The Dragon Queen and her mates.
Chapter 180: Face your worst fear

Chapter 180: Face your worst fear

Bree felt like she was going to die, she didn’t know what was happening to her but all she knew was that never in her life was she ever dragged by a vine and plunged into the darkness like this before. All she knew was when she was dragged under the ground, her vision went dark and the next second her entire body seemed to have shrivelled up into that of a tiny doll. Her ribs shrunk and so did her eyeballs as they rolled back into the sockets, her breathing became a hurdle that she couldn’t pass and then the next second she felt like her limbs were going to be torn apart.

She opened her mouth to scream but she couldn’t do it and the next thing she knew, she fell flat on her back on a rough surface that cracked and crunched under her weight. Even after coming to a stop, Bree couldn’t understand what was happening all she knew was that her heart that almost stopped beating after being squeezed by her bottling rib cage was once again beating.

Her breath felt like it has been stolen away just like she was by the vine and her bone seemed to be groaning with each step she took. She reached her hand at the back of her head and then rubbed the surface, wrenching out a cry of pain when she felt something sharp digging in her skull, she raised her neck and pulled the thing out only to gasp in surprise when she saw that her fingers were clutching a shard of glass all shattered and turned to powder.

Fortunately, she was a shifter and that too a dragon one at that or she would have been killed by this long shard that was crumbling in her fingers.

Bree pushed herself off the floor and then turned to look around the place where she has fallen. Fractured glasses and twirling colours blended together as soon as her head stopped rolling along with the centre of rotation of this world.

" Where am I?" She pushed herself off the floor and heard even more cracks opening at the bottom of her feet. Surprised she looked down and saw her haphazard reflection, her hair now resembled the bed of moss which wasn’t a surprise after all her hair wasn’t trapped in those wound coils and strictly tied firm braids either. After falling so unceremoniously like that something like this was expected and so was the torn shirt and pants with glass shards sticking to her skin and hair.

What in fact wasn’t expected was the hollow dark portal that gurgled and frothed under the glass floor. She sucked in a breath and then looked around the room where she has been suddenly dragged—— room, it couldn’t be called one. It was a glass cage like an old remnant of a greenhouse. With no windows and doors, she couldn’t even understand how in Mavis’s pants she was able to get inside this place when it was closed off like this.

Even the roof with its pointed spear-like structure was looking sturdy and untouched. The only thing that was breaking was the floor which wasn’t a good thing for Bree, she couldn’t fly at the moment with Saphira still trapped inside her and nor could she partially shift in a way where wings would sprout out of her back.

She looked around the room and then licked her lips before walking closer to the glass wall and touching it, maybe she will be able to climb out of this place. Or maybe break it into pieces and sneak out?

But touching the glass turned out to be her biggest mistake, the second her fingers touched the glass she felt her wrist jerk and then she was pulled inside the glass like someone has snatched her right out of the spot where she was standing.

Bree felt her knees buckle under her feet, now she was standing inside the garden of the Dragon palace. As soon as she dropped to her knees she felt the leaves rustling next to her, the soft crunch of grass made her hiss as she raised her head and felt her eyes go wide.

In front of her stood Yakov and in his arms was Harley, the two looked close enough to be mistaken for a couple already but when Yakov swooped down and locked his lips with Harley’s, there was nothing more to think about it, Bree stared at the sight in front of her. She knew this scene and had read it many times without even blinking her eyes back then she hasn’t cared about the Dragon Queen who shared a name with her or anyone else.

But now that she watching the scene, a faint twinge rose in her heart and then she was gasping for air. What? Why was she hurting like this? She didn’t care about Yakov or any other consort of her right? So, why did she feel bad and why in the world was something like this happening in front of her?

On one hand, she knew that what she was seeing was nothing but a hallucination, however, at the same time, she couldn’t help but clench her fingers. Just this morning she watched Yakov bring a bunch of things for her, he looked awkward but caring and now he had another woman in his arms. Not only was he hugging her but also locking his lips with the woman that too right in front of her!

" Are you upset?" The Yakov in front of her twisted and looked at her with a smile. Not the soft one that he used in front of her but the one that was contemptuous and hollow. With Harley dressed in the most beautiful dress she owned in the palace, he came to stand in front of her. Bree wanted to get up and face his head but as soon as she raised her head, she realised that she couldn’t get up from the floor.

Instead, the sound of metal clinked on the ground and then she was slammed back on the rough grass as if her face has been pushed by something or someone. She spat the green strips sticking to her lips and then raised her head slightly, with a metal chain in his hands that seemed to be tied around her throat Cian looked down at her, eyes filled with jeer and taunts.

" What? Do you still believe that you are the leading lady of this world?" His voice was as alluring as usual but his words were cold enough to turn Bree’s blood cold. She stared at the man in front of her with eyes that were wide and quivering, why? Why was he saying those words?

" I have seen your fears," a voice echoed from the back and then a familiar face with red eyes slipped next to hers. Hand pressed on her shoulder as he looked at her with sneering eyes. " Scared to make a move, wanting to escape out of this place. Self-contempt, ignorance and fear—— everything that a queen shouldn’t have, how are you worthy of the crown that you wear? If anything you are worse than the Queen who ruled this world before at least she knew no fear and had the guts to lead, what about you? What do you have?"

" Nothing," hissed another voice and Blaise stepped out of the shadows, his silver eyes filled with disdain with his chin resting on his clenched fingers. " That’s what she has, other than self-doubts and wanting to lock herself in a room, she has nothing to offer. A worthless woman with just a pretty face and a good body, isn’t she more worthy of being our trophy of the night than the Queen?"

’Trophy?’

Bree’s head went blank as she suddenly remembered the conversations of her colleagues. It wasn’t that she was scared of men before, she was very close to them but then one day she heard them talk about her, one of the colleagues was the man she had a crush on. He looked at the others and jeered slightly saying how she was nothing but a dumb woman who knew nothing, that she was good enough only for being a trophy.

After that, she worked harder but she couldn’t shake off the doubts that she had in her head. Was she really just a trophy? Bree didn’t want to be a trophy, so she fought with the world and worked harder and harder, separating herself from men and their points of view but even then no matter how hard she worked. No matter how many assignments she successfully completed, she was still called good enough for becoming someone’s trophy of the night.

Because she wasn’t the shy girl everyone wanted to be their wife. She was capricious and bold, someone who was good enough to be the villainess, a temptress but not the leading lady.

She stared at the figures in front of her and knew that they weren’t real because no matter how psychopathic her consorts were they were better than these evil men. However, their words got cruder and cruder——-

Like molten words, they seeped into her ears and then she was covering her ears as she shouted.

" Stop."

" Stop it."

’ a temptress.’

’ Wanna be mistress.’

’ How are you worthy to be a leading lady?’

" How——"

" I said shut up! I am the Dragon Queen! Brianna Delphine Dragniere" The glass on the floor cracked and so did the mirage.