The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 204. He is dead.

Chapter 204: 204. He is dead.

As Neriah ran as fast as she could, she had only one prayer in her heart. "Dear goddess, please do not do this to me. Please have mercy on this sinner." She prayed those prayers over and over and over again until she reached the King’s court where the other members of the royal family were gathered.

Barefooted she stood in front of the huge doors, again and again she tried to calm her breath but as the guards pushed the door open, her breathing only became rapid and shaky.

First person her eyes caught was queen Rakavi who was nestled in the embrace of her husband... Crying, Neriah could tell even though the woman’s face was buried deep in her husband’s embrace. That alone made Neriah’s heart almost stop beating.

Then she saw Rakima’s eyes upon her. They carried both pity and anger. It almost seemed as though Rakima was trying to choose between being angry with her or sympathizing with her. That look made Neriah very uncomfortable. It sent shivers down her spine for some reason.

She saw the twins and they looked as though they had received very horrible news that they were finding it hard to share. They looked at her with sorrow-filled eyes and again Neriah’s heart paused for a second.

Even Barni was standing there with tears in his eyes and Riri who stood upon his shoulder was no different.

Then she saw them, prince Raknar and commander Regina. Slowly, she walked up to them, trying her best not to stagger, trying to remain as composed as she could be.

Neriah asked, "W_why are you alone a_again? Did_did you not find him?" She tried not to stutter and yet she knew very well that she did. "Regina, why are you quiet? Answer me, oh, he is probably incapable of moving around at the moment so you left him and will go back for him, right?"

Neriah nodded her head as she spoke as though she was silently begging Regina to do the same. To just nod her head and tell her that yes, Barak was alive somewhere.

But then Raknar’s open palm was suddenly in front of her face and resting at the center of the big palm was a small golden thing she recognized. She could not mistake it at all. She knew it very well because she had a matching one.

"Regina was the one who recognized it on the finger of a merchant." Raknar was explaining but his words were starting to sound as though he was under water.

Her head was starting to spin as her fingers reached for it... The golden ring. Her husband’s ring. The one that had her name inscribed inside it just like his was in hers. How was that ring in Raknar’s hand and Barak was not present?

She picked the ring and her breath shook as she saw her name inside it... indeed it was her husband’s. "Please, I beg you. T_tell me you just brought the ring with you as proof that you have found him well and alive somewhere. Please tell me that that is the reason." Tears were already clouding her view.

But she remained where she was, with her eyes still on Raknar, waiting for a response.

"We found it on the finger of a merchant while we were in Bampo. He confessed to having bought it from a petty thief who was—" Raknar paused as though he was almost choked by his own words and had to take a moment to align them properly. "— who was known for stealing from_ from_ dead bodies that washed up on shore."

At that moment, the ring slipped out of Neriah’s hand as her trembling fingers could not hold onto it. But then she held both her hands together, trying to calm herself down as she bent to pick up the ring, but Regina, who could see how much struggle it would be for a trembling pregnant woman to pick up the ring, did it for her.

As Neriah was handed the ring, she forced a smile to her lips, but it was crooked as she was trying her best not to cry. "No, I know what you are trying to say, but Barak might not have been dead when the thief stole the ring. I am certain he is fine somewhere. Really, we just have to try a little more and—"

"Sorry Neriah," Regina suddenly said. "We also thought the same so we found the thief. At first he kept denying that he had stolen the ring at all, but after much torturous questioning, he confessed that Barak was— that Barak was— was dead when he found—"

"NOOOOOOO!!!" They all flinched as Neriah screamed as though she had suddenly run mad. "Do you not know the man!!! It is Barak we are talking about here!" She screamed.

"Neriah please calm down, think of your child." Regina said.

"No!! Leave me be! We are talking about Barak! He wouldn’t just die! You know that! You said you have fought many battles with the man, so you should know that he will not die so easily!!" She screamed and shook her head vehemently, causing Regina to grab a hold of her less she hurt herself and her child.

"No." She tried to force the tears back but it was not working. "The_ the thief, he must have been lying. There is no way he told the truth. He must have just said those words to escape torture." She desperately said. As she strongly tried to break free from Regina’s hold, wriggling and fighting like an unsettled child.

She desperately needed something to cling to. Believing that Barak was alive somewhere was the only thing that had been keeping her sane. She really needed something to hold on to.

She had witnessed the attack herself, she had been right there. She had seen how he was pierced by arrows, so she knew even though she didn’t want to accept it, she knew no normal person would survive that.

But she had clung to that hope. Hope that her husband was no normal person, hope that he was alive and well somewhere, hope that he would return to her eventually if she waited patiently.

So, if they took that hope away from her now... Neriah had no idea what would become of her.

"Neriah, we used a detector." Raknar suddenly said and Neriah instantly stopped moving in Regina’s arms. Her eyes slowly turned to Raknar once again as Regina finally released her and Raknar said, "everything the man said was the truth... Barak is dead."

Apart from those words, the only thing Neriah heard were the screams of all of them calling out her name as the spinning world around her slowly faded into black.