Chapter 44: 43. The Mysterious Princess

Thorn seemed to be in a bad mood; he hadn’t said a word the whole morning. His usual icy and regal air had further deepened, so everyone chose to just leave him alone.

He was, indeed, in a terrible mood. Learning that Leila was the lost princess of the Stormy Clan had struck him unexpectedly. There had always been a faint voice, lingering in the deepest recesses of his dragon soul, telling him that Leila was no ordinary girl, that she was different from any women he had ever encountered. But he had deliberately ignored that voice. It gave him an uncomfortable feeling that went against his true desires. He’s afraid that the Mother Dragon may take her away from him.

Stormy Clan was an ancient dragon clan, the origin of all dragon spirits. It had a direct connection with the dragon divinity. But the whole clan had vanished, following the death of the Father Dragon. His queen, the Mother Dragon, was too devastated to continue ruling. She soaked in her own tears every day. Her body became weak and her spirit suffered. She had no choice but to fall into a lengthy hibernation, which had persisted for a long time. With her relinquishment, the dragon spirits finally disappeared from each dragon in the kingdom.

Tuya told Leila everything she knew about the Stormy Clan - folklore spread across the dragon kingdom. But since it happened so long ago, people no longer thought about the clan or the Mother Dragon anymore. It was a too painful a story; the citizens chose to forget about it. No one had ever sought to find the descendants of the clan, nor were they aware of the existence of a lost princess.

Leila’s feelings were complicated. It all seemed too far out of the realm of possibility. She didn’t know anything about the clan or the dragon spirits. *Who would have thought that she had a connection to the very core of this dragon realm?* She always believed that she was a crossbreed, and never could have imagined that she was a pureblood, let alone a princess from the most respected clan in dragon history.

“I have a question,” Leila said suddenly. Tuya, Hugo, Serlon, and Ben all sat around her. Dagen accompanied Thorn at a table a bit further away. “I have a map. It was given to me by a strange purple haired woman one day.” Leila pulled the map out of her pack and unfolded in front of everyone. “She said that I would need this in the future.” Leila pointed her finger to a name that sparkled with a black sheen. “Slathar… Is that where the Mother Dragon disappeared and Stormy Clan located?”

Thorn stood up at once and walked over to the map. He carefully studied the map Ula left for Leila, angered by the fact that the dangerous woman had approached to his cherished girl without his consent. “When did she leave you this?”

Leila felt too embarrassed to say it was the night Gritta had sex with that trader, and Leila had mistaken the man for the dragon prince. “The night you went to meet with the wolves…”

Thorn nodded and furrowed his dark brow. “According to this map, Slathar’s located beyond the Craggy Mountains and below the Parching Desert. It might be the same place where the Stormy Clan at. The past queen told me that she had been there as a kid and stayed there several days for a sacred ceremony. But I’ve flown over the area a few times after she passed away, and I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, ruins of lost clans or surrounded with any strange waters.”

Leila said softly as she turned to her prince, “Thorn, I think I have to go there and figure this out.”

“The route is dangerous. We have to cross the Misty and Craggy Mountains, and we’re not even sure this place exists.” Thorn spoke coldly, but his instincts told him that the place was there.

“I have to know who I am,” Leila insisted.

Even though letting her out into the open again worried Thorn immensely, he needed to solve the mystery of this Stormy Clan. It could bring him the answers to the questions that had troubled him and his kingdom all these days, that was to ask the Mother Dragon to awake all of the dragon spirits. But he’s not sure whether she’s willing to grant a mark on her own precious daughter so that a dragon prince could own permanently.

Thorn looked into her eyes, she seemed particularly ravishing today. Her eyes were firm, and Thorn knew she was serious. He sighed, “Alright. We will go. But we must travel with extreme caution, and you need to always stay by my side.”

--

*Dragon Palace

“I hope you had your fun locking me up, Eros,” Amaya said to the dragon king in her sealed bedchamber with her usual scornful tone, “But, forgive me, I don’t see any point in this. You’re only proving to yourself that you’re not a coward.”

Eros sat across from the queen whose hands and feet were cuffed to the ground. “There’s no need for a reason, Amaya,” he said with a vague smile, “I am the king after all, I think I can decide what I want to do.”

Amaya rolled her eyes, “Say it. What do you want?”

“I want you to be executed,” Eros answered directly.

Amaya blinked a few times, then burst into laughter, “Are you joking?”

“You killed the woman that brought Leila over to her aunt’s place, didn’t you?”

Amaya suddenly ceased her cackling. *How did he know that?* She hadn’t left any evidence at the scene.

“I found a witness.” Eros had guessed what she was thinking.

“No! You’re lying! I didn’t leave any evidence behind and there were no witnesses! I killed her alone and made sure that no one else was there! You need solid evidence to execute me! The court and the citizens won’t listen to you!” Amaya exclaimed.

Eros turned towards the door. Three masters appeared at the door out of nowhere, all holding notepads in their hands. They had recorded every sentence she had just said.

“Now they will,” Eros said plainly.

--

*A crowded market in King’s Harbor

Civilians were gathered around an aggressive crier, intrigued by what he had to say. The man stood up high on top of a tall vegetable stall and began announcing to the naive public, “Our black dragon prince has given the authority to protect the dragon capital to his brother. He has eloped with a mysterious woman. You won’t believe who that woman is!”

His audience leaned in as more people gathered.

“His lover is a mongrel! A crossbreed, born to a dragon and a human!”

All of the bystanders were left shocked and astounded.

“A crossbreed is already disrespectful to the dragon divinity! But a mongrel that’s half human is just too much!” The man continued, spitting everywhere as he spoke, “In my opinion, the prince is completely bewitched by her! She must have convinced him somehow to abandon the capital and his responsibility to the dragon kingdom!”

Some sensible civilians echoed from below, “But we are safe living in the capital. There hasn’t been any threat or danger so far. As long as the royal dragons monitor the kingdom, who cares which prince is securing the reign for us?” “I heard that the black dragon prince is rebuilding Ironedge… He hasn’t abandoned us…”

“No! It’s a known fact that he left!” the man cut in, “The king even gave in to him. I heard that the dragon king is fond of this mongrel girl, and he blessed them with a rare pearl. It was the scarred-face prince who rebuilt Ironedge, and he’s also the one who sealed this capital, in order to prepare for an attack! A war is coming..”

“What attack? Who’s going to attack us?” The audience suddenly ignited in a fierce panic, a panic that would quickly spread across the dragon capital. But the man who had just made the speech had already slipped away.

Remus, dressed in disguise, had just witnessed the scene. He turned away from the crowd and walked into a dark tunnel known only to him. The tunnel was connected to the outskirts of the capital, and no golden knights were guarding it. He lifted the secret gate up and led a flood of men dressed in dark cloaks into the capital. The last man stepped out and stopped to speak with him. “Prince Remus.” The man nodded politely. his grey eyes were as pale as frost layered on a winter lake. “Always a pleasure to meet with you.”

“Prince Fenris,” Remus greeted back, “Please follow me. I’ve prepared a huge surprise for you.” Then, Remus led the way back into the tunnel, bound for a deserted house at the rim of King’s Harbor.