The Dragon King's Substitute Bride (Morgan and Tsuneo)

The Dragon King's Substitute Bride.

CH86

Hayato king for m

I have been

centuries before the veil closed before my wife was murdered in the palace and Tsuneo was put in a coma. And all that time, I had never met a black dragon. I had never fully understood the true face of one either. Not until now.

The elders would have a field day. He'd killed not one but two of his siblings. In a matter of a few months for threatening his wife. I watched as Tsuneo fell unconscious, his body twitching and jerking uncontrollably. The guards looked at me in shock. I suppose it may sense since most of them were too young to know that I had once been on the front lines, leading me into battle as fiercely as if dragon king before me.

"Sedate him," I said. Doctor Shang's eyes widened. Use whatever you have to keep him unconcious for as long as possible."

Doctor Shang nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination. I pulled off my outer robe. It was enchanted against poisons.

"No one touch her..." I set my jaw, blocking out the scent of my daughter's blood. "She chose a far more vicious poison than I expected her to be able to get her hands on. Doctor Shang, if you would look into how she got it, exactly, and bring her dealer to me?"

He nodded and darted over to Tsuneo just as he started to lift his head. He poured several vials into Tsuneo's mouth. Tsuneo's body relaxed, his breathing slowing. Morgan was growing paler by the second. Her eyes were open though, looking at me. She seemed aware of me. Her eyes flickered with soft golden light.

...neo?"

I smiled, wrapping her in my robe. "He is sleeping, and he will remain so until you are better."

I couldn't chance. I'm going on a rampage leading, soldiers against a man who would one day be commanding them would not work. Gently, I picked her up. She seemed so light in my arms, like a child.

"Keep everyone in their rooms and seal off the royal chambers. I will return."

My gut trembled as I took off into a gliding run down the corridor. There was only one place that would help with this poison. Doctor Shang was a brilliant man, but Black Scale poison was incurable for the most part. I hurried through the secret passageways, my heart pounded in my chest. I could feel her breathing growing weaker. How much more time did I have? If I could not

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save her, would I have to keep my son unconscious for the rest of his life? Would I have to kill him? I shuddered at the thought.

I couldn't allow myself to consider than as a possibility.

The secret passages opened to me, guiding me with flickering lights in the walls. ne palace seemed to think there was a good chance that she would live. It seemed ages later before I

reached the hidden garden. It was overgrown and unkempt, but the scent of the pure water, said to be entirely of phoenix tears, babbled on. I carried her to the bank of the pool and lay her in the water.

"Please be okay," I whispered.

There was a small chance that she may not be strong enough. The transformation wasn't complete. I remembered all too well for weeks before she had fully transformed. Haruka had

nearly died several times from various attempts on her life. It had seemed that for every would-be

assassin I had put down, another had popped up. There had never been so much bloodshed in the palace. I wasn't looking forward to repeating that time, but I could see now that that was likely

going to happen.

Perhaps it would be even more, after all, Tsuneo was a black dragon.

I sank down beside the pool and sighed. Despair washed over me. I had lost so much, and now I faced the possibility of losing my spunky new daughter-in-law and my last son. I couldn't bear it. I knew I couldn't. The weight of Haruka's death weighed too heavily on me already. My scales were already shedding. the dragon in me was starting to die.

I watched as Morgan floated in the pool. Her eyes were still open, staring blankly up into the sky.

Her h

breathing was shallow and irregular.

I stood and started to pace, mulling over what was to be done. I would likely after to send one of my concubines home or risk having her killed if she chose to try and avenge either of her children. As much as I loved her, I couldn't ignore the fact that it would be better for her to be away, than for me to have one day bury her too for her foolishness.

I turned back to look at Morgan and shook my head. For now, all I could do was wait. Then, the pool rippled and slowly she began to sink. My heart lurched, I went to try and grab her, but a barrier stopped me. I stepped back, backing away.

She was in the hands of the phoenixes who had come before her, I supposed.

There was nothing more I could do.

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Tsuneo

Stirred, my eyelids heavy and my body aching. A wave of nausea washed over me, and there was a bitter taste in my mouth. I had been sedated, but it was only enough to keep my body unconscious, not my mind. I felt them moving me. I thought I heard Doctor Shang as well. There was a sense of unease in the air, a palpable tension that hung heavy in the atm here. I tried to recall what had happened, but my memory was hazy, fragmented. I remembered the chaos, the fear, and the desperate struggle to save Morgan.

A wave of guilt washed over me. I had failed her, She'd been poisoned when I knew that wench. had meant to poison me. I should have been more vigilant. I'd been so worried about my father. that I hadn't been able to react in time. My mind raced. Would Morgan be okay? If she wouldn't be, then what would happen? Would my father have the strength to kill me? He had to know that if I woke up and Morgan was gone, there would be no end to the carnage. The dragon in me wouldn't allow it. Would he have the strength to carry on afterward?

I didn't know, and I hated that.

Slowly, a strange sensation washed over me. It was as if I was being pulled into another world, a realm of shadows and memories. I opened my eyes, trying to focus, to make sense of the strange sensations that were flooding my mind.

And then I saw it. A vision, a memory, or perhaps something more. A vast, empty void, a nothingness that stretched on forever. And then, from the depths of this void, I felt myself growing solid. I felt fingers and claws, stretching and solidifying as if I was coming into being. Slowly, I emerged, not knowing who or what I was other than a creature of pure darkness. I crept forward towards a pool of still water. Dark opal eyes glowed, staring back at me. I heard gasps of horror. Creatures scurried away through the gathering clouds around me.