Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 147: Bonelake

Chapter 147: Bonelake

After returning from the border, Azure found himself standing in front of the execution hole, listening to the account of what had transpired on the night Rhea was rescued. Meanwhile, Delia remained crouched beside the hole, her face streaked with silent tears. Azure had heard that she had been there for days.

Despite the Villden family’s attempts to make her leave, Delia had adamantly refused, choosing to stay and mourn Cal’s death. Delia had been in love with him for years, but Cal had never acknowledged her feelings. Finally, when he had started treating her well, he was taken away. Delia had even contemplated forgiving Rhea and becoming a good sister to her, all for Cal’s sake...

Azure heard Delia’s sobs, with a sigh he held out his hand and helped her up, he then pulled her into his embrace to console her, he ran his hand up and down her back, "You should go home," he said, then pulled back from the embrace, "Cal wouldn’t want you sitting here all day."

Azure turned to Larry, who had been in charge of Rhea’s punishment that day, "Did you personally see the Dragon king kill Cal and rescue Rhea?"

Larry froze for a moment, he then bowed his head immediately, "My lord, I didn’t witness the scene, and the people who witnessed it were all killed by the dragon, it was lady Oriana who said she saw it happened..."

Azure was silent for a moment, he then asked again, "Did you hear Rhea’s words before she was taken away?"

"Yes, I heard her words that night. She said, ’Oriana, I swear to the Heavens, I will pay back what you did today. I will kill you. I, Rheanna will kill every single one of the fire controllers, including Azure! From today onwards, I am no longer a Villden nor a human. I will be the monster you all fear, I will destroy you all.’ I heard those words when I ran out to see what was the commotion all about. But I didn’t know what truly happened..."

Azure didn’t wait for Larry to continue, he teleported away from there. A few minutes later, he reappeared in Oriana’s residence, none of the guards at the gates dared to try to stop him as they recognize who he was. He strode into the mansion and walked straigth towards Oriana’s room.

He didn’t bother to knock the door, he used his powers to bust it open, the door slammed against the wall behind with a loud bang, startling Oriana who sat on a chair in front of her dressing mirror applying some medicine to her scar.

Oriana quickly swirled around with a deep displeased frown, she was ready to snap at the person who dared barge into her room like that, but when she saw that it was Azure, she froze. He heart skipped a beat, even her voice slightly trembled as she asked,

"Azure, you’re back. What are you doing here?"

Angry veins bulged in Azure’s forehead. It seemed like his anger had reached it peak, but in the end he couldn’t lash them on Oriana, actually he dared not lash out on her. Because she was Alina’s niece. Even though he wanted to teach her a lesson, he held back. He closed his eyes to collect himself before he ended up doing something that would cost his life.

He spoke through clenched teeth, "Why did you turn on my spell in my absence? Who gave you the permission to kill the prisoner? How dare you..." He sucked in a sharp breath to control himself. "I know about what you did, Oriana, but for the sake of your aunt, I will let you off. However, you are no longer a part of the fire controllers, you are dismissed of your position as an upcoming leader. I don’t want to see you anywhere around the group." Saying that, he didn’t wait for her to reply, he disappeared from her room.

Oriana was stunned into silence. She couldn’t believe what had just happened, Azure had dismissed her from her position. She’d worked hard to get that high, and now everything was over because of Rhea?

Oriana’s stunned expression slowly turned to anger, she clenched her fists. She didn’t need to ask to know that he still liked that Rhea, and now because of Rhea she’d lost her position. She wasn’t the one who killed Cal, it was his stupidity that killed him, she’d clearly told him to get out of that hole, but he was dumb enough to still stay. He killed himself, and now she would have to go through the humiliation of losing her position!

"Oh, you’re definitely not going to like this Rheanna, I will make your life a living hell!"

***

The doctor assigned to Rhea had just finished her daily treatment, but before she left, Rhea took advantage of her presence and asked,

"I want to change my bones, with my current condition is it possible?"

Ethan, who stood beside Draven at the door was taken aback by Rhea’s words. Although, he had been one of those who had tried to convince Rhea into changing her bones, but now...

"Changing your bones in this condition is not advisable. You’re too weak to go through such pain again." Ethan voiced his concern, but Rhea didn’t heed to him and only stared at the doctor to hear her reply.

The doctor looked young, more younger than Gail, she even sounded young and innocent, but her words were clear and logical. "Although changing bones is a challenging feat itself, for centuries now, no one has attempted to do it as some humans are not strong enough to withstand the process. And in your current condition, I wouldn’t advise you to do it yet."

Rhea remained firm to her decision, "But is there a possibility that I can still go through with it in my condition?" She asked.

When the doctor observed Rhea’s unwavering determination, she simply nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is indeed possible, but it will be a painful process. On the bright side, now would be an opportune time to cleanse your damaged human bones. However, I must caution you that the cleansing itself poses its own challenges."

"I don’t mind. I am prepared for anything," Rhea responded without hesitation. "So, how does one go about cleansing the bones?"

"To cleanse them, you must journey to the bonelake. However, it is important to note that the bonelake is not within our clan’s territory. It is situated in the far end of the dragon realm. The bonelake is the only flowing lake in our entire realm, never freezing due to its being magical. Nevertheless, I must warn you, bonelake is not a place suitable for humans, and your survival is not guaranteed," the doctor cautioned. After providing further explanations to Rhea, the doctor left the the room.

After the doctor departed, Ethan approached Rhea’s bed with disapproval. "Bonelake is located far from our clan’s territory, and the snow there is intolerable. You would freeze to death before reaching it. It’s extremely dangerous, to the extent that no human has dared to venture there in centuries, not even my mother. I don’t know how you managed the cold here as a human, but I believe you will not succeed in reaching the lake due to the snowstorm, not to mention the freezing temperature of stepping into the lake." Ethan continued to ramble, before adding,

"Although you have a desire to change your bones now, I think it would be best to wait until you have fully recovered. Perhaps by then, it won’t be as challenging, and I may have found some medicine to assist you in tolerating the cold."

Rhea shook her head, "No," nothing could make her change her mind now, no amount of cold could freeze her due to Draven’s core, and she needed something challenging to keep her mind occupied from all those terrible memories In the execution hole. She wanted to get stronger before she faced her enemies, nobody can change her mind now.

Ethan looked towards Draven, who had been silently watching Rhea without saying anything. But as if sensing Ethan’s gaze, he turned to look at him. Ethan gave him a look as if urging him to say something to convince Rhea, but Draven acted like he didn’t notice the prince. He seemed to have no objection to Rhea’s decision.

Ethan was helpless, he couldn’t do anything to change her mind, thus, he decided to also support. "Alright, if you insist. But then, with our clan’s current situation, there won’t be any guards to escort you, but I will ask my father to let uncle Nino and me to accompany you to the lake. You..."

Rhea shook her head again, "No, you don’t have to accompany me."

Draven finally spoke up, "Then I will take you there."

She shook her head again, "No, not even you. I want to go alone, I want to be alone, you should stay back and continue with the war preparation."

Rhea didn’t want to be a burden to anyone again, she didn’t want to rely on anybody but herself. Because of how she’d relied on Cal in the past, he’d taken her as his responsibility, and because of that he died for her sake. She didn’t want to witness another person get in danger for her sake, the pain and regret in her heart was still eating away her soul, she wanted to be alone to think and perhaps even heal on the way.

Not taking anyone along with her was the best way to think for herself.

Ethan frowned at Rhea’s rejection towards Draven, but he didn’t speak.

When Ethan walked out of the room with Draven beside him, he couldn’t help but ask, "What really happened to Rhea in the human realm? I mean what did they do to her to make her turn like this?" He curiously asked, but he didn’t wait for Draven to reply before asking another question,

"You aren’t really planning to let her go to bonelake alone, are you? I know a shortcut to..."

Draven lifted his hand and tousled Ethan’s brown hair to silence him, saying, "You talk too much, you should learn to be mindful, young man."

Ethan glared at Draven, smoothing his hair back and grumbling, "Even my brothers aren’t allowed to mess up my hair."

Ignoring Ethan’s complaints, Draven continued, "Now, if you could be useful and fetch me a shortcut map to the bonelake. Also, arrange for some tents and fruits."

Ethan clenched his jaw, retorting, "You didn’t answer my question, but now you’re ordering me around. You’re not my father or my brother and I’m not your servant...!" He trailed off, remembering Rhea’s strange behavior. She used to always be by Draven’s side like a loyal follower, but now she even rejected his offer to accompany her.

What happened to her in the human realm? It pained Ethan’s heart, and he...

"Now, boy, don’t stand there daydreaming. Get to work and hand in the map by tomorrow morning," Draven interrupted Ethan’s thoughts, not waiting to hear the Prince’s complaints as he casually entered his own room and slammed the door on his face.