Married To The Dragon Prince Against My Will-Chapter 252: HIS RAGE

"Lumina..." Ashen’s voice broke as he rushed toward the bed, where his wife lay sleeplessly and also in pain.

Fear gripped him so violently that it felt like his chest was being crushed from the inside.

Lumina was recoiling against the pillows, her body curling in on itself as though trying to escape an invisible pain. Her hands clutched the sheets, fingers trembling, her breath coming out in broken, uneven gasps.

"Lumina, please," Ashen whispered hoarsely as he dropped to his knees beside the bed. "Please... don’t do this to me.... Please open your eyes."

Her skin burned beneath his touch if too hot, to touch he had just left her a few minutes ago, and couldn’t explain what this must have been.

"Call me Lord Drex!" Ashen suddenly yelled, his voice cracking as panic overtook him.

He pulled Lumina upright in desperation, pressing his forehead to hers. "Lord Drex, now!"

Lumina let out a broken sound, half-cry, half-gasp. Her entire body shuddered violently and Ashen froze. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Her skin was changing, he couldn’t even explain what was going on with her.

Faint lines of light flickered beneath her flesh like molten veins, glowing and fading, glowing again. Her breathing grew harsher, her chest rising sharply as though every breath hurt.

"No... no, no, no," Ashen whispered, shaking his head. "Lumina, please. Please."

Lord Drex was taking too long for him, the fact of his wife taking in another pain was too much for him to bear so he quickly stood up.

Without another second of hesitation, he scooped Lumina into his arms. She was burning against him, her body trembling uncontrollably, her head falling weakly against his chest.

"I have got you... I promise you will be doing fine" he murmured urgently as he dashed from the chamber. "Stay with me. Please stay with me."

He didn’t slow down.

He didn’t care who saw him.

He burst into Lord Drex’s chambers just as the old physician was preparing to leave.

"Lord Drex!" Ashen shouted. "Check her... please! I’m scared. Something is wrong.... Suddenly she is feeling hit, she was doing fine a few minutes ago."

Lord Drex turned sharply, eyes widening as he saw Lumina.

"Put her down," he commanded at once. "On the mattress."

Ashen obeyed instantly, laying Lumina down with shaking hands. The moment he released her, she cried out, her body arching slightly before collapsing back onto the bed.

Ashen grabbed her hand again, holding it tightly as if that alone could anchor her.

Lord Drex leaned closer, then stopped abruptly.

Before he could speak, hurried footsteps echoed.

"Father... step back." Serena rushed into the room and Ashen stiffened.

His breath caught in his throat as memories surfaced uninvited. The last time Serena had intervened like this, everything had changed. Even though he is confused as to why they are both friends he is beginning to have his suspicions now.

"Serena..." he started, but she lifted a hand.

"I will take care of her," she said firmly.

Ashen hesitated, "You are pregnant, so don’t hurt yourself." Her father let out but she ignored him all her mind on Luminq.

Questions flooded Ashen’s mind. Fear twisted his chest tighter. But one look at Lumina writhing, burning, slipping further from him was enough.

He stepped back.

Serena moved closer to the bed, kneeling beside Lumina. She placed both palms over Lumina’s chest, her eyes closing in deep concentration.

Lumina cried out again, a sound so pained it ripped through Ashen.

"Easy," Serena whispered. "You’re not alone." She inhaled sharply.

Then light exploded from her hands.

The room was filled with a blinding, radiant glow. Symbols shimmered in the air, and powerful, wrapping around Lumina’s body like living threads. The air itself vibrated, humming with magic.

Lumina screamed once then the sound cut off as her body went still.

The glowing veins beneath her skin slowly faded, the heat dissipating until her breathing steadied. The pain lines on her face smoothed, her lashes fluttering before settling.

Serena swayed at once and Ashen moved instinctively, catching her before she collapsed.

"You are weak," he stated sharply, holding her upright.

"I’m fine," Serena breathed, though her face was pale. "She’s asleep now. Let her rest."

Ashen turned back to Lumina.

She lay peacefully, chest rising gently, her face calm as though nothing had happened.

The contrast shattered him, while Lord Drex couldn’t help but just stare at his daughter with a painful look

Ashen on the other hand swallowed hard, brushing a thumb carefully over her cheek.

"How is she?" he asked quietly.

"She will live, but I can’t say exactly when she will regain consciousness... Because you will need a spiritual medic right now to wake her up." Serena said.

"What?"

Serena glanced at Lumina once more and then turned to Ashen, "Let’s leave the room."

They stepped out of the room together, closing the door softly behind them.

Ashen turned on her the moment they were alone.

"What is going on?" His voice was low but strained. "Tell me everything."

Serena leaned against the wall, gathering her strength.

"Lumina carries the Heart of Drakonis," she said slowly. Ashen’s breath caught.

"The Heart?" he whispered.

She nodded. "And because she possesses it... she was able to bind the queen’s soul to hers." Ashen’s eyes darkened with alarm.

"Why would the queen’s soul be tied to the Heart of Drakonis?" he demanded. "Why would Lumina carry that burden?" Serena shook her head.

"I don’t know," she admitted. "That part... even I don’t understand." Ashen clenched his fists.

"So if the queen suffers," he said slowly, dread seeping into every word, "Lumina suffers."

"Yes."

"And if the queen... " His voice broke.

Serena met his eyes. "Then Lumina will be dragged down with her." Ashen turned back toward the closed door.

Toward his sleeping wife, as he recalled Alexis’ words. "They would stop at nothing until they eliminate anything blocking their way," he whispered.

It all dawned on him, his father had finally abandoned the queen, and was also aware that Lumina’s soul had been tied to the queen since his brother knew.

They are indirectly finding a way to end his wife.

The corridors seemed to recoil from him as fire simmered beneath his skin, every step echoing with restrained violence.

His mind burned with a single image. Lumina is trembling and collapsing in his arms.

By the time he reached the council chamber, the doors were already open.

Alexis stood near the window, arms folded behind his back, his expression calm in a way that made Ashen’s fury spike even higher.

"Where is the queen?" Ashen demanded, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. "How is she?"

Alexis did not turn at once. When he finally did, his eyes were cold, unreadable.

"The queen’s condition is none of your concern," he replied flatly.

Then Ashen laughed.

It was not a sound of humor.

"None of my concern," Ashen repeated slowly. "My wife almost lost her life and you tell me she is none of my concern."

Alexis’s jaw tightened. "Your wife is exactly why this is no longer our concern... beside... your weakness would be wiped off."

That did it.

Ashen crossed the room in a blur, stopping inches from Alexis’s face. The air around him heated instantly,

The temperature rose until the torches along the walls flickered wildly.

"So you are not worried about the queen," Ashen said quietly, every word dripping with threat, "because hurting her hurts Lumina." Alexis met his gaze without flinching.

"Yes."

The single word landed like a blow.

Ashen’s hands clenched into fists, fire licking at his knuckles. "Was this your plan," he asked, voice trembling with restrained rage, "to drag my wife into this and to bind her to a dying woman and call it strategy?"

Alexis exhaled slowly. "We needed leverage."

Ashen’s vision went red.

"You used my wife as leverage," he growled.

"Yes," Alexis said again. "She is the only one capable of sustaining the queen’s soul, after all I found out last time. We assumed you would fall in line once you realized that."

Ashen let out a sound that was almost a snarl.

"So this was never about the realm," he said. "It was about controlling me." Alexis did not deny it.

"You always make things difficult," he said calmly. "This ensured cooperation."

The fire around Ashen flared violently, scorching the stone beneath his feet.

"If anything happens to her," Ashen said, his voice dropping to something terrifyingly calm, "if she so much as sheds another tear because of this madness, I will not negotiate." Alexis’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"I will burn this realm to ash," Ashen continued, stepping closer, "king, council, bloodline, and all. I will tear down every throne and leave nothing standing. If you think duty or prophecy will stop me, you are gravely mistaken."

For the first time, Alexis’s composure cracked.

"You would doom millions for one woman," he said sharply.

Ashen leaned in, fire blazing openly in his eyes now.

"She is not one woman," he said. "She is my wife. My queen. My heart. And if you force me to choose between this realm and her..."

He straightened.

"You will not like my choice." Silence engulfed the chamber.

Ashen turned away, his cloak snapping behind him as he walked toward the door.

"End this," he said over his shoulder. "Untie her from this scheme. Heal the queen without touching my wife."

"And if we cannot," Alexis called after him. Ashen paused, still not looking at his brother.

"Then pray," he said quietly, "that Lumina survives. Because if she does not..."

He did not finish the sentence, well he didn’t need to.

The doors slammed shut behind him.