Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 109: Meeting her stepsisters

Chapter 109: Meeting her stepsisters

Rhea was frozen as she heard the female voice that just called her name. She instantly recognized the voice as her sister’s, but couldn’t understand how Zoorah had ended up here. Puzzled, she looked in the direction of the voice and realized it wasn’t just Zoorah.

Rhea’s eyes widened as she saw a group of people near the entrance of the restaurant. There were more than ten of them, including her two stepsisters with whom she had a long history of animosity. She also spotted Cal, whom she had recently met with Draven a few days ago. And to top it off, there was Oriana, Alina’s niece and her greatest foe!

It seemed like they belonged to the group of fire controllers who were assigned to this part of town to monitor for any outcasts. They were all dressed in maroon attires. However, Zoorah, Delia, and Oriana’s clothes stood out with gold thread embellishments, despite being the same color as the others.

Rhea had never thought a day would come when she would encounter her sisters again after the day their father gave her away without any of them seeing her off. She had made the decision to sever all ties with them. Yet, fate seemed to have a cruel sense of humor by making them meet again. They were the last people she wanted to see in this lifetime. Internally, she cursed her unfortunate luck.

Rhea glanced towards Zoorah who had called her name earlier, just by looking at her doll-like face that now held a deep frown, Rhea recalled the day she had used her spikes to scare her, and it looked like Zoorah hadn’t forgotten that incident, because she subconsciously pressed a hand to her chest where Rhea’s spike had almost pierced, and resentfully glared at Rhea.

Rhea glanced at her other stepsister, Delia, who also glared at her with an indescribable hatred. Rhea sighed internally. Although she often had disagreements with her two so-called sisters and occasional fights when she lived in the Duke’s mansion, it was nothing compared to the day she frightened Zoorah to tears with her spikes. And now that they were here, all she wanted was to escape.

She wasn’t in the mood to confront them at the moment, especially Cal, who had been insisting on taking her back the last time they met. However, seeing him in his fire controllers uniform, he didn’t appear to be here for that purpose this time. Since they were here for something else, she decided it was best to act as if she hadn’t noticed them and find a way to leave the eatery without any conflict.

However, just as she was about to turn away and pretend she hadn’t seen them, Oriana took a step forward and uttered, "We cross paths once more." Her words were drawn out, indicating her displeasure. Oriana had hoped never to encounter this worthless girl again; she had even wished for Rhea’s death after hearing the news that she was missing. However, it turned out that she was still alive, despite the humiliation she had made her endure in the capital last year.

Rhea tightened her fists as she met Oriana’s wrathful stare. She truly had no desire to confront any of these people at the moment.

The atmosphere in the eatery tensed up, even the people eating stopped and all glanced towards them, as they could sense the heavy and hostile atmosphere. However, Draven calmly called, ignoring the others presence, "Rhea, are you still interested in eating the chicken and sweet rice cakes?"

Rhea looked away from Oriana and glanced back at Draven, he had the same expression as earlier, it was as if he wasn’t affected by the tensed atmosphere surrounding them. At that moment, Rhea also realized something; why was she letting their presence affect her?

Why was she feeling nervous when she hadn’t done anything wrong? It was just a coincidence that they bumped into each other at the inn, if she ignored their presence, it wasn’t a crime.

Rhea nodded at Draven with a faint smile, "Yes, let’s go and eat in my room."

Draven’s lips quirked slightly, he then raised his hand and beckoned for the inn servant, who stood by the side to come over. The servant looked tensed as he also sensed the heavy atmosphere, but then he nervously walked to Draven.

Draven calmly ordered a few dishes and instructed him to bring it to their room upstairs. After he was done ordering Rhea’s favorite foods, he stood up and circled around to her side. He stood right in front of her, blocking her from the hostile glares directed towards her from the entrance. His broad frame completely hid her small frame from the view of the onlookers.

He then looked down at her with a soft expression, "Let’s go?"

Draven’s huge frame blocked her view of the people by the entrance. In his shadow, Rhea felt a sense of peace she rarely felt with people. The last time she’d felt this way, was when Azure had stood for her and protected her from execution. It was a feeling that made her feel like nothing could ever harm her, because he would always be there for her.

When did she start to feel the same for Draven...

The very first time they’d met, Draven was a silent and gloomy man, who had done nothing but cause her harm. But now, he stood in front of her like a shield. Suddenly, she felt her heart softened, and she felt she could rely and trust on him. She timidly nodded her head, "Yes, let’s go..."

She was just about to take a step forward, when a fire ball came flying towards them, but they were quick to dodge it and it passed between them. "Stop right there!" Zoorah, who had thrown the fire ball blocked their path.

Rhea sighed. Some people just simply like looking for trouble when trouble wasn’t looking for them. She didn’t want to fight today, and just wanted to return to her room and eat chicken with Draven, but it seemed with these people, fight was impossible to avoid.

Rhea glanced at her elder sister, and nonchalantly asked, "What do you want from me now?"

Zoorah angrily replied, "You should show respect towards your elders. Even though you are no longer associated with the Villden family, you were once a Villden, and your actions continue to impact our household. The current rumors about you colluding with the Dragons, to the extent of assisting a dragon to kill an elder. Are you aware of the significant impact all of this is having on our family? Do you realize the amount of distress you are causing father?"

Despite the fact that Zoorah was an arrogant spoilt brat, she cared so much about their father and family reputation more than anything. However, how was that supposed to be Rhea’s concern after they’d discarded her like a useless trash? She had only done the right thing by assisting Draven in getting back his powers and releasing the captured dragons. So she had no regrets even if her family’s reputation was being affected.

Rhea chuckled in amusement, "And in what way does that concern me? It’s your family and your father, you should deal with it."

Zoorah was shocked by Rhea’s words, and when she saw that Rhea was about to walk away again, she yelled, "Don’t even dare walk away from me, or else_"

"Or else what?" Draven cut her off with a displeased tone.

Rhea was taken aback that Draven had spoken, she turned to look at him, but he was glaring down at Zoorah with murderous intent. It was as if he was daring her to try to act rashly towards Rhea.

Zoorah who met his murderous glare felt a chill down her spine, she didn’t even realize when she began to retreat backwards out of fear.

Rhea realized that even though Draven had lost his Dragon form and abilities, his eyes still held the weight of time, and had an intimidating air. His anger was enough to make one scared to near death.