20 Living thing

Ophelia heaved and rushed into a sitting position, hastily pushing herself back until her back touched the bed's headboard. She pushed the blanket off her body to reveal that she was still wearing the dress, dried blood was splattered down her arms, and her back was covered in it. Her hasty motion left a sting on her back, warning her that her wound had not yet healed.

She tilted her head, unsure whether she had actually seen fear in Nikolai's ruby eyes as he returned to his calm yet effortlessly alluring demeanor.

"Did you have a nightmare?" He inquired bluntly while focusing his gaze on her.

"You shouldn't be worried about it." She barked at him while bringing the blanket to her chest and narrowing her eyes.

She could clearly recall the dream. The fire wall. The voice and words. It was all so absurd, but she was aware of the owner of that voice.

In a dragon's dream, a fire wall represented a fire god.

She scowled and pursed her lips. "Bullshit."

"How does cursing make you feel?" Nikolai muttered and she glared at him as if he had killed her entire family. He was in front of the bed, filling the room with his presence, and his searing gaze was on her.

"Keep your mouth shut!"

Incredulous, Nikolai sneered. His eyes darkened with rage and he parted his lips revealing those sharp threatening fangs that made her swallow. Hard.

"Have some respect, or else I'll strangle you." He growled and positioned his arms on the bed to display his perfectly symmetrical muscles, which were adhered to his shirt. "But don't worry, not to death." He smirked.

He was no longer donning his coat. His hair was loosed and disheveled, some of it falling over his sparkling eyes. He was stunning.

"That piercing gaze of yours is beginning to bore holes into my face." He teased.

"You should be glad that my eyes are boring holes, not my claws or my dagger,"

"I love your audacious remarks." In mocking delight, he clicked his tongue as he slyly regarded her.

Ophelia was taken aback. The fire god informed her that Nikolai belonged to her. They weren't predestined to be together, but they were meant for each other. Nikolai kept saying that she belonged to him. Did he know?

Ophelia had to accept the fire god's words, but she refused to accept that the gods were in charge of her destiny.

Ridiculous.

"There is nothing about me you should love." She murmured, jerked her eyes away from him, and looked around the space. The bedroom was ten times larger than hers. Not to mention, it was quite comfortable and opulent. It was also heavily perfumed with his macho smell.

"Why shouldn't I? You belonged to me remember?"

"I do not remember anything!" He was already crawling on the king-size bed, heading in her direction while appearing to be the devilishly attractive predator that he was, when she raised her voice and scowled at him once again.

Although her lips were parted, nothing came out of them. She experienced a sharp lump in her throat, and her heart was pounding wildly.

"W..what are you doing?" She stumbled and brought her clad legs to her chest. She found it hard to imagine that was stuttering solely due to him. There was nowhere to maneuver because she already had her back against the headboard.

"You had a nightmare."

"So?"

"Was it about me?"

Ophelia raised a brow. "You want my nightmare to be about you?"

"No."

"Then?"

His smiled. He was now directly in front of her and extremely close. His massive form completely engulfed her petite frame, and his ruby-colored eyes, which burned fierily through his hair, were fixed on her. He placed his hands on the headboard at the sides of her head.

He looked into her eyes, which were almost as wide as those of someone staring into the sun. The sun, which was largely uncommon to behold. After all, he hadn't witnessed the sun for three hundred years. He had the impression that she was the sun, the warmth that perpetually roused rage and twisted need.

His nose lightly touched hers as he leaned in close to her. "An erotic dream, perhaps?"

Although he spoke in a soft voice, his words were not. Yet His whisper still touched her flesh. She experienced goosebumps on her arms and a shiver down her spine.

"You are insane." She murmured and averted her eyes. She was oblivious to her situation. His statements were intended to make her angry, she was actually extremely flustered.

"I know."

She looked up to find a devilish grin on those seductive lips, and she sneered and rolled her eyes at him.

"If you don't move, I'll push you away." She harshly hissed, but his smile simply became wider and didn't even reach his eyes, giving him a very unsettling appearance.

"Even if you are a dragon, you are too weak to do that. Additionally, your body is poisoned and undernourished.

Ophelia's eyes grew wider not from the information that she was malnourished, but she was poisoned.

"From the arrow?" In disbelief, she exclaimed. She had fainted and her wounded hadn't healed because of it.

With a frustrated groan, he leaned back, unsure of whether to bust her skull open, inject some reason into her brain, and then close it again.

"Do you frequently forego meals?" With a hard voice, he demanded.

"I said to you earlier that I hadn't eaten in some time." She mumbled, her voice timid..

She felt like a child. Did he care about her? Except for River, who did so infrequently because he was rarely at the palace, no one else liked to inquire about her eating habits.

Nikolai closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. Gods, he would kill her with his own hands if she were going to starve to death. He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Firestorm, you are a living thing, and living things need food and energy. You are not a child to be told all these." He gritted through his clenched teeth.

Ophelia took a quick look at his hands, which were tightly holding her. Nobody had ever been so concerned about her. His searing touch made her heart skip a beat. It was horrible that she felt safe!

"Leave me alone," She mumbled before turning to face him and saying, "Why are you doing this?"

"I care,"

"You don't," The idea that someone would care about her was something she could never accept. If her own parents didn't care about her, why should a total stranger?

"I do. You are mine, and I care for my possessions." He spoke with authority. She was aware of his desire for control.

"I am not yours; our only connection is that I am your predator and you are my prey. All I'm here to do is murder you." She was direct with her remarks, yet he didn't seem to be affected by them at all.

It frightened her. Really, it did.

He said, deepening his sinister chuckle, "You underestimate me, fire storm," tightening his hold on her shoulders and causing her eyes to widen.

"How could I possibly underestimate a psychopath?"

"Oh?" He smiled, amused.

"Oh."

"Hmm." His expression turned serious.

"Hmm."

"Ah..."

"Ah."

Nikolai scoffed. "Do you think this is a game?"

"You really make it appear like way, Nikolai Novikov." As soon as Ophelia prodded his forehead, he swiftly seized Ophelia's wrist.

"You are playing a game with me while you are in my castle, in my room, and on my bed?" As he spoke, a brazen, flirtatious smile flickered on his lips.

She gave him a close look. "Don't you dare?" Only one inch separated her finger from his brow.

Nikolai guffawed. It was a mouthwatering sound that gave her tummy butterflies. His eyes were somewhat opened by that laugh. Merely a little. Yet it was lovely.

He teased, "You have a lewd mind, Fire storm,"

Ophelia retorted, "Don't pretend like you don't have one, Lai Lai,"

"Lai Lai?" Nikolai reaffirmed vehemently.

"Ni. Ko. Lai." Ophelia counted her words with all seriousness. "Lai sounds similar to lie and.. Liar."

"You are insane." Nikolai growled.

"That makes two of us," Ophelia smacked her lips.

A knock on the door interrupted Nikolai as he was about to speak, and he glared at her before turning away and getting up from the bed.

Ophelia was observing him as he approached the door. Even his movements radiated wealth and authority. She tsked.

"Lai Lai." She muttered and smiled.

When Nikolai heard her, he shook his head and groaned heavily before opening the door to show Rhaziel, who was wearing a glum expression. He was holding a sizable platter that included a variety of excellent steaming delicacies.

"Did you check to see what poison was on the arrow?" Nikolai asked as Rhaziel handed him the tray, instantly burying his hands in his pockets.

"Dimorie and you need to get rid of it quickly before it kills her in twenty minutes," Rhaziel answered subtly.

At such revelation, Nikolai's countenance turned gloomy. "Dimorie is a chronic and rare."

"Whoever shot her has hands covered in poison and herbs." Rhaziel muttered. "You know precisely who that is,"

Gritting his teeth, Nikolai. "Shuu."

"Ungrateful." As Nikolai slammed the door shut and turned to look at Ophelia with her eyes closed, the demon hissed and walked away.

He could tell she was asleep because of her calm heartbeat and steady breathing. or was she? He wasn't sure if she was a fox or a dragon.

He approached the bed, set the meal dish at the edge, and then gazed at his hand. Dimorie was a poison that was employed in the darkest of ancient times to put an end to dragons. The passage of time has been so rapid that the toxin is now extinct. Until now.

A Novikov created the dimorie, and a Novikov's blood served as the cure. He wasn't sure if the remedy would work because no one had ever attempted to administer it to a dragon.

He had just found his mate. He didn't want to loose her

"Do you want the cure?"

He slightly stiffened when Ophelia's eyes fluttered open before returning to their hypnotic hazel gray shape.

"No." Her voice blunt, her expression blank and he aggressively narrowed his eyes at her.