Bound To The Ice Dragon King
Chapter 98: Please... don’t leave

Chapter 98: Please... don’t leave

The person’s voice caused Rhea to freeze instantly, her body ceasing its movements. She swiftly turned around and saw the person’s face. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

He was dressed in a neat white casual outfit, with his black hair tightly pulled up at the top of his head, not a single strand out of place, accentuating his long face. His posture was upright and rigid. His demeanor radiated calmness and charisma. Rhea’s eyes widened even further, "Cal!" she exclaimed, and without any hesitation, she jumped at him and embraced him. "You’ve finally come back to the capital, it feels like it’s been an eternity. I almost forgot what you looked like. What brings you here?"

However, Cal didn’t reply to that question, his eyebrows furrowed together as he moved away from the hug, he gravely looked at Rhea’s face, then measured her from head to toe, before saying, "What happened to your hair color? And why does your human aura smell different and weird? What are you doing here?"

Rhea’s delighted expression slowly fell, as she realized something. Wasn’t she on disguise? But yet, Cal recognized her. Oh No! This wasn’t good, she couldn’t be recognized after the calculating rumors about her being the murderer, especially not by her family members.

Rhea didn’t wait for him to ask another question, she spun around and started to run away. Cal was stunned for a moment, but without wasting time, he rapidly ran after her and reached out to grab her coat, "What’s wrong with you? Why are you running away from me?" He asked, and extended his other hand to grasp her arm, but he didn’t get to reach out to hold her, before another hand suddenly roughly grabbed his wrist. The hand moved so fast, Cal didn’t see it coming. The person’s grip around his wrist was firm and tight, as if he was going to rip off his hand.

With a scowl on his face, Cal shifted his gaze towards the person gripping his wrist. He was confronted by a tall and attractive man, with icy blue eyes that emitted a threatening glare. The mere presence of this man was overpowering, exuding an aura of danger. The intensity in his eyes was extremely intimidating. Cal’s scowl deepened as he asked, "Who are you?"

Just as Rhea was about to flee once more, she heard his question and spun around. "Draven, how did you end up here? Oh, you’ve come to get me, haven’t you? Well then, let’s go back." She quickly took hold of his hand, which he had been using to grip Cal’s wrist, and tugged him along. "Come on, I’m finished at the market."

Of course Cal, who had been searching for Rhea for several days, was not willing to let her walk away with a complete stranger. "Wait!" He grabbed hold of Rhea’s free hand. Draven also grabbed Cal’s hand, which he was using to hold onto Rhea. He was about to wrest it away, but Rhea stopped him. Thus, the three of them stood in a circle, holding hands, while the two men glared at each other fiercely.

They remained in that position, refusing to let go of each other. Rhea was afraid that if she let go of Draven, he would fight Cal, while Cal was afraid that if he let go of Rhea, she would run away. Meanwhile, Draven feared that if he let go of Cal, he would take Rhea away.

As they stood there, even the people passing by in the market couldn’t help but glance at them. Some even started gathering around to see what was happening.

Rhea noticed that people had begun gathering around them in curiousity. Therefore, she decided to put an end to the pair’s intimidating glares, "Alright, you guys, stop it. Cal, I won’t try to run, let’s have a talk. Draven release him as well."

Cal solemnly looked at Rhea, he saw that she’d released Draven’s hand and turned to him, he also slowly lessened his grip on her wrist, until Draven released him did he completely let go of Rhea’s wrist.

Rhea let out a sigh and asked, "Cal, why are you on this side of the city?"

"I came here to find you. One of my men informed me that they spotted you here, so I came to bring you back home. No matter what, I’m taking you back with me, Rhea."

Upon hearing that he would take her back no matter what, Rhea didn’t wait to hear the rest. She was about to reach out for Draven, but he was quicker than her. He reached out and firmly held her hand, their fingers interlocked. He wasn’t going to let anyone, not even this man who seemed to have some relation with her, take her away.

Before Cal could react, Draven raised his hand, and in an instant, clouds of dust rose from the ground, clouding everyone’s vision. Just like that, Draven and Rhea were gone. Cal stood there, motionless, as he realized the spot they had been standing in was now empty. His fists clenched. "How dare he take her away like that? I will find you, Rhea. I won’t let any harm come to you." He vowed.

Draven and Rhea returned to The Den Of Pleasure, still holding hands. He had blocked everyone’s vision and left with Rhea.

"Did you see Cal’s expression, he looked so worried. I hope he stops looking for me though." She murmured softly.

However, Draven looked down at their interlocked fingers, again he felt warmth bloom from their locked fingers and traveled to his cold heart. When he glanced at Rhea’s downcast expression, he silently tightened his grip a little. He couldn’t imagine this girl leaving him alone to continue this journey on his own. The thought of it alone, made him feel like he’d lose another part of him.

"Let’s go inside." Rhea softly whispered. Unaware that she was still gripping him tightly, she guided him back to their room, their hands intertwined. It wasn’t until she was about to push open the door that she realized their firm hold on each other.

Nonchalantly, Draven released her hand upon noticing her intention to open the door. Interestingly, Rhea didn’t appear to be uncomfortable with their prolonged interlocked fingers; it felt as though holding hands in this manner was completely normal to her. Without hesitation, she opened the door and entered the room.

"Your reaction in the market was unexpectedly pretty fast. Oh, if you think about it, we have a good understanding of each other at times. Just like how you quickly held my hand before I reached out to you."

A deep connection. Draven glanced at Rhea, for the past few days, he knew she was coming up with a terrible plan. Thus, he had been keeping an eye on her and even followed her to the market. They obviously had been together for just months, but he understood her more than anyone. It was as if she was a part of him.

Draven didn’t reply and watched Rhea walk to the wardrobe and started to rummage through her things. He saw that she began to fold her clothes into a chest. He still didn’t speak and silently watched what she was going to do.

She turned to look at him, "Draven," she began, "I originally planned to tell you this through a letter after I leave, but now that it has come to the point that I could get recognized as Rheanna, and Cal is looking for me, I have to leave before he finds me again."

Draven raised an eyebrow, "What will he do if he takes you back with him?" He asked.

Rhea pursed her lips, "Back then when I was sent to the border town, Cal wasn’t in the capital, and now that he’s back, and from his character, he definitely wouldn’t give up until he takes me with him. He’d probably also heard the rumors and now wants to bring me back to protect me. He’s protective of me to the point he would go against anyone to see that I’m safe. That dummy, I don’t know why he’s always nice to me even though at times I’m usually mean to him."

Draven’s gaze grew colder after hearing Rhea’s words. "He treats you quite well."

Rhea nodded, "More than well. When mother Irene took me as her own, Cal was still a teenager, he swore to mother Irene that he would be my protector, and for that reason he even decided to spend most of his time in the Villden mansion instead of his family’s household. When I was still little, whenever he was around, he wouldn’t let anyone bully me, he even taught me how to defend myself against bullies. Even though we’re not related by blood, he acted like a protective brother.

"And knowing his character, if I go back with him, he’d do anything to protect me from the rumors, and that could put him in danger. I don’t want him to get involved in all this mess..." Rhea fell silent upon reaching this point. Her hands slowly stopped folding the clothes, as she recalled all the times Cal had stood for her against her step sisters and stepmother. Even though she was at fault, he would still defend her.

Rhea deeply sighed and rapidly continued to fold up the remaining clothes. "Let’s not talk about Cal," she raised her head and look at Draven, "let’s talk about the matter of our departure instead."

Draven looked at her silently waiting to hear her out.

"You’re aware that from the beginning, I didn’t want to come along with you to the capital. And now that you’ve retrieved your powers, you will slowly grow stronger and unapproachable very soon, and retrieving your Dragon form wouldn’t be a problem for you again, you..."

"Rheanna," he called. Draven rarely used her full name so seriously, and the tone he used, caused her to stop talking and look at him. Her expression softened, revealing the impact he had on her. However, she quickly shook her head, gathering her confidence, and firmly stated, "Do not attempt to persuade me into assisting you. I have considered the matter and made up my mind to go my separate way.

"What will happen once you regain your form if I continue to follow you? You will eventually seek revenge, kill those who wronged you, return to your realm, fulfill your responsibilities, and then what about me? I will undoubtedly suffer even more, being labeled a traitor in my homeland and likely hunted down and killed." As she spoke, her voice grew weaker, her throat thightened with emotions.

"I have carefully thought through everything and decided to begin my own life now. You can go your own way while I go mine. You can continue your journey alone, Draven. I have assisted you enough. I am done." She murmured the last part softly, then dropped her head down, no longer meeting his gaze.

Draven remained silent throughout her entire speech. After he saw that she had finished, he approached her slowly and used his finger to lift her chin, making her look at him. He noticed that her eyes were sparkling under the lights once again. "Rheanna, in this world of humans... I have no place to call my own." He gazed into her black orbs, that looked like a bottomless pit, "But you..." He gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, his voice soft and tender, "you gave me a sense of belonging again. I felt more alive than when I lived as Jurian. Rhea, if you were to leave me now, how could I go on without you? We are meant to be together, we share a connection of life and death. Please... don’t leave."

Upon hearing these words, Rhea’s heart started racing. It was difficult for her to maintain her despondency. For the first time, she felt deeply needed and relied upon by someone. It turned out that in this world where she was viewed as worthless, she held such significance to someone.

To hell with it all. Why was her heart ready to burst out of her chest, and why did she feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach? Why did she suddenly realize that she didn’t want to go anywhere without this man? And most surprisingly, why were tears streaming down her face all of a sudden?