Bonus Chapters & Content
A delegate of the Dracnors stepped before them, towering and broad. His flesh-colored scales shifted beneath the magical lights, and thick, leathery strands of hair framed his rigid jaw.
“The Volkov family encouraged me to attend,” the Dracnor said, his voice a deep, reverberating bass that rattled her chest. “We typically do not bother with Elven ceremonies. But as your family helped them so much, our community has agreed to make an attempt to participate more with your race.”
“We are honored you are here,” Aldrik said smoothly, inclining his head. “My del’wyns… my grandchildren… have spoken very highly of the wonderful people they met in your lands. Queen Anariel looked forward to discussing how our borders might work together in the future.”
The delegate offered a stiff, respectful nod, then moved down the line to discuss future meetings with the Minsters.
Before Malin could even exhale, the fine hair on the back of her neck snapped to attention. A sudden, suffocating wave of primal dread washed over her, seizing her lungs and setting her fight-or-flight instincts screaming.
Her heart hammering, she met the direct, unblinking stare of a pair of Dracnaughts. Their lizard-like features were entirely unreadable, devoid of lips or human expressions, their slit eyes unblinking as their forked tongues darted out to taste the air.
“We had hoped we would find you at this gathering,” one hissed. They were dressed identically in dark, heavy leathers; Malin couldn’t begin to guess their gender. “Our Rada has punished the Ledotek that caused the trouble for your younglings.”
At her frozen confusion, the Dracnaught tilted its scaled head. “I believe your word for them is ‘bad youths.’ The ones who harmed the wyrmling and your younglings those weeks ago have been punished. The Velikiy Rada has ordered that we inform you.”
Malin opened her mouth, but the oppressive aura of doom radiating from them had her throat locked tight. “Thank you,” was the only pathetic whisper she could manage.
Stepping into her paralyzed silence, her father smoothly stepped in, delivering the complex, expected Elven protocols of gratitude that Malin’s panicked brain had completely dropped.
When the Dracnaughts finally moved out of earshot, the crushing weight in the air dissipated. Malin sucked in a ragged breath. “Did they give you the creeps, too, or is it just me?”
Aldrik offered her a genuine, grounding smile, the warmth in his violet eyes instantly settling her racing pulse.
“My Noor’wyn, that is the ‘dragon touch.’ The dragon-kin naturally release an aura that triggers your deepest senses, warning you of apex predators nearby,” he explained, his voice low.
“You will have to learn to shield your mind against it. They are a fiercely antisocial race; the fact that both the Dracnors and the Dracnaughts are in attendance speaks volumes to our Queen’s new reign. ”
The suffocating wave of doom they projected onto her eventually faded, leaving behind a cold, unshakable residue of unease.