The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 122

CH122 Tsuneo

"With them? Yes. You? No... But Pyra and Morgan do. He shook his head. "Those that have their own agendas will be looking to exploit your doubts. You must be ready."

I nodded, though the weight of his words settled heavily on my shoulders.

"And what about... Siora?" I asked, my voice quiet. The name had been haunting me ever since Morgan told me about her. "Does she have something to do with... this uneasiness you feel?"

Tarofu's eyes darkened, a flicker of pain crossing his face. "Siora... was our daughter," he admitted, his voice tinged with sorrow. "She was our youngest and the only iridescent dragon. She came of age in the midst of the war between the dragon and tiger kingdoms and died merely three days: after her birthday."

I remained silent, letting him continue.

"She was... such a gentle soul," Tarofu said, his voice growing heavy with emotion. "Beautiful, powerful... and a beacon of hope for our people. But the war... it took everything from us. Sioral wasn't a warrior by any means, but the tigers were out for blood and conquest. She was killed. The loss was... devastating.'

I felt a chill run through me as I listened, the weight of his words pressing down on my chest. I could see the pain etched into his features, the memory of their daughter's death still raw, even after all this time.

"Pyra... Pyra couldn't bear the loss," Tarofu continued, his voice barely more than a whisper now. "It sent her into a madness... a rage that consumed her. She blamed herself, blamed me, blamed the entire world. The pain of losing Siora twisted her into something unrecognizable. She became consumed by her anger, her grief, and she lashed out at anyone who dared come near her. The fight raged for several more weeks, nearly reducing all of the realms to ashes."

The image of Pyra, the phoenix, destroying the realm was difficult to process. Unheard of, but I could see that ruthlessness in Morgan, I could believe that it had happened.

"I'm sorry

"I don't know if Pyra thinks I remember or not, but she cannot fall to her rage, he grief, again. There will be no rekindling her. I rose the veil between the realms to try and contain the damage and force her to be reborn."

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My heart sank. "You... You had to kill her?"

He closed his eyes and gave one nod. "She would have killed everyone, her children and in the end herself when she'd realized what she'd done. And now, I fear that history may repeat itself if we are not careful."

the thought. "What can be

enemy can be given quarter," he said. "And the rest is... up to

didn't like

hope." Tarofu's gaze softened, his ancient eyes gleaming with a flicker of pride. "You have grown stronger

I blinked. "Your eldest?"

was a golden dragon and ruled after our daughter as she

I was named for

it," He said, the hall grew hazy

to wake. I looked up at the ceiling, taking in the silence of the morning. Morgan was still asleep beside me. I swallowed, turning over everything. The road ahead had never

My mother was alive.

longer teetereing

my mind. His amusement was warm and settling. He

asked groggily, her voice laced with

I nodded. "Just thinking."

"Too early."

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and turned over, kissing her cheek. "Go back to

hm?"

I lay there beside her, I wondered what she'd spoken to Pyra about, if she'd gotten any answers. Did she know that Pyra had lost her mind? Morning light streamed through the windows of our chambers, slowly brightening the room. I slipped from bed, leaving Morgan there. I

morning, ladies." I nodded back toward the door. "The queen hasn't

her

Lady Maya. Though I'm

a face. "No. I have no interest in what you get up

"That's good to

there and saw the stack of files

were all rejections. I left my office

cannot mean that they