Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 426: Captive

Chapter 426: Captive

’Hmm, did I fall asleep again?’

Arabella yawned as she stretched her arms.

She blinked twice when she realized she could not feel the bed on her back nor the sheets covering her. She wasn’t even lying down.

’Huh?! Where am I?’

She gasped when she realized she wasn’t in Ferdinand’s room.

She looked around. She was in a dark humongous hallway, or was this a tunnel? There was not a single window.

Instead of a magic lamp, there were huge torches along the wall, but they were too high up and far apart from each other. The torches were rather dim too.

’Where is this place? How did I end up here?’

Was it part of Ferdinand’s palace? It seemed to be underground.

’Wait! I’m not naked, am I?’

She glanced down and thankfully, she wasn’t. But she was in a thin white dress. The kind she uses to sleep. And she was barefoot. But she could not feel the ground.

’Is this a dream?’

She tried walking. She truly could not feel the ground.

". . ."

She tensed when she heard something that sounded like the breathing of a huge beast. But it sounded to be in pain.

’Hmm... Should I go and check?’ she glanced at both ways of the tunnel. It looked like it went on forever. It was too long. She could not tell which was the entrance and the exit.

She decided to follow the sound of the labored breathing and check it first. Her curiosity got the best of her. If it were dangerous, she would run back and follow the other way.

She was certain this was a dream anyway. She was sure Ferdinand would not allow her to be alone in a place like this dressed in such a thin piece of cloth.

’I wouldn’t get eaten by a beast in my own dream, right? Or is this another scary nightmare?’ she hesitated at that but continued to follow the sound.

The more she walked, the more the labored breathing got louder.

If this wasn’t a dream, she would have turned back and gone the other way out of fear. But since this was a dream, she decided to be a little braver and let her curiosity spur her.

Somehow, she also felt like she needed to see what was at the end of this tunnel.

After walking for what felt like hours, she reached a vast space that seemed empty. But then, she realized it was a dungeon. There were a lot of huge cells everywhere, but they were empty of prisoners.

No, there was one.

She looked around and gasped when she saw a dragon sleeping inside the largest cell. The dragon was about the size of her carriage. And even in the dim light, she could tell it was an ice dragon since the cell was coated in ice.

It reminded her of her husband’s dragon form. But he was so much bigger than this.

She gulped nervously when she recalled he could change sizes. But he would never be in captivity. He was strong and powerful. He would be able to defeat his enemies or escape when necessary.

But why was her chest tightening?

There was a collar around the dragon’s neck and shackles on its feet. Its body was wrapped with huge and sturdy-looking chains. And there was a scary-looking muzzle over its maw.

Arabella felt a lump in her throat and her chest crumpled as she continued scrutinizing it in the dim light.

There was something missing, so she walked to the cell to get a closer look.

’The wings! The wings are gone?!’ Arabella gasped at the discovery. She was horrified as she saw blood oozing where its wings should have been connected to its body. The dragon’s wings were cut.

She looked closer and realized it was injured a lot here and there. It was bleeding so much that the ground below it, though covered with ice, was the color of its blood.

Arabella felt tears sting her eyes.

"How cruel! Who would do this?"

Even if this wasn’t Ferdinand, it was someone of his kind. And it looked so much like him.

The dragon opened its eyes and Arabella gasped at the familiar emerald eyes that greeted her.

It was not someone else. It was Ferdinand!

She was sure of it upon seeing his eyes. And she somehow felt that this was indeed him.

His gaze went where she was and it felt like he was looking at her, but his eyes were unfocused and weak. He was barely conscious.

"Ferdinand? Ferdinand?! What happened?!"

Arabella tried to open the cell, but her hand passed through. She could not touch it.

But she realized she could go inside the cell so she ran to his side and touched him as gently as she could, fearing it would hurt. But she could not even really touch him.

"How could they do this to you," her tears streamed down her cheeks.

Who would be able to do this to him? Just how strong were they?

Arabella wanted to set him free, but she could not even touch anything. It was so frustrating. She could only watch him suffer.

She recalled how gracefully his wings had flown as he gave her a show from the balcony of his room in Estrella. And yet, those same graceful wings were gone.

Seeing him like this was so painful. It must have hurt a lot to have his wings cut. He didn’t seem to be able to regrow it and the wound was still bleeding.

She wanted to at least remove the muzzle, so she tried touching it several times but to avail.

’What does this dream even mean?!’

It sent chills down her spine. Even though she knew this was a dream, seeing Ferdinand like this was terrible.

Elder Satara once told her that dreams should not be ignored since they were usually related to the past or future.

It made her wonder, which was it among the two.

Her blood ran cold at the thought that this could happen in the future. It was such a terrifying thought.