Chapter 19 19
Even if Ofelia happened to enter this realm, they wouldn't treat her as they do me, provided I deny knowing who she was. And as for the dragon flame, my deal with the Dragon Sovereign was for my safety, so wherever he was, he must come save me if things got out of hand.
I hurried towards Perrin and made a pitiful face. “Are you mad at me for rejecting your offer?”
She chuckled, but I didn't expect her to nod. “You don't know how I've longed to taste a fae female, and now that I met one, she had no interest in me.”
“But faes are your rivals. Should you be thinking of that?”
“Those male dragons who wanted to have a taste of you, aren't you their rival?” She responded with a question, and I cleared my throat and held my shoulders high. “You should be bothered about the dragon flame.”
I sighed. Of course, I was kind of bothered. “So, of what use is the oath? Do the prisoners do that all the time?”
She nodded, “The oath tells who has not committed a grave sin against the gods in heaven. That's their way of getting their penalty. So anyone who isn't clean would be burnt to death at that spot, and the others move on. But no prisoner knows about this, and I'm only sharing it with you because you're a fae.”
What a cruel way of punishing people. Since they didn't know, most of them would be burnt to death, as it was their way of being executed. Which meant that one could stay there for years and still survive.
“After a century of being imprisoned and you were never burnt, you could be released if your crime wasn't related to murder, whether emotional, physical or magical. This is how the realm punishes the sinners.” She elaborated further, and I nodded. “And once you become a prisoner as a dragon, some of your powers are stripped from you. That was why I was able to conquer them, or I wouldn't have been a match for them.”
That made me smile, because I admired the little time I watched her fight those men. Those other dragons that came to help her could be her friends too, who weren't prisoners, but I admired how she showed up in the field, or I would be dead meat.
“With that, you shouldn't be scared of the dragon flame, because your purity will calm the flame instead,” she added and patted my shoulder.
I bowed slightly while we continued walking. The fact that she didn't want to teleport like the other people, or even flit, was what I loved most, because it helped me keep track of the way to the field where the other prisoners were.
When we arrived, they were already lined up, and the dragon flame was burning some feet away from the queue. One would think a being was set ablaze in the flame with how it burnt, that I could even feel the heat.
“Even though I'm a fire dragon, I can't be saved if I'm not pure. And of course, I'm not, so I will have to take my leave.” Perrin whispered to me and waved me goodbye. Some useless emotions swelled in me for rejecting her offer. She was beautiful enough for any lesbian woman to get attracted to her.
I loved her golden long gown that swayed on the floor as she moved. Her golden hair was tied into a knot with a golden ribbon, too, but one would hardly see the ribbon due to the colour of the hair.
Her silhouette slowly vanished from my sight as she flitted out of the field, and then I focused on what was going on in the field. I watched as people walked towards the fire, and while some walked out unhurt, some weren't seen again, rather the flame became so high that everyone screamed and stepped backwards.
I became scared, even after Perrin assured me that I would be okay. And for the first time, I wished some people death. I didn't get my eyes off that flame until I watched those male dragons that wanted to rape me get burnt, then a dirty smile plastered across my face.
Even if I were heartless just for now, they didn't deserve to live. What if Perrin didn't show up? They would rape me to death. I thought it could be because they almost put their thoughts into action, or the flame wouldn't have burnt them. But since they were already gone, I was glad that the flame avenged me, and I hoped the fae species would witness such death too for wiping out my clan.
Every single person walked through the fire, and when I noticed it was my turn, anxiety overwhelmed me, sending shivers all over me. I glanced at the sides, and there was no one, just the eyes of the surviving dragons on me, some sending me mockery smiles, others frowning and could be praying for me to get burnt, while some just stared, looking neutral like I was one of them already.
I walked slowly towards the flame, and although I hadn't reached closer, I felt the scorching heat like I was stepping into hell. When I reached closer, my heartbeat was loud enough for someone to hear. No matter what, I was so scared that this would be my last moment, even when I knew I hadn't ever committed anything related to murder.
The moment I stepped into the fire, I felt like ice was placed all over me, causing me to wrap my arms around my body. I couldn't believe that the fire was like a normal place to stay for me, and that alone made me feel at ease while about to step out.
But my feet stuck to the floor.
I pulled my feet, fighting to get it off the ground, yet it seemed like it had been stitched to the floor that it couldn't move. I tried my best, and I could hear the dragons murmuring since I hadn't stepped out. I felt so chilly, but what I didn't understand was why I couldn't leave the furnace.
Was it because I was a fae?
I thought I had seen it all, not until the furnace began changing colour, from golden yellow to silver. I glanced around, shocked at what was going on. Why was mine different? I didn't get burnt, yet this was happening?
Immediately, the whole fire changed to silver, and I began feeling hot, like I was placed in an oven and would be roasted. My feet still couldn't move, and I feared I would melt to ashes if I didn't leave.
When it couldn't burn me when in its first colour, was it why it changed colour? I didn't understand what was going on, but I heard the other prisoners screaming that it was a bad omen, and I would die in here.
I couldn't yell. My lips became too heavy to move. I only rubbed my skin, trying to quench the heat, while still fighting to run out of the furnace.
One of them screamed, “No dragon can save her. This is a bad omen, and she deserves to be killed immediately, or disaster would befall this realm." Then did I realise that even the Dragon Sovereign would turn a blind eye to me.