The Gold Dragon

Chapter Six:

Amber’s POV:

I stare at the way my breath steams at the window in the small nook of my bedroom. This is usually where I come to find peace and where I find the most beauty in the view of the forest. How I wish this were the case. I sit against the soft shades of beige that pillow the bay window and all I feel is cold, stiff pain and worry. What was once vivid pine in the needles of the trees is now a dull and ominous shade of murky green and the sun, which used to rise and fall in brightness, is no longer something that offers warmth, but rather reminds me of how my mate has chosen to spend another day away from me. Rejection.

“Amber, please…..” Someone is talking from my left side, as they have been for these past few days since I have awoken, but I haven’t noticed who is coming or going. I don’t care. I have heard the doors opening and closing, I have smelled the foods from the tray on my dresser, I have felt the air heating up then cooling as the fire is poked and I have tasted everyone’s concern. It is potent and never-ending.

“She won’t talk. I give up!” Another says and their stomps exit my room with loud thuds.

“Amber, you need to snap out of this at once! You are the Princess, the Gold Dragon AND the FUTURE QUEEN of this land. What of your people? What of your duties?” Someone else says. My eyes well up as I carry on staring into the horizon. If only they understood why I feel this way. I have tried to get up and forget, but every time I close my eyes I see HIS pale ones. Every time I breathe in, I smell his warm, masculine, sweet and intoxicating mango scent. I feel the tingles, radiating over my skin. Worst of all, I can still hear his words echoing and playing in my mind over and over again on repeat. He rejects me and along with these words he has shattered my existence. To be fated is the most precious thing and HE has taken that away.

“Baby, how are you today?” A soft voice says. It is familiar, but it isn’t the one I desire most. My heart screams, for once I loved this voice more than anything else. My mind cries for the memories I had with this person. Someone I cherished more than anyone else, but things have changed. I am fated to another and now the bond has spoken for itself. Still, my skin pricks up at his voice. He sighs and I feel myself become dull. I can’t offer him what he needs anymore.

“Baby, please speak to me. What happened to you that night? What made you like this?” He pleads and my heart rate increases. How do I look at the man I love and tell him I met my fated? How do I tell him that my fated is the MOST amazingly handsome person I have ever seen? How do I tell him that my fated rejects me, but that I still crave every part of him? A large hand leans down in front of me and places a gold parchment on the scatter cushion by my feet. I know this letter all too well. It was one that brought me hope and excitement before I met Kylo. Still, I can’t bring myself to look at its author.

“Amber, please…” He goes again.

“Please, you have to….” He carries on saying but his cries only send my soul into a raging storm of darkness. Everything bleeds with pain and I can’t focus anymore. It’s as if shards of glass have been pressing in deeper and deeper into my soul and I am bleeding myself dry. Kylo’s glass eyes, the way they darken as he takes me in, the subtle movements of his black tattoos and the glowing tan of his skin are all I can think of. I feel my lips moving, but I have no idea what I am saying. My body is possessed by the breaking embers of my fading fire. My dragon is hurt beyond words.

“Amber! Amber!” A voice says, but my lips don’t stop moving. I hear the person exiting the room, leaving me in my own silence again. The air around me becomes cold as I carry on basking in my pain. This agony is too much and the constant reminder of Kylo rejecting me is becoming suffocating. How could he deny the bond? Is he not feeling this wrenched anguish? My eyes widen.

“Is Kylo also in pain?” I whisper to myself and the idea of this makes my insides turn again. What if Kylo is also battling with this feeling? Perhaps he is also sucked into a depression that is consuming him. He is the Lord of Darkness, after all. I feel my blood buzzing at this. I am mated to the King of a land that is severely feared and is causing havoc amongst the magical. A shiver runs down my spine. Fate is never wrong and there must be a reason I am mated to him. What if he needs my help and what if the darkness is also consuming him? What if I am the way for him to get out of all of this? My eyes widen again.

“I need to go see him.” I say to myself and jump up. I need to meet with Kylo at once and get to the bottom of all of this. I have been sitting here in the comfort of my room, but Kylo may not have the same luxury. He is living in the dark rot of the lands and could be perishing as we speak. A panic bubbles inside me at the thought of my mate dying a slow and lonely death. I know he said that women make him weak, but what if he was just trying to protect me? He could be sitting in the black pits of doom right now and I would never know.

“No!” I say again, more passionately and begin searching the room. I refuse to believe that Kylo is dying, but the pain radiating through my body speaks otherwise. I have met my mate now and our bodies are one. What if my body is only a reaction to what is happening in the inner depths of his body? This thought makes my breathing hitch. I have to go to Kylo at once. I have to reason with him. I have to show him that he needs me and that I care. He has to know that I am here for him and doesn’t need to be consumed by darkness. Even if he doesn’t want me, I deserve a better explanation and I deserve to be rejected properly. I lift the golden parchment and place it in the carry bag, hoping this piece of home will also bring me comfort in the unknown territory. I quickly pack a backpack of clothes for my journey, having remembered my very naked landing the other day. I need to carry a carry bag of clothes on my journey. As I pack a few essentials, I see the small box that was given to me on my birthday by my parents. The travel stone! My eyes sparkle at the realization that I can travel through the lands without effort with this gift. I hear footsteps edging closer to my door and my heartbeat speeds up. I need to be quick, else everyone will keep me locked up here and demand answers that I am not ready to give. This is something I have to do myself. I grab the stone and I hold the duffle bag tightly, imagining the way the white snow blew in hazardous twirls on the borders of Dark Land. I also think of the way the black hues of darkness form a curtain across the border, blocking the view of what is inside the territory. It is extensive and runs for as far as the eyes can see. The humid air shifts and I feel my skin rising in goosebumps as a chilly breeze starts taking over. My hair blows and I feel the ice hitting my face.

When I open my eyes, I see the black curtain waiting in eagerness for me to enter.

It is time to find my mate.

Dean’s POV:

“Perhaps you can speak to her, seeming she won’t say a word to any of us!” King Dominic says, his eyes in their reptilian form and face laced with exhaustion. It is one thing to be King, but it is clearly another to be a father. Queen Charlotte has been awfully quiet these past several days, almost as if she is trying to figure out what could have frightened her daughter so much as to make her a stupor in the Palace.

“She has to snap out of this at once!” King Dominic booms again and pounds his fist on the table.

“I will go speak with her, my King.” I sigh and then offer a small bow before exiting. Our royal parents are losing their patience and I can hardly blame them. I am losing my patience too. Amber and I should have been fully marked and mated by now, instead, here we are. My feet make quick work of heading through the palace.

“Dean!” A soft and gentle voice calls. When I see the figure emerging from the doorway I notice it’s Zara. She looks extra beautiful today. I shake my head at these thoughts.

“Zara.” I smile back and she reaches down to shake my hand. Those tingles again. I lift an eyebrow and quickly pull my hand away, not liking the sensation she brings. What is it even? I don’t have time to worry about this when the love of my life is upstairs and hasn’t eaten in days.

“I was wondering if perhaps you could go for lunch with me?” She asks and I feel my insides do a flip. Lunch? The hopeful look in her eyes is warming.

“Zara, I was actually on my way up to see Amber…” I begin but stop speaking as I watch her smile fade. She nods quickly, offering me very little response and then hurries off without another word.

“Zara!” I try to call out, feeling unexpectantly guilty for the reaction I caused. Why do I feel this way though? I run a hand through my hair and then look back up towards the stairs I need to climb. My mind becomes flooded with thoughts of Amber again, which drive me to skip steps as I ascend towards her room. When I enter her space, she is still seated in the spot by the window that I found her on each day before.

“Baby, how are you today?” I ask softly, hating how distant she has been. Did us not being fated really hurt her this much? She doesn’t respond and I spend a few seconds admiring the way her golden hair shines in the hues from the window. I sigh and try calling for her again, but she doesn’t even notice me. I even put the letter I wrote for her down by her feet and I know she saw me putting it there because I could feel her eyes looking down at my hand. Why won't she say anything? If only she could read the letter and understand how we can still be happy together. My eyes widen as I notice Amber becoming more and more distressed, her face contorting as if in a great deal of pain. Did my letter cause this? What is going on?

“P-please, d-don’t reject me!” She mumbles to herself and my eyes widen. Is she talking to me? I could never reject her. I watch as she cripples over in pain and worry begins to set in.

“I-It is s-s-so cold!” She whispers again, her words hardly understandable. She swivels over and grabs her chest and I try to get closer, but her body seems to be burning up.

“Amber!” I call, but she doesn’t respond. It is as if she is in a trance.

“Kylo…” She cries and I feel myself becoming confused. What or who is Kylo? I watch as she cries and her mumbling becomes worse.

“I m-must g-go!” She screams and pounds her fists against her legs. It breaks my heart to see her like this. Shattered, broken and only a shell of herself. It is great to hear her voice again, but nothing she says makes sense. I decide to leave quickly, hoping that perhaps Queen Charlotte can come here and calm her daughter. It would seem only her mother's touch can bring her out of these horrible fits of panic and worry. I make haste as I run back to the King’s office.

“King Dominic. Queen Charlotte.” I enter and bow. They both jump up to their feet, clearly feeling my worry.

“Amber is in one of her trances again. She keeps bringing up rejection. She even said the name, Kylo. What or who is this and why is Amber reacting like this? Please, Queen Charlotte, she needs your comfort again.” I plead with confusion. I notice the shared look of worry between the parents.

“She said Kylo to you?” Queen Charlotte asks and I nod.

“She was saying that name to me too, the other day in the hospital. She kept saying that she was rejected by this Kylo.” Queen Charlotte says, her eyes wandering off in deep thought. A moment of silence passes and her eyes widen in terror.

“Dominic, you don’t think…” She says, her eyes welling up and the King lets out a growl that shakes the whole Land. I lower my body in a kneel as his aura picks up and the air becomes thick with tension.

“HOW DARE ANYONE REJECT MY DAUGHTER!” He growls and marches out of the room. We follow behind him in panic. If Amber truly met her mate that night and if he truly did reject her, it would explain why she is in the state she is and why she has become a shell of herself. The thought scares me. I don’t want Amber to be anyone else’s, but even I know that the mate bond cannot be tampered with. I feel anger rise in my blood too at the thought of someone denying Amber. The three of us get to her door quickly and the air shifts to become cooler.

“AMBER, WHO IS KY…” The king booms, but stops mid-sentence as he walks into the room. I follow, not far behind, trying to make sense of the change in my King's mood. I expect to see the love of my life sitting in the corner of her bay window, but instead, there is an eerie emptiness that masks the space. Amber cannot be heard, seen, or felt anywhere here. Where is she? Queen Charlotte searches the space, taking note of the bags lying on the floor, the way her clothes are spilling out the closet and then, she stops in stillness by Amber’s dresser. Lying on the wooden surface is the delicate box that was given to Amber on her birthday. A gift for their daughter to travel the Lands easily, only this time the box is as empty as Amber’s room. Queen Charlotte turns around, facing the King and they share the same look of horror. I know what this means and my soul feels dark because of it. Amber has left us. Amber has left me.

“I will prepare to find her.” Is the last thing I say before the whole of Dragon Land shakes again under the King’s angry growl. I won’t stop until I find her.