The Substitute Mate: Healing the Fallen Dragon

Seraphina POV:

After what felt like an eternity of jolting travel, the carriage finally stopped.

I was ordered out, and my eyes fell upon a grand but grim palace. The gates were shut, and the stone dragons carved into the facade seemed to roar in silent warning.

This was Prince Gideon's residence, Dragon's Rest. It looked less like a palace and more like a magnificent tomb.

The steward who had escorted me handed a marriage contract to the guards at the gate and left without a backward glance, as if dropping off a piece of trash.

I stood alone before the immense doors, feeling impossibly small.

Two guards in black armor, their chests engraved with a dragon crest, blocked my path. One of them, a man with a face like stone, spoke without emotion. "The Prince has given an order. No one is to enter." I would later learn his name was Finn.

"I am Seraphina, daughter of Alistair Carlisle," I said, holding out the contract. "I am here by order of the Dragon King to be wed."

Finn glanced at the paper, then back at me, his eyes filled with a dismissive contempt. "The Prince said no one. That includes his new bride."

I understood. Gideon had no intention of accepting this marriage.

The long journey and the constant tension were taking their toll. My energy was bottoming out, and the world began to tilt again.

I braced myself against the cold stone wall beside me. Use glucose solution, I commanded the system in my mind.

The familiar warmth spread through me, steadying me. I couldn't afford to collapse here.

I looked at the guards, my mind racing. Brute force was impossible. I needed a reason they couldn't refuse. My gaze fell on the system interface in my mind, on the line about Gideon's "damaged Dragon Core." A daring plan formed.

I had to get inside Dragon's Rest. It was the first step of my survival plan. But Gideon himself had barred the way.

I took a step forward, meeting Finn's gaze. I spoke, my voice loud and clear, ringing with a conviction I didn't entirely feel. "Go back and tell your prince that I am not here to marry him. I am here to cure him."

The words echoed in the empty courtyard, carrying an undeniable force.

Finn and the other guard stared, their faces a picture of disbelief.

Finn's brow furrowed. "What nonsense are you spouting? The Prince's injury... even the kingdom's Chief Dragon Healer is powerless against it."

"That's because they misdiagnosed the cause," I pressed on, choosing my words with surgical precision. "His Dragon Core wasn't just damaged in the war. He was poisoned."

The statement hit them like a thunderclap. Their expressions shifted from disbelief to shock.

"Poison" was clearly a word of immense significance, a top-level secret. A discarded bride from an outlying territory should have no way of knowing it.

Finn's gaze changed from contempt to sharp suspicion. "You... how could you possibly know that?"

I didn't answer, just held his gaze with a mysterious smile. "You only need to repeat my words exactly to Prince Gideon. Whether he sees me or not is his decision."

I was betting everything on this. I was certain that when Gideon heard the word "poison," he wouldn't be able to ignore it.

Finn hesitated. On one side was his prince's direct order. On the other, a claim that could be a matter of life and death for that same prince. He exchanged a look with his partner, then finally gritted his teeth.

"You wait here," he said to me.

He turned and hurried through the heavy gates.

I stood alone in the courtyard, the cold wind whipping my hair across my face. My palms were slick with sweat, but I knew I had made the right gamble.

I was waiting for the verdict. Either I would be executed as a fraud, or I would begin my new life as his "doctor."

Time stretched on, each second an eternity. On my system interface, the words [Main Quest: Survive in the Dragon King's Palace] pulsed faintly.

Finally, with a deafening groan, the heavy gates that had been sealed slowly creaked open.

A cold, piercing gaze, filled with an oppressive weight, shot out from the darkness behind the door and landed on me.