A Bride for the Mountain God (Divine Dragons 2)

A greedy old bastard of a king with seven wives, nine sons, and more daughters than names he had the mental capacity to remember stood on a platform at the edge of the forbidden forest. His mouth moved as he gave a speech about the importance of appeasing the forest spirits wreaking havoc on our kingdom, but I didn’t hear a single word from his hypocritical mouth.

A century ago, my ancestors built a temple in the shadows of the mountain range towering behind me. That temple sat as a testament to the power of the Mountain God who made those jagged, heavily forested peaks his home—his domain. Over time, the temple had become a palace, and a kingdom sprouted up around it.

Kings, through the ages, pushed closer to the edge of the forbidden woods; chopping down more wood than they needed, stealing from the forest, corrupting the spirits, burning nature—antagonizing the Mountain God.

But King Nelus was the worst of them.

It was his greed, his avarice, his gluttony, his mortal sin as a shameless king bringing misfortune to the land. The forest spirits sensed the unrest from his overzealous rule. In response, they fed on his malice and cruelty, growing into fiendish creatures that crawled and hunted through the city streets.

He overtaxed his citizens. Captured fertile young noble women. Beheaded anyone who disagreed with his commands. What was one more wife, one more son, one more head rolling away from the swing of his blade?

And he continued to encroach on the Mountain God’s territory. The mountains, the woods, the lush thickets of nature rustling behind my back were forbidden for a reason. Spirits didn’t take kindly to mortals, and they were eager to avenge their god.

King Nelus heard the whispers of unrest creeping through the streets. The loyalty of his subjects gradually slipping through his iron grasp with each passing year afflicted his image. Mounting pressure from increasing dissent forced the bastard to act. He needed to appease the Mountain God as retribution for his greed, otherwise he’d lose everything he coveted.

“Princess Nia offers herself as a token of goodwill to our divine lord,” he lied. I hadn’t. “We must all pray in the mercy of the Mountain God.” His voice echoed over the crowd, signaling the end of the grotesque show. “Goodbye, my beloved daughter.”

What was a worthless daughter to a king who wanted it all?

“Father, don’t do this,” I whispered, struggling against the restraints on my wrists cuffed tightly behind my back. “Please, don’t leave me here.”

He didn’t spare a glance at me as he descended the hastily constructed platform.

King Nelus, his wives, his sons, his other daughters all turned their backs on me. My father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and a thousand fools abandoned me, bound and helpless, in the shadow of the forbidden forest. I watched in horror as the golden sun sank toward the horizon behind the distant kingdom as everyone veered homeward.

Left alone to the spirits of the mountain and their monstrous god—a sacrificial princess to appease the sins of the father.

Only one figure lingered. A soldier in full armor, hesitating at the edge of the pack as if he might turn back. As if he might run to me, cut my binds and take me away.

Please. Please. Please. Internally I begged, feeling the first tears break free and cut hot rivers down my cheeks. Please come back for me. Don’t leave me here to this fate.

“Neven, come back for me. Please.” The increasing wind stole the words from my lips.

His captain barked an order. He turned his back, fading orange light glinting on his silver armor. The knight continued marching on, back to the kingdom he’d sworn to protect. Maybe he’d find another princess to fall into bed with. Or perhaps a woman he’d be free to love.

Not me. Too brash, too loud, too forbidden. A fling, and now nothing more than a pound of flesh for the creatures of the mountain.

Streaks of buttery yellow, burnt orange and rust red clawed at the sky. Darker shades of violet and blue descended on the sky as the sun finally slipped away. Twinkling silver stars blinked at me until heavy clouds pregnant with an oncoming storm rolled overhead, barreling closer. A blanket of fog crept through the towering trees of the mountain, sweeping closer like a shroud, bowling over the peaks of rich green.

Birds ceased in their song. Critters stopped chattering. Chirping bugs went silent. Nothing more than encroaching thunder and howling wind in the nearby boughs broke the silence. Without the forest’s natural symphony, my stomach sank with surging dread.

A chill wracked my spine, and a cold perspiration prickled at my temples. My last meal curdled in my twisting stomach, clawing at the back of my throat. I vaguely registered the choked whimpers that accompanied my never-ending tears.

A burning ache rose in my wrists from the leather cuffs binding my hands behind my back. Strapped to a wooden pole on the platform with no relief, I knew my wrists would bruise and chafe. Though maybe it wouldn’t matter after the spirits claimed me.

Or perhaps the Mountain God himself would come and—no. Not likely.

No one alive had seen him. The Mountain God remained lost in the massive, wide range peaks that bordered our continent. His forest at the top of those impassive mountains nearly reached the stars and sky. No mortal would ever find him if he didn’t want to be found. They wouldn’t even survive getting through the gnomes, imps, or dryads.

My sacrifice would be in vain. The Mountain God wouldn’t want me—a poor consolation prize from an insatiable king. Once the forest spirits found me, they were likely to tear me to shreds before making their way into the kingdom to wreak more havoc.

Good. Serves them right for what they’ve done. I would die with none the wiser and no one to miss me. No sentiment lost from my family or would-be lover. Food for the forest.

Is that why kings had so many children? They needed heirs to spare, I suppose. Though I couldn’t imagine my father giving up any of my brothers. He’d sacrifice every one of his daughters until the spirits left them alone.

“Yeah, well, fuck you! You old bastard!” I screamed into the void. As night arrived, I no longer saw the gleaming spires of the kingdom. I knew they couldn’t hear me, but gods-damn it felt good to scream. “Fuck all of you! I hope the spirits take everything from you! All your gold, all your sons—everything you hold dear, you rotten bastard!”

I screamed until the first raindrops fell. By then, my throat ached, and my muscles shook from fighting my restraints. The biting chill of the drizzle seeped into my bones, creating ice shards in my blood. My tears had ceased, replaced by a river of anger and anguish deeper than anything I’d ever felt before.

Until something cool and firm tickled the burning skin at my wrist. A startled cry breached my lips. Instinctively, I wriggled and flinched from the sensation of something curling through the cuffs. My heart ricocheted against my ribs, beating too fast to be healthy.

I angled my head against the beam, searching for whatever critter or worm had inched its way to my bound hands. All the blood drained from my face and my stomach dropped like a stone at my feet. Hundreds of tangled, interwoven vines had slithered like snakes from the forest underbrush.

A fear-laden scream flew from me, leaping into the storm winds like a frightened bird taking flight. In all my years, I’d never seen plants move with sentience. My first instinct was that the forest spirits had found me and were finally coming to take me away.

But the cuffs restraining me ripped apart, falling with an almost satisfying thunk on the platform.

I rubbed my red, raw wrists, never taking my eyes off the thick blanket of wriggling vines and branches as the mass tugged back into the wall of trees. Tendrils of the fog danced in the air before parting to reveal something mimicking a path.

A primordial whisper curled around me. The sound niggled at the back of my mind, latching onto something inside of me. That strange symphony of nature hummed through my blood, soothing the erratic beat of my heart. A sense of calm draped over me with the presence of a soft, weighted blanket protecting me from the harsh kiss of winter.

Gold sequined material swished around my legs as my body moved on its own. As if an outside force had leashed hold of my senses, my silk-clad feet descended the creaking platform stairs. I held my burning wrists to my chest, mindlessly following the grooves and upturned dirt where the vines had traveled.

I swallowed over a dry throat, almost choking on my tongue. Still, I didn’t stop—couldn’t stop—as I breached the curtain of trees and entered the forbidden forest. My breath caught in my throat as the song of the mountain called me deeper, calling, urging, tugging me into shadowed, vibrant green depths.

Where were the animals? Why had the forest spirits not attacked me?

Trembling, with my cold, damp dress clinging to my abundant curves, I drifted on weak legs through the hazy, dense woods. With each step, the fog in the underbrush parted for me, welcoming me into the heart of a forbidden, dark place.

Just when I realized that my fear had melted into a content curiosity, lulled into a sense of security by the enchanting song of the mountain, a giant boulder rolled across the darkened distance. I lurched to a stop, a scream clawing up through my throat.

More lichen-covered boulders moved. Even the trees seemed to shift and dance, swaying with beastly life.

Moonlight cleaved through the rumbling storm clouds, shining directly on the movement in my path. All at once it seemed as if the very mountain in front of me was rising higher, taller, lifting a long neck—

A gust of wind dissipated the fog. The moon illuminated scales in all shades of green with hints of gray and browns, a veritable living painting of the woods. Emerald green wings tipped in claws splayed out. That long neck lifted higher, glowing green eyes like moss targeted the blip of my existence on the ground. Horns that mimicked the shape of antlers curved back, sporting a texture like bark crowned his regal head.

A rumbling growl rolled over the forbidden forest.

Not a boulder, not a hill, not the trees.

The Mountain God had awoken, and he was staring directly at me.

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