The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon
Chapter 53

MIRA

I pace around the room with Dargen’s ring in my hands, thinking about everything and not replaceing a place for myself. It’s late at night but what he told me made a deep cut in my heart… Is this even possible? Surely it’s just a trick of his… There is no love lost between the cousins and he probably just wants to cut a wedge between us.

At last, I give up and just make a bubbly bath for myself. Soaking in it, I reflect on everything… It just can’t be the truth. Derrien… What we have is real. No one can lie like that. He said that I am his… so many times!

And yet he never said that I would become his wife. Not once. He said that he’d take me to his castle. But it’s not a proposal… And that time he said that I shouldn’t think of other men “while” I am his… While…

He also never told me he loves me. And neither did I. But I thought that we have time for all that… We were together… I gave myself to him… He asked me, almost begged me… And he..he saved my life. While I saved his. It should mean something. And our date… He was so sweet, he didn’t have to do it. He…he…

I don’t even realize how tears start rolling down my face. And it just takes me seconds to start sobbing. It hurts. It hurts so much!

Just the possibility of him using me in this way, of him not caring about me and my feelings… It’s killing me. And I… I fell in love with him. I only realize that now… How painful!

I gather all my willpower to get out of the bath and dry my body with a luxuriously soft towel, looking at myself in the mirror. For the first time, I really look at myself. Could he…not like me?

I mean, I’ve been always told that I am beautiful but I never cared about that. Took it for granted. Could he really not like me?

Or maybe it’s even worse and he likes my body, but that’s it. I do annoy him a lot. What if he hates my personality? What if he hates… me?

On weak legs, I walk out of the bathroom. I hope to see him in the room, waiting for me. But the room is still empty. I sigh and dry my hair with fire magic, put on the silky nightgown, and fall into the bed. Dargen’s ring is on my bedside table and I open one of the drawers and simply throw it in there. I can’t look at it right now.

I wave to put the lights down and close my eyes.

It’s not the truth. It’s just can’t be. And with these thoughts darkness consumes me…

In the morning I am still alone. He hasn’t come back to me.

With a heavy heart, I dress up in one of the most beautiful day dresses that I’ve been given. Just when did I become so self-conscious?

A knock on the door makes me jump and I almost run to open it.

“Don’t look so disappointed!”, Morgan snorts at me, “You must have had an amazing weekend since you look so tired!”

“Morning”, I force a smile, “Yes, everything has been great… And how about you?”

“Ah,” she sighs, “Don’t start me on that! Everything was so great before Brandon just disappeared in the middle of a date!”

“Well, I heard he had a task to perform from someone above him”, I say and almost bite my l*p. What if Brandon is here only for work as well… Derrien and he look like they are a team after all…

Morgan drags me to the breakfast, chatting about her date and that Xia managed to have three in a meanwhile with three different lords! And although I am not hungry at all, I follow her. Any distraction is good at this point. Until I can see and speak to Derrien myself!

We come closer to the dining hall when I hear a buzzing of a crowd. So many people are at the main door. Something is definitely not right. Girls are crying, waiters are pale… Two girls are waving their fans at lady Cecilia, who looks like she has just seen a ghost.

“What is going on?”, Morgan stops one of the girls, Clara, but she looks at us and bursts into tears.

Without hesitating, I push through the crowd and enter the dining hall, gasping at the sight. On the huge chandelier right in the centre of the hall above the stage, we were introducing ourselves on, hangs a body of a girl. Nausea strikes me as I recognize my own dress. The one I wore to my engagement to Tristan. The one I gifted to Fawn…

“Gods…”, I whisper and almost fall to the ground when two strong hands catch me. I turn to see who that is and meet Tristan’s tense gaze.

“It’s alright, Mira, everything is going to be alright,” he says calmly into my ear.

“Not for Fawn!”, a tear rolls down my cheek.

“Come here!”, he pulls me into his warm embrace and I dig my fingers into his arms in an attempt not to cry in front of everyone. That probably hurts, but he doesn’t even flinch.

Dark smoke starts appearing here and there, transporting the gerdian lords to ask. I feel the warmth of dark flames right next to me.

“What the chaos!”, Derrien growls and pulls me out of Tristan’s arms. I look at him through my teary eyes and he brushes his fingers over my face, wiping away tears and nodding understandingly. “Bran,” he calls for his friend, who is comforting Morgan not far from us, “Clear the room and seal it. I’ll take Mira to her room and come back.”

“No,” I protest and push him away, “Not again!”

“Mira”, he looks tired and a bit annoyed.

“I am not going, I need to check the scene as well as you do!”, I insist. I don’t care about what is going on between the two of us at the moment. I just want to know what happened to Fawn.

“I’ll tell you everything when I am done here”, Derrien promises, but I am not impressed.

“You may not even know what to look at!”, I retort and breathe out air heavily, calming my nerves, “I am going to be fine. I just want to help.”

“Who needs your help?”, Isidore’s voice is squealing loudly, “The gerdian lords are here for gods’ sake!”

I don’t even say anything to her, just look at Derrien and, sighing, he nods in agreement with me.

“Alright, stay here with me. Everyone else, except Brandon – OUT!”

People leave the room and dark smoke takes the gerdians away. Morgan is the last one to leave, looking at me puzzled before closing the doors…

I look up at Fawn hanging on the rope attached to the chandelier…

I am sorry, my friend, I wasn’t here to protect you…