Dark Lord's Obsession

Chapter 16: Similar Pendant?

Third Party’s POV

“What on earth were you thinking in your pea head?” Hayden yelled at Dimitrov.

He carried Dimitrov all the way to the castle of Midlands, safe and secured and landed on the rooftop. A servant gave them a change of clothes and helped Dimitrov to wear the trousers. Then Hayden teleported him to his room. He thanked his ability of teleportation in his mind. Otherwise, the mortals might find out about their darkest secret.; the weakest spot of the creatures like them. Dimitrov was in such a vulnerable stage. Walking around the darkroom, the emperor lit the candles hanging on the wall one by one, using his fingertip as the source while Dimitrov was on a divan, leaning against the soft mattress. His skin was fluctuating between scaliness and human smoothness.

“Have you forgotten how dangerous it is?” Hayden scolded him again as he lit up the last candle making the chamber bright enough for human eyes.

“And you even went to the Frozen Sea in such condition! What an i***t!” Hayden was clearly dissatisfied with the situation.

The emperor walked closer to an almirah with his last few words and took out a rusty golden box. After caressing the top with care to blow the dust, he opened it revealing a little sack. He placed it on his palm, putting the box away, and then slowly, his fingers undone the knots on the ropes. Hayden stepped closer to Dimitrov and held the opened sack in front of his face with another sigh.

“Here,” he muttered.

Without any hesitations, Dimitrov took that little cotton sack and inhaled deeply with closed eyes. As he exhaled, he opened his reptilian eyes, glowing golden red with a dark slit cutting through the iris. His pain was gone in a blink. The inhuman senses came back to him. Those herbs were strong enough to subsidise the pain for now.

“I am fine,” Dimitrov mumbled as he sat back from his position.

“Of course, you are! After all, I carried you from that brutal field and made you inhale this on time.” Hayden spatted, glaring at him.

Dimitrov sighed, “you only have me, Hayden. How can I let you go to the enemy’s territory on your own?”

Hayden was looking into his blue orbs. Slowly he sat beside Dimitrov. Patting his shoulder with much care, he spoke, “that’s right, Dimitrov. Keep it in your head. We only have each other. Don’t ever put yourself in danger again.” 

Dimitrov stayed silent for a moment. He knew Hayden was capable enough to take care of those warriors by himself. Even so, he couldn’t help but tailed in. Since their childhood, they had been through a lot, fighting against those mortal creatures for the sake of survival. They had seen the darkest days together; also, they had enjoyed the happiest moments. With him gone, Hayden would be all by himself. 

With a smile on his face, Dimitrov muttered, “Thank you, Hayden.”

“You don’t have to,” Hayden replied. His reptilian eyes soften for a moment.

“I better go back to my chamber.” Dimitrov stood up gently. The tiredness from his face was gone.

Hayden rose from his position as well, “I will call someone to take care of you.”

“No need. I already have her in my chamber.” Dimitrov reminded him. His mind went back to the rebellious girl who he hadn't confronted in the last few days. A shadow of sadness appeared on his face remembering their previous encounter. She loathed him to the point that she never thought twice before stabbing him.

Hayden stared at his face for a moment as if he was reading his mind. Then he nodded, “alright. Good night, Dimitrov, don’t overwork your dragon these days.”

~~~~****~~~~~

The black clouds slowly hid away the silver moon, wrapping the castle in darkness. The late-night silence was nothing new in this chamber. A fragile pale torso was leaning against the cold marble wall just by the tall window. The gust of the wind blew her dishevelled hair, extinguishing the only candle standing on the fancy candle stand, drowning the room into darkness.

Kayla still didn’t move. Her expression remained unchanged. Her days here became monotonous since that night she stabbed him. She could hardly see him around these days, even though she sensed him coming back late at night and going out early enough even before she could wake up. Those mischievous eyes and that warm smile disappeared from this chamber, making her a prisoner again. She couldn’t understand before how freely she lived until he ended the communication. In the last few days, she tried her best to talk to him. She even stayed awake until late, but he never showed up. It was as though a pair of blue orbs watched her from afar, waiting for the perfect moment to approach her in absolute silence.

Kayla had tears staining her face, and her mind was whirling. She loathed Dimitrov. She knew he was a dragon and one of the reasons behind this war. They burnt her home, shattering the peace of Arak. She should have hated him. Why couldn’t she? Why did she feel guilty for stabbing him? Why couldn’t she leave him to die and run away from his clutch? Why did it hurt so much?

Her eyes were closed while her lips shivered for a moment.  A sudden loud rumble brought her back to her senses, making her open her eyes. The chilly breeze made her tremble, and with that, heavy raindrops touched her forehead, teary eyes, her little nose and her dry lips. It was pouring outside. The blue lightning erased the darkness just for a second, only to increase its intensity again.

‘Will he be coming back tonight? It is pouring! He will be drenched if he stays out. What if he gets sick?’ Her mind couldn’t help but wonder.

Then her lips curled into a smile, which turned into laughter.

‘What am I even thinking? He is a dragon! His wounds heal in seconds. What could possibly happen to him?’

But her mind never gave up on his thoughts, whereas she could feel that emptiness in her heart, with a sharp pain as if someone was crashing it and squeezing it. Putting a hand on her chest, Kayla slowly stood up. Her gown was soaked, so was her hair, her face, and everything else in the room by the open window. The stormy blow was giving it strength, making those parchments on that wooden table unsettled. Another lightning made the sight clear for her.

Those were important for Dimitrov. She had seen him take good care of those papers every day. With a sigh, she pulled the windows closed. The room even became gloomy and darker. Slowly, she made her way to the drawer and took out the quartz pair. Rubbing it against each other a few times, Kayla finally managed to create the tiny flame and lit the candle, but it wasn’t enough. The chamber was huge. Her hands held onto that small source of light, and she walked around the room, lighting up the series of candles on the wall. The darkness disappeared. She walked towards the wooden table by the window where those old parchments were placed and put the candle on a silver stand. Her sole intention was to check if they were damped.

Bending over the table slowly, she picked up the papers one by one. Some were still dry, which made a rustle. Some were silent as those droplets had touched them. Quickly Kayla looked for a piece of dusting cloth and wiped the water from the table, making it dry. Her legs carried her near the inglenook. Soon she created a small fire, adding some fuel to it. Then she spread those papers one by one on another table near the fireplace, hoping they would dry up from the heat.  She sighed inwardly. Only if she could have mastered the element control she would dry them easily.

Kayla went back to the table again to check if anything was left. Suddenly her eyes fell on a little wooden box with snakes carved on the top. She took the candle and held it closer to the box to have a better look. Something about it was calling her. Unable to withstand the curiosity, she took the box in her hand. Putting the candle in its place, she slowly opened it. A sudden bright green light dazzled the room for a moment, forcing Kayla to close her eyes. Feeling the brightness was gone, she opened her eyes again. The green light had disappeared, leaving a pendant inside.

A green stone was bordered in the oval-shaped gold frame with several flowers engraved around it, and in the middle, a weird-shaped snake was curved. A sudden thought blew her mind. Was it Emerald? The source of magic everyone talked about! Why was it here? The jewellery was always locked up in a trunk inside the clothing room. Kayla was about to touch the locket with a frown face when a familiar arm stopped her, snatching that box from her hand, leaving her startled.