A Bride for the Mountain God (Divine Dragons 2)

A few hours of wandering the Mountain Palace and I remained woefully, unfortunately, bored. Bored. Bored. I’d spent years of my life secluded in areas of a castle, out of sight and out of mind for my father and his many wives. Years spent reading books, knitting, learning to crochet, cross-stitch, whatever idle things a governess could teach, lessons with scholars who droned about politics. I didn’t want that lifestyle.

A taste of adventure had turned into an enticing prospect. I didn’t have to remain cooped up within four walls if I didn’t want to. Ronan had explicitly stated I could do and be anything I wanted to. Why not grasp that freedom by the horns and ride it into excitement?

Also known as: A Bored Princess Gets Herself into Trouble.

It started with me dressing in my new favorite outfit of trousers, a comfortable sweater, and a fur-lined coat to fight the chill. From there, I ventured to the ground level and walked right out the front door. Despite the night’s darkness, an enchanting natural luminescence guided my way through trees guarding the palace.

My boots crunched on twigs and rocks. Unlike my first time scrambling through the woods, I didn’t fear the fog, the darkness, or the looming presence of creatures and spirits that called the forbidden forest their home. Ronan’s claim, his essence, marked me as untouchable and nothing in the woods or on his mountain would dare cross their god or his new mate. So, I walked on, wandering aimlessly and exploring every nook and cranny, absorbing the wonders of nature.

Owls hooted, gentle wind danced through rustling leaves, stars twinkled at me through the branches. Every so often I’d feel a shifting, rumbling in the mountain beneath my feet as if something larger than life walked the land. A far away flap of wings unsettled the shroud of fog coiling around my ankles and startled the birds, but those subtle signs of a dragon occupying the mountain calmed me.

Whatever Ronan sensed at the edge of the forest was so far away from me, I didn’t concern myself with. He was the Mountain God, and it was his domain I traversed. In the shadow of his wings soaring over the forest, there was nothing for me to fear.

So, I went on gallivanting about the woods with ideas of grandeur, imagining myself as some great adventurer. Maybe even the daughter of a warlord going on a mission. Or a pirate queen looking for treasure. Maybe even an assassin looking for her next victim.

It was quite thrilling to be me in those few hours, laughing and bounding through the darkened woods. I gave in to a level of freedom and imagination a princess wasn’t permitted. Without restrictions and disapproving glares, I made up fantasies and delighted in the silliness of it all.

All that make believe and childlike joy fractured within me when a startlingly familiar clink of metal preceded the snap of a branch. My muscles froze and an icy wave descended my spine. Another ominous, heavy step neared my location. My chest heaved as my lungs sucked in air against the ricocheting of my heart.

I truly wanted to believe it was Ronan, transformed back into his dragon-humanoid form and coming to find me. But that metallic shifting gave away the sound of armor—of a knight maneuvering through the tangled underbrush.

Another crack from behind and I whirled around. An inky figure materialized in the shadows. My lips fell open and my throat readied an ear-splitting scream.

“Princess Nia, fear not, it’s only me.”

Another sort of terrible shudder dripped down my spine as dread filled my stomach. Everything within me curdled, and my tongue soured as the figure emerged into a beam of moonlight.

Armor smeared with dirt and stuck through with broken leaves and twigs. Sweat poured down his short, dark brown hair and a misguided tenacity gleamed in his chestnut brown eyes.

“Neven?” I gasped. “What in the devils are you doing in the forbidden forest?” My voice rose in pitch, almost a shrill scream by the last word.

His brows shot up, and he glanced around the trees. “Well, I’ve come to rescue you.”

“Rescue me?” My arms dropped to my sides and my jaw hung loose.

Neven, my former and last mortal lover and one of my father’s knights, stood across from me, decked out in the finest armor I’d ever seen. The newer embellishments across his chest revealed his advancement to the Royal Honor Guard since my… sacrifice.

“Yes.” He straightened up, staring down his nose at me and taking note of my outfit with confusion and distaste. “The king decreed that any knight who could rescue the princess from the forest spirits would be rewarded greatly. I’ve been searching for you.” A new gleam entered his gaze as he took stock of my general well-being. “I almost gave up hope, but I’m so thrilled to find you alive. That means the spirits and the Mountain God haven’t gotten to you.”

“Erm, about that—”

“Now I can bring you back to the castle and prove my worth to the king! I’ll get a promotion, and likely a raise, then who knows what else the king would reward me with?” Neven continued prattling on as I gaped at him, utterly stunned. “In fact, perhaps I could ask your father for your hand in marriage when we get back. I’ll get the hero’s welcome, naturally. And he’ll be so grateful that I returned one of his beloved daughters that he’d certainly gift you to me.”

Was he even talking to me anymore or just spouting his wistful dreams?

“Yes, that’d be lovely. There will be stories told about me—er, us—for generations to come. You know there’s a big bloody dragon tramping through the forest? Imagine the acclaim if I tell everyone I, the ever gallant knight, rescued you, the kingdom’s favorite princess, from the big scary dragon. They’d tell the story for ages.”

Favorite princess? Big bloody dragon?

Oh god, he was stupid and delusional.

“You can’t—”

“If it takes us a few days to return to the palace, I imagine they’ll plan our wedding quite quickly thereafter.” Oh, was he still monologuing? “We might be married by the end of the month, don’t you think? I’m quite looking forward to the wedding night, aren’t you? Gods, I’ve been dreaming of your tits since you left—”

“Since I left?” I squawked like an angry chicken. “I was abandoned at the edge of the forbidden forest, tied up, and left out for the spirits!”

“Right?” Neven chortled to himself. “It’s a miracle you’re still alive. In fact, how are you still alive? How did you get away from the platform and the binds?”

I stomped my foot, but he still didn’t stop talking.

He’d never talked so much before, and I wondered where it came from. Although there wasn’t really a need for much talking during secret trysts in the dark. Had he really been like that the whole time?

I shuddered to imagine it.

“Well, anyway, we best be off. I want to get you back down the mountain before that dragon comes back.”

“That dragon,” I seethed through gritted teeth, “is the Mountain God, you big daft idiot!”

Neven faltered, dropping his hand to the hilt of his sword hanging at his hip. One gloved hand stroked his chin. “So, I shouldn’t try to kill the dragon? Is that what you’re saying?”

My right eye twitched, and my brain throbbed.

“It might be a bad idea, yes.” I wasn’t sure if he understood sarcasm.

“Hm, alright, no dragon slaying then. Let’s get you out of here so we can get married.” Neven reached out and grasped my arm, turning to haul me behind him without pause. “I’d like to start having children soon, as many as possible. Not many knights get the chance to knock up a princess, and I look forward to putting in the effort.”

I nearly gagged.

“Why did my father send knights after me? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of my sacrifice?” I needed to voice that question before anything.

“The king proclaimed that his children were too important to lose and surely it wasn’t his fault that the forest spirits were so angry—that’s just their nature.”

“But it is his fault!” I protested. When I tried twisting my arm free, Neven’s grip tightened.

He looked over his shoulder at me.

“Aren’t you excited to see me? We can finally be together now that I’ve found you.”

I planted my boots in the dirt and snatched my arm back.

“No! I am not excited to see you!” He blinked dumbly at my outrage. “You had any number of chances of being with me if you truly wanted me. We could have run away together when my father first decided to sacrifice me. But no, you didn’t want me enough. Even when I was tied up and left behind, you didn’t even come back for me—no one did!”

“I had orders, Nia.” He scoffed as if I were the delusional one.

“If my life wasn’t more important than orders, what hope do I have of any happiness with you? That’s not love, Neven. And whatever was between us never was.”

His brow furrowed, and his lips thinned into a grimace.

“I don’t need you to love me, princess. I need you to come along like a good little royal slut and someday you’ll bear my children. With you as my wife, I’ll have the honor and acclaim that I deserve.”

“You only want me for the power and station it would provide.” The realization punched me in the gut despite the lack of an emotional connection. It still stung to be viewed as nothing more than a shiny object, a pawn on a chessboard.

Ronan didn’t see me that way. He didn’t treat me as a thing to be manipulated and used. The dragon god saw me for who I was and gave me the freedom to explore myself. That… that was love.

“It would be a mutually beneficial arrangement, Nia.” Neven sneered, twisting what I once viewed as a decently handsome face. His expression became something cruel and greedy. “You will come back to the castle with me, and you will become my wife.”

“I’m already someone’s wife!” I blurted.

The dumb shock that swept over his face almost made me laugh. His wide eyes and mouth gaping like a fish out of water were comical.

“Whatever do you mean?” Then his expression darkened again. “No, I won’t be falling for any tricks. You’ve been alone in the woods for too long. You’re just sick, malnourished, and exhausted. You’re coming back to the castle with me.”

Neven lunged forward, once again gripping my upper arm with a bruising force. A meek yelp escaped me as I struggled against his hold.

The ground beneath us trembled as something massive landed on the mountain. An enormous shadow snuffed out the moon and stars, casting pitch black darkness over the trees. A gust of wind buffeted my hair and thunder boomed overhead—no, not thunder—the roaring of an ancient and primordial dragon. The Mountain God’s long serpentine head loomed over us, and dangerously sharp teeth gleamed as he growled.

“My husband’s here,” I said, a vicious smile lifting my lips. “You should probably start running now.”

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