The Sacrifice Who Was Bound To Be The Evil Dragon's Bride

They said the evil dragon who lived in Dragon Castle, who could change into human form, was ferocious. Every year, not a single woman who was sent to him to be his bride as a sacrifice ever came back alive.

This year, it was me, Evelyn Wills, to be the sacrificial bride.

Everyone was certain I would die.

The gates of Dragon Castle slowly opened. The man on the throne, Adrian Powell, the evil dragon himself, raised his golden dragon eyes and looked at me coldly.

The suffocating pressure crashed down on me; The color drained from my face, and I had to fight the urge to run.

He lowered his eyes and let out a cold sneer. "Nothing special about the sacrifice this year."

But the moment he turned to leave, the look of fear on my face vanished.

I pulled out my dagger and drove it straight toward his heart.

I had willingly taken the place of my adoptive sister, Lydia Wills, to be his bride just for this very moment!

...

Every year, the Ash Town drew lots to choose an unmarried woman to be sent into Dragon Castle as a sacrifice to the dragon. None of the brides who were sent inside ever returned alive.

A year ago, my sister, Sarah Wills, became one of those sacrifices.

Three days later, her body was dumped at the entrance of the town.

And today, it was my turn to be sent as a sacrifice.

Before I left, Kane Hayes, the high priest of the town, called me to the spot behind the altar. He told me that the evil dragon, Adrian Powell, was a master at beguiling people, and that the calmer he appeared on the surface, the more it meant he was waiting for his prey to let their guard down.

"He might not kill you right away." Kane pressed a dagger made of dragon bone into my hand, his voice very low. "He'll deliberately let you wander the castle, give you food, even pretend he means you no harm. Only when you think you might actually survive will he reveal his true nature to you."

Kane also told me that there was an old chapel on the west side of Dragon Castle's main hall, where a sacred relic capable of subduing the dragon was enshrined.

If I wanted to stay alive a little longer, I had to find a way to hide inside it.

Just before he left, Kane gripped my shoulder, a sympathetic look in his eyes. "Remember, Evelyn. No matter what he says to you, don't believe a word of it."

I repeated those words in my head over and over, then pushed open the stone door in front of me.

I found that Dragon Castle was not filled with mountains of corpses or bones. All I saw was a long corridor covered in dust.

I crept forward against the wall, turning back every few steps to make sure the dragon hadn't suddenly appeared behind me.

I reached the end of the corridor, where a black throne stood before me. Seated upon it was a man in a black robe, his hair falling over his forehead and obscuring his face, though his shoulders and neck were clearly covered in fine dragon's scales.

I instinctively stepped back, the blade in my hand trembling even more.

My mind kept screaming at me to tell me that this man was Adrian Powell, the evil dragon.

Adrian's gaze swept over my face, then landed on my wedding gown. "So you're the sacrifice they sent this year?"

"Yes." I tightened my grip on the dagger hidden in my sleeve and forced myself to meet his eyes.

I was afraid of him, but I hated him even more.

Since I had made it here, I would find a chance to kill him!

But unlike what I had expected, Adrian didn't attack me the moment he saw me.

Without the slightest change in his expression, he just waved a hand at me. "Noted. Now get out."

After hearing his words, I froze.

I had no idea where else I could go. And I was not sure whether I should just go home.

As I stood there at a loss, I immediately remembered Kane's warning. "The dragon won't kill his prey right away. He'll give them hope first, and then savor watching them sink into despair."

So I figured Adrian was only letting me go now so he could hunt me down later and relish the sight of me in my despair.

I took a deep breath. Instead of retreating, I tried taking a step forward.

Adrian's gaze instantly turned cold. "I'll say it one last time. Get out!"

His roar startled me so badly that I nearly let the dagger slip from my hand.

But I couldn't back down; backing down meant dying for nothing.

I took a deep breath and forced down my fear, saying, "Distinguished dragon, it was the Temple of the Ash Town that gave me to you. I have nowhere to return to."

Adrian said nothing. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly moved, so fast I could barely see him.

The next second, his handsome face appeared right before my eyes.

He was so close that I could even see the fine dragon's scales on the side of his neck clearly, and could feel the heat radiating from his body.

I didn't know what he intended to do, or if he was going to kill me.

I bit down hard on my lower lip and tasted the metallic tang of blood in my mouth, and all I wanted was to flee.

But I couldn't move. Adrian had already seized my wrist tightly.

His fingers, through the sleeve, were right around the handle of my dagger.

I was so terrified I felt like I was suffocating, and I couldn't help panting heavily.

I thought he had discovered my dagger and knew I was going to kill him.

I instinctively tried to pull my hand back, but Adrian used the motion to draw me closer to him.

He rested his hand lightly against the side of my neck. With just the slightest force, he could easily snap my neck.

His gaze traveled from my eyes down to my neck, then swept over my face, which had gone pale because of nervousness. "Have we met before?"

I didn't answer. My mind had already gone blank because of fear.

I thought I was about to die and failed to avenge Sarah.

Just as my tears of terror were about to fall, Adrian released me. "I don't need a sacrifice. Since you have nowhere to go, find a room somewhere and stay there until dawn. Don't touch anything in the castle, and especially, don't go near the old chapel on the west side. And don't stay in the main hall."

I collapsed onto the floor, but when I heard his words, I suddenly clenched my fists.

At that moment, I believed what Kane had told me that the old chapel had to hold a sacred relic capable of subduing the dragon was true; Otherwise, Adrian wouldn't have specifically warned me to stay away from the chapel.

Adrian seemingly hadn't noticed my reaction.

"Don't let me see you again before dawn." With those words, he left.

I gasped for breath for a long while before the trembling in my body finally stopped.

I didn't know why he hadn't killed me just now, but since I was still alive, I would use what time I had left to find a way to subdue Adrian and kill him.

I was doing this not just for Sarah, but for all the young women in the town who were still alive.

I braced myself against a stone pillar to help myself up and looked toward the pitch-black corridor on the west side of the main hall.

And I knew it led to the old chapel.