The Dragon's Kiss

The Dragon's Kiss - Chapter 6 - SIX: The Dragon Emperor

“Did you really think you could run away?”

The man’s voice was smooth and deep. It sounded like he was holding a casual conversation rather than confronting an enemy hostage. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, Kel noticed the man’s gaze fixated on her as she sat frozen in place.

His fair skin stood out starkly against midnight-black hair while scarlet eyes glinted like the silver armor covering his torso. The symbol of the Serin Empire, a black dragon, decorated his chest, and a dark red cape flowed out behind him.

“Things would have been so much better for you if you had just stayed put,” he continued in a low tone.

A couple of panting soldiers came up behind him as he spoke.

“Sir! We’ve brought some aconitum powder!” one of the men called. The two men approached Kel, one holding a small brown pouch and the other carrying a set of heavy shackles. She winced at the thought of the rough metal rubbing against her already sore wrists..

Shuffling backward, Kel tried unsuccessfully to get to her feet. She did her best to bat away their attempts to restrain her, but the two men quickly overpowered her. With one hand tightly gripping Kel’s arm, one of the men brought the small pouch close to her face.

An unmistakable scent entered her nose. Aconitum powder must be the strong-smelling stuff they’d been using to keep her unconscious.

She thrashed around, struggling to break free, and landed a square kick to one of the soldier’s unprotected inner thighs. He made a few grunts resembling various curse words, and reached for the shackles that had fallen to the ground during their scuffle.

“That’s enough.” The emperor put up a hand to stop them. The two soldiers withdrew dutifully, shooting Kel sharp looks as they stepped back. She used her elbows to prop herself up from the ground and face the emperor.

He stood silently looking down on her, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smirk. A feeling of dread settled over her at the malicious look, and she wondered if he was right about her being better off not trying to escape in the first place.

Kel’s palms moistened as he slowly stepped toward her. Any closer would put her within arm’s reach. She shuddered, trying not to imagine what horrible punishment awaited her as she inched back unproductively.

After closing the distance between them, the emperor crouched down in front of Kel. He raised one hand, and she scrunched her eyes shut, bracing herself for a blow.

While anticipating the stinging of a strike, Kel suddenly felt warm fingers lightly graze her cheek. Her eyes shot open in surprise as the emperor moved a piece of hair behind her ear and then traced her jawline toward the center of her face. With his unexpectedly soft touch, he tipped her chin up and leaned his face closer to hers.

“This hair color is already quite unusual,” he mumbled, “but to have these eyes as well.” Using his other hand, he gently brushed his thumb below one of Kel’s eyes.

These eyes?

She suddenly felt exposed and defenseless with the emperor examining her bare face. Under normal circumstances, massive amounts of makeup and serum would have been applied to make Kel’s muddled blue-green eyes appear as close Adriell’s brilliant azure blue tones as possible. Without the cosmetics, her eyes were more green than blue with a noticeable vivid orange burst around her pupil.

Kel felt the urge to jerk her head away before the emperor could scrutinize her eyes any closer, but she found herself unable to move. Something about his blood red irises held her captive. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. It was almost unhuman.