Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

It took them the better part of the day to maneuver past the Avian warships and back out into inter-galactic space—the 'no-man's land'.

For the next teeny-four hours, they would not have to worry about warships coming after them. Now, it would merely be pirate ships.

Süren was fairly confident they would be able to get past the inter-galactic space without incident. The King had also promised to send reinforcement to meet them halfway.

Dinner was a cozy affair, with only himself and the mother-daughter team. He had the staff set up a small table near the viewing window that looked out into the field of stars so they could have starlight as part of the background.

The white linens were laid out. The candles were burning. The soft music was playing. They had even uncorked the best Erenveil wine.

The meal must have tasted good. Lyra and her mother ate with enjoyment, but for the life of him, Süren had no idea what it was he was tasting.

He could not keep his eyes of Lyra. She was vivacious, bubbly, and talked about all sorts of things that were so disconnected until they suddenly all came together in a breathtaking conclusion.

He was truly amazed at this young girl who was so very mature in her thoughts and actions, but then, of course she was. This was the woman he had chosen to be his life mate.

As the night wore on, Süren made the decision to gently break the news of his other engagement to Lyra and his mother.

His chance came when Lyra excused herself to visit the ladies room and he was alone with her mother, the Lady Gwendolyn.

Süren cleared his throat.

Before he had the chance to say anything, Lady Gwendolyn had spoken up.

"So. What are your plans when you return to your world and how will it affect my little Lyra?"

Süren looked across the table at Lady Gwendolyn, his eyes glittering with intensity. He had wanted to ease into the conversation, but she had jumped into the deep end.

So be it.

"First, let me reassure you that I have no dishonorable intentions with Lyra." He placed a hand over his heart, as if pleading with her.

"When I first met her, I was completely mesmerized by her physical beauty, but it didn't stop there. I am completely blown away by her musical talents and her mannerisms, her joy of life, and I am in awe of her razor sharp intelligence."

"So you're in love with my daughter." The Lady Gwendolyn pressed her lips in a thin line.

Süren looked down and nodded with a soft sigh. This was going to be so hard to say.

"Do you love your other fiancée?"

Süren looked up at Lady Gwendolyn with startled eyes. She knew!

He swallowed.

"No." He shook his head with tragic regret. "But I am stuck. My parents set up the engagement several years ago, when Sharina was not much older than Lyra is now. I was supposed to wait for her to mature so that I could marry her."

His brows furrowed. "She turned 18 half a year ago."

"So you ran away for one last blast of freedom and found yourself at Erenveil." Lady Gwendolyn concluded.

Süren cleared his throat. Was everything he did so obvious to this woman? It was like she could see right through him and knew everything he was going through.

He might as well just come right out and admit everything to her. She already knew anyway.

"I really truly have no feelings for Sharina, my fiancée. It was a political liaison that my parents and her parents set up without any input from me. Going back to my world is akin to walking back into that set up."

"So why did you try to contact my daughter even though you knew there was no future for the two of you?"

"I—" Süren rubbed his eyes. "I had orders from my father to return home. I came to say goodbye to her because I couldn't leave without seeing her one last time."

Lady Gwendolyn's blue eyes softened with compassion.

"And the heirloom dragon opal?"

Süren took a deep breath. He had hoped that Lady Gwendolyn would not understand the significance of the dragon opal, but it seemed that she truly did know.

The dragon opal was a traditional marriage gift that a male dragon gave to his mate at the time of their engagement. It was rare and difficult to find, but no dragon would ever think of not presenting his hard-won dragon opal to his soon-to-be bride.

"I couldn't bear to hand it over to someone I had no feelings for, so I gave it to the woman I loved. Even if I had no chance, I would still rather she hold onto my heart than to never have had the chance to love her."

"And suddenly, you find her coming back with you to your dragon world."

"Yes. I was not expecting the Erenveil Royal Palace to get attacked, but I'm glad I was there to be able to take you and Princess Lyra to safety."

"I understand the situation better now. So tell me," she eyed Prince Süren. "What do you plan to do about all this?"

Süren clenched his fist. Here went nothing.

"I have been trying to talk my father into letting me absolve the engagement with Sharina. I will continue to try, but if it comes down to the wire and the only option involves losing Lyra, I would rather run away with her than to lose her."

"You are a Crown Prince. What kind of life will my daughter have with someone who has abandoned his kingdom and turned into a homeless hobo?" Lady Gwendolyn sniffed.

"I can't lose her." Süren clenched his teeth.

"Who says you must?" Lady Gwendolyn leaned in closer and gazed into his eyes. "There is more than one way to approach something. The only thing you must do is to hold within yourself, the steadfast will to maintain your position."

"My love for Lyra will not change."

"Good. If that is the case, then I support your cause."

Süren blinked with surprise. He had been expecting pushback and the demand that he leave her daughter alone. But she was saying she supported the two of them being together.

"So have you figured out what you need to do first?" She was asking him.

Süren slowly nodded. "I need to figure out how to absolve the engagement, and I need to do it as soon as possible."

Yes.

This was his clearest directive. He had to do it before all of the drama hit Lyra. He could not cause Lyra any distress. He never wanted her to feel as if she was the third woman in a triangle.

He squeezed his eyes tight. Other than going against his father and turning into a snarling beast…

Suddenly, Süren opened his eyes.

"I'm a Crown Prince.. I've done everything my family has ever asked of me all my life and never gone against them, not even once. If I threw a tantrum at this time and refused to go through with the engagement, what could they possibly do to me?"