Throne

The meek dragon’s eyes darted around the room to avoid the tension that washed over her, but it was no use. The haunting eyes would always watch her as long as she took to decide.
“So?” the familiar voice echoed across the small, dark chamber. Oh, how she and that voice had a love-hate relationship. It was suave, and perhaps even charming.

She opened her jaws, mouth quivering, yet no words would exit from her mouth. Everything felt dry and desolate as if, perhaps, he had taken anything somewhat comforting away when she’d blinked. Maybe that was the truth. Was it? How was she to know?

“Three,” the voice started. “Two...”

Algefacient’s voice came in a tsunami; a tidal wave. “Alright! I’ll do it!”

A reptilian smile crossed his lips. How dreadful. He extended a large talon to her which happened to be almost the size of her arm. “Good girl,” he purred. “I hope you don’t mind if I make a few... changes to you, then.”

Gods, how did she even get herself into this situation? The dragon inhaled a quick, sharp breath. It was, after all, this or... the less viable option. Both were awful but this one would decidedly be the best for her self-preservation.

Algefacient took the talon with both of hers and drew out a long sigh. Another gray talon materialized from the darkness and tilted her chin up to meet the giant’s eyes. They were like droplets of blood mixed with years of insanity wrought into his skin. Even through the thick blanket of black, she recognized the many scars etched into his skin like tally marks on a prison wall.

“I will be your wife,” she said breathlessly and felt her heart fall to her stomach. It was, perhaps, the most precarious decision anyone had ever made.

---

Hours passed and they now sat on thrones with sharp edges and the bones of a ribcage wrapped halfway around the front. Tenebros tipped a glass of dark champagne, tilting the small gauntlet to pour it into his abyss of a mouth. His reptilian eyes averted towards his mouth, flashing a charming grin others had envied so much.

“Another?” he asked, devoid of emotions.

Algefacient hesitated tentatively; dangerously. She eyed the brute and uttered a soft, “alright,” wincing as he called one of their servants.
“Another, Precantereo,” he called down the hallway.

A small, measly gold dragon dashed across the floor with the bottle. Pouring it unsteadily, he gave a swift glance to Algefacient who tried to part her lips in a smile that said ‘I’m sorry.’ Tenebros shooed him away in the next following moments and leaned down to face his fiancee.

“So?” he started. “Does it feel exquisite to be the soon-to-be queen of Chaos?”

She swallowed her drink. “I...” Tenebros leaned closer. “G-good, good. Thank you, my lord.”

“That’s new,” he grinned. “I like it. I always thought you to be a competent dragon.”

“... Always?” She swallowed hard.

“You think I chose you at random? Ha, as if. It wasn’t by chance that I chose someone as naive and frail as yourself. I’d never be that stupid.”

“... So, you stalked me?”

Tenebros paused. “I wouldn’t word it quite like that. I rather... observed you. Your parents are very meek.”

Algefacient felt like a caged animal. She’d always wondered what she felt every time she was alone, though put it off as her nervous nature. How could he watch her like that?

The god cracked a grin. “I underestimated you, I suppose. Yet, I still find you the perfect match for me... and if you’re wondering, no, I’m not a master manipulator.”

“I find that title to fit you just fine.” She retorted, unaware of how confident she was getting.

He laughed. It was a booming sound. “Gentle, gentle, dear. You’re getting everything you want. Fame, luxury, servants, love...”

“I won’t love you! Monsters don’t get to be loved.”

“Yes, but we can still enjoy the rain, can’t we?” He took a swig from the glass.

She let out a soft sob. He was right; she was already feeling less like a prisoner in an odd way.

He grappled around her long neck with one of his wings, leaning down in his throne. He gave her a look that made her second guess his immortality. It was gentle and sincere.

“My bride.” He murmured and sat straight, slowly releasing his grip.

Algefacient sipped from her gauntlet tentatively. The deity must’ve had some sort of spell on him; he was undoubtedly attractive.

Maybe I have Stockholm Syndrome. What a thought that was. Or maybe I feel like a genuine guest. Oh, gods, maybe I like him. How could I? she thought to herself. He kidnapped me. A flashback ran through her head.

She was a nobody traveling through the forest, trotting at a casual pace. The morning was particularly frigid but this wasn’t unusual for the old forest. Glidewood was never warm.

Her claws took her around halfway across to the other side, and by then she felt like she was being followed.

“Hello?” she called naively.

“You.” A voice replied. It was deep and thundering with some foreign accent.

Before she could contemplate the strange voice, the world began to spin and blur. She rooted her talons in the soft earth as if it would anchor her but it didn’t.

The forest dissolved into pure darkness.

The disembodied voice that followed her confusion had the same bold accent. “Algefacient Viind, you have been chosen to aid me in a very particular task.”

“W-what’s that?”

“Be my spouse and give me a shard of your soul.”

Algefacient blinked. She knew what that meant. “You mean...”

“I need an heir.”

Deity reproduction didn’t quite work like it did for normal animals. They had to tear a shard of their soul as well as another dragon’s and combine them. Souls were physical organs that functioned in place of hearts. Each time a piece was torn out, the aging process of both parents would accelerate.

Algefacient stirred a long gray talon in her drink.
“I may be an antagonist in your story but I’m the anti-hero of mine. Trust me, Algae, our reign will be sweet. You won’t regret your decision.”

She nodded slowly, her insides feeling like slime. Her parents would be undoubtedly pleased with her decision but it didn’t stop anxiety from running its long, dreadful fingers down her spine.
I must... I have to make my parents proud.

---

Algefacient shook her head and the memory evaporated. “I need a breath of fresh air,” She stated decidedly.

“Alright, don’t be too long.” He gave her an affectionate nudge on the cheek that made her insides rattle.

The dragon stood up, legs trembling, and stumbled toward the big iron doors. The left opened with an audible creak into a long red-and-black hallway. Carvings of various dragon kings loomed eerily above her head. It took every fiber of her being to resist running far, far away.

The walk down that first corridor felt excruciatingly slow. It felt like someone was watching her leave even as she reached the next pair of doors.

When they opened, she decided to sprint. She didn’t know where she was headed but her legs carried her without protest, so she dashed through the colossal palace of the deity himself. There were no guards to intercept her which she took to her advantage.

The tiles felt like wet flesh under her feet which was unsettling for obvious reasons.
Perhaps it was all an illusion. Maybe he was chasing her. Oh, gods. A pounding headache sent jolts of pain throughout her body and she failed to move in a straight line. Her vision was getting increasingly hazy.

Algefacient wanted nothing more than to cry. To shout. To make noise. Her lips felt like a desert seeking the oasis of her voice.

If I stop looking... if I blink, he’ll be right there. She told herself. I can’t marry him. Black speckles claimed her vision and anxiety strangled her. The world was spinning too fast to hold onto.

Yes, the rewards of being the spouse of a god would be wondrous, but the thought of supporting someone so vile threatened to force the contents of her stomach onto the floor. She eagerly snapped open her wings as far as they could spread in the narrow hall, preparing for takeoff when he reached the exit.

Finally, after her trek through the maze, a literal light shone at the end of the tunnel. Algefacient muffled a triumphant cry and leaped up from the depths of her prison. Now aloft, she realized how much she missed flying, even if only being imprisoned for a short while. It could have been an eternity if she hadn’t escaped.

Behind her, an audaciously bold clap of thunder echoed. It strangely resembled laughter.