The Dragons' Bathhouse: A Reverse Harem Enemies-to-Lovers Soulmate Romance

46

"They are not dead. But our doctors try. They try their best." The Empress bit her lips, chewing it with a mannerism that reminded her of Kaizel. "It is difficult to force nutrients into their system, but we do what we can." Eden's heart broke. They were dying. The air seemed to seep from her lungs and she struggled to take another breath.

The Empress sighed, lacing her fingers together as she shook her head. "If we had known that they spoke of the truth, we would have done something sooner. Our boys can be very immature." The smile that danced over her face was grim. "They are young, naive and lacking in the greater understanding of what it meant to have a family. They once didn't understand the need to protect the people they love. Finding one's soulmate is a huge responsibility, one that we believed would make them grow. But we didn't anticipate this to happen."

What were they displeased with? Eden sobered at the thought, feeling horribly inadequate in her drenched clothes and messy hair. Her human lineage? The fact that they had to share a single girl? The fact that they took away her pain? Gave her their eyes?

"No, your human lineage might have been as a shock to us all," the Empress answered, reading her expressions. "But the sky dragons treasure their soulmates greatly. It is what gives them power and strength, we would never shun you for what you are to our boys. It would only be wrong of us as their parents."

The Empress smiled kindly at her, taking her hand. "But our boys are too strong, stronger than any other god their age and that was the reason why we didn't believe them at first. It is true that a human would be less likely to withstand the force of their fire and the strength of their need."

"But, goddess or not, it doesn't matter," the Emperor started to speak, his voice deep and rough. It commanded for attention and Eden's heart picked up speed at the sound of his voice. "If they were strong mentally and believed in their love for you they would have achieved control. But they were afraid of your vulnerability, afraid of the risks." He sighed, shaking his head and for a moment his features reflected his age, weary and exhausted. "They were afraid of what they did not know and that made them weak. Just as how I was weak when I met their mother. "

"My boys think of it as a sickness, but it is not only a curse by the Goddess of Fate, it is also a challenge." The Empress nodded, taking her husband's hand. "A challenge of love that we need you to complete."

Eden took a deep breath, trembling as she pressed her hands together. "Tell me." She whispered. "Tell me everything."

And they did.

*

The truth came to Eden like a sharp slap to the cheek.

It was a knife that sliced into everything she had believed in, shredding everything that she knew. Her fears, her suspicions, her understanding and her beliefs. They were all completely destroyed with the words of the Empress and the Emperor. And she believed everything they said, their words rang true in her heart and her head, completing the links between questions that she had never gotten answered.

It filled the gaps in the plot holes that she tried to ignore and delete with a hastily scrawled line.

And when they finished, she could only stare numbly at their faces, at the features that reminded her of her dragons. The tears that spilt from her eyes were unstoppable, the dry sobs that wrecked her heaving body, a natural response to the gut-wrenching sorrow in her chest.

Stupid. She brought her hands to her head, rubbing at her temples. They were all so damn fucking stupid. Consuming poison for her, absorbing her wounds, hurting their wings, letting her go knowing full and well that they would definitely die. She buried her face in her hands. Did they think she would leave them if she knew? She would have stayed! She would have stayed for them!

She loved them, she would do anything for them stupid fucking prank or not. She wouldn't have let them die. And they knew that. Her smile grew bitter at the thought. It was why they never denied her accusations. They truly believed that everything was their fault, even the pearls that were never part of their plans. And the words that repeated in her head, a mantra that haunted her dreams now made so much more sense than ever.

We love you more than anything in the world, more than our own lives.

They were dying for her.

She trembled at the thought. And did she stop to listen? Listen to the truth in their voices? The plea for her to change their minds. They loved her, and she knew that. She knew that. And yet because she had felt betrayed, uneasy, confused, she chose to leave instead of listening to her heart. She chose to tell herself that they didn't love her. That what fuelled them was guilt and regret. She weaved a story in her head about her twins, made them appear to be her poison in the chalice when they were her salvation.

And now she would regret everything that she had said and done for the rest of her life.

It had all seemed to make so much sense minutes ago...The pranks, their hatred for her, their kindness, fruit from the seed of guilt that she had implanted in their head. She licked her lips, brushing the tears that continued to trickle down her cheeks. How had she been so stupid? They let her go so that she would live. Her body grew colder, and the heat from her body vanished with her falling heart. They let her go, betrayed and angry so that the severance of their soul bond in their death wouldn't kill her.

They let her go because they were afraid that they would kill her.

"The boys wrote you a letter," the Empress said, reaching into her robes to pull out an envelope. Eden took it numbly, tearing open the seal to reveal the paper. Her hands were shaking as her eyes combed across the inky black strokes.

Eden, if you're reading this, then our parents must have sought you out.

We're sorry Eden, sorry for causing you so much grief and pain, sorry for being the reason for the misfortunes that have come your way. Sorry for tying you to us with words of love and lies. It is all our fault.

No, it was not. Eden bit her lips, blinking away the tears that blurred her vision. They had only done what they felt was best for her. But we were selfish and we wanted more, we tried to get more. We now know that we shouldn't have. No, it was just her stupid suspicious mind. Her and her paranoia. We aren't worthy of your love and this is our punishment.

Nothing hurts us more than to see tears in those pretty eyes, so don't cry, Eden. It's our eyes and we're grown men. Men don't fucking cry. Her lips quirked at the line, recognising Kaizel's voice in the handwriting. Ignore everything our parents have told you, there is nothing you can do. Death is inevitable for us. No, it was not! How could they lie even in their letter to her? Her chest hurt. It ached and throbbed with pain for her soulmates. Let us go.

Never, never again.

Don't cry for us, they repeated. How could she not cry? We were never worth any of your tears, so forget about us. Forget us and live. Be happy, find someone who loves you more than we do. No one could ever love her more than they did, she gripped the paper tears dripping onto the parchment and staining the ink. No one in the entire world would give up so much for her survival. No one but her twins.

We were never meant to be in this lifetime, so move on and live. Live Eden. We will see you again in another life. Till then, goodbye. The stop at the end of the paper was too abrupt, the splotch of ink awkward in the line. It told her that they had struggled to not pen down a final phrase. We love you, was what they had wanted to write, but decided against.

It hurt her, their words.

Her chest burned, and she shivered despite the heat of the fire before her. It felt as if a monster were tearing into her heart, eating at the flesh bit by bit, and gnawing on her bones. How could she forget them? How could they expect that from her? She could never forget them. Never. The pain burned spreading to her throat, its fingers tightening over her neck, and she wanted to scream, let out the emotions that clawed within her frame.

"What do you need me to do?" Eden turned to the Empress, her eyes wet with her tears. "I will do it, whatever you want, whatever you need me to do. Anything."

Anything.