Her Heart or His Desire

His Desire

(Minka P.O.V.)

As I listened to the wooden wind chimes, I could feel myself grow more distanced. It was like my spirit had become weightless and detached itself from my body, but instead of detaching myself, my subconscious withdrew into itself.

When I gained a sense of space and wholeness again, I took a breath to calm the nervousness I was feeling before opening my eyes. There was a vast darkness that never seemed to end, almost like looking into the distance and for the end of the ocean.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing out into the nothingness.

A low heavy fog slowly began making its way towards me. The smell it brought with it reminded me of the sulfur springs in the park.

The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up as a distant laugh echoed throughout the darkness.

As the laughter intensified, the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. Above me, shadows of gray clouds lit up in flashes like a lightening storm. I could feel his gaze peering down on me. That feeling was confirmed when the glow of a pair of reddish yellow eyes appeared from his gaze up above.

Astra came up beside me and nuzzled my hand, "It's him," she whispered with a hiss.

I nodded in agreement. I've been feeling his presence for as long as I can remember. Whenever he was near, I always felt a combination of fear and yearning and this time was no different. I wanted to flee and hide but I also felt compelled to seek him out. I wanted to fully see who this being is. I wanted to discover what was drawing me to him.

I felt myself take a step in his general direction only to have Astra grab ahold of the back of my top and growl at me, "Don't," she warned.

I violently shake my head, hoping it'll break the lure he has on me, "What do you want? I know you're not my mate, so why do I feel like this?"

"Like what, my little pet?" he snickered.

"Like I need to be near you."

"Perhaps I am your mate and this distance between us is just making you confused?"

The thought had crossed my mind at one point, but then I had remembered the story my grandmother had told me about my great grandmother and great grandfather's mate bond. It had started in a dream and intensified their bond every time they met. The love they were able to foster had grown even stronger once they were able to unite. The feelings that I was feeling here, with him, was yearning, but it was also panic and fear and that told me this was not what a mate bond should feel like.

"No. The only thing I'm confused about is why I feel so torn between wanting to be with you and wanting to get rid of you inside my head. Every time I don't feel you inside my head, I feel free and clear-headed."

"And what do you feel when you are so called 'clear-headed'?"

"The need to protect my family from you. The need to kill you," I growled. Astra growled in unison, echoing my murderous intent.

He laughed wildly. A flash of light shot behind him and I saw it, or at least I thought I did.

When the flash of light went off it looked like I could see the sihiloette of his body. Wings with holes in them and a large body that looked like it was part skeletal. What the hell was I dealing with?

His gaze intensified.

I dropped to my knees, the air being siphoned from my lungs. The fog suddenly pooled around me, growing thicker by the second. His laugh grew wilder as I continued to struggle to breathe.

My body started to shake violently from the sudden cold snap filling the room. My hands were rigid and my fingertips were starting to turn blue. Ice gathered around my knees and continued to build up past my thighs. A strong gust of pushed up against my back. I tried to shield myself from some of the harsh winds by huddling close to Astra.

"What kind of test are those two putting us through?" she growled.

"It's my subconscious. The twins have no control or power over what we're facing here. Hell, I don't even know how to control what's happening in here," I mumbled through gritted.

The wind picked up further, the snow and ice shredding through my clothing and slicing up my back.

In the horizon behind us, a loud shriek reverberated on the ground. It felt we were being attacked and taunted on both sides. In front of us was this maniac still laughing, while behind us there was another unknown source of power that was coming closer and closer by the second. The shriek sounded again, this time much closer than before.

I peeked over Astra towards the sound and saw the glow of an electric blue light, "What the hell is that?"

It was blinding but I couldn't look away. It was the brightest and most alluring blue I had ever seen and, like a mosquito to a bug zapper, I was drawn to it and desperately wanted to immerse myself in its light.

Just as the light flew over our heads and the shriek sounded again, I caught sight of a pair of light blue gossamer wings with the same light signature flowing through them that I had seen in the distance.

Once it flew past us, the wind and ice storm dissolved into a playful flurry of snow. The air had even started to feel warmer and light enough that I was able to breathe freely again. This beast was the same one that I had seen when I was in Astra's subconscious not so long ago.

In no time at all, the dragon had nearly closed the gap between it and the evil that had been haunting me my whole life.

The air shifted and became almost electrified.

Once the dragon's presence was noticed, the wild maniacal laughter had turned vile, "You!" he spat, "I knew there had to have been one more entitled spawn to that prudish elder bitch."

"You have out lived your days, demon, cherish what is left for I am coming for you and making you pay for your crimes," the dragon hissed.

"We shall see," he said, his gaze turning back to me, "Until we meet again, my little pet," he smirked before fading from the clouds.

Once his presence had finally left, it was like a two ton weight had been lifted from my body. The clouds had all but vanished and the sky erupted into an array of pinks and purples as the sun began to sink into the horizon. The dragon circled above us for a few moments before gliding towards us and gracefully landing a few feet from us.

Astra nudged the middle of my back, urging me forward. We walked side by side and from the corner of my eye I saw her tail slowly wagging and her hips sway with a little more swagger than usual.

"We meet again, dragon," she said, bowing her head low.

The dragon gave a low growl, extending an enormous scaled claw and gently cupping the bottom of her chin and raising her gaze, "A queen should never bow, especially not to her equal or her destined one."

"Queen huh?" I asked, playfully elbowing Astra in the ribs, "Wait- What do you mean destined one?" I asked suddenly reading his and her flirtatious body language.

Astra locked eyes with the dragon and looked back at me, "Mate?"