Dragon King's Harem Chapter 542. The Dwarven Land II

Dragon King's Harem Chapter 542. The Dwarven Land II

I stepped forward slightly, enough that my shoulder aligned with Sela’s.

“She came as my wife,” I said evenly.

My voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. It carried.

“The king never mentioned I could not bring her.”

Silence stretched between us and the dwarven officials. Not defiance. Not hostility. Just recalibration.

One of the staff members lowered his gaze respectfully. “You are right, Your Majesty. Please… come with us. The king will be pleased to see you.”

Pleased.

That word tasted strange.

We followed them down the wide stone ramp spiraling from the sky tower. The dwarven architecture wrapped around us like the inside of a carved mountain. Torches burned in iron brackets along the walls, flames casting deep orange light over rune-etched stone.

I walked beside Sela without touching her.

But I could feel her.

The stiffness in her shoulders.

The way her breathing slowed deliberately.

She was holding herself together.

Evelina walked on her other side. Close enough that their sleeves brushed occasionally. Anchor and steel.

Marissa trailed half a step behind, quieter than usual. I didn’t look back at her. But I felt the tension coiled under her skin.

We reached the lower platform where several open carriages waited.

Dwarven-made.

Solid frames reinforced with iron ribs. Wheels thick and heavy. No delicate fairy carving here.

One carriage already held two figures draped in pale, luminous fabric.

Fairy royalty.

The princess smiled when she saw me. Soft. Polite. Curious.

I inclined my head in acknowledgment.

Then the queen stepped down.

Tall for a fairy. Wings folded neatly behind her. Hair like spun silver cascading over her shoulders. Crown woven from living vines and small crystal blossoms.

Queen Lysira.

We had met before.

“Dragon King,” she said smoothly as she approached me. “We meet again.”

“Yes,” I replied. “The last time was my coronation.”

She studied me openly. Not flirtatious. Not hostile. Just… assessing.

“You look well,” she observed. Then her gaze sharpened slightly. “Healthier. Stronger.”

A faint smirk tugged at her lips. “I see you have taken wives.”

I didn’t look toward them, but I felt them all listening.

“Royal dragon lineage must be maintained,” I said evenly. “It requires… effort.”

She laughed softly. “I agree.”

Subtext floated in the air like smoke.

The dwarven staff stepped forward again. “Please, Your Majesties. The people are waiting.”

Of course they were.

We separated into our assigned carriages.

The fairy queen and princess entered theirs.

Al swung himself effortlessly onto a massive dwarven war boar waiting nearby. He leaned down toward me briefly. “If anything explodes, I want the high ground.”

“Nothing will explode,” I said.

He grinned.

Others moved by foot. Including the fairy guards, their spears glinting under torchlight.

I stepped into the carriage with Evelina, Sela, and Marissa.

The door shut.

The wheels began to roll.

The city unfolded before us.

Dwarven capital at night was different from daylight. Not softer. Just… louder in a different way. Forges still burned. Hammer strikes echoed distantly. Market lanterns glowed amber along stone terraces.

But the streets we traveled were lined.

Not with soldiers.

With civilians.

Dwarven land was not as isolated as the snow elven realm. The streets weren’t only filled with stout, bearded figures in iron and stone. Fairies hovered near lantern posts, elves walked quietly beside orcs and minotaurs. They all paused as our convoy passed.

And the convoy?

It looked like a parade.

Multiple royal carriages. Dragon soldiers in formation. Fairy guards flanking their queen. Al atop a boar like some dramatic herald.

The dwarven king was sending a message.

Look.

Look who came.

Look who stands with us.

Kings. Queens. Tribes united for celebration.

I almost laughed.

Political theater at its finest.

Whispers followed us as we passed.

Especially when eyes landed on Sela.

“That’s her.”

“Grandduke’s daughter.”

“She came back?”

“With the Dragon King.”

“Why?”

“Is she here to reclaim something?”

Sela didn’t react.

Not outwardly.

She sat straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. Eyes forward. Expression carved from something colder than stone.

Evelina’s fingers rested lightly against her wrist. Small contact. Invisible to most.

Marissa stared out the other side of the carriage, watching rooftops pass by, jaw tight.

I sat opposite them, back straight, boots planted firmly.

And inside?

My heart was steady. But heavier.

I hadn’t expected this to feel so personal.

This wasn’t my homeland.

But it was theirs.

And walking them through streets that once belonged to them… felt like guiding someone back into a house that burned.

Or was it because of something else?

I didn’t say anything.

Didn’t offer comfort.

That would make it worse.

Instead, I leaned slightly back and let my presence fill the carriage. Solid. Unmoving. A silent wall.

The city opened wider as we approached the inner district.

Tall pillars carved with ancestral dwarven faces lined the avenue. Each face worn by centuries but still glaring proudly down at passersby.

The main palace loomed ahead.

Built directly into the mountain face, layered balconies and heavy gates illuminated by braziers. Banners hung high above, crimson and gold stitched with the dwarven crest.

As we neared the gate, I felt it.

A shift in the air.

Not mana.

Instinct.

-Ba-thump!

My chest tightened.

The sound came before I understood it.

A cry.

High. Piercing. Ancient.

It tore across the sky above the palace like fire given a voice.

-Ba-thump!

My heart slammed harder.

I knew that sound.

Not by memory.

By blood.

My dragon instinct flared immediately.

Wings that weren’t there wanted to unfurl.

Fire that wasn’t summoned stirred in my chest.

Phoenix.

The cry came again, echoing across the stone towers.

Not aggression.

Announcement.

Queen of the bird tribe.

She had arrived too.

I stared upward instinctively, though the carriage roof blocked the sky.

The dwarven convoy slowed slightly.

People around us gasped.

“She came too.”

“The Phoenix…”

Sela’s fingers tightened once in her lap.

Marissa’s eyes flickered toward me.

Evelina inhaled quietly.

And I?

I felt something that was not fear.

Not excitement.

Something closer to anticipation sharpened by instinct.

Phoenix and dragon in the same sky.

This wedding just became far more interesting.