As I stumbled back into my chambers, the weight of Liana's absence crushed me like a boulder. I tried to keep my composure in front of my subjects, but inside I was torn apart. My breaths came out in ragged gasps, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand.
I clenched my fists, feeling the familiar sensation of flames building up in my throat. But this time, I couldn't control it. I let out a roar of agony, the sound echoing through the stone walls of my chamber. My rage consumed me, and I smashed the nearest vase with a swipe of my other hand.
The sound of shattering glass brought no satisfaction, however. It only fueled my despair. I roared again, letting the flames erupt from my throat and scorch the nearby furniture. The heat was nothing compared to the inferno raging inside me.
Liana, was gone. She was not coming back. How could she leave me so soon? We were supposed to get married, I was supposed to proclaim her as my mate, to rule our kingdom side by side. But fate had other plans, cruel and merciless. It tore her away from me, leaving me alone in a world that suddenly seemed empty and meaningless.
I crumpled to the ground, tears streaming down my scaly cheeks. I wanted to scream, to rage against the heavens, to lash out at anything and everything that dared to stand in my way. But there was nothing left to destroy, nothing left to fight for.
I was a dragon without a purpose, a ruler without a mate, a heartbroken creature lost in his own despair. And as I lay there, the flames slowly dying down, I knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
I lay on the ground, consumed by my grief, a sense of hopelessness washing over me. I couldn't imagine a future without Liana by my side, and the thought of ruling without her seemed unbearable.
Without her laughter, her stupid questions, her annoying antiques and her sunshine.
My claws dug into the floor as I tried to regain control of myself, but the pain was too much to bear. I let out another roar, this one more agonizing than the last, and flames burst from my jaws, engulfing everything in my path.
The room was quickly reduced to a smoldering ruin.
I could hear hurried footsteps outside the door. I could hear the worried voices of the guards but they were scared to come in and enquire about the situation.
I realised with a pang of regret that I had let my anger consume me again. I had let my grief turn me into a monster.
But even as the last embers died down, I couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness inside me. Liana was still gone, and nothing I did could bring her back. I felt helpless, lost, and alone.
For the first time in my life, I felt like I had truly failed as a dragon, as the ruler of my kingdom, as the mighty dragon lord. My people relied on me to be their leader, their protector, but how could I do that when I couldn't even protect the one I loved most?
I knew then that I had a choice to make. I could let my grief consume me, let it turn me into a shadow of who I once was, or I could try to move forward, honor Liana's memory, and continue ruling my kingdom as best as I could.
It was a difficult decision, but I knew what I had to do. With a heavy heart, I stood up, looking around at the ruins of my chambers. I vowed to myself that I would never let my grief control me again. I would honor Liana's memory by being the best dragon lord I could be, even if it meant carrying the weight of her loss with me for the rest of my days.
*****
Missing
" Where could he have gone? It's impossible that he would disappear on us, on his son, all of a sudden. Specifically at a time like this! "
Master was pacing the corridors of the Royal Palace as the guards came back with reports one by one.
It was Damian who had pushed the locked doors of his father's room open when nobody else dared. To their surprise, they saw the wrecked place but found the Dragon Lord was absent.
The entire kingdom went into high alert.
And the news of the high alert situation spread like wildfire, panic gripped the hearts of every citizen. The air was thick with tension and paranoia as the palace guards scrambled to get the situation under control. The sound of wings flapping and claws scraping against the ground filled the air as scouts rushed out to search for any sign of the missing Dragon Lord.
Inside the palace, chaos reigned supreme as every room was being turned upside down in search of any clues. The sound of furniture being moved and cabinets being opened echoed through the halls. Every surface was being scrutinized for any hint of a clue that could lead to the missing Dragon Lord.
Outside, the scouts were flying over every possible way, scanning the sky and the ground for any sign of Draco. They searched high and low, through the mountains and the valleys, but there was no trace of him.
" Are Raba and Calix back? "
Master was shaking his hands at this point. His human form was threatning to give way to his beast. He wanted to fly out in search of his favorite pupil but he knew he needed to stay put.
The commoners were already in a great shock. Their fears were rocketing sky high.
" They have been recalled from their posts at the border Master, " reported one subordinate with his head bowed. " They will be here any moment. "
Just then Calix broke in and fell on his knees.
" Sorry for the intrusion Master. I forgot to ask for permission in all these chaos. "
Master patted his shoulder, " Not a problem my boy. Where is Raba? I need both your help. "
" She went straight to the human realm. She couldn't hold back after hearing about the dragon Lord's absence. She suggested that he might have gone to their former house, reminiscing his beloved. "
Master shook his head.
" I don't think so. I know Draco too well. The more he hurts the more he will be craving for pain. He would visit their house, no doubt, but not at this moment. He would be out there raging somewhere. He would need a place to vent out all his frustrations.
I am just worried that he doesn't over estimate himself and go for something way beyond logical achievement. "
Calix looked at Master with a blank expression.
" Are you suggesting that he went after Nemesis all alone? But we don't have any clue about his whereabouts. Is it possible that he was able to track him, without our knowledge?"
Master took a deep sigh.
" I am not very sure. But with his present mental state, I don't think he would be able to track anyone... He is too messed up. He would try out his brute strength at this moment. "
Master was scratching his beard, lost deep in thought, " Is there any possible field of action where that is possible... "
He jumped up on his feet.
" What's wrong? " Calix stumbled as he tried to keep up with Master, " Where are you going? "
Master was already rushing out of the door.
"Calix, we need to hurry. He might have headed towards the border. We need to hurry"
Calix ran as Master bellowed one instruction after another. They took off from the front gate, with a few other, handful of soldiers.
" Master where are we headed? Our frontline is towards the West. "
Calix asked telepathically as they soared in their dragon forms, high above the kingdom's head.
" I don't think he might have gone to the front line."
They took a sharp bend and turned towards the west.
" If I were thinking as him, I would take the weakest defence line and go all in. "
Calix opened his snout but closed it again. He looked cute even when he was speechless. They picked their pace and were hurriedly headed towards the South where they had the dirtiest of the Hell Hounds.