Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

"No, no!" King Batsaikhan waved a hand in protest. "This one belongs to Altan, not to me."

Lyra looked over at Altan, who flushed and looked away.

Lyra shook her head, fondling Süren\'s opal with loving fingers.

"I will not trade with you. I have accepted Süren\'s dragon opal and all that it signifies."

The King shook his head.

"I\'m terribly sorry, but you cannot keep that opal. It truly does not belong to you."

"Süren has given it to me as a promise gift. He promised he would wait three years for me and I promised that I would marry him in three years. Therefore, this absolutely belongs to me."

King Batsaikhan shook his head.

"You don\'t understand. It\'s not just the stone that does not belong to you. Neither is my son Süren. He is already engaged to be married."

Lyra lifted her chin in defiance.

"Süren has told me that he will break off the engagement. I trust his words."

King Batsaikhan held out a hand towards Altan.

"Süren is far too old for you, my dear. I think you and Altan would be more compatible. Spend some time with him and get to know the man he is."

"Ten years between a man and a woman is hardly considered far too old." Lyra sniffed. "My mother and father are fifteen years apart, and I\'m sure you have consorts who are much younger than you."

The look on King Batsaikhan\'s face showed clearly he had lost that argument.

"In any case, if you would please return the opal back to my family, I would appreciate it. I will have Altan gift you his dragon opal. The stones are very similar and you won\'t even know the difference."

"Well, obviously there is a difference since you want this one back and are trying to get me to accept an inferior stone. I only want the best. I will keep Süren\'s opal." She held her hand over the opal pendant in a protective gesture.

King Batsaikhan narrowed his eyes. It looked as if she had made up her mind and there was nothing more he could say to change it.

He shot a quick look at the attendants and they moved to Lyra\'s side. Their intent was very clear. They would forcibly remove her pendant, whether she liked it or not.

The Royal Consort Gwendolyn was no fragile flower. She was a werewolf and could smell their intent a mile away.

Moving quickly, Gwendolyn grabbed the hot pot of coffee in front of her and flung it at the nearest attendant.

"Aaaaaahhh!!!" The attendant cried out as the hot coffee pot smashed into his face and splashed onto his body.

Meanwhile, Lyra had jumped onto her chair. She lowered her body into a fighting stance and kicked out at the second attendant with her strong right leg.

BAAAM!!! He went flying across the room.

Altan rose from the table, his eyes horror-stricken. What the hell was Father doing??? These were not just regular guests. They were part of the Imperial Erenveil family!

He was going to jump in between Father and the women when the palace guards began running towards them with ill intent.

"Run Lyra!" Mother cried out as she flung her silverware at the guards who were quickly approaching.

Lyra grabbed onto her chair, and with force, flung it at the window next to her.

CRASH!!!

The glass window shattered into large jagged shards.

With a quick leap, Lyra launched herself out the large window that looked out over the rugged churning ocean below.

"NO!!!" Altan cried out, his hand reaching out in futile protest.

FWOOOMPH!!!

Her bat wings unfurled behind her as she dipped and soared away into the howling blizzard.

================

The buzzing in his ear was barely audible at first. It was intermittent and did not intrude into his mental state, but then it got louder.

And louder.

And louder.

Finally, Süren\'s eyes blinked open trying to find the source of the offending sound, but there was no sound anywhere. It was just random noise within his mind.

Immediately, he could see the pale ceiling with its unfamiliar painted surface. Looking around, he could see soft silk blankets and cushions of pinks and blues and yellows that he was lying on.

Where was he?

Süren tried to rise from the bed but realized that his hands were tied above his head and his legs had been tied to the bed posts with strong ropes.

His eyes narrowed. Did they think he was a weakling?

He yanked at the ropes, trying to break free, but the more he struggled, the more the ropes began to tighten where they bound him.

"Aaaarggghhh!!!" He growled and began shifting into his dragon form.

Too late, he realized that the ropes had been magicked to accommodate his every shifting form.

"Father!!!" He shouted. "What kind of fucking father are you to do this to your own son???" He howled, cursing and yelling at the top of his voice.

For an hour he howled and yelled, cursing at everyone and everything.

Nobody came into the room.

He yelled until he was hoarse and exhausted and finally he slumped back down onto the bed.

The silence stretched out for another five minutes and finally the door opened.

A girl poked her head into the room. Her auburn hair framed her small pale face with its pale amber eyes.

"Sharina." Süren called out hoarsely.

"Süren. Are you—are you okay?"

"What do you think? I\'m drugged and tied up. You think I\'m okay?"

Sharina said nothing. She slipped in through the doorway and came near him.

"Stay away from me!" He snarled.

"I have to take care of you."

"I said stay away!"

"Your wrists and ankles are bleeding. Let me clean it." She tried again.

Süren narrowed his gaze at her.

"Why do you care? Isn\'t this what you wanted? Tie me up and beat me into submission?"

"No. Süren. I didn\'t." She waved a frantic hand in protest.

"Then untie me. If this is truly not what you want, untie me!"

"I—I can\'t. I\'m not allowed to."

Süren nodded. "Good. Good. Very good. I didn\'t know exactly who my enemies were before. Now it\'s very clear. Guess who\'s on my death list. Your entire family."

Sharina\'s eyes were moist.

"Your Father was the one who ordered this."

"And what is his objective? Keep me tied up like this for the rest of my natural life?"

"No Son." A voice called out from the doorway. "You just need to stay put for another ten days."

King Batsaikhan\'s commanding form strode into the room, his eyes narrowed with unfathomable thoughts.

"In ten days, it will be your wedding day, and then afterwards, you will be free to live your newly married life."

"Ten—ten days?" Süren\'s eyes began to panic. "How long have I been out?"

"About a day." King Batsaikhan responded, his arms folded across his chest as he regarded his son from above.

"Lyra—"

"She is well. She and her mother are currently being entertained by your brother." King Batsaikhan\'s eyes were veiled.

There was no reason to tell Süren that Lyra had flown the coop. Where could she possibly go? There was a blizzard howling about. She would get cold and eventually return to the castle.

"Altan…I\'m going to kill him if he does anything to hurt Lyra!"

"Pshah!" King Batsaikhan spat. "Why would Altan hurt his future wife? You have no need to worry. They are very well-cared for."

"If he marries her, I\'m going to kill him."

King Batsaikhan scowled. "You will do no such thing. It will be three years by the time Altan and Lyra get married.. By then, you will be too busy taking care of your own family and children."