Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 93: Don’t touch her!

Chapter 93: Don’t touch her!

Rhea, who had been immersed in Draven’s chilling atmosphere, finally opened her eyes, only to discover that Edmund was nowhere to be found. She had momentarily been consumed by the coolness, because of the burning in her heart, but she hadn’t anticipated that the man would flee this fast.

She couldn’t allow Edmund to leave this building, or else he would expose her and Draven’s true identities to everyone. She quickly stood up, although the pain in her chest had not completely subsided. She held her chest tightly, suppressing the discomfort. Glancing back to check if Draven had finished absorbing his powers, she was taken aback by what she saw.

Draven, now kneeling on the floor with his eyes shut, appeared completely transformed. His previously dull and sickly complexion now radiated under the light, almost like glass, with a hint of rosy colors on his cheeks. Even his physique looked refined and more muscular. For a moment, Rhea couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, until she remembered she needed to go after Edmund.

Rhea was uncertain as to why it was taking Draven so long to open his eyes, but she was relieved to know that he was fine. Knowing that Edmund wouldn’t have gone far, she hurriedly left the hall, but just as she was about to turn a corner, she bumped into someone and staggered at the impact before stumbling backwards.

Rhea tensed up as she thought she’d bumped into one of the fire controllers, but then she heard the familiar voice of the person, "Where are you hurrying to?"

Rhea let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding when she saw that it was Valen. This meant she wouldn’t have to personally kill Edmund. With Valen present and Edmund injured, there was no way he could escape Valen, who had always wanted to get rid of his stepfather. Although she didn’t know the full story behind their animosity, she could sense that it was something she didn’t want to be involved in.

Rhea, who had been feeling relieved after seeing Valen, became tense again when she noticed some men walking around the area. She panicked and looked at Valen, but he just chuckled and said, "Don’t worry, Rhea. Your secret won’t be exposed to anyone. Those are just my men taking care of something. I came here to let you know that Edmund has been dealt with, so you can relax now."

Rhea finally relaxed. However, at that moment, the burning pain she had been suppressing, returned double time. Even her legs were beginning to shake internally. The pain in her chest felt like her heart was roasting in her chest. Rhea clutched her chest. "Why didn’t you come earlier before Edmund could hit me with his flames..." She murmured to Valen.

Valen let out a small chuckle, "It’s because I have faith in you to take care of my dear stepfather." He remarked in amusement, but when he saw Rhea clutching tightly to her chest as she crouched down on the ground, the amusement in his hazel eyes died down. He could tell she’d been hit pretty badly. He then offered, "You don’t look so good, let me carry you back."

He couldn’t allow his men to escort her back. Although, they were all his trusted aids, he just wanted to make sure her identity would be safe and she wouldn’t fall in more trouble. Valen slightly bent over, attempting to carry her, but Rhea waved her hand, "No, no. Thanks for your kind offer, but I’ll be just fine." She murmured softly.

However, Valen wasn’t getting any of that, he removed his coat and draped it over her body, he was just about to bend over to lift her up, when a deep smooth voice rang from the hallway, "Don’t touch her!"

Valen was startled by the unexpected voice and turned towards it, only to see Draven. Seeing Draven’s transformed appearance, Valen was shocked, he almost couldn’t believe that this was the same man he had spoken to weeks ago. Draven looked completely different, exuding an air of respect and authority as he walked.

Valen watched in disbelief as Draven approached them without acknowledging him. Draven walked directly to Rhea, who was still crouched on the ground, and casually took off the coat Valen had placed on her, throwing it at Valen’s face. Although surprised by the coat hitting his face, Valen remained silent and continued to stare.

A displeased frown settled between Draven’s thick brows as he watched Rhea clutching her chest. He had reclaimed his powers, and because of that, he could no longer feel Rhea’s pain. But he didn’t like the fact that she was hurt. He crouched down to her level, raised his hand to move away the strands of hair falling over her face and tucked them behind her ear. He then softly ask, "Does it hurt that much? I told you didn’t I? Try not to get hurt."

Upon realizing that Draven was here for Rhea, Valen chose to retreat in order to prevent any misunderstanding of his genuine concern for her as romantic affections. With a slight smile, he said, "Well, I will leave you both alone. Draven, please ensure her well-being." After uttering those words, Valen quickly walked away without delay, calling out to his men to quickly relocate all the elixirs from the premises.

Draven heard him commanding his men to take the elixirs, but he was in no mood to concern himself with what Valen was going to do with them. After all, his dragon powers were no longer available for the humans to use, even if Valen wanted to make more, there was no way for him to do so anymore. His main concern at this moment, was Rhea’s condition.

Rhea was still clutching tightly to her chest, she was in so much pain she couldn’t even glance up at Draven, who was gently stroking her hair as if to sooth the pain for her. It felt like her heart was boiling in flames, to the point tears welled up in her eyes.

Draven, who was gently running his fingers through her hair, observed that her forehead was coated in sweat. Rhea had always been cold due to his core, but witnessing her current state made him realize that the flame had truly done some internal damage to her. He’d never thought he would feel this way, but he hated the fact that he could no longer feel her pain in order to understand what had gone wrong within her body. Frustrated, he tightened his fist and offered, "Does it hurt that much? Allow me to carry you back; perhaps Aria can summon a doctor to examine you." Just as he was about to lift her, Rhea angrily slapped his hand away.

"Don’t touch me! I got injured while trying to protect you, but even after you regained your powers, you just remained there on your knees without a care in the world. What were you doing that took you so long?!"

Draven was on the verge of explaining, but Alina’s words about his core flashed in his thoughts once more. If he ever had to confront Alina, he knew he had to be whole again, reclaiming every piece of himself. His core...

Draven’s eyes momentarily fell at that thought, but he swiftly brushed it aside and instead responded to Rhea, "Absorbing powers always requires time. My body was temporarily immobilized, but my mind was clear..." He had noticed her grunt when Edmund attacked her with his flames, but he couldn’t halt his absorption, which was why he unleashed his coldness earlier.

Draven continued to speak, "I am sorry you got hurt because of me again." He apologized sincerely.

Rhea was taken aback at the sincerity in his voice. She glanced at his ethereal handsome face in astonishment. Actually, it wasn’t his fault that she was hurt, and she wasn’t supposed to blame him, she was probably irritated from the intense pain. But he’d even apologized. That was new. She thought, then said, "It’s fine, I’ll accept your apology this time, but if I get hurt again while trying to help you, I won’t accept it."

Draven simply nodded his head, then moved to carry her again, yet again she smacked away his hands, and exclaimed, "Wait, we can’t leave yet, there is one more thing left to do here!"

Draven frowned, he then looked at her in dissatisfaction, "You are not in the condition to stay here and do something else. You are severely injured, I need to take you back and examine your heart."

Rhea pursed her lips, "No, we can’t go just yet. Johanna’s ghost must be sealed in this building by Alina, if she remains here for too long, she will turn into an evil spirit and hunt the building for life." She said, "Please let’s find her and release her before we go back."

Draven didn’t reply and only stared at her with a blank expression. But when Rhea waved her hands in the air indicating for him to help her up, he sighed in defeat and grabbed her wrist then swiftly pulled her up, she staggered a little and stumbled into his arms. His arms automatically went around her waist to support her.

Rhea remained completely silent, not uttering a single cry or whimper. It was as if the pain had rendered her speechless, not even asking to be released or an attempt to move away. Her uncharacteristic lack of response unsettled Draven. However, his astonishment grew when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest and softly murmuring, "Your body feels so cold, let me hold you for a while to ease the burning in my chest."

Just as Draven was about to relax and allow her to embrace him for as long as she needed, Rhea abruptly pulled away as if suddenly coming back to her senses, "Let’s go, we can’t afford to delay any longer."

Draven was momentarily taken aback. Wasn’t she the one who had wanted to hold him? He observed as she began to limp forward, he then quickly rushed to her side out of fear that she might fall without support.

Draven positioned himself in front of her and bent down. The harsh wind whipped around them, taking strands of his dark hair with it. He then causally said, "Hop on. I’ll carry you the rest of the way."

Rhea’s eyes widened at the unexpected offer, she had never climbed onto someone’s back before, and the thought of it made her hesitate. But then, she could need such support in her current condition, she didn’t know how much they’d have to walk around the building to find the ghost, accepting his offer would be the best course of action.

Taking a deep breath, Rhea slowly leaned on Draven’s back, her burning chest hurting slightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel the coldness of his body beneath her body, and her heart skipped a beat at the unexpected closeness. "Be careful not to drop me..." She murmured softly as Draven slipped his arms under her knees.

Draven, feeling the softness of her chest against his back, couldn’t help but stiffen for a brief moment. He swiftly rose up, as if he carried no weight at all. Rhea clung onto him tightly, as he began to walk through the hallway. His steps were steady and sure.

Rhea coughed to clear the awkwardness she was feeling for being on his back, she then said, "I’m not sure where Alina has hidden the ghost. Johanna meant nothing to her, so she probably didn’t bother destroying her soul. I bet the ghost is still here somewhere, but this building is so big. Where do we even start?"

Draven stayed silent for a moment, then closed his eyes and muttered, "Does she have the scent of a decaying corpse? A gloomy and lifeless aura?"

Rhea, who was looking down at his feet, replied, "Hmm, she smells exactly like that. It’s awful."

Draven opened his eyes and declared, "I can smell her. She’s in the opposite direction."

Rhea was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"

"My Dragon senses have returned along with my powers. I can smell anything from a distance, and I sense the ghost in the other direction."

Rhea was stunned by his words and seemed lost in thought before saying, "Draven, if you can sense things from a distance now, then we could search tombs and find any treasure that way! Assuming your sense of smell is accurate, we could claim any treasure we come across in the tombs. We should do this together sometime, don’t you think?"

"...!" No matter what happened or what condition they were in, Rheanna Villden always managed to say something unbelievable. For a moment, he had thought she was going to make a sensible point, but then...

Draven smiled slightly and adjusted his arms around her legs, "Let’s focus on finding the ghost, Rhea. I have no intention of searching tombs to hunt for treasure with you."