The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon
Chapter 58

DERRIEN

I crush and burn every obstacle on my training grounds. I have never been so furious in my life! The dragon inside me is roaring with all his might, asking for b***d and destruction. We are fuming!

My soldiers wisely do not approach me. And however much I break and burn things, it doesn’t make it better. Mira is driving me crazy. That girl… That tiny creature with fiery hair and clear green eyes, like the finest emeralds… She is mine! Mine! I have known that for a while already, but only now I realize my mistake. I should have placed that damn engagement bracelet on her hand as soon as I claimed her. Selection or no Selection, this woman must be mine. She IS mine. Both I and my dragon agree on that.

And now she doesn’t want to see me… Because I tried to respect her own desires… Stupid girl! And stupid me… I shouldn’t have even asked her. She can’t belong to anyone else. And definitely not to Dargen among all the men! “He wouldn’t have her! Over my dead body!”, I growl.

“Derwood!”, Brandon’s voice distracts me and I grasp him by his neck, lifting him up in the air. The fire inside me desires to get out! I need a few good seconds before I realize that I am holding my best friend in my death grasp.

I let him go and he lands to the ground, coughing, “Chaos, Derwood, you have completely lost your mind!”

“Do you have something important to tell me?”, I ask, turning away, “Otherwise I am not in the mood!”

“Don’t get crazy, Derrien”, he lifts up onto his feet, “Have Dargen placed his bet on your girl?”

I turn to him and he shrugs at this. I know that dark magic is circling in my eyes. Only Mira could calm it down at this point…

“It doesn’t matter!”, I snap, “He wouldn’t have her! Freyn is mine!”

“Listen,” Sevill starts carefully, “Calm down and think with a clear head! He is the Crown Prince now. And you are sworn to serve the royal family. If you do something to offend him… it would be treason.”

The word cuts through my mind. Treason. I never thought I would be in this place. Even though I knew for a while that sooner or later I would have to serve Dargen as the future emperor. But it was my choice. And I have accepted it.

But Mira… I cannot accept her with him. To chaos with it – I can’t accept her with anyone else! My dragon would never…

“Derwood,” Brandon comes closer, “You know there is only one way out of this.”

I look at my friend questioningly. Neither of us wants to say it out loud. The only way out would be to go to my uncle the Emperor and tell him that I agree to become his heir. And if he doesn’t want me anymore, all I have to do is kill Dargen. s**t. I can’t believe I am even thinking of this. What has she done to me?!

“Everyone would be better off with you as the Emperor,” Sevill whispers.

“Don’t speak of it anymore,” I shake my head, “I need to think. And I need to think alone.”

I transport myself back to the Selection castle to my room. She is right behind that wall… All I want is to go there and talk to her, and then take her again and again, make her forget everything, and make her understand that she is mine and mine only.

But I can’t forget her eyes. The pain… and the disappointment. How hurt she was… I need to fix it and I need to fix it fast. Before Dargen creeps into her mind and ruins her soul, before he ruins her and makes her his… The thought of this makes me furious again.

And there is only one thing that can calm me down now. I need to see her…

I pour a glass of wine and sit in an armchair opposite my standing mirror. I swipe my hand across the surface and Mira’s room shows. The best thing that happened today is that at least she doesn’t know that I was also secretly keeping an eye on her. Although, honestly, I am surprised she hasn’t figured that out already. When I burnt all those underwear her “friend” packed for her, she had her suspicions… I was never even intending on doing that. Just needed to make sure she had nothing to do with the second murder. And then I discovered that just watching her sleep peacefully makes my dragon calm. He needs to see her, he needs to know that she is safe and I have no idea why. So these little night observations became a part of my routine… however much I am embarrassed to admit that.

The room is empty and it bothers me. It’s too late and she is supposed to be in. I don’t hear any sounds from her living room, although, of course, she could have still be working or simply fall asleep on the sofa…

Then I hear some noise and in just a few seconds in comes sir Tristan with Mira in his hands. What the actual f**k?!

I jump to my feet and flames run up my legs, I am ready to transport and kill that damn knight. And then I notice that something is off. Mira is not embracing him. If anything, her movements are clumsy and… Wait, it reminds me of the night she has drunk way too much spiked wine at the Introduction Ball…

“We will have good times again,” Tristan promises her, placing her on her bed and my b***d boils, “You and I. You know that, right?”

“No”, she snorts and I feel relieved at that, “Everything is so horrible now…”

“I am sorry, Mira”, the knight says, “This is all my fault. But I will get you back. Everything is going to be alright. Can you trust me?”

Someone has a death wish…

“Your eyes are as blue as sapphires,” Mira pokes his eyes shamelessly and I hope she picks them out while she is at it, “Is that why they call you the Sapphire Knight?”

“No, not because of that”, he says and then he leans down and places his lips on hers. He is a dead man! I am thinking about the hundreds of ways that I could kill him when I hear a… snore.

Gods, that woman is snoring at his face while he just tried to k**s her… And that’s Miradora Freyn for you. A laugh escapes me and to my surprise I see a very disappointed Sapphire Knight covering his ex-fiancée with a blanket and leaving after having one last glance at her. I still want to take his guts out, but also… I can relate. He lost her and so did I. And yet… if I see him touch her like this ever again, he would die that very second.

I sit back in the chair and just watch her snoring for some time. Gods, what has she been drinking that got her to that state, and may I have some? Chaos knows I need it today!

I could steal her out from the castle this very moment and send everything else to chaos. But then she would hate me forever… I need her back. I want her to want me. The way she already did. Knowing how it is with her, I want it all… Just how can I make that little mage all mine again?

But then other thoughts surface. Am I ready to betray everything just to be with that woman? Is she worth it for me to commit treason? Is any woman worth this much?