The Dragon’s hands burned Suzume’s flesh and sparks erupted wherever his fingers brushed exposed skin. She was immobile, transfixed by his touch and the breath that caressed her skin. His lips brushed against the sensitive space behind her ear and his hands captured her wrists and pulled back her sleeves revealing her forearm. Her heart beat faster. Despite what he may think, she was a virgin. Her father, the emperor, would have done more than banish her if her purity were not intact. Her value lay in her chastity. Though she was known to be flirtatious, she knew her place and what that entailed. illicit affairs were not permitted.
Does it matter now? I will never be a real bride. My marriage contract to General Tsubaki was annulled. Deep down, she had hoped she would one day return to the White Palace. Perhaps that had been naive of her to think that.
The Dragon pulled Suzume into a chamber, the sliding doors at the back faced out onto the mountain range, which glowed blue beneath the night sky. The dragon trailed his hand along her hair and set the charms on the pins to jingling. Then, with a fluid movement, he withdrew the pins and her hair tumbled down and cascaded over her shoulders.
He turned her to face him. She felt exposed with her hair in a jumble and her makeup smeared. Before coming here, she would never have let someone see her this way. Her meetings with General Tsubaki had always been through a screen and when her admirers had come at late hours, there was a fan covering her face. It was a shield and a way to keep others from seeing her really. That’s how she preferred things. True, she broke convents more often than not but that was on her terms. This dragon had stripped her bare of all her masks in just a few simple movements.
He cupped her cheek and leaned in close his lips ghosted over hers but did not touch them. She inhaled his breath and closed her eyes waiting for the tender touch. She felt at once desire and fear for what could transpire here. I am his bride; did he not declare me so? This is even a more fortunate placement. I am above the emperor himself, as the bride of a dragon! She thought. Her body betrayed her and she trembled beneath his touch.
He pulled away and she felt the loss of him and mourned it. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into the deep depths of his inhuman eyes. He hosted a crooked smile on his face.
“How did you release me?” he whispered.
His voice was coaxing and lulled by his touch and the burning desire in her gut she found that her usual quick wit was muddled and slow. She opened her mouth and words did not come out. She swallowed and then tried again through a suddenly parched mouth. “As I said before, the seal was weak. I sensed that and released you.”
He titled his head and his smile grew wider. “Then I owe you a debt of thanks, let me.” His hand brushed along her collar and her trembles became shivers. His hand burned along her collar and moved down along her chest pushing aside the heavy fabric of her robe.
He pulled her close and snaked his hand around to her back. He pulled on the cords around her sash which kept it in place. It pulled loose easily and with it loosened the sash underneath. He then undid the layers of sash that had belted her into the robe. They fell to the ground and pooled there. He turned her around and unwound the outer layers of the robe. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest.
His gazed burned upon her and she felt the need to disrupt the silence. “What you said before about killing lovers, you were teasing, were you not?” She hated how afraid and weak she sounded.
He stopped pulling off her layers of robes and turned her to face him. He cupped her hands in his face.
“I am serious, my bride, but since you have strong spiritual power you will be able to shield yourself, so it does not matter.”
Suzume’s eyes grew wide. Does he suspect? How could he, there’s no way he could know. The dragon slid the second to last layer off her leaving her in only a thin under-layer. A breeze from the open doors blew through her and she hugged her arms close to her body afraid to let him near. When he leaned in to kiss her she turned her head away, in case his kiss too could be deadly.
“Why so shy, my bride, this is our wedding night are you not meant to give yourself up to me?” he grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. Once more he had that infernal smirk.
He does know! He is testing me! She could not let this go further, not if she were to keep her purity. Now that the haze of desire had faded, however, she was beginning to see much more clearly.
“I was thinking about what Zakuro said,” she lowered her lashes in a perfect imitation of a demure woman. It had always been a favorite of General Tsubaki. Men love a weak woman. She thought.
“Forget what that hag said,” he replied. “You gave yourself to me with a pure heart and freed from my prison; you are my bride.”
He pulled her close again, but Suzume pushed him away and ran towards the open doors overlooking the valley below. This was also a long practiced tactic. The chase had always stirred the general’s desires while giving her the space to keep him at bay, and malleable as clay in her hands.
“This is all so quick.” She covered her face with her hands. “And I am afraid.” Her voice wobbled as she spoke.
He came to stand beside her but did not reach out to touch her. “That is fine.” She turned her head away to hide her smile. “The fear only makes it that much more exciting.”
Suzume turned to face him in surprise and as she did, he grabbed her hard and held him against him. She thrashed about in his grasp and cursed.
“Let me go you this instant!” She shouted.
He laughed that same mad laughter and a chill worked its way up her spine. She tried to summon the power she had felt in the shrine. She scrunched her face and tightened her muscles and balled her hands into fists in an effort to summon that same power. If I can release him, perhaps I can seal him.
His laughter turned from maniacal to amused he pushed her away. She fell to the ground and glared up at him past the curtain of her dark hair. “You look like a fool, stop before you hurt yourself.”
Suzume glowered at him and kept her hands bunched at her sides.
“Do not play with me, Dragon, or I will send to back from whence you came!” She pointed a finger at him.
“You must be a fool to think you can trick me.” He placed his hands on both his hips and regarded her with his head titled.
“You knew! Then what was the need of this?” She motioned to the discarded robes strewn about the room.
“I told you before, you entertain me. I wanted to see how far you would let the game go. I must admit I have never met a woman who could withstand my charm quite as well as you.”
How dare he threaten my purity in such a way! “I suppose you consider that a compliment.” Suzume said as she sat up and straightened her robe. He may think he had the upper hand, but he was mistaken if he thought she was beaten.
“It is what it is, you may interpret it however you like, priestess.” He smirked again and settled on the floor across from her. “Now tell me truly how did you break the seal?”
She glared at him and did not answer.
“I am not adverse to eating you, though I am sure you will be dry and foul tasting.”
“You’re joking,” Suzume raised a brow at him but her heart beat faster in her chest. She had no doubt he would destroy her given half the chance. She would need to be more careful in the future.
“You’re right, I am sure you’d be delicious,” He licked his lips and fought the urge to look away, doing so would admit defeat and that was not an option.
Pressure built behind her eyes and a heavy weight burdened her breathing. She locked gazes with the dragon. Her breathes were short and painful as if with each breath she was taking water into her lungs. A tingling sensation rose to her skin and it felt as if sparks were igniting along her skin, the slow burn she had felt in the temple returned and it coiled in her stomach and began radiating to her limbs.
Then it stopped, like water being poured from a jar the river of energy halted as if the jar was righted once again. As his energy ebbed away, Suzume’s breathing was freed and she panted to regain a regular rhythm once more.
“Interesting,” he said. He stood up and paced around her in circles. “When you are sitting here, I cannot sense any spiritual energy about you. Yet, when I lower my own barriers and release my spiritual energy, your body goes into the defensive.”
“Are you saying my power is only awakened when threatened?”
“Possibly, it does not explain why you would have broken the seal. Tell me what happened at the shrine.” He continued to pace about with his hands folded behind his back.
Suzume pondered the incident a moment before replying. She had no reason to answer his questions other than to sate her own desire to understand why these powers had manifested now. “We were in the middle of the ceremony and I walked into the temple. I felt like a wave came over me and was pressing the air from my body and then a burning feeling built into my gut and in my limbs and eventually it just came out and went straight towards the holy object.”
He paced away from her and went to stand and look out across the valley. The stars were out and they blanketed the blue-black sky adding twinkling light. He stood very still like a statue and it seemed at any moment he could take flight and never return.
After several minutes of pensive silence Suzume said: “Do you know what happened to me, how did I break the seal?”
He turned around and regarded her as if just noticing her for the first time. “You are still here then? You should return to you chamber, a young woman as yourself should not be out sneaking into a man’s room.”
She jumped to her feet. He acted as if their conversation had never happened. “You dragged me in here!”
He waved at her over her shoulder dismissing her once more. She thought of several curses she would like to fling at him but decided she valued her life too much to risk awakening the darker side of his personality. Instead, she stormed out slamming the sliding door after her.
When she was alone in her bedchamber once more, she found that sleep eluded her and she wondered what had caused this sudden awakening of her spiritual powers. Could it be as he suspected: a defense mechanism. Living in the White Palace, she had not had much opportunity to get into trouble. She was always surrounded by guards and ladies and lords of the court.
She sighed and rolled over, it was best not to think of what she had lost. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better day. She could only hope.