Chapter 9: The King He Never Wanted to Be
Tamara staggered back into the present, her breath catching as she looked at the massive, powerful man standing before her. The fragile, broken eight-year-old boy was completely gone, replaced by the imposing ruler of the Dragon Clan.
“So… it was you,” Tamara whispered, her voice trembling with a decade of unshed tears. “You’re the Dragon King.”
“I never wanted to be,” Zain said, his eyes filled with a profound, heavy sorrow. He stepped closer, reaching out to gently take her hands. This time, she didn’t pull away.
“When my mother forced me back to the palace,” Zain explained, “She didn’t want a son. She wanted a puppet to assassinate my half-siblings so her bloodline could secure the throne. I refused to fight for her greed. But my half-siblings, driven by the same rot, attempted to ambush us. A brutal, bloody internal war broke out. My siblings fought my mother, and in the end, they destroyed each other in a mutual, fatal duel. I was the only one left standing amidst the ash. I inherited a crown I never asked for, and the world labeled me a ruthless tyrant who slaughtered his own blood.”
He looked down at her hands, squeezing them gently.
“The very day I was crowned, I flew straight back to the Whispering Woods. I went to our cabin. I went to the cave. But you weren’t there. Griselda had passed away, and your father had dragged you back to Oakhaven to use you for his contracts. I searched for you for years, Tamara.”
Tamara blinked away a tear. “The bride candidate petition… you didn’t want a selection.”
“No,” Zain said, a fierce, protective light igniting in his golden eyes. “I knew your father’s greedy nature. I knew if I demanded a daughter from every house and offered a massive sum of reward, his transactional mind would never risk his precious Tania. I knew he would send you to me as a throwaway pawn. I engineered the entire decree just to bring you back to me. Will you marry me, Tamara?”
Tamara looked at him, her heart pounding. “Zain… I don’t know. I care about you, and the time we spent together was the happiest part of my life. But I don’t belong in a palace. I don’t belong in society. The humans hate me because of my face, and your court will despise me as an ugly, cursed queen.”
Zain smiled, a beautiful, radiant expression that completely melted his terrifying royal facade.
“Who said anything about living in a palace?” Zain murmured, pulling her a fraction closer.
“The imperial grounds contain a massive, untouched ancient forest. Over the last two years, I built a home there. A beautiful, large treehouse overlooking the valley, filled with every herb and root you could ever want. We will only come to the palace when duty demands it. The rest of the time, we will live where we belong.”
“I didn’t call for brides… I called for you.”