The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

Dereck looks at me with an empty gaze and I try to hide my surprise and look away, tucking hair behind my ear.

“Excuse me, my lady”, he bows politely and gives me the way.

“Thank you, sir”, I squeak and hurry up, but he catches me by my wrist and I turn to look at him in surprise. I am wearing an illusion! He is not supposed to recognize me!

“I am sorry, my lady, do I know you?”, Dereck doesn’t break the eye contact with me and doesn’t let go.

“N-no,” I flinch, “I do not think so.”

“Are you sure?”, he looks tense, “Have you by any chance been to Larinia?”

Larinia… Larinia is our password of sorts. Our physical training coach took us there once for a race. And it was so brutal that for the rest of the year we were making jokes about it and sending each other “to Larinia” on different occasions.

“I don’t think so”, I say after I hesitate for just a moment. But he still does not let go.

“I think the lady was clear that she doesn’t know you”, Derrien intervenes, “Take your hands off her or I’ll make you lose them. Both.”

“I apologize”, Dereck lets go of me and bows politely, “My mistake.”

He walks away and I look at the seriously furious gerdian.

He offers me his hand again and I slide mine in, smiling apologetically, “That was close.”

“Your friend has a good eye, Mira”, Rien states coldly, “Regular people can’t see through dark magic illusion, not even a little bit. Unless he is not just a friend, of course… Is there anything you want to tell me about your relationship?”

“He is just a friend”, I bite my l*p, “Are you jealous by any chance?”

He pulls me behind a building and into a side street so quickly that I don’t even manage to realize it before my back is pressed against a wall and his lips cover mine in a possessive k**s.

“Mira, when this is over, I am taking you to my castle and you are not leaving until I say so!”, he growls into my lips.

“Oh my! How terrifying!”, I chuckle sarcastically.

And he bends to whisper into my ear with a smug face, “Alright. I heard you.”

I blush and slide out of his grasp, “Aspen’s shop is this way. Let’s go, he is not working till late, so we need to hurry.”

I bring him to the artefactor by the shortest road that I know. When we enter the small shop, surprisingly, there is no one inside. Although this is for the best, considering that what we came here for.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

Old Aspen is sitting behind a wooden counter in his glasses and clearly working on something. We come closer and I curiously look at what he is doing. Artifactorics was never my favourite subject back at the academy, but Aspen is a legend and it’s fascinating to see him working on a design of one of his future creations.

“Ah, lady Freyn!”, he smiles at me and I gasp. I am pretty sure that I am still wearing the illusion Derrien has created. I look at the gerdian and know that he is surprised as well, but there is not a single emotion on his face to show that.

“How did you know, master Aspen?”, I ask.

“You didn’t really think you can trick me, did you?”, the artefactor chuckles, “I have installed anti illusion crystals in the shop years ago. After all, I have all kinds of people come here. And not people as well.” He looks at Rien and I see gerdian smirking at the words.

“Well, then it’s even easier for us since we don’t have to pretend anymore”, Derwood says, “We need information about one of your customers.”

“You are not from here so you don’t know”, the old man shrugs his shoulders, “But the policy of my shop is that every purchase is confidential. I never disclose names of any of my customers.”

“You do realize who you are dealing with and that there are other ways for me to make you talk”, Derrien comes closer, his eyes shining with the cold purple light of dark magic.

“Rien, please!”, I step in front of him and touch his hand, “There is absolutely no need for this here! Master Aspen is a reasonable man!”

“That’s what I am hoping for”, the gerdian smirks not looking at me, “I would hate for lady Freyn to witness something ugly today.”

“Oh, gods!”, I roll my mind and turn to the old man who is watching the scene curiously, not worried even one bit, “Master Aspen, the thing is, that the person who we are looking for is killing innocent girls. And we need to find him or her before other people are suffering even more. Could you, please, help us. This person is using your artifacts…”

“Oh my!” Aspen Ludwig is clearly shocked by what he has heard, “This changes everything. But to make sure, I would need you to give me a magical vow…”

“Is the word of a gerdian lord not enough for you?”, Derrien growls.

“Oh for heaven’s sake!”, I roll my eyes and stretch my hand to Aspen, “I am ready to swear this very moment!”

“No, Mira, not you!”, Rien grabs my hand and jerks me so that I land in his arms, breathing heavily.

The artifactor’s eyes travel from me to the gerdian and then to me again. Before a smile spreads across his face.

“Lady Freyn’s word is enough for me”, he finally says, “So, who are you looking for?”

Derrien gets the brooch that was found in our griffin carriage and hands it to the man.

“Ah, I see”, he nods, “This was a special order.”

“Tell us everything!”, Derrien commands and, after I secretly kick him with my elbow, adds unhappily, “Please.”

“A lady came and put a huge order. She needed many things and the deadline was tight. Most of the artifacts she ordered were common ones but two were custom orders made especially for her. She wanted me to make them into jewellery pieces. The one you have here is paired with a necklace. The brooch is a beacon and the necklace can project the brooch’s location on a map. And the other artifact she ordered was an amplifier. I made it into a ruby hairpin. It looks like a red lily flower with golden leaves around it.”

“Who was that woman, master Aspen?”, I ask the most important question.

“I do not know”, the man shrugs his shoulders, “She was wearing a cape and a mask the whole time. But she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Of that I am sure. Young and beautiful. I am sorry, but this is all I can tell you. She was very discreet.”

“Thank you”, I smiled at the man, “Would it be possible to ask you to write down all the things that were included in her order? And if you could do a quick sketch of the necklace and the hairpin that would be amazing as well.”

“Of course, lady Freyn”, the artifactor smiled and got to work.

When we got out of the shop, it was already getting dark slowly. Light and fun sounds of music somewhere near came to my ears and I realize that this is the first weekend of summer already. Which means…

“Oh, gods! The summer festival has begun!”, I exclaim and look at the gerdian next to me excitedly.

“Is that so?”, he chuckles and I realize that it means absolutely nothing for him.

“Oh, just why are you gerdians so boring?!”, I roll my eyes.

“Boring?”, dark magic flashes in his eyes, “Mira, you would be surprised to know that we could be called a lot of things but boring is not one of them.”

I grin at him and pull him by his hands in the direction of the main square, “Then prove it!”