Chapter 20 020
ZAUGUSTUS DYLAN.
I was busy flipping through the map, reading and tracking the minerals we planned to extract, when my dragon growled in my head, its aura slamming into Orrifin and sending him flying back until he landed on the floor.
A heavy pain struck me, and I gripped my head with my palms, swallowing the hot saliva that formed in my mouth. ‘What is wrong?’ I asked my dragon, sure that whatever had triggered such emotion was very bad and painful. My dragon rarely does that unless someone pisses us off, or I'm doing things it doesn't like.
‘She's going to burn to death. We have to save her.’
I didn't think twice before grabbing whom she was referring to. But how come that female makes my dragon stir this way? Not even my betrothed had that special place within my dragon.
Orrifin approached, his face twisted and bowed to me, “Your Soveregnity….”
“Say it!” I commanded him because he looked like he had something to say.
He closed the distance between us and whispered something into my ear. One of the slave masters had messaged him about the fae captive and what was going on. How come the dragon flame turned silver instead of golden when she stepped in? That was a bad omen. The dragon flame isn't bound to change color ever.
Knowing that she would surely burn as my dragon mentioned, I transformed into my dragon form as I left the chamber and rode towards the field where the slaves were. The silver fire was burning, and I could feel the heat, and such a flame could even roast the dragon's talk of a fae in there.
I found her standing in the middle of the fire, and I doubted that she was able to leave there.
The dragon prisoners around were only watching, pointing fingers at the flame and mentioning the same thing I had said—she was a bad omen, and such a person wasn't expected to live, or she would cause disaster in our realm. But for the gods' sake, I didn't want her to die there. We were in a contract, and if no one would risk saving her, I should at least do that.
I hung in the sky for so long before I made up my mind to ride in there and pick her up, and while I took that risk, fear gripped me for the first time. History has it that the silver furnace would roast any dragon, irrespective of their rank and power, so I wasn't sure what awaited me through the action I was about to take.
My dragon, knowing how my heart palpitated, dived towards the furnace without letting me take control. It was the first time my dragon risked saving someone, even knowing the consequences.
As it dived into the furnace, it curled its body around her and pulled her ahead as we rode to the sky. My skin burned, and I groaned inwardly. The pain was so immense that we fell instantly and dropped the fae female on the floor before riding faster to my chamber.
I smacked the door with my dragon head, and it groaned amid the pain. I transformed back to my human form, and the burn from the fire was so vivid and painful on my leg.
“Sovereign!” I heard Orrifin mention and he rushed towards me. Two other guards of mine came in as well, and even Irian was with them. “I should call the physician.”
I held him back before he could leave and shook my head.
“Why would you take such a risk for that female? Is she so important that you would put your life aside? Would you have done that if it were me?” Irian, as usual, began blurting.
I glared at her just for some time and turned to Orrifin, “Get me an ointment on that table. It would do.”
He bowed and made haste, then returned with the ointment, which he didn't let me take, but began applying it to the burn.
“Sovereign, what should be done with her? The prisoners had surrounded her, and she's unconscious.” One of the other guards drew my attention.
“The risk was so much. You are so mighty and righteous before the gods, which is why you survived entering that flame. I hail thee, Sovereign,” the other guard mentioned and got to his knees.
The same way, all of them got to their knees as well, “I hail thee, Sovereign!!”
I blinked and rested my head on the sofa while I sat comfortably on the floor. If my parents heard of this, they wouldn't be proud of me, but would question my actions. What if I had died in that flame? I hoped the fae female would wake up from her unconsciousness, so my risk wouldn't be in vain.
Later on, after the pain had subsided, I ordered that the fae female be locked up in a cage and brought out before the imperial palace. If she were such a disaster, then she wasn't supposed to live, and since everyone saw what happened, it would be unfair to have the issue die that way.
Also, if she wasn't dead, then a lot should be talked about. It was by the gods' grace that I survived that flame, so her being alive meant a lot.
Soon, I began getting petitions from the elders about the incident. The news had spread all over, and they all demanded that the fae female be executed without a chance to speak. Everyone, including me, was scared of what awaited the realm, because the last time such an incident occurred, disaster befell the realm, and we lost so many dragons.
I was deep in thought about the whole thing when Orrifin came into my chamber and paid respect. “She is awake, Sovereign. As much as I'm happy that she survived, too, but that's strange. She's powerless for a fae, and even a dragon can't survive it. What do you think is going on? Will you execute her as per the people's request?”
A knock came on the door, and a guard came in holding piles of petitions. I didn't need to open them to know what they all were requesting me to do.
“When will her execution take place, Sovereign?” the guard asked, and I knitted my brows.
Did he just ask me that?
I wouldn't dare. That fae female is my bait, and aside from that, I must keep her alive to know why she survived it. I had just seen a reason not to kill her yet, so she must live until I was done with her.