Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 169: Stick with me

Chapter 169: Stick with me

Draven and Rhea hurried to meet Prince Zachary after Ethan’s report had shattered their moment of desire. The atmosphere in the palace had suddenly turned hostile from the unexpected news that had just arrived. When the three of them reached where Zack was standing with a few guards, Draven asked,

"What’s going on?"

Prince Zachary looked towards Draven with a serious expression that revealed the gravity of the situation, "Alina is currently at our borders with the human army, and one of the soldiers just came to report that she isn’t only killing our soldiers, she’s also ripping out their cores and discarding their corpses like pieces of rag dolls!"

Zack was enraged as he explained the situation to Draven, he also told him that they’d lost a lot of their commanders, and due to that the king had no choice but to send two of his sons to protect their people. Prince Zachary was the eldest son but due to his weak body, he was unable to join his brothers, and that alone was enough to anger him even more.

Draven calmly asked, "Are you certain Alina is the one leading the war?"

"Yes. She’s at the front line like a devil sent on a mission to destroy us!" Zack gritted his teeth in annoyance, "I should have killed her when I had the chance decades ago!"

Draven had also wished that more than anyone, he had wished he’d never met Alina, but what was done was done, they just had to fix the past mistake and never make another again.

"Are there more troops left at the soldiers camp?" Draven asked.

Zack was taken aback by that question, but then he answered, "No, all the troops are at the borders. What do you plan to do with them?"

A cold light flicked in Draven’s eyes as he replied, "I want to go to Birhhan and take back my scales from her residence."

Rhea, Ethan, and Zack were all taken by surprise at his words. Though Draven’s blue eyes were icy and resolute, his voice held a calm assurance.

"If Alina’s at the Dragon realm border now, she must’ve dropped the human realm’s barrier. Probably, most of the fire controllers joined her in the fight, leaving Birhhan vulnerable. With her here, now’s my chance to retrieve what belongs to me. I just need to undo the spell protecting her home and grab my scales."

Ethan stared at Draven, puzzled. Rhea and Zack, on the other hand, grasped Draven’s intentions. Rhea, her anxiety evident, remarked, "But Draven, what if this is one of Alina’s traps to draw you away from the dragon realm?"

Meeting Rhea’s gaze, Draven’s stern facade softened. "I doubt it. She has a purpose here, likely gathering as many cores as she can since no Dragons are left in Birhhan. With her occupied here, we’ll move there, and I’ll retrieve my scales."

Ethan leapt forward, "if you two are going to Birhhan to do cool things, I am definitely tagging along!" He exclaimed excitedly as if going to the enemies territory was a cool thing to do.

Prince Zachary’s eyes snapped towards his younger brother, who seemed as thrilled as a kid going on an outing. He shared a look with Draven. Draven nodded, and Zack asked, "Ethan, before you go with them, can you grab my medicine from my room?"

Ethan, caught up in the excitement, didn’t sense anything off. "Hold on, Draven, I’ll be back in a second!" He dashed into the palace.

Zack then told Draven, "Leave before he comes back."

Rhea frowned, "He seems eager to come with us. Shouldn’t we wait?"

Draven replied, "Ethan doesn’t have powers. I can only guard you. He’d slow us down if we take him along."

Rhea nodded in understanding, but then wondered, "How will we ditch him?"

Draven smirked, "He won’t catch us. Let’s move." He signaled Zack and led Rhea away, while Zack also slipped out before Ethan could return and make a fuss.

Not long after the three had left in different directions, Ethan returned, "Brother, I found your medicine on the..." his eyes were on the medicine as he spoke and hadn’t noticed they were gone until he looked up and saw the spot they were before he left was now empty.

Ethan hadn’t even started to wonder where they were before he heard a loud Dragon roar outside the palace gate and ran towards the sound only to see Draven flying away into the horizon with Rhea on his back.

At first, Ethan stood there staring at the dragon in the sky as if he couldn’t believe he had been tricked. He gritted his teeth and stamped his feet in rage, "Liars! I was going to help you out of the goodness of my heart but you ditched me like a kid!" He yelled to the sky and turned on his heels, "Brother Zachary, you played dirty!"

***

Rhea clung to the thick icy fur around Draven’s neck, her fingers digging in gently, wary of his injured body. She had a bag containing Draven’s clothes around her own neck. The vast expanse of the sky was breathtaking, a canvas of pastel hues with a sun bidding farewell. But she barely noticed it. Her heart ached, seeing the raw, open wounds on Draven’s scaled hide. Each flap of his mighty wings likely brought a sting of pain, and the weight of guilt pressed on her chest.

"You must be in so much pain..." Rhea whispered, voice slightly trembling, completely forgetting about the young prince they’d ditched.

As they left the Dragon realm, the horizon beckoned, a blend of orange and pink, with shadows of the world below casting long, serene silhouettes. The beauty was undeniable, but the silent strength of the dragon beneath her held her rapt attention.

Draven’s deep rumble vibrated beneath her, a sign that he had heard her, and was pondering a response. To her surprise, she heard his voice in her head.

"The pain isn’t too bad. Once I have my scales back, I won’t feel it."

Rhea gave a small smile and gently stroked his neck to comfort him. But a thought popped into her head and she said, "Draven, isn’t it odd that Alina came to the dragon realm for the Dragon cores?" She looked puzzled, "Do you think she’s planning something? I mean she was brave enough to come to the dragon realm knowing the conflict."

Draven let out a low sound before she heard him speak in her mind, "I think she’s up to something, but we can’t be certain because she’s so sneaky," he shared, "all we can do is guess what she’s planning without actually knowing. But soon enough we will know."

As Draven changed direction, Rhea held on tighter to his fur. The wind whipped her hair and face. She had always wondered what riding on Draven’s back would feel like, but this wasn’t as thrilling as she had imagined. They were headed into the enemies territory. However, no matter what, she was determined to help Draven get his scales back and stop his pain.

Rhea suddenly recalled something Draven had once asked; ’Rheanna, sometimes I wonder if you were the one I met a century ago. If the woman I loved back then was you and not Alina, what would have happened? Would we still be happily married with children by now, or would it have come to a woeful end? Just like it did with Alina.’ he had asked her those questions but she hadn’t replied to them because she didn’t know her feelings for him then, but now she knew, and she had the answers to them.

If she was the one Draven had met a century ago, she would never let him go nor let him down. She would shower him with care and affection, she would build a family with him; a lovely family where no child of theirs would be loveless, a family where their lives would be filed with laughter and love. They would have had many kids by now, but...

She wasn’t the one he had met, and she would never be, because she didn’t even exist back then. He had met Alina and she had broken him to pieces, she had shattered his heart beyond repair...

Rhea felt bitterness In her throat and quickly dismissed those thoughts from her mind by asking, "When we get there, will you be needing my blood for anything?" Repairing Draven’s heart would be impossible, but even so she would help him find peace with his past by avenging himself.

"I am not certain yet, but before we can enter into Alina’s manor I have to break the barrier she’d put around it." Draven explained.

"Alright."

As Draven’s powerful wings cut through the cold wind, Rhea clung to his icy fur as they finally arrived at Birhhan. The capital city, always bustling, now seemed to hold its breath at their arrival.

People in the streets below looked up in horror, their eyes reflecting the fear of seeing a majestic ice dragon in their midst. Panic erupted as they scattered in all directions, shouting warnings to others. Mothers grabbed their children, and market vendors left their stalls in haste.

Rhea could feel their terror but her focus was ahead. Draven, seemingly unbothered by the chaos below, directed his flight towards Alina’s vast manor. From this height, the manor stretched out, almost appearing like a separate small town on it’s own from how vast it was. It sprawled in all its grandeur, with several quarters on its grounds.

The building was intricate, with high walls that showed the success of Alina through the years. Surrounding it was a fence that shimmered with a strange glow. The most striking feature, however, was the blazing magical fire barrier encasing the entire manor. It danced and flickered, clearly meant to deter any ice dragon that dared to approach. But Draven wasn’t any ice Dragon.

Coming to land a few meters away from the intimidating building, Draven wasted no time. With a brilliant flash of light and a cold gust of wind, the majestic dragon was gone. In its place stood Draven, tall and imposing, his skin still glistening with a faint frosty sheen.

Rhea, a bit shaken from the flight, hurriedly handed him the clothes she’d packed in the bag without looking at him but his fingers momentarily brushed against hers as he took the clothes. She quickly turned to offer him some privacy, a blush painted her cheeks, her pulse quickening from the unexpected small touch of his fingers that seemed to remind her of the kiss they’d almost shared this morning but was interrupted by Ethan.

Too bad...

Once dressed, Draven reached out, gently pulling her hands into his. But the intensity in his eyes spoke volume of their current situation, they couldn’t afford to waste any time in breaking down the barrier.

Together, they approached the barrier, the flames crackling defiantly. The heat in the air was palpable, but Draven was ready to challenge any obstacle, and the fire barrier was just the beginning.

"Stand back," he whispered to Rhea and raised his hands in the air, and immediately a strong force of ice power hit against the barrier, and the wind picked up around them, clouding the surroundings.

The collision of his frosty might with the fiery wall made a resounding clash. The noise drew the attention of guards and some fire controllerss within the compound. Rhea heard the distant hubbub and urgent voices, but Draven remained undistracted, focusing on dismantling the protective wall.

The walls finally shattered like splintering glasses. Rhea observed the golden shards descending like rainfall as they entered Alina’s estate. But the moment they made it in, they were immediately encircled by guards and fire controllers. It seemed Alina hadn’t left her mansion defenseless despite the barrier. The men surrounding them were in hundreds.

With the odds heavily stacked against them, Rhea and Draven seemed like two against an army. Draven glanced at Rhea, a teasing grin on his face. "Terrified?"

With a laugh that showcased her unique front teeth, Rhea responded, her eyes twinkling in jest, "Terrified? What’s that?"

Matching her lighthearted tone, Draven answered, "Couldn’t tell you." Extending his hand towards her, he added, "Side by side we fight, and I want you to stick with me." She took his hand, affirming, "Side by side we fight."