The Dragon King's Dark Angel

2 - The Auction

King Atreyu

    With the traitors disposed of, it was time to make some changes.  The first thing I did was promote Israel to be my first in command, then I promoted Zavier to be my second in command.  

    After that, I asked one of my best warriors named Sage Cleaver to be my third in command.  He was eager to take the position, and I was happy he accepted it.  Sage had never given me any reason to doubt his loyalty.  After what Boris did, that was super important to me.

    The next few months went by without any major hiccups, and I was pleased with all three of my commanders.  They always did what I instructed them to do, and I never heard a single complaint from any of them.  

    The three of them helped build up my army to epic proportions.  I had always maintained a strong army, but now it was stronger than ever before.

    Since things were going so well, I decided to enjoy a glass of bourbon.  I was leaning back in my office chair when I heard a soft knock on my door.  

    After I hollered for whoever it was to enter, my groundskeeper Zaden appeared with an envelope in his hand. As soon as he reached my desk, he set the envelope down, then he bowed his head before stating, "This was just delivered for you."

    "Who delivered it?" I skeptically asked, as I set my bourbon down.

    "It was King Gideon's messenger who delivered it, and it's King Gideon's wax seal on the back," Zaden informed me, as I reached for the envelope.

    I had yet to have problems with the King of the Dark Mountain Kingdom, so I figured it wasn't anything to be concerned about, but I still opened the envelope to see what he sent.  When I pulled the paper out of the envelope, I quickly realized that it was an invitation to a private auction that he was hosting at his castle.

    There was no mention about what would be auctioned off, and that had me feeling a little intrigued.  After I thanked Zaden for bringing me the envelope, I watched the man with light green eyes and strawberry blonde hair leave my office.

    Right away, I mind linked my top three commanders and asked them to join me in my office.  Within a few minutes, the three of them filed in with curiosity swirling in their eyes.

    I let each of them read the invitation, then I told them point blank, "I plan on going to this auction, and I want both Israel and Zavier to join me in case it's a set-up or something.  Sage, you will be in charge of commanding the army if anything should happen while we're gone.  Princess Aurora will be in charge of handling my duties, and you are to report directly to her during my absence.  Can you handle that?"

    "Yes, your highness," Sage respectfully stated.

    I glanced at both Israel and Zavier who quickly mimicked Sage by saying, "Yes, your highness"

    "The auction is tomorrow evening, and it will take at least five hours to get there.  I need you guys to plan on leaving right after lunch," I instructed my first and second in command.

    "We will be ready," they both assured me, then I gave them the okay to return to whatever they were doing before I summoned them to my office.

    Once they were gone, I finished my glass of bourbon, then I made my way to my personal chambers so I could have a conversation with Aurora.  I needed to make sure she understood my expectations.

    My sister was a dashing young lady, and she was crazy smart.  Ever since our parents got killed, she has been my whole life.  She was the only person that I never lashed out on, and she was the only person that I felt comfortable talking to about personal things.

    Aurora had the same black hair and ice blue eyes, as well as the same dark complexion, high cheekbones and full lips.  She was a beauty to say the least, and I was constantly having to growl and snarl at the young guys who were always staring at her with lust in their eyes.

    Aurora was used to me having her handle things at the castle when I had to leave, and she was good at it.  When she agreed to handle everything again, I knew there would be nothing for me to worry about, and that was a great thing.

    When it came time to leave the next day, I reiterated my expectations to Aurora and Sage, then me, Israel and Zavier left the castle.  As soon as we got outside, we tied our clothing around our ankles, then we shifted into our dragon forms.

    We spent the next five hours flying high in the sky.  I always thought it was so cool to look down at the ground while flying.  Everything looked so small, but beautiful at the same time.

    The second I saw the Dark Mountain come into view, my heart started racing for some odd reason.  I didn't feel nervous by any means, but I did feel antsy.  In fact, the closer we got to the Dark Mountain Kingdom, the antsier I felt.

    As soon as we crossed the border, a few of King Gideon's warriors flanked our sides and flew with us to the castle.  After we landed on the front lawn, we all quickly shifted back into our human forms and pulled our clothes on, then I gave the Dark Mountain warriors a proper greeting.

    The second they learned who I was, the warriors immediately led us into the castle and down several long corridors.  Every now and then I would get a faint hint of a vanilla scent mixed with something else, and every time it would make my nose tickle in the weirdest way.

    We ended up going down a flight of stairs to the basement, then we were led down a few more corridors.  After several minutes of walking, we were led into a large room that had rows of fold-out chairs placed in front of a medium-sized stage.

    To the right of the stage, there was an area that was obviously set-up for the King and his commanders.  I had never seen King Gideon in person, but I had heard many stories about him and his cruel ways.

    When he saw us enter, King Gideon motioned for us to go over to him, so that's what we did.  Once we were standing directly in front of him, I could see that he was clearly older than me, but I wasn't the least bit intimidated by that fact.

    He might have been older, but I was taller and significantly more muscular, so I knew I could easily take him down in a fight if it ever came to it.  He had brown hair and dark green eyes with the most devilish grin on his face that I had ever seen, and that put me even more on edge.

    After we both eyed each other, King Gideon greeted us by saying, "Welcome to my private auction.  We have some special items that you will be able to bid on.  While you wait for the auction to begin, you guys are welcome to have a drink."

    "Thank you, but I must pass on that offer.  We have a long flight home after this," I nonchalantly replied with a shrug of my shoulders.

    "Suit yourself," he retorted before turning to the guy sitting beside him and starting a different conversation.

    Since it was obvious that King Gideon was done talking to us, we walked over to the back row of chairs and took a seat.  The next fifteen minutes dragged by, then it was time for the auction to begin.

    The first few items that went up for bid weren't anything that caught my interest.  This continued until halfway through the auction.  At that point, there was a short pause, then I heard the sound of squeaky wheels.

    When I glanced up, I saw that whatever was being wheeled onto the stage was covered with a dark blue cloth.  My curiosity was definitely peaking, and I was a little excited to see what was under that cloth.  I had the oddest feeling that whatever was hiding under it was something that would change my life forever.

    Once everybody was seated again, King Gideon stood up and announced, "The next item up for bid is one of a kind.  You won't find another one of these without going to the underground."

    A second later, the man who wheeled the item in pulled the cloth off to reveal a small cage.  Inside of the cage was something rolled up in a ball.  All I could see was a set of wings that had blood dried on them.

    However, the heavenly scent of blackberries and vanilla that hit my nose the next second sent me into a total rage.  I knew the second that scent permeated my senses, it was mate that was locked in that itty bitty cage.

    Without a single word, I sprang to my feet and immediately charged at King Gideon.  After all of the rumors I had been hearing about his cruel behavior toward women, I could only imagine what kinds of things he did to my mate.

    If it weren't for Israel and Zavier's quick reaction time, I would have ripped King Gideon's throat out right then and there.  While forcefully pulling me back, Israel anxiously asked, "What are you doing?"

    "That's my mate in that cage," I snarled between gritted teeth.

    "Are you sure?" Zavier asked with surprise evident on his facial features.

    "I am positive!" I growled in anger.

    "Atreyu, if that's your mate, she needs your help now.  Do you smell all of that blood?" Israel gushed with concern.

    Everybody in that room had gotten to their feet and all eyes were on us.  I knew if I attacked King Gideon right at that moment, his warriors would be able to take us down with ease.  With that thought in mind, I glared at the ugly, old king and contemptuously spat, "I'm taking my mate, and you won't be receiving a damn cent from me.  If she is injured as bad as I presume, then you better expect a war, King Gideon." 

    The scumbag's face turned bright red as he vehemently shouted, "If you take my dark angel without paying, there will be repercussions!"

    I didn't care what he had to say.  That was my mate in that damn cage, and I was taking her from this cruel place, whether he liked it or not.

    I quickly made my way to the stage with Israel and Zavier flanking my sides.  The i***t that wheeled the cage out refused to give me the key and threw it out into the crowd, which pissed me off even more.

    In a fit of rage, I used my bare hands to bend the metal bars of the cage, then I pulled my severely beaten mate out of that horrendous entrapment.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I took in the sight of her.

    She had been stripped completely naked, and there were bruises and gashes all over her tiny, frail body.  Her red hair was matted to her head from the blood that seeped out of a few deep gashes, and there were multiple injuries on the front and back of her stunning red and black wings.

    I never would have guessed that my mate would be a dark angel, but I was sure there was a reason for it, and there was no way I would ever walk away from her.  I scooped my fragile dark angel up in my arms and instantly cringed at just how light and thin she was.

    My tortured mate flinched in pain, then she started whimpering, but it was such a soft whimper, I could barely hear it, even with my advanced hearing.  I wanted nothing more than to kill King Gideon for hurting what's mine, but she needed serious medical attention, and I wasn't about to make her wait any longer for it.

    I quickly carried my dark angel out of that castle.  As soon as we reached the front lawn, I handed my angel to Israel.  Right away, I shifted into my dragon and mind linked Israel to ride on my back with my mate to make sure she didn't fall or anything.

    He was quick to climb up and get positioned, while Zavier shifted into his dragon, then we made haste getting the hell out of there.  The entire flight back, I couldn't stop thinking about the injuries that I could see, and that got me wondering what other injuries she undoubtedly would have.  

    All of these thoughts kept me motivated to fly faster than I ever had before.  I feared for my mate's life and well-being.  I knew that even a few minutes or seconds could be the difference between her living or dying.  That thought nearly drove me to madness, but I kept it together and got my battered mate home in record time.