Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Veralin moved toward me, his shadow spilling across the blood-stained floor like a living thing.
His red eyes glowed brighter, locking on me with venomous hunger.
“Defy me, and I will burn every scrap of your fragile life. Death to your squad. Death to your dragon. Death to your lover.” His lips curved, cruel and deliberate.
“I will make you watch them break before I destroy you.”
I laughed—quick, brittle, reckless. “Your threats are getting old.” My boots echoed across the stone as I moved again, forcing Veralin’s gaze to track me. The throne pulsed behind him, that cursed heartbeat I couldn’t ignore.
Wait for my signal, I whispered into Zander’s mind. When I give it, rush the throne. The others will follow. I’ll need the distraction.
His Dark Fire flared in the back of my mind, his fear warring with resolve. Don’t you dare get yourself killed.
I lifted my chin and turned back to Veralin, letting my mouth curl into the kind of smirk Tae would’ve worn like armor. “You know, for all your talk, you really are pathetic.”
His eyes narrowed, sparks of power swirling in the air.
I tilted my head, feigning a thoughtful glance. “What’s the matter? Lost your stamina along with your honor? Or maybe it’s your virility. Centuries of scheming and this is all you’ve got to show for it? A crumbling castle and a throne that does all the heavy lifting for you?”
His nostrils flared, the muscles in his jaw as tight as steel.
I pushed harder, each word dripping poison. “You’ve built an empire of illusions, Grandfather, but in the end, you’re just a pathetic old man with an ego bigger than your shriveled cock.”
The silence that followed was razor-sharp, and I felt Zander’s surprise pulse through the bond, almost a laugh smothered by the gravity of this moment.
Veralin’s power lashed the air like a storm about to break, his fury boiling over. His eyes blazed so brightly they bled into fire.
Veralin’s gaze cut like a blade toward my friends, his smile a slash of cruelty. “Baiting me with petty inadequacies will not work. I have been playing this game since before your dragon was born. I care nothing for vanity or sex. I crave power, and you will deliver your dragon to me.”
Kaelith? My thoughts cracked like a whip. Any ideas?
Her voice coiled through me, steady but fierce. Give him what he wants. Bring me to him. You must trust that I will not fall.
No way. My chest burned with refusal. He’ll corrupt you.
Kaelith’s growl vibrated in the back of my skull, pure defiance. Do not mistake me for something so easily broken.
I lifted my chin, glaring at the monster on his throne. “Eat shit.”
A bark of laughter echoed beside me, Tae, ever the shameless idiot even standing at death’s door.
Veralin’s crimson eyes slid to him, unamused. “I have use for a person with the power of Influence.”
An illusion shimmered before Tae, a woman cloaked in shadows, her eyes gleaming with false desire. For a few seconds, she seemed solid—tempting. But then the shimmer cracked, dissolved, and Tae spat at the empty air.
“Stop fucking with me,” Tae growled, his voice hard.
Veralin only smiled, that slow, cruel smile that made my stomach twist. “Yes. Your power will be useful.” His gaze turned—predatory—toward Zander. “And you… you will be useful too. But only as a leash for my granddaughter.”
A black cloud roared into existence and slammed into Zander, wrapping around him like a living shroud. He staggered, Dark Fire erupting in violent bursts, but the shadow clung, tightening like a noose.
“Zander!” I screamed, rushing forward, but an unseen force shoved me back so hard I nearly hit the wall. Jax and Ferrula lunged for him, their blades striking air, repelled as if the darkness itself were a shield. Naia’s power flared, arcs of energy lashing at the cloud, but nothing penetrated.
Zander’s voice strained into my mind, ragged and raw. It’s more than an illusion. It’s… pulling at me.
My heart clawed at my ribs. Then play along, I ordered, desperate. Scream. Make him think he’s winning.
Through the bond, I felt his hesitation, his pride chafing against the command. But then the air split with his cry—anguished, guttural, perfect. It echoed off the stone walls, and Veralin’s throne pulsed brighter, drinking it in like blood.
I clenched my dagger tighter. Hold on, Zander. Just hold on.
I lifted my hands, the dagger limp at my side, my voice raw. “Stop. Don’t hurt him.”
“No, Ashe,” Ferrula snapped, stepping in front of me as if she could shield me from Veralin himself. “Don’t give in to him.”
I shook my head, jaw clenched. “Kaelith is on her way.” My voice cracked, but I forced steel into it. The others—Jax, Naia, even Tae—looked sick, as if I’d just slit my dragon’s throat with those words.
I turned my gaze to my grandfather, my voice trembling with fury. “Promise me you won’t hurt Kaelith, or I won’t make any deal with you.”
His red eyes glinted, cruel and knowing. “The whole point, child, is to make you and your dragon stronger. Your lifeforce tied to hers for all time. You will have immortality—at least that of a dragon’s.”
My stomach turned cold, bile clawing up my throat. “But dragons do die. They can live thousands of years, yes, but they do die of old age, eventually. I mean, if there wasn’t a war.”
His expression flickered, just for a moment, and I caught it—a flash of frustration.
I stepped forward, pointing at him as if I could spear him with the truth. “That’s why you didn’t annihilate them. You need them to breed. To produce more dragons. Yours will die eventually, and—”
“Yes,” he cut in, his voice biting. “But dragons are a renewable resource. I have allowed the horde to reproduce, yes. But if you restore the black dragons’ fertility, we could enslave them all.”
My chest tightened, horror pouring through me like ice water. “You can bind another dragon when yours begins to decline from age.”
He smiled thinly, but his eyes glowed with venom. “In truth, our dragons age faster than their colored brethren. My own dragon will reach the end of his life in the next few years.”
My blood chilled, my voice barely a whisper. “You’re consuming them.”
“Of course,” he purred, as though it were expected. “They are a power source. A commodity.”
I felt Kaelith’s rage coil in my mind, a storm barely leashed. He dares.
I lifted my chin, trying to keep my voice steady. “Where should I have Kaelith land?”
The walls around us rippled like smoke before dissolving into mist, leaving us standing in an open courtyard lit only by a false sky. My stomach twisted. “Is any part of this castle real?”
Veralin’s laugh slithered through the air, hollow and cruel. “This castle is a construct of my mind. It is anything I want it to be.”
A roar split the sky, fierce and familiar, vibrating down my bones.
Kaelith. She dropped from the storm above, wings snapping wide before she landed with earth-shaking force.
Dust and shadow scattered in the wake of her arrival.
Hein’s massive form descended beside her, his scales glinting in the muted light.
Veralin’s lips curled into a greedy smile. “I think I have found my next dragon.”
Ice poured through me. “Hein is bonded to Zander.”
Veralin’s red eyes flickered like embers. “Dragon bonds can be unmade… if I wish it.”
No. My heart slammed in my chest. Kaelith—does that mean…?
Her voice rang out in my mind. Yes. He has the power to release every dragon bound to him and his people.
The world tilted beneath me. What do we do? I whispered, my words meant only for her.
We get that key of yours into the throne, Kaelith answered, her tone heavy with urgency. I have no idea what that artifact is—or how to use it, but that is the only way to end his reign.
My fingers brushed the chain around my neck, the key heavy against my chest as if it were burning a hole straight through me. My choice. My bloodline. My doom… and maybe our salvation.
I glanced at the shadow consuming Zander. I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him. He didn’t need to say anything. I already knew.
We had one chance.
My hands trembled, not with fear, but with fury so great I thought it might tear me open.
But my hand slid to the hilt at my thigh, fingers curling around the dagger’s familiar weight.
My pulse thundered in my ears, and my eyes never left Kaelith.
She was as still as stone, coiled like a predator waiting for my command.
Veralin was watching her too, hunger flaring in those terrible red eyes as he stepped closer, his greed so apparent it made my stomach turn.
Now, Kaelith urged, fire threading through her voice.
I didn’t give myself time to think. I barely spared him a glance before I ripped the dagger free and hurled it. The blade spun in a flash of steel, aimed straight at Veralin’s skull.
At the last instant he ducked—but not fast enough. The dagger grazed his temple, carving a crimson streak across pale skin. He snarled, his composure shattering as he stumbled forward, robes tangling around his legs.
That was all I needed.
I bolted, every muscle screaming as I sprinted for the throne. Behind me, Veralin roared, the sound shaking the courtyard like thunder. Shadows writhed around Zander, smothering him, but as I neared the throne, they unraveled in tatters, hissing as though burned by my presence.
But the air chilled, heavy with rot. Shapes peeled out of the darkness—thin, wraithlike creatures with hollow eyes and clawed hands, their bodies made of smoke and hate. Dozens of them, rising between me and the throne, between me and the only chance we had.
Kaelith’s fury rumbled through my mind, but I lifted the key at my throat, forcing my fear down as the wraiths surged forward.