Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 165: Drinking off his sorrows

Chapter 165: Drinking off his sorrows

In Birhhan, Azure’s personal mansion was seen standing tall in the capital city. The mansion looked almost deserted with no guards as he rarely lived in the mansion.

Inside one of the many rooms in the huge mansion. The room was veiled in shadows, lit only by a single candle flickering on a wooden table. Against the far wall, an array of wine bottles stood, their labels faded and some of them empty. At the center, Azure sat hunched over, a glass cradled in his hand. His eyes, usually bright and alert, were now clouded with anguish.

Each gulp of the wine was not just a drink but a desperate attempt to drown out the memories. The liquid burned his throat, but it was nothing compared to the searing pain in his heart. Images of him whipping Rhea kept haunting him and refused to let him rest in peace. The weight of his betrayal pressed down on him. He could still hear the haunting cries of Rhea as the whips descended on her back.

How could he have done that after he had protected her for twenty years? How could he of all people let jealousy make him harm her like that? He hadn’t actually meant to take her back to the Emperor on the night he took her away from that cave, but the moment he saw another man’s torn clothe wrapped around her wrist, he had felt betrayed and angry, he had immediately taken her to the palace without thinking.

For twenty years he had made sure to keep her away from Alina’s sight because he knew the moment Alina saw her, she would know Rhea possessed the thing she desired the most. Centuries ago when he had helped Alina unseal Erebus’, he had never thought he would have to serve Erebus’ for the rest of his life. All he had wanted was a little power, just a little so he would also be treated with importance in Birhhan...

Azure was born with feeble flame magic. Among his kin, he was the least powerful. Centuries ago, when Alina approached him with an offer to assist her unseal Erebus’, he had initially declined. However, her promise of immense power and the fulfillment of his deepest desires swayed him. But he soon realized that such powers came at a cost.

The price he had to pay for getting powerful was to quench Erebus’ insatiable appetite by feeding him the cores of other beings, until Alina discovered the unique core that would allow Erebus to transition from the realm of shadows to the living world. Only then would Erebus restore Alina’s joyful past with her spouse and free Azure from his servitude.

Almost instantly, Azure regretted his choice, but going against Erebus’ terms meant certain death. Trapped in a cycle of obeying both Erebus and Alina, Azure lost control of his own destiny. But, unexpectedly, a young girl he was meant to eliminate – the key to his freedom from Erebus’ grasp – became the very person he’d cherished most; Rheanna Villden...

When Rhea was born, Azure had been in Birhhan while Alina was still in the Dragon realm taking care of the Dragon king. Azure had seen the white glow that emitted from the Villden household that night and he had felt the slight chills of winter in summer. He had found it strange and then the next day, he heard words spreading about a girl who froze her mother to death because she was possessed by an evil spirit.

Azure hadn’t thought much about all the gossip of the girl who killed her mother, but when Alina had returned from the dragon realm and told him what had happened, that the core was thrown away by the dragon king, he had guessed immediately who was possessing it. But then he didn’t mention it to Alina and thought it would be best to investigate it first.

Azura had been keeping a close eye on the girl but had never approached her to investigate if she had the core, and the day he finally discovered that Rhea truly had the core was the day he met her in the library trying to read the book of legends made up by him and Alina. She had been curious, thus he told her the lies he had been told to tell anyone who asked, he made her see Alina as a hero. But then something about that teenage Rhea had made his heart warm up to her. He couldn’t bring himself to harm her or tell Alina about her.

His meaningless life began to have more light the more he followed Rhea around in the shadows, she was a mischievous girl right from childhood. Then he found himself liking her and didn’t want any harm to come to her. He started protecting her and liking her at the same time, but then he couldn’t let her know or let Alina find out that he was protecting her.

Azure knew if Alina found out about Rhea, she would order him to kill her and remove the core immediately, just like she had ordered him to kill Rinus’years ago. Because Rinus had found out that the outcasts cores were being fed to an evil being. Alina had ordered him to kill the young man. However, Azure couldn’t find it in his heart to kill him and instead put him under his spell and left him at the borders.

Azure had only been away from the capital, but came back to find out that Rhea had been married off to the general. He had been heartbroken, but then realized perhaps it was for the best because she was away from Alina’s reach. However, who would have thought she would come back to the capital again?

He had told Valen to look after her until he was done removing the cores of the outcasts the fire controllers had caught. And Valen had told him that Rhea was safe because he had given her one of Azure’s residences. He had been happy and thought he would seek her out afterwards and explain to her about everything, but then Rhea had never gone to the house given to her...

And now, Rhea hates him for betraying her, she had sworn to kill him. He hadn’t actually meant to kill her with the whipping, he had done that so that Oriana wouldn’t go telling on him to her aunt and then find out that he was protecting Rhea because she had the core. He had meant to free her after some few weeks knowing she wouldn’t die from the whipping. But then everything went out of control...

Azure’s hand shook as he refilled his glass, the wine spilling over the edge. He remembered Rhea in the past, the girl with the radiant smile and hopeful eyes despite all the hate she received from people. The girl he had promised to protect, the girl he had let down. His participation in Alina’s malevolent plans had cost him to lose everything. He had lost Rhea, she would never forgive him.

A tear slid down his face, dropping into his wine. He loathed himself for his choices, for the blind ambition that had driven him to assist Alina. The walls of the chamber seemed to close in on him, echoing his desire to be hidden from the world, away from the prying eyes that saw him as a hero.

He wasn’t a hero nor was Alina, they were evil, they were selfish and greedy. And because of his greediness, he wouldn’t let Rhea go even if she hated him, he would get her back no matter what. She would forgive him if he explained to her that he hadn’t meant to hurt her, she would understand.

He would get her back. "Rhea there is a lot I want to say to you, and I will not rest until I let them all out..." he mumbled to himself. As the night wore on, the weight of his remorse bore him down, the pain evident in every sip, every tear, and every shattered piece of his heart.