Breeder For The Villain Dragon

CHAPTER NINE

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Juta has devoted his life to serving the fae crown ever since he was a young warrior of fourteen winters. For ten years, he has bled for his kingdom, becoming one of their finest swordsmen and rising through the ranks like smoke through autumn air.

His father, who once stood as the King's right hand, fell during the great dragon wars that scarred their lands. Juta was forged in those same fires, trained since boyhood to fill his father's place. His position serving the throne directly will be sealed once he weds the princess.

Power and honor matter above all else - so the elders taught him.

He had tried to bury his heart beneath duty, to let ambition rule over foolish sentiment. Marrying Princess Amiral would elevate him to the highest circles, make him a lord among lords. Yet as their wedding approaches like an approaching storm, Juta finds himself drowning in misery.

He wants Faelyn. The beautiful half-blood who claimed his soul without even trying.

He regrets abandoning her to silence the whispers and save his reputation.

Now the hour for regret has passed like winter into spring.

Juta stares at the chained dragon with hatred that burns hotter than forge-fire. His loathing for dragonkind runs in his blood like poison, but this beast he despises beyond all measure.

Ancient power radiates from the creature even in chains, making the very air tremble with barely contained force.

Their plan to humble the Shadowscale Kingdom by breaking their Dragon King had seemed so perfect. Transform their greatest weapon into something weak and powerless.

Juta had championed testing their new weapons on this captive. He simply never imagined the King would sacrifice Faelyn as their instrument of delivery, turning strategy into cruel sport.

But Dragon Kings are creatures of legend for good reason. Even their deadliest poisons only triggered something far worse - a mating bond that chained Faelyn to this monster forever.

What's done cannot be undone, but Juta can still taste vengeance. The helplessness burning in his chest needs somewhere to flow, or it will consume him like wildfire.

"The only way to break a savage beast…" Juta extends his hand, and Ruto places an enchanted iron whip across his palm. This particular weapon was forged in dragon's bane and blessed by their strongest mages.

His fingers wrap around the leather grip like a lover's caress.

"…Is to remind them what pain truly means."

The whip sings through the dungeon air, and even the hardened guards step back from the fury blazing in Juta's eyes.

He strikes with all the skill of a master warrior, the enchanted barbs finding their mark with ruthless accuracy. Each blow opens wounds that smoke and hiss, the dragon's bane eating into flesh like acid.

"Where do your warriors hide, beast?"

Amendiel's face remains carved from mountain stone, those golden eyes burning with cold fire. His complete lack of reaction only feeds Juta's rage.

"Why do they abandon you to rot in our dungeons? Do they consider you already dead?" Juta's voice rises with each word, the whip dancing through air again and again.

The enchanted weapon leaves wounds that would fell any normal creature, yet Amendiel endures in perfect silence. Not even a sharp breath escapes his lips.

"Eager to hear details, little fae? I think what truly eats at you is knowing how thoroughly I claimed what you could never have," Amendiel's voice carries dark amusement, his slight smile mocking Juta's consuming fury.

"Monster!" Juta snarls.

"Says the torturer," comes the calm reply.

"You're already dead!" Juta's entire frame shakes with killing rage. He casts aside the whip and draws his sword, pressing the spelled steel against Amendiel's throat.

Still the dragon shows no fear. His indifference to death itself drives Juta to the edge of madness.

"I'll separate your head from your shoulders and leave your corpse for the carrion birds!"

Ruto moves swiftly to whisper urgent words. "You cannot kill him without the King's command! Such defiance would see you stripped of rank and title. Wait for royal permission, then you may work your will upon him."

Juta's face burns red with frustrated wrath. He glares at Amendiel with pure venom before storming from the dungeon, his voice echoing off stone walls.

"Deny him all rest! No food shall pass his lips, no water touch his tongue! Let suffering be his only companion until I return!"

Ruto glances back to see the prisoner casually etching marks into the stone wall with one clawed finger, as if the torture meant nothing at all.

When those burning golden eyes suddenly fix on him, Ruto feels his blood turn to ice water. He flees the dungeon like a man escaping nightmares.

"My Lord!" Ruto gasps, catching up to Juta's furious stride.

"I want him broken! Since he won't speak, perhaps agony will loosen his tongue!" Juta's fist crashes into the corridor wall, splitting his knuckles open, but rage makes him ignore the pain.

"What game does the King play? Every experiment fails, yet he keeps this creature breathing! Each day that monster lives puts us all in greater danger!"

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Faelyn wakes up in a chamber she's never seen before. It's nothing like the cold slave quarters where she's always lived. She tries to sit up on the soft bed, but the smell of herbs makes her cough.

"You've been sleeping for almost seven days."

Faelyn turns toward the voice. An older woman sits nearby - she knows her as Sebi, the palace healer. But why would someone so important help a worthless slave?

Memories hit her like cold water… The dragon… The dungeon… Being marked and claimed…and then her loved ones.

"My m_other!" Faelyn tries to stand but falls back down when everything spins.

"Go slow, child. You have a Dragon King's mark now. Your body is fighting to handle such old power. Dragons and half-bloods don't mix well - you're lucky to be alive," Sebi says, giving her a bowl of brown liquid.

"Drink this. It will help with the dragon fire in your blood."

Faelyn drinks the bitter medicine. Lucky doesn't feel right when her whole world is destroyed.

Her shaking fingers touch the marks on her neck. They hurt and pulse like they have their own heartbeat.

"My mother… please tell me how she is. The King said he'd free her if I…"

Sebi can't look at her. This broken girl is the saddest patient she's ever had. Juta told her to hide the truth, but how long can she keep lying?

"You know something," Faelyn whispers, grabbing the healer's hands.

Sebi's face crumbles. "Your mother was let out of the dungeons a few days ago…"

"Thank the ancestors!" Faelyn's face lights up with relief.

But Sebi looks so sad, and the quiet feels heavy between them.

The door opens softly. Princess Amiral walks in wearing red silk robes, her pretty face showing fake worry.

"Princess!" Sebi bows.

Amiral walks to the bed slowly, watching Faelyn's face like a hunter watching prey.

"Dear sister," she says sweetly. "I've been so worried about you. But I have sad news about your mother…"

'Finally,' Amiral thinks with dark satisfaction. 'Time to watch this mongrel's heart break completely. Even though she survived the dragon's fire, at least she's tainted now. Marked. Ruined. No decent fae will ever look at her again. She's become exactly what she was born to be - a monster's plaything.'

"M_my mother?" Faelyn's voice cracks.

"The cold dungeon was too much for her sick body. I'm so sorry for your loss, Faelyn."

'Look at her face,' Amiral thinks with cruel joy. 'All that hope dying in her eyes. This is what happens when mongrels forget their status'

The words hit Faelyn like stones. She looks back and forth between Sebi and Amiral, her world falling apart.

"What happened to my m_mother?! She cries, her heart gripped by dread.

Amiral sighs like the words hurt her to say. "She's dead, dear sister. I'm truly sorry."

The sound Faelyn makes isn't quite human - part cry, part scream, part dying breath. Everything she gave up, every pain she suffered, it was all for nothing. Her mother is gone, and she's still chained to the monster who destroyed her life.

Deep below in the dungeons, Amendiel feels her pain through their bond. For the first time since being captured, something like satisfaction crosses his face.

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