the room before he can make sense of why her words are able to reduce him to soft smiles and racing heart beats.

He only makes it halfway down the steps leading away from her tower.

"Dear Zeus!... Midas you scared the gods out of me...what are you..."

She is half undressed and only in her chemise when he lifts her up and kisses her hard and fast on the mouth.

Slowling down only so he can do it all over again.

He does not remember the maids standing around pretending not to gawk but even if he did, Midas would not care.

And from her reaction to his kiss, neither would she.

When he places her back on her feet she has to hold unto him for a moment to regain her composure and he feels a primal perverse sense of satisfaction at being able to so easily disorient her. "What was that for?"

"Incase"

"Incase what?"

Midas refuses to say the words out loud.

Least his speaking them gives them life.

But he does not need to.

She understands.

Midas dresses quickly, refusing as always to let his page help him.

The plates of armour on his shoulders and around his chest are not necessary, they are heavy, slowing down his movements but it makes his chief Ryder and Steward feel better so he puts them on regardless. He has refused to wear his full armour.

The one with the dragon helmet.

It is what he wore when he and his Ryders rode to attack Averia

And even though it is his favorite armour to wear, light and made from flexible dragon obsidian, He would not do that her.

Dishonour her by wearing it when she is going with him to defend his realm.

His swords slide comforting and assuring into the sheath behind his back as he steps out and into the castle's main courtyard. Everyone stops, bows.

The army of Ryders he has assembled to go with him is small.

So small in fact that it can barely even be called anything close to an army.

He did not want word getting out that the dark elves were running rampant in the dragon realm and doing what they pleased.

If the dragonkin knew, they would panic and Midas most definitely did not need panic right now.

So he had asemmbled only a small band of his finest Ryders.

Dragonkin men he could trust.

Ryders who could hold their tongue as well as they could match the stealth and litheness of the dark elves.

"Leo?"

"We are ready your highness."

He nods sharply and the men mount their horses.

He turns around just in time to see her step out of the shade of the castle and into the sunlight.

If the dragon king had been in doubt about his feelings for her, the doubts are gone.

Vanquished in the wake of emotions that wash over him as he watches her approach

And when she puts her hand in his his, he replaces himself repeating his prayers from the night before.

Please...

As he leads her to his horse he expects her to say she can ride alone and he does not have to spend his time babysitting her. She does.

He says nothing in response as he lifts her unto the large black animal.

But when he mounts on behind her, he tells her that he is not keeping her close for her.

He is doing it for him.

That shuts her up.

The ride to the Elder Forest is uneventful.

Uninterested in drawing unwanted attention, he avoids riding through the capital and instead leads his band of Ryders through the plains and straight towards the tall dark trees.

As they draw closer, Midas can see that the purple ribbon of wtaer that should surround the Elder forest has almost dried up.

He is not surprised.

From the moment the blood bond was broken and the dark elves had crossed the bounds of the forest by day to head into Adarin and Rardath, the river would have started to receed. They had broken the bond first and so the punishment would be on their heads.

That is how Midas knows that while defeating them will be no walk in the park, it should not be as difficult as it would have been.

But his main problem are two folds.

One, the possiblity that the dark elves now have wolfsbane and could use it.

And two, the dark elven queen herself; Hermani

Her ability to change into a non-corpreal form meant catching her was going to be one hell of a challenge.

As always, all horses are left on the other side of the once marshy bank of the binding stream.

Considering how it is day time already, the lack of the usual forest noises make the Elder forest seem and feel a little more dead than usual.

The branches snapping loudly beneath their feet like breaking bones echoing in the unerving stillness.

The Dragon king and the Ryders he has brought with him are excellent trackers.

And even when it came to dark elves who like all elves could move through the forest without leaving any visible traces, it would only be a matter of time for they found their hide out.

A mind link and a wave of his hands set the small band dividing into two. One with Leo and the other with him.

But before he can do anything more, she steps out from behind him.

"My Lord, if I may?'

"Speak Hera."

"Remember how you said no matter where I am, you could always replace me?"

Midas watches her carefully. Disliking the way she avoids looking direct at him.

But he answers anyway.

"Yes I remember. The thread of the Tether bond. If I can see it, I would be able to trace you but be that as it may I do not understand how this is relevant to..."

But she stands on her toes, hands shaky when they hold unto his arm and then she presses her lips to his and whispers into the space between them. "Find me."

And then she takes off in the opposite direction, running through the Elder forest like it is not currently the most dangerous place in the world.

"Hera!"

He is about to take off after her and with his speed he would have caught her in mete moments.

But before he can do so...

"Stop"

Er'gan and because the king is a no mood to listen, the dragon exercises compulsion.

While that is not enough to stop the dragon king, it forces him to momentarily to slow down.

Slow down and listen.

And Midas is in no mood to do that either.

"Er'gan why did you stop me she's going to get herself killed!"

"She is trying to help you."

"By dying?"

"No by luring them out."

·

All at once, everything falls into place.

They could spend all day tracking the dark elves and they would replace them eventually.

But if the spawns of evil think she, the human queen of the 5th realm who they are curious about is running round the elder forest alone...

"They would follow her immediately. Attempt to cut her off. And if you replace her..."

He would replace them too.

Gods be damned...

Beautiful, intelligent, crazy woman.

If he had known that she had been planning to pull something as dangerous as this, Midas would have belted her to his hip.

But now if he wants the chance to be able to hold her again, he needs to push back his fear for her saftey and focus.

He needs to be the dragon king. Not Midas.

So he slows his heart beat and alows Er'gan's power to flow through him.

To sharpen his senses.

A mind link instrusts the Ryders with him and those with Leo to stop walking.

Too many conflicting footsteps, too many pounding hearts.

He thinks of her.

The softness and the brilliance of the woman who stole into his realm and somewhere along the way managed to take his heart as well.

And when he opens his eyes, he sees it instantly.

The once faded gold thread is now a thick, shimmery cord.

The physical representation of the tether bond that had only grown stronger despite Midas'attempts for the direct opposite.

It begins from the centre of the dragon king's chest and then snakes it's way around the trees and deep into the shadowy recesses of the forest.

And without a moments hesitation, he takes off after it.

Straight ahead...a sharp left, a swerve around a copses of trees.

He is close, he can feel it.

He knows that Hermani, unable to resist the lure would go after Hera herself.

But she would also be surrounded by guards.

And he does not intend to waste his time fighting some lesser dark elf guards.

But he also knows that the dark elves are masters of the forest.

There is little doubt they already know about the presence of the dragon king and his Ryders in the Elder forest.

And by now, the sound of their racing through the forest, searching, would no doubt send the elves scattering in different directions before he even has a chance to catch them.

He can only hope that the Elvin queen would attempt to take Hera with her.

So he makes as much noise as possible.

He hears the sound of a loud cry to his left.

The wish of a sword arcing through the air and the smell of blood when it pierces the skin.

and then finally a low thud, the sound of a body falling to the dark forest floor.

Another sound to his left... another behind him.

The fight had begun.

But Midas pays no attention to any of the dark elves sent to distract him and his Ryders.

Instead he focuses all his attention on the thread getting shorter and more taut the closer he gets to her.

The thread leads him to a clearing.

And the dragon king slows down...stops.

But before he can step fully into the space.

"Long time no see Midas..."

He turns his head sharply to the left.

Just in time to see Hermani step out of the shade of trees, one arm wrapped around the queen's neck.

"Midas!"

"Hera!"

Hermani snorts. "Hera. What a stupid little human name."

Midas turns to her.

"Let her go Hermani"

The dark elven queen smiles.

Those crimsy lips of hers splitting and stretching like a blood stained wound to reveal her lethal fangs.

"A human queen. You know I almost did not believe it. With the way you hated their kind for killing your parents, who would have thought."

He bares his teeth at the beautiful demon barely paces from him.

"Let her go and I won't rip you apart where you stand."

"So much anger Midas, one would think..."

She stops suddenly, c*****g her head to the side.

"A gold thread..."

and then her green eyes widen in recognition an exaggerated gasp falling from her lips

"She is your Tether isn't she?"

Midas does not know how the dark queen can see it but at this moment, he could not care less.

"That is none of your business and I will say it only one more time Hermani. Let. Her. f*****g go."

But Hermani merely smiles even wider.

"I do not think so your grace."

And then she raises her hand, One pointy red finger growing...extending into a deadly knife sharp claw in the air.

And with one last wink in his direction, she sends it straight towards Hera's neck.