Chapter 10
10
DAMIEN
A fter not hearing from Cat in two days, I started to worry. She hadn’t left the Ryder residence from what I’d been told, which could only mean one thing: she was in trouble. And I imagined it had something to do with Gianna, who caught us together in bed the last morning I saw Cat. Even worse, their older brother Jacob was back from the border, and from what I remembered, he was fairly strict with them.
Tonight, she was supposed to meet me and Uncle Bai at the border of the Northern and Southern districts to enact our plans to burn down the estate and underground fighting ring. Luckily my brother Thorne was able to get the coin out earlier today, so everything was set to go.
“I’ll take care of the estate,” Uncle Bai said as we rode in his carriage across the Northern District. “You handle the underground fighting ring.”
I nodded. “Did you confirm that both places are empty?”
“Yes,” Uncle Bai answered. As the carriage rolled to a halt, he clasped my shoulder. “Be careful, Damien. Vampires are tricky creatures.”
With a sharp nod, I stepped out of the carriage and onto the cold, damp ground. The night air was sharp, slicing through my clothing as I waited under the shadow of a gnarled oak tree, its branches swaying ominously in the wind.
Minutes slowly ticked by, each one stretching longer than the last in the quiet of the night. Finally, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows. Cat, with her cloak billowing behind her, looked every bit the part of a fugitive.
“There you are!” I said as she approached, a relieved exhale escaping my lips.
She stopped short, catching her breath. “Sorry I'm late. Things at the Ryder residence… have escalated. Jacob’s back, and he’s taking the family’s financial ruin hard. On top of that, Gianna has somehow convinced Lord Zacharia to restrict my movements. It's a mess.”
I nodded, understanding the gravity of her situation. “You managed to get out, though?”
She dipped her chin. “Yes, I snuck out during one of their endless meetings about the family finances.” She sighed. “Let’s get this over with, Damien.” She kept peering over her shoulder as if she was afraid she’d been followed.
I took her hand and squeezed it. “Relax, Cat. With me, you’ll be fine.”
Her honey-brown eyes met mine. As if taking comfort in my words, her shoulders relaxed and she gave a relieved sigh. “How are we going to do this?”
I ushered her toward an alleyway. “Well, first I’m going to shift,” I said. “And then we’ll fly to the Underclaw Market.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m going to ride you again?” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I mean, like on your back… Not the dirty way.” She cleared her throat and frowned.
I tilted my head, wondering what dirty way she meant. “Yes. How else will we get to the underground fighting ring?”
“Oh,” she murmured. “Cool.”
“Cool?” I repeated the word and wondered why we were suddenly discussing the weather. “Are you comfortable riding me? You did fine the first time. I thought… especially since we’re twin flames…”
“No, no, I’m totally fine with it!” she called out quickly. “Shift. Do your thing.”
I watched her for a moment to see if she would change her mind, but she crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her right foot, almost rushing me.
Taking a step back, and with a deep breath, I let the change overtake me. My body contorted, growing and shifting as impenetrable scales sprouted along my skin, shimmering black under the scant moonlight. My bones elongated, muscles expanding and reshaping into the powerful form of a dragon. Sharp ridges formed along my back and extended down to the tip of my tail. Within moments, the transformation was complete and I stood before her, a towering dragon cloaked in darkness.
Cat cautiously approached, then, with a steadiness that belied her nervousness, she climbed onto my back and found her grip along the ridges that would keep her secure.
I turned my head to the side to ensure she was safely in place.
“Let’s do this.” Her voice was steady. “Never thought that even in this world, I’d take to the skies.”
What did she mean by that? In her world, does she fly as well? There are no dragons in her world, as far as I know. What could she possibly mean? I need to remember to ask her later.
With a powerful beat of my wings, I vaulted into the sky. The city beneath us shrank rapidly as we ascended and the sounds below swiftly faded into the night. We flew under a cloak of silence broken only by the whoosh of my wings against the wind and the occasional rustle of Cat adjusting her hold.
With soft, soothing hands, she caressed my scales, sending ripples through me and making me bristle. “You know, you’re kinda sorta beautiful,” she muttered. “Ew!” she gasped. “Did I just quote Twilight ?”
I grunted, unsure what she was talking about.
“Anyway, you are.” She continued to caress my scales. “Although if you ask me to repeat it later, I’ll totally deny it.”
I snorted, and a trickle of smoke huffed through my nose.
As we soared towards the Underclaw Market, the city’s myriad lights spread out beneath us like a vast, twinkling map. The air grew chillier as we gained altitude, but the exhilaration of flight seemed to buoy us both against the cold.
The night air was crisp and quiet as we approached the Southern District, its labyrinthine streets winding toward the heart of the black market where the underground fighting ring operated. Hidden among the shadowy alleys and nondescript buildings, the location was a hub of illicit activities, guarded by its obscurity and the constant flow of unsavory characters it attracted.
Flying high above the city's dimly lit pathways, I scanned the area for the telltale signs of the ring's operations. From my aerial view, the market appeared as a cluster of tightly packed stalls and shanties woven together in a tapestry of tarps and flickering lights. It was quieter now, the usual hustle of the market subdued by the lateness of the hour and day of the week, making our mission less complicated.
As we descended toward a secluded rooftop strategically located near the market, Cat's grip tightened on the ridges of my back. Her keen eyes took in the scene below, calculating the best moment to strike. We landed softly, the sound muffled by the night's embrace. Cat slid from my back with practiced ease, her feet hitting the ground silently.
She surveyed the area with a critical eye, then turned to me, her expression resolute. “It looks clear,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “No one's around. We can do this now.”
Nodding, I felt the familiar surge of power coursing through me as I prepared to shift back to my human form to communicate better before the final act. However, Cat's next words halted me.
“No, stay like this. You can do more damage,” she said decisively. Understanding her logic, I remained in my dragon form, focusing on the task at hand.
The moment Cat pointed toward the nondescript building wedged between two towering structures, I felt the familiar burn ignite within me—not just the fire in my core, but the fierce satisfaction that came with destruction. The building’s drab exterior was an insult to the chaos it housed within. Tonight, it would burn, and every shadowy secret it held would burn with it.
“There.” Cat’s voice was steady and sure, though I felt the undercurrent of adrenaline coursing through her. “That’s the place. Set it ablaze, Damien. Let’s end this.”
The night air wrapped around me as I stepped to the edge of the rooftop, which groaned under my considerable weight. My wings spread wide, their shadow eclipsing the moon’s light.
Cat stepped back and craned her neck to look up at me. “Okay, big guy,” she muttered, shielding her eyes from the sudden gust as I flexed my wings. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I rumbled low in my throat, the sound reverberating through the night like distant thunder. Heat built within my chest as the fire swirled, demanding release. I stepped closer to the building’s edge, my claws scraping against the stone rooftop, and inhaled deeply. The flames roared in my core and rose to the surface with a sense of decadent satisfaction.
Burn it to the ground, I thought, the words as much a command to myself as they were a promise. With one powerful exhale, I unleashed a torrent of fire, the blaze exploding from my maw in a bright, furious cascade of twining orange and gold.
The firestorm engulfed part of the building’s roof in an instant and raced downward as the structure groaned and splintered under the heat. The flames spread like a living thing, consuming everything in their path with a relentless hunger. Dark tendrils of smoke curled into the air, blotting out the stars, and the acrid scent of burning wood filled my nostrils.
“Dracarys, bitch!” Cat yelled into the chaos, punching the air triumphantly.
I turned my head slightly to look at her, my eyes narrowing. Dracarys? I tilted my head. What language is she speaking? I’ve never heard that word. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her head.
The fire danced across the building, consuming it in waves. Screams sounded in the far distance as residents of the Southern District began to notice the conflagration. As long as no one was inside, that was all that mattered.
I wanted the vampires to come out of the Citadel and see . Let them feel the destruction they dealt to others. Justice had a funny way of evening the scales.
Cat stepped closer to me. The flames reflected in her eyes as her expression shifted from triumph to something ominous. “You’re not done yet, Damien,” she said, her voice resolute. “There’s more.”
I grunted and crouched low to the rooftop, my massive wings stretching wide. She climbed onto my back, muttering something about how my scales were surprisingly warm. I snorted in response, a puff of smoke escaping my nostrils.
“Okay, okay, I get it, no commentary about dragon anatomy.” She gripped one of the ridges along my back. “Let’s do this.”
With a powerful leap, I launched into the air, my wings slicing through the buffeting wind. The city spread out beneath us, a spectacle of shadows and faint glimmers of light. Cat clung tightly to my back as I soared higher, the wind whipping her hair and lashing her cheeks.
“Holy crap, this is incredible!” she yelled over the roar of the wind, her voice filled with excitement and not a drop of fear, which surprised me. Was it because she was my mate? “I mean, I feel like I’m starring in How to Train Your Dragon, but you’re not exactly Toothless!”
I rolled my eyes. I had no idea what she was talking about, but it didn’t sound like a compliment. I banked sharply, causing her to shriek and tighten her grip. I didn’t like being compared to something called Toothless.
The next target loomed below us: another hidden entrance to the underground arena, this one a larger, more fortified structure. I swooped low, the rush of wind flattening the grass as I opened my maw and unleashed another inferno. The fire sprayed across the building like liquid sunlight, consuming it in moments.
“Now that was dramatic.” Cat’s voice carried an edge of dark humor. “I wonder how big other dragons are, or if you’re the version of Vhagar, because damn , you’re huge!”
I ignored her and swiftly rose back into the sky. The city below was a patchwork of chaos as the flames from the first building spread to neighboring structures. The glow of destruction reflected off the river that ran through the city, bathing everything in an eerie, apocalyptic light.
“Over there!” Cat pointed toward another structure on the outskirts of the city, her tone urgent. “That’s the main vault entrance. If we hit that, we’ll cripple them for good.”
I banked hard and headed for the target, my wings slicing through the smoke-filled sky. The vault was heavily reinforced, its stone walls designed to withstand sieges. But stone meant nothing to dragon fire. I hovered above it and drew in another deep breath, the flames in my core hotter and more intense.
With a roar that shook the air, I unleashed everything I had; the fire exploded from my mouth in a concentrated, searing beam. The stone walls cracked and buckled under the heat. Within moments, the entire structure was ablaze.
Cat whooped from my back, her laughter echoing through the night. “Take that , you shady bastards!” she yelled. “That’s what you get for trafficking humans and hosting death matches… as well as making Arya sell you fake paintings!”
I turned my head and gave her a knowing look… Did she really think the vampires could make Arya do something she didn’t want to do?
“Okay, okay,” she conceded. “So Arya was probably doing this willingly, but I wasn’t, so I’m a victim here!”
I huffed and turned my attention to the sky. I flew us higher, circling the destruction below. The city was alive with madness and confusion now as people ran, screamed, and tried to contain the raging inferno. But it was too late. The underground arena and its network of corruption were gone—reduced to ash and ruin.
As we soared above the burning city, Cat patted my neck. “Not bad, Damien,” she said, her voice filled with a mix of awe and satisfaction. “Not bad at all. I can’t wait for the next time. Too bad Royal Prince Bai is incinerating the estate, or else I would have loved to do that one, too,” she sighed wistfully.
I growled. Next time? A faint flicker of amusement curled through me. She thinks there’s going to be a next time.
But as I carried her back toward safety, I couldn’t help but think, Maybe there will be.
With the deed done, Cat adjusted herself and held onto the ridges on my back, her eyes reflecting the fire's fierce glow. “Let's go,” she said, her voice firm. “Before someone sees us.”
With a mighty flap of my wings, we left the fiery chaos behind to reshape the fate of the Southern District’s darkest corner.