The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

MIRA

I flinch and summon fire magic to the tips of my fingers, not knowing what to expect, but Derrien puts his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

“You can trust him,” he says and I see lord Brandon Sevill, the one whom Morgan likes, getting out of our carriage with an amused face.

“And here I am worried sick for my best friend!” he chuckles eyeing us both up and down, the huge embarrassing torn slit of my dress that I’ve made yesterday during fighting doesn’t escape his gaze, “And there you are, not giving a care in the world.”

“We got into a trap,” Rien steps in front of me, delicately covering my dress.

“Then I guessed that right!”, the other gerdian smirks, “Poor souls! Piles of ashes everywhere tell me that somehow you managed just fine. Maybe even overdid it a bit.”

“They used a dome barrier that suppressed our magic, Bran. I didn’t have choice but shift.”

“Really?”, the man looks shocked, turning his gaze from Rien to me and then back.

“Mira knows everything, quit the circus, Bran. I have a task for you!”, Derrien says and the other gerdian’s jaw almost drops to the floor.

“You told her…”

“I’ve shown her. There wasn’t any other opportunity to save ourselves.”

“Of course there wasn’t”, somehow lord Sevill’s reply is full of sarcasm, which is not missed on me.

Was there another way to save ourselves? Or maybe he means that Derrien could leave me alone and just survive alone, yet keep his secret? Because right now I am sure that him being a dragon is a secret!

“Have you found out what they used here to create that dome?”, my companion asks.

“I didn’t know I have to look for something like that when I arrived”, his friend replies, “But, luckily, I found something else.”

Out of a corner of his coat, he gets the pendant that Rien gifted me back at the Selection castle. I must have dropped it during the attack without even realizing it.

“Let me help you, my lady”, Brandon steps closer, but Rien grabs the pendant out of his hands.

“The lady will manage without your help, Bran”, he then puts it around my neck and I notice that the chain near the clasp is broken. Derrien connects the two broken golden ends together and I see him warm them up so much they are in an almost melting state, making them merge. He then carefully cools down the metal by his dark magic and only after that fixes the whole thing on my neck.

“Thanks”, I mumble.

“Never lose it again, little mage”, he winks at me while his friend doesn’t see and I almost giggle at that.

“I never thought that I would see the day…”, Sevill is clearly trying to hold back a laugh.

“That’s clearly because thinking is not your strong point, looks like talking is!”, Derrien snaps at his friend.

“Who attacked you?”, the gerdian suddenly looks serious.

“Some kind of human assassins and I really hope that Mira here would finally put some light on that matter.”

Both men look at me now and I swallow.

“W-well”, I shrug my shoulders, “I am pretty much sure that these were the Invisibles…”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“And they are?”, Brandon doesn’t seem impressed.

“A group of assassins, you can recognize them by tattoos on their wrists. It’s a circle that starts with a strong ink but then fades away… More like a crescent even.”

“Why make the tattoo if they can be recognized this easily by it…”

“Well, usually, the ones that see that tattoo do not survive the day. It’s the whole point.”

“Charming”, Rien rolls his eyes, “How do we find them?”

“It’s next to impossible… They find you. They say that even the royal family uses…”, I bite my l*p.

“The royal family uses their services?”, Derrien sighs, “This is getting interesting.”

“I am sure that’s not them, though”, I squeak, “They wouldn’t…”

“Of course”, the two men smile understandingly.

Damn it. Tell me it’s not the royal family. They have no interest in the Selection since they are the ones who agreed to it in the first place. Members of their family could never be taken, so they shouldn’t care much…

“Anyhow”, I clear my throat, “The nobility uses their services. And the cost is incredibly high. That should at least make the list of suspects shorter.”

“I see,” Derrien nods, “Definitely not the commoners then.”

“And not aristocrats from impoverishing families”, Brandon agrees, “By the way, that locket is not my only find! While I was waiting I found this little trinket here in your carriage.”

He produces a little brooch out of his pocket and throws it at Derrien.

“A tracking device!”, the gerdian smirks, “How interesting!”

“It was under one of the seats, very weak magic. I didn’t sense it, just found it when was doing hand search around the carriage just in case.”

“I see. Good job then, any aura on it?”, Derwood asks bluntly.|

“No, it was cleaned as soon as it was attached. The aura only had traces of you and lady Freyn there, which brings me to the thought…”, Brandon pauses awkwardly, looking at me.

“She is not under suspicion!” Derrien grits through his teeth, “If anything she is helping me with the investigation.”

“Well, I’m just saying… The girl who doesn’t like us, who is a strong mage, who was the roommate of one of the victims and who’s “help” brought you right into a trap that almost killed you…”, the gerdian looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

Did I ever say that Brandon Sevill was nice? I take that back!

“I will repeat this only one time, Bran, and you’d better get me straight. Mira is NOT under suspicion. She was with me during the time her roommate was killed and in that “trap” she risked more than I did. No one was going to spare her life there.”

“It doesn’t mean anything”, Bran snorts.

“And does my order mean anything to you?!”, Derrien voice almost sounds like a growl of the dragon itself.

“Alright, suit yourself, just be careful with her”, his friend sighs.

“Go take care of the dome. I need all the information and I will take care of this little thing,” Derrien twirls the brooch in his hands.

“May I have a look?” I step close to him.

“It would be best not to…”, Brandon starts.

“Sure” , Derrien interrupts him and hands me the trinket.

“Thank you”, I smile and change to my magical vision, “Well, it’s true that it’s clean of anyone’s aura. But it’s easy to do with Aspen’s artifacts since they are made to be discreet.”

“Aspen’s artifacts?”, Sevill asks.

“Oh, he is a famous artefactor from the capital”, I say nonchalantly, “Look here. Here is his stamp – a snake curled around a rose. It’s tiny but he puts it on all his creations. For the word of mouth purposes.”

“And you know all this how?”, lord Brandon starts to get on my nerves, but I don’t show it.

“Everybody knows it. He is the best there is in the Akyrian Kingdom, second to none,” I roll my eyes.

“And have you brought anything from him? Ever?”, the annoying gerdian implies something again.

“Anyone who is from at least a little bit noble family has bought things from him! He supplies artifacts of the highest quality. They are not cheap but they serve you a lifetime.”

“That’s quite enough with the interrogation, Brandon. Off you go to perform the task I gave you. I am still your commander, remember?”, Derrien snaps, “And Mira and I would have to make a little detour to the capital of this wonderful kingdom.”

“Really?”, I gasp.

“Yes,” he chuckles at my reaction, “But first you need to change. You did take another dress with you, right? Go, I’ll wait for you here.”

“Of course”, I nod and hurry to the carriage.

Inside, I find my bag and get out what I need. Before closing the curtain on the windows, I look at the two men talking. They both seem calm enough. Probably they decided that even if I am dangerous, I am not dangerous enough to be afraid of me.

I sigh and take off my clothes, putting on the new dress which is all in tiny creases, of course, so I get to smoothing it out with fire magic to make it look decent.

Quite happy with myself, I get out of the carriage and catch Derrien’s eyes on me, sparks of dark energy circling in his eyes. Somehow, this reaction of his, which is not new at all, makes me blush.

“Alright, then I see you two back at the castle”, Brandon smiles friendly as if he wasn’t just accusing me of at least one murder a few minutes ago.

“Lord Sevill”, I call him before he manages to disappear in dark smoke and he stays, “May I ask you if you know anything about my friends?”

“Depends on who they are,” he smirks.

“Morgan Rattleton,” I say quickly and I could swear he almost choked.

“Lady Rattleton is very well”, he smiles modestly, “I will see her tonight again if I finish here early.”

“I see”, I chuckle at the suddenly shy gerdian, “And maybe you know something of lady Fawn Ritton?”

“She is surprisingly well as well”, he replies with a calm face.

“Surprisingly?”, I shrug at the words.

“She is lord Dargen’s new favourite, lady Freyn. And the duke is not everyone’s cup of tea. But lady Fawn seems more than happy in her new role.”

“Thank you”, I reply politely, a bit startled with what I’ve learned.

Are Fawn and Dargen happy? Really? I mean, it’s good if it’s true… But also, could it be true at all? Considering how gentle Fawn is and how psychotic is Ryden… I don’t know.

Brandon disappears in black smoke and Derrien comes closer.

“No reason to be sad”, he says, “Your friend is fine. Unless you are disappointed that Dargen pays attention to somebody else now…”

“Oh, please!”, I roll my eyes and he pulls me into his hands roughly.

“Mira,” he takes my chin into his hand and lifts it up, “You can forget about any other men while you are mine!”

While… Did he just say “while I am his”?

His lips cover mine in a possessive k**s and dark flames consume us…