The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 109. Where were you?

Chapter 109: 109. Where were you?

Desperately, he tried to once again get that connection with her, but it was to no use. It seemed that it only worked when the other person was in danger. It meant that wherever she was, she was safe at least.

Could she really have gone to meet someone?

Could her lover really be in trago?

When did he arrive?

How long has she been seeing him?

Was he overthinking?

Did she just ride out of anger and nothing more? Could she be alone somewhere crying?

All these questions streamed in and out of Barak’s head as he rode through the busy streets of the capital. He was worried for her, and at the same time he was worried for himself. What would he do if indeed she had gone to meet her lover? What would he do if indeed she had been keeping in touch with her lover?

She hated him with much vehemence, so hoping that she would stay faithful to him was a foolish way of thinking, especially if her lover was really here in Trago.

"What am I doing?" He muttered to himself as he saw a small figure walk by but quickly realized it wasn’t her. "Moving around with no destination." He clenched the reins of the horse. He was acting foolish, he knew this. Riding around, scanning through every single woman that walked on the streets was foolish.

She was not in danger, that much he was somewhat certain of, and if she tried to run away to a faraway place, the men Farhan sent after her would bring her back, so what was he doing in the middle of he street at that time of the night, behaving like a fool.

"Nychta, let’s head back home." he said to the horse, and as if she could understand his words, she totted gently and turned around. She was heading back to the castle.

...

It was late in the night when Neriah finally opened the door to their bedchamber and stepped into the thick darkness of the room. Even the light from the crescent moon seemed to reach a certain point in the room and just stopped there, just half a foot past the door to the balcony.

It was as though it was afraid of spreading its light any further into the room. A sudden strong and cold wind blew and shook the curtains, lifting them up vehemently and dropping them down again as the wind subsided. But the cold that it brought reached Neriah after the wind stopped, and it enveloped her system, causing chilling tremors to grip her over and over as she peered into the darkness.

There was something ominous about it... something eerie.

Left with no other choice, Neriah finally moved her feet from the door side where she had been glued to since, and took a step into the darkness.

She could not hear him breathing, she could not see him so she would have thought he wasn’t present in the room, but somehow, even in the eerie silence, in the ominous darkness, she could tell he was there with her.

Her hands trembled , so she clenched and unclenched them, wondering why exactly he was in the room. She wanted to believe he had fallen asleep, but she could just tell he was awake.

With every step she took deeper into the room, her breath seemed to go louder and although she tread carefully and quietly, her footsteps only seemed to grow louder and louder by the second. Why the hell was he sitting in the dark?!

Or maybe she was overthinking. Maybe the room was dark because there was actually no one in it. Maybe she was just getting paranoid for nothing!

But then as if to give a response to her question, she heard his voice. Deep, dark, and for reasons unknown to her... very vexed.

"Where have you been?"

It was not a hard question, nor was it a question that needed a huge portion of your brain to answer, but just that simple question made Neriah halt and stare toward the direction his voice had come from. The bed.

Suddenly she jolted and turned as the hearth abruptly boomed with burning flames. He had used his powers and now the room was illuminated. She turned her head toward him again and finally, she could see him.

Sitting at the foot of the bed, his legs spread apart and his elbows pressed upon his knees. His fingers were tightly clasped together and his back and head were hunched, facing the ground.

Another strong wind blew into the room, carrying the cooling smell of impending rain. It picked the curtains and they fluttered just as his dark hair was fluttering around his nape.

Neriah stood glued to the ground like she had been hypnotized to say nothing and just remain on that spot, trembling and staring at her dear husband.

Slowly, his dark head rose and so did his eyes... They met hers and she saw the reflections of the waving flames in them. Her heart almost jumped out of her throat the moment their eyes met. At some point she was confused if his eyes were reflecting the flames or the flames were reflecting the anger in his eyes.

"Answer me." Was it a growl, did something just flicker in his eyes, did she see a certain tick at his neck? Neriah could not answer those questions because deep down, she always feared something about this man, but she never knew she could feel this much fear for him too. She had never seen his eyes grow so dark before, nor had she heard his voice so calm and yet so domineering.

"Neriah Claudia Der Drache," Her full name! Neriah didn’t realize it, but she staggered back. "I asked you a question, give me an answer." It was not a request, nor was it a plea. It was clearly a command.

A strangled gasp escaped her lips as his hunched back straightened and she feared he was going to rise to his feet. She knew she had to say something, in fact she and Lyle had cooked up the perfect excuse but right now she could not bring herself to say a single word