Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 187: Ready

Chapter 187: Ready

"Your heart?" Aideen raised her thin eyebrows, feeling once again pulled back into a state of complete haze. "I don’t think I understand... How can I take your heart and become one with you?"

Utar’s short exhale brushed over her skin as he opened his giant mouth to answer.

"Now that you have awakened me, it will only be a matter of time before others notice the shift in power. And you know what it will mean—they will abuse me, fight for the right to control my powers, and once they’re done, all that will be left will be my heart, which will be the alchemist philosopher’s stone. I cannot allow it, Aideen, and that is why I need you."

The princess lowered her face and pressed her lips together. She recalled her conversation with Ahspid right before he disappeared, and it made her chest contract in a pang of sorrow. The fear of being abused was the mere reason why she agreed to have her powers sealed, but now she faced yet another dilemma—what would happen if she were to awaken her true powers to their fullest?

As if having read her mind, the dragon moved his face closer to hers, his steady breathing fluttering the woman’s hair like winter wind. He then lightly touched his cold nose to her forehead, sending shivers all over Aideen’s skin. He said, his voice calm and somewhat affectionate despite still ringing with a monstrous tone,

"My child, do not forget that the powers sleeping within you are those of both a great magus and the strongest creature in the world. Once unsealed, there will be no one as powerful as you, and there will be no one to harm you. You will be stronger than all the mages and creatures combined."

Utar’s words were reassuring, but the princess was yet to be convinced his choice was right.

"If I indeed become this powerful, wouldn’t I become a threat to everyone else? If people learn of my strength, they will still try to capture me, only to make sure that I do not obliterate them all like a tyrant."

"What is it that you want, Aideen?" The snow dragon asked in a low voice. Aideen closed her sparkling eyes and took a moment to think about her answer. The first thing that came to her mind was Tillian’s desire for revenge. She thought about the people of the North, about Bella and Lord Giggles, about the royal family, and about Ahspid.

What did she want to do?

"I..." she started quietly, still scared to finally voice her true thoughts. "I want to protect those who are wronged and guard peace where others wage war. I want people to be fair to one another, and if becoming a dragon means my strength can show others their weaknesses, then I want your power, Utar. No... I want my power. My true power."

"Very well, my child. I trust you will be just as wise as the one whose magic fuels that never-dying passion in your heart, the great magus Navia."

With these words, Utar removed his wing from Aideen’s body, carefully allowing her to take a seat on the cold ground of the mountain cave. To the princess’s surprise, this time, she didn’t feel cold at all, as if the notion of temperature itself was removed from her consciousness altogether.

Suddenly, the princess realized another thing she was still not aware of—what did it mean to ’take the dragon’s heart’?

"Won’t you die then?!" She exclaimed, nearly jumping to her feet. Moving his upper body to expose his broad, light blue chest, the dragon made another long and loud exhale. "I will disappear, but I will live inside your body forever, Aideen. All of the snow dragons that ever existed will live as one. We will live as you."

Although she understood what Utar meant, the woman couldn’t help but feel sad and even a little disappointed. She had no idea how much time had passed since she started talking to the dragon, but she had to admit that his presence next to her made her feel protected and at ease, the same way she felt when she was surrounded by the people in the duke’s castle.

And now, she had to let go of this presence, too. It was too soon. Necessary, but still too soon.

"So, my child?" Utar’s voice started sounding restless. "Are you ready to finally accept your fate and become the one you were born to be?"

Swallowing hard, Aideen pressed her clenched fist against her chest and nodded.

"Yes. I am ready."

Her words were confident enough to sound almost like an order. Lifting his heavy, half-frozen upper body even more, the dragon let out another long exhale that filled the cave with cold air. Then he leaned on his upper arms, his long and wide wings spread open as if he was preparing to fly.

With his low voice, he added, "There will be no going back, Aideen. Once you receive the power, you will have to learn to live with it. While a blessing to some, this strength is a curse to others."

Taking a deep inhale, Utar filled his lungs with air, but instead of exhaling it, he lowered his face, and the princess heard a loud crack as if an icy wall before her split in half.

The dragon opened his own chest for her.

"Follow the beating sound, my child. The power of all the dragons that lived before you is beating inside it. Take it and make it one with yours."

What Utar called ’beating’ was as loud as the sound of a giant mallet hitting an anvil, if not louder; she could never miss something like this.

With each step she took forward, the sound of his beating heart became closer, and before she knew it, it indeed felt as if his heart was beating all around her, inside her, it was her own.

Resembling the previous hypnotic state, Aideen’s left hand reached out, pulled by the invisible force closer to the dragon’s body. She was confident, and everything suddenly felt right; there was not even the slightest hint of doubt inside her soul.

At last, her feet stopped when the sound of Utar’s beating heart seemed to have consumed the woman whole. The princess placed her hand on the heart, and a moment later, she felt an incredible force enveloping her entire being, filling both her body and soul with power stronger than mana. It was as if she had consumed a potent healing elixir meant to cleanse her soul or, perhaps, used a powerful healing spell meant to heal every single weakness in her body.

Whatever it was, she felt it all. She felt and accepted it all.

She became one with the dragon.