Chapter 685: Dragon King—Cucked!

The moment was broken by Mika’s voice, brightening with sudden mischief.

"Actually, since you’re already here, I think I’ll use your help with something else."

Before she could ask what he meant, he had turned to the others.

"Alright, everyone out. Nuri, Maria, sister trio—leave the room. I want to have a private talk with the Dragon King."

"What?!" Charlotte’s voice was indignant. "Come on, Mika, let us stay! We want to watch!"

"Yeah!" Astrid agreed. "We already saw a dragon get skinned alive—what could possibly be next?"

Anya was already rising, a knowing smile on her face. "You’re not going to let us watch, are you?"

"I’m not." Mika confirmed. "Scram."

Grumbling, the sisters left and honestly a bit relieved, if they were honest to escape the terrifying presence of their aunt.

Only Korra remained, looking uncertain.

Mika met her eyes and gave her a meaningful glance before going over to her side. Then he turned to the broken, bleeding form of the Dragon King.

"Uncle. Remember at the end of the willpower test, when I said I’d claim something from you?"

Vorathar’s head lifted weakly. His eyes, glassy with pain, managed to focus.

"Well, I’ve decided what I want...I knew from the moment I saw her, actually."

And then he reached out, grabbed Korra by the waist, and pulled her against him.

"...I want your wife."

Before Korra could gasp or the Maiden of Fate could shout, Mika cupped Korra’s face in his hands and kissed her!

Kiss!?~

Not a peck. Not a gentle press of lips. A deep, passionate, possessive kiss.

His tongue slid into her mouth. His fingers tangled in her hair. He kissed her like he owned her—because, in this moment, he was declaring to everyone present that he did.

Korra melted. Her hands came up to his chest. Her eyes fluttered shut. She kissed him back with equal fervor, all pretense forgotten.

And Vorathar...all he could do was watch.

His wife in the arms of another man, kissing him with a passion she had never shown her husband in three centuries of marriage.

The Maiden of Fate was shrieking something indignant in the background—"YOU BRAT! YOU ABSOLUTE—IN FRONT OF ME—WITH A MARRIED WOMAN—HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!"—but Mika paid her no mind.

When he finally pulled back, Korra was dazed, her brown skin flushed a deep red, her breath coming in short gasps. She looked up at him with eyes that held a thousand questions.

Mika kept one arm around her waist and turned back to the Dragon King.

"You had this beautiful woman by your side for three hundred years. She’s fun. She’s caring. She’s loving. She’s brilliant. And you never cherished her. Not once."

Korra’s heart soared at the compliments. Her face burned so hot she could feel it from within.

"You could have had relationships with other women and still kept your wife’s love, if you’d managed it properly."

Mika continued, mild disdain dripping from his voice.

"Look at me. I’m involved with more women than I can count on both hands, and your wife still loves me. The difference?" He clicked his tongue. "I don’t abandon them for the next conquest."

"I cherish them. I maintain those bonds. You went at it haphazardly, like a fool, and you burned it all down."

He pulled Korra closer. "So since you don’t know how to care for her—I’ll take over this relationship for you forever."

The Dragon King stared, utterly shattered. "How..." He managed, his voice a broken rasp. "How long? How long has this—Korra, tell me—how long?!"

But Mika didn’t let her answer. He just smiled at Korra.

"Remember when you told me I think of you as just a side piece?" He shook his head slowly. "This is how much I cherish you, Korra. This is what I’m willing to do for you."

Korra was overwhelmed. Happy. Terrified. All at once.

"I...I understand, Mika." She could barely breathe. "I understand."

Then she glanced at her husband and whispered,

"But my husband...he...he—"

"Don’t worry about him." Mika’s voice carried confidence. "I can do whatever I want with you. And if he ever dares to retaliate?" He pointed up at the portal. "My ’mother’ will take care of him."

"I NEVER AGREED TO BE YOUR WATCHDOG, YOU UNGRATEFUL—"

"See?" Mika said to Korra. "We have a demi-god on our side. What’s he going to do?"

Vorathar, even in his ruined state, looked at the Maiden of Fate’s burning eyes and knew the truth. He could do nothing. Absolutely nothing.

His wife had been taken from him, right in front of his eyes, and he could do nothing.

"Now then." Mika’s gaze returned to Korra, and his gaze became a bit heated. "I don’t know what it is. But kissing you in front of your husband..."

His hand slid lower down her as.

"...has gotten me incredibly worked up."

Korra gulped. She knew that look. "Mika. No. Not here. Not in front of—"

"Stop it, you brat!" The Maiden of Fate shouted. "Don’t you dare—"

But Mika had already snapped his fingers. An orb of shimmering energy materialized around him and Korra, cutting them off from the outside world.

The last thing anyone saw before the sphere sealed completely was Mika pulling at the straps of Korra’s dress.

"MIKAAAAAA!!?"

The Maiden of Fate screamed in frustration. She knew exactly what was happening inside that orb. She didn’t need to see it.

Vorathar knew too. He stared at the sphere with hollow eyes, listening to the muffled sounds that occasionally escaped—a gasp, a moan, Mika’s low chuckle.

His wife. His beloved wife.

And he could do nothing.

—

Fifteen minutes later, the orb dissolved.

Korra emerged looking thoroughly debauched. Her dress had been hastily pulled back on, but it was crooked in several places, and her hair was a disaster. Her face was flushed a deep crimson, her lips swollen, her eyes hazy with post-coital bliss.

She couldn’t quite meet anyone’s gaze.

Mika, by contrast, looked perfectly composed. Smug, even. He stretched his arms over his head like a cat who had just finished a very satisfying meal.

Vorathar took one look at the unmistakable evidence of what had just occurred and fainted.

Vorathar the Unbroken...

Defeated by a human boy in a board game...

Broken in a test of willpower...

Skinned alive by a Battle Angel...

And now, having witnessed his wife being taken right in front of him, he had simply...collapsed.

It was, perhaps, the only mercy he had received all evening.

Mika turned to the Maiden of Fate’s portal, which was still hovering in the air. The eyes behind it were blazing with fury.

"Thanks for playing watchdog, ’mother’. Really couldn’t have done it without you."

"YOU...YOU...I’M GOING TO..."

"Going to what?" Mika tilted his head innocently. "You keep threatening me, but you never actually do anything. It’s almost like you love me too much to follow through."

The Maiden of Fate made a sound that was somewhere between a scream and a growl.

"Just wait. My plan is already in motion! You think you’ve won? You haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll make you regret this, you arrogant, insufferable, womanizing little—"

"Looking forward to it." Mika blew her a kiss.

The portal snapped shut with a sound like reality itself being offended.

Just then, the doors burst open. Nuri, Maria, and the three sisters spilled back into the hall, having finally given up on waiting outside.

Their eyes immediately went to the Dragon King—still unconscious, still a ruin of exposed flesh, still very much not okay.

"Holy shit." Charlotte breathed. "He actually passed out."

"Is he dead?" Nuri asked, her voice small.

"He’s alive." Mika assured her. "Just...overwhelmed."

Nuri stared at her father for a moment. Then she shrugged.

"Oh. Okay." She immediately turned to her mother, her expression shifting to curiosity. "Mama, your face is all red again. And your dress is on backwards. And that smell—it’s that same weird smell from earlier. What is that?"

Korra’s face went from flushed to nuclear.

"It’s—it’s nothing, darling. I was just—your Auntie’s presence made me nervous. I’ve been sweating. That’s all. Just sweat."

She snapped her fingers, and a wave of heat washed over her body, incinerating any lingering evidence.

Nuri squinted at her suspiciously but seemed to accept this explanation—mostly because she was distracted by something else.

"Mika!" She launched herself at him, grabbing his arm. "You still haven’t told me! What happened to my father? Why is he naked?! Why does he look like a plucked chicken?!"

"I’ll explain later." Mika said, patting her head. "For now, does anyone want dinner? I’m starving."

The sisters groaned in unison.

"You’re always hungry." Charlotte muttered.

"That’s because I keep burning calories." Mika glanced at Korra, who immediately looked away, her face reigniting. "In various ways."

"Mika." Korra hissed.

"What? I said nothing."

"You said EVERYTHING."

"I really didn’t."

"MAMA, WHY IS YOUR FACE SO RED?!"

"I’M FINE, NURI. EVERYTHING IS FINE."

Behind them, the Dragon King twitched once and went still.