Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 123: Did it die!

Chapter 123: Did it die!

"Yes. But he’s not just standing up there," Ethan explained as they resumed to walk towards the mountain, "Every morning, my father will always stand at the top of this mountain to reminisce about my mother, the queen."

Rhea made a sound of acknowledgement. Speaking of the queen, the people of Birhhan had always talked bad of the king and queen. No one knew how old was king Henry Wyverncrest, but gossip had said despite his many years of living, he only married one woman. And the woman bore him seven children. Two daughters, five sons. But the most miraculous thing was the woman he married was a human, an ordinary human with no flame magic.

Typically, when the blood of a dragon and human mixed, their offsprings were supposed to be weak, because the power in the dragon blood would be weakened by the human blood. However, king Henry was an exception, that was how much he loved his wife. Almost all his offsprings weren’t as strong as the normal royal dragons. Compared to him, his seven children were indeed weak.

Perhaps that was why it was easier for Alina to get rid of the princess. But despite the king’s children being weak dragons, the king did not love them less nor was his love for his wife. However, as long as the love was mortal, then he would experience the bitterness of mortality.

For a dragon, a couple of decades went by like a flash, without changing a slightest thing in their appearance, but those decades were enough to snatch away a mortal woman’s youth, looks, and even life.

King Henry had thought of many methods to extend his wife’s life. But in the end, he couldn’t stop the blade of time. Little by little, death descended on that mortal woman’s body until she finally stopped breathing.

In the version of story Rhea had heard, it was said king Henry had made countless sacrifices to a witch, he used innocent children’s blood to make potions to keep his wife alive. The people of Birhhan would always use a melodramatically voice in retelling the king’s story. They’d say; such an evil creature who committed so many crimes deserves to live alone for the rest of his life. The more his lover couldn’t live, the happier they were.

Actually, in her teenage years, Rhea had believed in all of this as well. And she’d thought all the stories told about the dragons in books were the only truth. She’d even believed the ones about Draven, which was told by Alina back then.

Rhea looked up at the towering mountain and saw the king still standing there, his cloak billowing in the fierce wind. "Is your mother buried up in the mountain?" she asked Ethan with curiosity.

Ethan shook his head. "No, my mother passed away without leaving a body."

Rhea was taken aback. "How did that happen?"

Ethan went on to explain, "I was just a little boy at the time, so I don’t remember much about my mother. But as I grew older, my brother told me everything. Back then, my mother was very old and couldn’t walk properly without a cane. It was difficult for her to even speak or move. She knew she didn’t have much time left, so she made the decision to end her own life..." He paused briefly, his expression serious, and then continued with a bitter smile,

"My mother wanted to make her last day memorable, so she took a potion that would restore her youth for one day and then kill her at sunset. She asked my father out on a date, wearing her wedding dress. They had their date on that mountain. My mother sang and danced for my father, and when the sun set... she threw herself off the mountain right in front of him. He tried to catch her, but as he grabbed her arm, her body exploded.

"Since then, my father has been grieving for my mother. He has never been the same. He rarely smiles or talks like he used to. He spends most of his time on that mountain." Ethan fell silent, his voice choked with emotion. "I once overheard my father talking on the mountain about how difficult it has been to raise us without her. He misses her so much."

Rhea fell silent, she had no idea that King Henry had such heartfelt backstory. Yet, it made sense that she was unaware of this aspect of his past. These types of touching tales were never known in the human world; the stories about dragons were always dreadful. It was likely the same in the dragon realm, which explained why Ethan had been distrustful when Rhea had attempted to free him and the children in the past.

Ethan continued, his tone changing abruptly as he spoke, "This time, Alina had killed my elder sister, Aurora." His voice filled with emotion as he added,

"Aurora was the youngest daughter of our family and she resembled our mother so much, both in looks and behavior. She went to the human land to meet our other sister, but ended up falling in love with a man. Initially, our father was furious and demanded her return, but Aurora sent a letter reminding him of his love for our mother. She believed that father would never forgive her for marrying a human, so she decided never to return. However, father had already forgiven her the moment he read her letter. I remember the last letter we exchanged; she informed me that her husband had gone missing and she was going to search for him. She said that once she found him, she would bring him back to the dragon realm. But I never knew..."

Ethan clenched his teeth, his anger evident. It was clear that he deeply cared for his sister.

Rhea remained silent, stealing a quick glance at Draven. His expression was unreadable, making it difficult to discern his emotions.

The three followed the icy path that lead to the top of the mountain. Along the mountain path, there were some few baby dragons learning to fly with their elders on the mountain, the dragons all had colorful scales, they looked young jumping around beside the mountain. Some of the stubborn ones would leap out onto the path and stare at Draven and Rhea with their bright blue eyes, it seemed like it was extremely rare for strangers to come up here.

Rhea lowered her head and observed the little dragons. One of them tilted its head to meet her gaze. After staring at her for a while, it emitted a joyful sound, wagged its tail, and approached her. It then rubbed its adorable head against her leg. Rhea’s heart immediately softened as the little creature affectionately interacted with her. "Oh, I think it likes me!" she exclaimed, turning towards Draven with her sparkling black eyes.

Rhea’s sudden turn caught Draven by surprise. In that moment, she caught a glimpse of tenderness in his eyes as he gazed at her. However, as their eyes met, the gentleness swiftly vanished, replaced by an expressionless stare.

Ethan explained that the young dragons used to come to this place with their elders to learn how to fly from the top of the mountain. He bent down to pick up the little dragon, trying to pry it away from Rhea’s leg. However, the mischievous creature glared at Ethan and attempted to scratch his face, but its hands were too short to reach. Despite its crying and stretching, it couldn’t reach Ethan’s face.

"You little troublemaker, you’re being disobedient again!" Ethan scolded, passing the little dragon to one of the elders who were watching over them. He then told Rhea, "This mountain is the only safe place for the little dragons. So, back then, my mother asked father for permission on behalf of all the mothers, allowing the children to come here and learn to fly."

Rhea nodded in understanding. However, she noticed the little dragon that Ethan had passed to the elder was crying and stretching its short hands towards her, trying to wiggle out of the man’s arms. Rhea’s expression softened and she asked, "Can I hold it?"

Before Ethan could refuse, Rhea reached out and took the dragon into her arms. Instantly, the dragon jumped into her arms, resting its head on her chest and rubbing against her affectionately, closing its eyes in comfort.

Rhea didn’t mind the dragon resting its head on her breast, seeing it as a cute pet. However, Draven, who was standing nearby, had an unpleasant expression. The small dragon in her hand was actually a young adult male in his human form, so it wouldn’t be as cute if it transformed into a human right now.

Draven wore a deep frown on his face while walking alongside Rhea. Upon reaching the mountain’s summit where the king awaited, all the servants trailing behind them halted. Before Ethan could utter a word, Draven positioned himself in front of Rhea and declared, "That dragon cannot enter this area." Without waiting for Rhea’s response, he roughly seized hold of the dragon’s stubby tail, causing the dragon to glare at him. Nevertheless, Draven payed no heed to the glare and swiftly flung it off the mountain, resulting in a loud cry and the dragon failing to take flight.

Rhea panicked, exclaiming, "Did it die due to the height up here?!" She turned to Draven, demanding, "How could you toss it from such a great height?!"

Ethan hurriedly reassured, "Do not worry, the little ones often fall, it is not dead." I hope, he silently added.