chapter 4 : The dragon's suspicion

The journey back to the castle was a blur of gray rain and the smell of scorched earth.

I was tucked against Alaric's chest as his horse galloped through the mud. My shoulder felt like it was on fire. During the chaos at the Iron Pass, as I was focused on saving Alaric from the arrows, a hidden assassin had struck me from the back. The hit was sudden and jagged, a shallow but painful wound that sent a shock through my entire body.

As I leaned my head against Alaric's cold steel armor, my mind was racing. I did it, I thought through the haze of pain. I changed the plot. In the book, Alaric was supposed to be wounded today. He was supposed to lose his trust in everyone. But I saved him.

I had loved Alaric since my past life. Back when I was just a girl in a rainy city reading a webnovel, I had felt his loneliness through the screen. I had cried for him when he was betrayed. Now, being held by him felt like a dream mixed with a nightmare.

Alaric's arms were like iron bands around me. He was tense—so tense that I could hear his heart thundering against his ribs. It wasn't the slow beat of a king; it was the frantic rhythm of a dragon protecting its most precious treasure.

"Stay awake, Seraphina," he growled, his voice low and jagged. "Do not close your eyes."

When we reached the castle, the servants scrambled in terror. They had never seen the King carry the Queen, especially not with such a dark, protective look on his face. He didn't wait for the doctors to meet him at the gate. He carried me straight to the royal wing and laid me down on a bed of black silk.

"Start her treatment!" Alaric roared at the royal physician. "If a single scar remains, or if she feels a moment of unnecessary pain, you will answer to the Dragon."

I watched him as the doctor began to clean the wound on my shoulder. Alaric didn't leave. He stood at the foot of the bed, his cloak still dripping with rain, his golden eyes fixed on my face. He was curious. He was confused. And underneath it all, he was dangerously attracted to the woman I had become.

"Why?" he suddenly asked, his voice cutting through the quiet room.

The doctor flinched, but I just looked at Alaric.

"Why did you behave like this, Seraphina?" he stepped closer, his shadow falling over me. "You have always hated the cold. You have always hated my soldiers. You would never risk a drop of your 'precious' blood for anyone, let alone for me. What are you getting in return for this? Who told you to save me?"

He thought this was a political move. He thought I was working for someone even more powerful.

I remained silent. I couldn't tell him the truth. How could I say, 'I'm from another world and I've loved you since you were just words on a page'? He would think I was mad.

"Answer me!" he commanded, his eyes glowing with that molten orange light. "Was it your father? Are the Malcors trying to trap me in a debt of gratitude? Tell me your price, Seraphina. Is it more gold? Is it a bigger crown?"

I turned my head away, looking at the rain-streaked window. I didn't answer a single one of his questions. The silence seemed to frustrate him more than a lie would have.

Alaric let out a frustrated huff, the air in the room turning hot with his dragon-breath. He wanted to shake the truth out of me, but every time he looked at my pale face and the bandage on my shoulder, his grip loosened. He was becoming more and more attracted to this quiet, stubborn version of me, but his pride wouldn't let him show it. He was a King who was used to being used; he didn't know how to handle someone who gave everything for nothing.

"Fine," he hissed. "If you won't speak to me, perhaps the shadows will."

He turned on his heel and strode out of the room, heading toward his private chambers. His mind was on fire. He needed to know who had dared to hit Seraphina from the back. In his mind, she was his to hate, his to command, and now, his to protect. The idea of someone else drawing her blood made the dragon inside him roar with a need for vengeance.

As the doors slammed shut, I finally let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I'm sorry, Alaric, I thought, closing my eyes as the medicine finally began to dull the pain. I can't tell you who I am. But as long as I'm in this story, no one will ever hurt you again.

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