Chapter 7

ZAMORA'S POV

I was upset. No, enraged.

“Why didn’t you tell me something this important?” I shouted at Larissa, who stood trembling beside me.

She shrank back, her eyes darting around, unable to meet mine. I had never seen her so shaken, so completely unmoored.

“I am sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking. Tears welled up, threatening to spill down her cheeks. “I…I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.”

She hesitated, searching for the right words. “And…I didn’t know how you would take it. So I thought it was better to wait until the right moment.”

I let out a long, tired breath. My anger was still there, simmering under my skin, but it wouldn’t help now.

Fine. There was no changing the past. All I could do was think of a way forward.

I started pacing, my thoughts racing as fast as my heartbeat.

“Should I inform the queen?” I wondered aloud, stopping to pin Larissa with a stern look. “Then go see the witch afterward?”

“I think you should,” Larissa said softly. “That’s probably the better option. She did mention she can help so perhaps it would be wise to take our chances and trust her words?”

“Yeah” I nodded, my voice low. Without another word, I turned and walked out of the room. My heart pounded harder with every step as I made my way towards the queen mother chambers. 

At last, I stopped in front of the Queen’s door. My hand hovered in the air for a moment before I knocked gently.

“Who’s there?” came a voice from inside.

“It’s Zamora,” I called back, trying to keep my voice steady. The last thing I wanted was for Vladimir to find out I had come to see his mother in her chambers, that would definitely raise questions. And honestly, nothing ever seemed to slip past him. I am at least wise enough to know he is watching me like a hawk “I have come to see the Queen.” 

There was a brief silence. Then a thin, cold voice replied, “Come in.”

I gripped the doorknob and stepped inside. She was already seated on the couch, legs elegantly crossed, as if she had been expecting me all along. The confident look on her face made it clear she knew I would come eventually.

“What brings you here, Zamora?” she asked with a calm smile, a bit of sarcasm in her tone or maybe just amusement.

I exhaled shakily and sank into the chair across from her. My mind raced for the right words.

“You said you could help me. You said the ones in the past didn’t come to you and that’s what brought about their demise,” I began. My voice was quiet but firm as I recounted everything that she said. She listened without interrupting, her expression cold.

When I finished, I met her gaze. “I really need your help,” I said at last. “Is there any way you can assist me?”

She cleared her throat, her expression thoughtful.

“Many people in the past have become pregnant by the dragon lord, Vladimir,” she said slowly. “But they all ended up dead, killed by forces no one has ever identified before they could give birth.”

Cold shivers ran down my spine. Those were the exact same things Larissa had told me, but somehow, hearing them from the Queen made it sound even more terrifying. It had to be true, then.

“So…what’s going to happen now?” I asked, leaning forward, trying my best to hide my anxiety.

“I plan to put an end to this,” she said. “I can’t stand by while innocent grandchildren of mine keep dying. There is only one thing that can be done.”

Curiosity coiled tighter around me, pushing me to press further. “And what is that?”

“We will have to perform an ancient dragon binding ritual.”

My eyebrows drew together in confusion. “A dragon ritual? What does that involve?”

“This ritual will bind you to the King before the witch performs the fertility spell,” she explained.

I swallowed, trying to process it all. What does she mean bonded to the dragon king? I have heard of rituals like that, it binds two souls together, one being unable to live without the other but do I want that with that vile dragon? “Hmm… That sounds promising…but will this really stop me from dying?”

“Yes,” she said with quiet certainty. “Once you are bound to the King, no one will be able to kill you.”

I felt a little bit of relief at that moment. I didn’t think about the consequences of binding so I didn’t bother to ask more questions. What was more important to me was bearing his child and staying alive. For the first time in days, my heart began to beat normally. A small smile spread across my face as I finally let myself breathe.

“And after this ritual is complete,” she continued, her eyes glinting, “the King will be forced to protect you at all times, whether he wants to or not.”

“Really?” I asked, feeling a thrill of hope.

She nodded slowly.

“Whenever you are in danger, your soul will call out to the King. He will have no choice but to come and save you.”

“That sounds rather relieving.” I paused, then added carefully, “Pardon me for asking, Queen Mother, but why didn’t you perform this ritual with the other women?”

“Not everyone can be bound to the King,” she said calmly. “The magic is too potent. Anyone who isn’t strong enough to withstand it would surely be harmed.”

The smile slid off my face, replaced by a deep frown. “And how can I be sure I will survive it?”

My hands started to tremble again. I swallowed hard, trying to clear the thick lump gathering in my throat.

“You are a special and pure breed,” she explained. “That’s the most important requirement to endure the magic. Your level of purity is so strong, it will actually make the spell even more powerful.”

A shaky breath left my lungs, and I felt a flicker of relief.

“That’s good to know. So when do we perform the ritual?”

“There’s something you must understand first,” she said, her voice dropping lower. “The King despises being bound to any woman. This ritual must be carried out in secret.”

“In secret?” I asked, trying to sound confident. “That doesn’t sound too difficult.”

“It is.”

Her cold tone sent a chill straight into my chest. I frowned. “Is there something else I need to do?”

“The King’s blood, the most important part of this ritual must be drawn by you and filled into this,” she said, showing me a very small bottle “And that is the most difficult part.”

Cold shivers ran down my spine. Everything had just become far more complicated than I had ever imagined.

How in the world was I supposed to get his blood without him realizing what it was for? This was madness.

“This is all too much.. I can’t, I mean I will have to think about this carefully,” I said, forcing a smile even though I could feel my fear getting worse. 

“Alright then,” she replied. “But don’t take too long. The sooner it’s done, the safer you will be.”

I left the room with my thoughts swirling like a storm. Knowing Vladimir, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if he caught me doing anything suspicious.

Soon, I was back in my chambers, staring blankly at the whitewashed wall. Larissa slipped in, her face tense with worry.

“How did it go?” she asked quietly.

I let out a long sigh. “I have to perform a ritual to bind the King to me,” I said, my voice hollow. “And it happens to be the one thing he hates most.”

“What’s that?” Larissa asked, eyeing the small bottle in my hand.

“A binding ritual,” I replied, staring at the shimmering liquid inside. “I have to be bonded to him.”

“To him? As in lord Vladimir?” Her voice rose in disbelief. “My lady, you can’t be serious. You can’t bind yourself to the Dragon King, that will ruin you.”

Ruin me? What was that supposed to mean?

“I suppose that’s a bit of an exaggeration, Larissa?” I asked casually, though the look on her face told me it wasn’t. She was dead serious.

“Exaggeration?” she scoffed. “Bonding to the Dragon King could cost you your everything, no, it will cost you your life! My lady, I am sorry when I say this but it is an unwise decision!”

“The Queen thinks I can survive it,” I said flatly. “Besides, I am going to die either way. This at least gives me a fighting chance.”

“But..”

I looked up, my jaw tight, lips pressed in a firm line. “I have to find a way to draw Vladimir’s blood.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “My lady.” She breathed. “What if you lose your life?” Her voice cracked, full of fear.

“I already mentioned I will lose it anyway if I don’t do this. So why not take the risk?” I replied, my tone grim but determined.

She hesitated, swallowing hard. “This is dangerous. Extremely dangerous…”

“I know it is. But I think I have made up my mind. Nothing will change that,” I replied casually, my mind racing with a thousand ways to draw his blood.

If I bring a blade close to Vladimir, he will lunge it into my heart before I could slice him with it. I can’t put him to sleep as he wouldn’t even sleep deep enough around me. What can I do? Perhaps poison? A sleep potion? But which is strong enough to put him to a deep enough sleep? 

Larissa sighed deeply, the tension in her shoulders softening. “Alright then,” she said at last. “If I can’t stop you, then the least I can do is help.”

“What do you mean?” I whispered, my heart swelling with gratitude as I pulled her into a tight hug.

“Give me a few minutes,” she said, turning to leave the room. I stayed still as I waited.

Moments later, the door swung open again. Larissa stepped in, holding a small vial between her fingers.

“This is Oblivion’s Kiss,” she said. “It’s a special potion powerful enough to make anyone slumber for sixty seconds.”

She handed it to me, still hesitant. “Take it. But please be careful.”

I looked at the bottle as I said, “this will work on him? For long enough”

“Not long," she said, "but it might be enough to do what needs to be done."

I glanced down at the vial in my hand again. I had heard of Oblivion’s Kiss before, rare and hard to find. It was sometimes used in wars to make enemies fall asleep before they were beheaded. A coward’s tactic, maybe, but it wins the war.

I turned to Larissa. “Is this really Oblivion’s Kiss?” 

She nodded in response.

I looked at the potion again before I asked, “So how exactly do I use it?”