Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 149: Back to the past

"Draven?" she called, her surprise evident.

Draven’s eyes immediately flew opened, and their eyes locked together. For a moment, he saw the confusion and helplessness on her face. Those emotions she had kept hidden in her heart weren’t covered, perhaps it was because she hadn’t expected to wake up next to him, but her emotions were revealed at this point.

Draven felt his heart tightened up, and subconsciously he tightened his hold around her body, but that only seemed to snap her back to her senses. Rhea blinked, she placed her palm flat on his chest to prop herself up. However, she realized Draven was still holding her, thus she glanced up at him with a slight frown.

In truth, Draven felt a little unwilling to let go, he wanted to lay here with her for awhile, he wanted her to rely on him and be vulnerable in his arms. He wished he could give her comfort and assure her that everything would be fine. He wanted to give her support, and protect her.

Despite his reluctance, Draven gradually released his grip on her waist. She pushed away and sat up, while brushing her long hair away from her face. Draven followed suit, but because of the tent had little space, they sat close to each other.

Rhea clasped her head in her hands and took a deep breath before looking at Draven, "What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice sounding normal, but her eyes still held pain. However, she didn’t let him reply before realization dawned on her.

"You set up this tent and the other one, and the food..."

Draven thought that Rhea would lash out on him, after all she’d told him she wanted to come alone, but he’d came after her without her knowledge. Hence, he tried to explain to her before she’d get angry, "I didn’t follow you, I..."

"I wasn’t complaining," she cut him off before he could explain, "Thank you for all these, I wouldn’t have made it this far if you hadn’t helped me."

Draven had given her space and respected her, the entire journey he didn’t show himself and even secretly arranged all these for her, and last night, he had helped her out of her nightmare. He did everything without leaving his trace, she knew he must have spent a lot of effort in arranging these. She wasn’t foolish to over look his hard effort.

Rhea glanced up at him once more, expressing her gratitude, "Draven, I appreciate it."

Draven’s mouth twitched slightly, a sign of unease. He didn’t feel deserving of her thanks, considering the hardships he had caused her. "You don’t need to thank me," he responded, his discomfort evident as he avoided making eye contact. "In fact, it is I who should thank you. I haven’t expressed my gratitude enough for all that you’ve done, Rhea. Thank you for everything, and thank you for simply being alive."

Rhea was stunned. Draven was a man with pride, who barely thanked her sincerely, but now she felt the sincerity in his tone. She gazed at his face, despite just waking up from sleep, he still looked breathtaking.

The corner of Draven’s mouth slightly pulled up into a small smile, "You probably have no idea how much you have saved me."

She’d saved him countless times, she’d protected him and shielded him. However, she remained unaware of her impact; without her, he would have perished long ago. Acting on impulse, Draven raised his hand and delicately brushed away the strands of hair obscuring her face.

"Are you ready to cleanse your bones?"

***

Draven walked with Rhea to the bonelake, but before they even arrived at the lake, Rhea could already hear the flowing sound of water from the distance. And when they arrived there, her jaw dropped open at the beautiful sight of the bonelake.

The most astonishing aspect of the lake was its continuous flow despite the heavy snowfall in the area. Additionally, a waterfall at the far end of the lake continued to cascade into the flowing water. The lake appeared a vibrant blue and was incredibly clear, allowing Rhea to see the shiny stones that shimmered like diamonds at its bottom.

Curiosity compelled Rhea to kneel down and dip her hand into the water. However, she quickly withdrew it when a sharp jolt ran through her bones, causing her fingertips to ache as if they had been cut open. This experience might explain why the lake was named "bonelake."

Realizing the purpose of their visit, Rhea stood up and turned to Draven, stating, "I suppose this is it. The doctor mentioned that I need to soak myself in the lake for hours to strengthen my bones. Will you wait for me or..."

Without hesitation, Draven promptly replied, "I will wait for you."

Rhea didn’t reply and stared unblinkingly at Draven. When she didn’t say anything after awhile, Draven raised a questioning eyebrow, "What is it? You don’t want me to wait for you?" He asked.

Rhea shook her head, "No, I have to take off all my clothes before getting into the water, I can’t go naked with you standing here..."

At those words, Draven’s gaze slightly shook. He turned around and walked behind a frozen tree not too far from the lake. He tucked his hands into his trouser pockets and leaned against the tree to quietly wait for Rhea. Actually, after retrieving his Dragon, his sharp sense had return, he could pick up any noise regardless of its distance. He could hear the rustling sounds as Rhea took off her clothes and tossed them aside. He could tell by the rustling which piece of clothing she took off.

Draven could sense when she took off her undergarment, and the longer he listened to her, the more restless he got. He felt his usual cold body grow warmer as he tried to imagine what she’d look like without her clothes on. Even with her garments on, he could tell that she was a handful and curvaceous woman whenever he embraced her, and whenever her ample bosom grazed against his chest or arms_damn it!

He cursed himself as he realized his thoughts were starting to wander to the forbidden place. He glanced up at the overcast sky to divert his attention. However, his keen ears stubbornly continued to eavesdrop on Rhea. When she entered the water with a splash, he found himself unable to resist listening in her direction.

When Rhea entered the water, she let out a small gasp from the icy water and the force at it’s flow. He heard her moan, and that little sound she made caused him to involuntarily look over at her. However, right before his gaze landed on her, he snapped back to his senses and let out another curse under his breath.

To make matters worst, he felt his trouser tightening up and immediately he knew he was getting aroused by all the thoughts of Rhea running in his head.

Draven ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, he suddenly felt like a pervert secretly watching an innocent girl bathing and lusting on the idea of her nakedness like a big bad wolf. Perhaps he should walk far away from her, if he continued to stand here, it would be a torture for him, because every sound she made was a punishment to him.

Right when Draven was about to walk away, he suddenly heard a low cry followed by a loud splash from Rhea. He stopped and tried to listen closely on her, but then realized he could no longer sense her in the water.

Without hesitation, Draven turned around and dashed towards the lake. He saw Rhea’s clothes by the lakeside, but then there was no signs of Rhea in the lake anymore. He bent forward and put his hand into the water, he couldn’t feel her presence in it, but he felt a force pull at his hand, it was trying to tug him into the water.

Rumors had it in the past that bonelake wasn’t just a lake to cleanse bones, some people said it has magic that connects to another world beyond anyone’s reach. But nobody believed that, as nothing extraordinary had ever happened to the Dragons who came here to just relax. Since no human had ever made it to the lake alive due to the snowstorm, he hadn’t thought it would be harmful to Rhea who had made it to the lake.

Draven suddenly felt fear seeped into his heart as he couldn’t feel her presence no matter how much he tried. He didn’t waste anymore time and jumped into the water, but then nothing happened. He didn’t feel anything pull at him.

After a few moments, he saw the bottom of the clear water started to open up, before he knew what was happening, he was pulled into a dark opening. It was like he was pulled into a magical Portal, he found himself flowing into darkness, then plunged out of the water.

Draven saw his surroundings suddenly changed into a beautiful place like a garden with countless strange adorable trees around him. However, before he could fully look around the breathtaking scenery, he was abruptly transported back into the world of ice. To his astonishment, he found himself within a magnificent ice castle that sparkled like diamonds. Just as he was beginning to comprehend the familiarity of the castle, a figure appeared before him.

It was Alina, gracefully approaching him with a sweet and innocent smile. "My love, what’s the matter? Why do you appear confused?" she asked in a gentle manner.

Draven surveyed his surroundings and immediately recognized his whereabouts. He was inside his own castle, specifically his own royal chambers, which had been destroyed twenty years ago!