Page 34 of Brutal Dragon King

I'd kept her alive only because of my fixation, and my fantasies, and now I've experienced what I needed to. There should be no reason that I'm feeling this way, fleeing the scene of what feels like a crime.

How can it be a crime when I am the king? I am the one who makes the verdicts around here.

Then why do I feel like I've done something terribly wrong? Feeding into my fantasies isn't a crime, but the aftermath is going to haunt me for the rest of my immortal life.

I don't want this.

I don’t want the human. Ican’twant her.

Chapter 11 - Althea

King Haidën, in his powerful, majestic dragon form, disappears between the clouds as the rainfall becomes heavier and more persistent. My brows curl into a firm, confused frown, my body tingling in the aftermath of that very, unsuspectingly passionate tryst.

Luckily, the rain washes over me, washing away the scent of the dragon king long before I find the strength to stand up. My body is too sensitive to attempt any movement, other than falling back and resting my head on the cold stone.

What was that?

We just had the most mind-blowing experience—at least, I did—and he shifted and fled the grounds as if he couldn't stand to give me a second glance. All he’d been doing tonight was staring at me, unable to remove his eyes from mine while he did the wildest things to my body and unlocked pleasures I never thought could be achieved in this life.

He surpassed all my wildest fantasies with the things he did, and those hungry, ravenous kisses… He praised my beauty and made me feel like I was the most beautiful creature in the world, not only with the words that fell off his lips like a mantra but also by the way he touched me, andfeltme, in ways no one could have ever done. He made mefeelbeautiful, for the first time in my life.

He didn't berate me for my size, or even comment on it. Instead, his eyes glimmered with what I thought was genuine appreciation as his hands explored my overflowing curves. Only to leave me naked out in the open like none of it meant a thing to him.

I don't know why I gave in to him, surrendering to his whims and commands in a moment of weakness. Why can't I fight him when he looks at me through eyes glazed with hunger?

It's not like it changes anything. I'm still his slave.

Of course, it didn’t mean anything to him. I’m just the human slave, as everyone keeps reminding me. Was this his revenge for all the times I refused to bow? To use me and leave me as a trembling pile of nothingness, worthless because I have no value in the kingdom other than to bear his dragon children and be a loyal servant to him.

Huffing my disdain, I open my eyes to stare longingly at the sky, which has since calmed with the subsided rain. The gray clouds move slowly, making way for the moon’s dominance once again. She’s a brilliant sphere of cosmic treasure, littered with craters that are visible from up here on the mountain. I try finding calm, seeking the solace of the moon’s maternal warmth to embrace me in her arms, but even her comforting rays through the clearing skies don’t seem to do justice and provide me the sanctity I desperately crave.

It’s too much for my frail, human mind, or body for that matter. Tonight’s events only proved that the sexual attraction I feel toward the king is a weakness.

More than a weakness, it’s an addiction that I can’t seem to dispel. It’s as if my hatred for him drives this addiction, the baser desire too strong to fight.

Tonight, I felt high, drunk on something I hadn't consumed, if the king's natural, dominating presence doesn’t count. Just the mere sight of him drives me insane, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I’ve always defied him and refused to bow.

Showing him my hatred must have fuelled my desire for him when he threw me in the pits of the guest bedroom beside his, instead of punishing me. It’s like he can sense the wanton need radiating off my being whenever he’s around, and he equipped the weapon of mass destruction against me tonight.

He used my weakness against me, to punish me and leave me here all alone in the forest on the mountain between the Stonehenge where the ritual was conducted. I’m a deflowered heap of nothingness, and as the heat of my body from being used by the king leaves, I’m left cold on the stone. It’s only the tingling between my thighs that remains, but even that soon disappears as if following the lead of the moon as it disappears in the sky.

It’s the early hours of the morning, and I’m slowly turning numb. I have no idea how long I’ve been out here all alone without a single sound to indicate life outside of my own breathing. A few minutes? A couple of hours?

My concept of time has escaped me in the numbness washing over me, my sense of self depleting until I’m left wondering if the dragons were right all along.

Humans have no rightful place in The Emberlands, least of all in the kingdom. Perhaps it was foolish of me to value my life so much that I’d be bold enough to stand up to the king.

No.

I will not be defeated like this, I think as I lift myself back to my elbows, gazing down at my body that now has the marks of the king’s presence bruised all over. With a resentful scoff, I lift myself higher, becoming reacquainted with my bodily functions until I see the crimson spot on the stone between my thighs.

Thunder rips through my heart, my eyes raining now as I realize that I’ve just lost my virginity to the king. It’s not that itmeant anything before, and the flower of virtue wasn’t a prize I would have given any deserving man back in the village.

It’s not like there were any prospects to begin with, but now that my virginity is gone to the king, I feel a sense of grief for the loss of my purity.

What does it mean now, anyway?

His abrupt exit from the meadow has left me feeling worthless, as everyone claims I am. Sniffing back the tears and stopping this unwarranted rainfall, I wipe my face and take a deep breath.

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