Chapter 34
Kaia
Ican feel Solace's fear through our bond like it's my own.
One moment I'm drifting in pleasant exhaustion, wrapped in silk and satisfaction, and the next I'm jolted awake by the surge of emotion pouring through our connection.
Not just fear but also confusion, anger, the need to protect mixing with uncertainty about what threat she's facing.
"Sol," I gasp, sitting up so fast my head spins. "Something's wrong. She's scared."
Alessia is already moving, throwing clothes at me as she dresses herself. "Get dressed. Now. We need to get down there."
"But Zara said to stay put," I protest even as I'm pulling on the dress she handed me. My fingers fumble with the fastenings, still clumsy from exhaustion.
"Zara can lecture us later," Alessia says firmly. "Right now, our mates need us. I can feel it too through my bond with Zara. Something's very wrong."
I manage to get the dress on, not bothering with shoes because there's no time.
We run through the castle corridors, following the pull of the bonds connecting us to our mates.
Servants scatter out of our way, their eyes wide with alarm.
The warning bells are still ringing, their sound echoing off the stone walls in a way that makes my heart race faster.
As we get closer to the main gates, I can hear voices. Shouting. My father's voice rising above the others, filled with rage and accusation. Then Solace, trying to defend herself, confusion and fear making her voice shake despite her obvious attempts to stay calm.
We burst through the doors leading outside just as my father's voice rings out again. "You murdered my daughter! You're a traitor and a murderer!"
I can see them now in the fading evening light.
An entire army of Valorian soldiers spread out behind my father, easily a hundred strong.
Zara and Solace stand before them with just a handful of guards, completely outnumbered.
My father is off his horse now, advancing on Solace with his hand on his sword.
Alessia grabs my arm, holding me back. "Wait," she hisses. "Let Zara handle this."
But I can feel Solace's terror spiking, can sense her confusion about being accused of murder when I'm very much alive. My father keeps advancing, his face twisted with rage as he draws his sword.
Zara roars, the sound inhuman and terrifying.
Magic explodes from her as she shifts, her body expanding and reforming into her dragon shape.
Black scales shimmer with iridescent green as she positions herself between Solace and my father, her massive form blocking his advance.
Her wings spread wide, making her look even larger, more imposing.
A clear warning that says touch my mate and die.
Everyone goes silent. The Valorian soldiers freeze, staring up at Zara with expressions ranging from terror to awe to complete shock. Several of them stumble backward, their horses whinnying in fear and dancing away from the massive predator suddenly before them.
"They're shifters?" someone shouts from the back of the Valorian ranks. "Wait, I thought the Draconian race was dead! The legends said they died out centuries ago!"
Confusion ripples through my father's army. Soldiers are talking over each other, questioning, trying to understand what they're seeing. Some of them look like they want to run. Others grip their weapons tighter, preparing to fight even though they clearly have no idea what they're up against.
"Silence!" my father roars, his Alpha command cutting through the chaos. The soldiers quiet immediately, though I can still see the fear in their faces. "I am owed a part of this! Having that dragon at my side meant that I should have access to this wealth, this magic, this kingdom!"
Alessia moves before I can stop her, stepping forward so the army can see her clearly.
"No," she says, her voice carrying despite not being as loud as my father's.
"You stole a piece of us. Isolde was ours!
She belonged to Embrath, to her people, to her family.
She never consented to your bond, never agreed to be taken from her home.
You kidnapped her, imprisoned her, and kept her from us for decades.
You don't get to claim you're owed anything when you're the thief. "
I step out from behind Alessia then, unable to stay hidden any longer. The moment the Valorian soldiers see me, gasps ripple through their ranks. Several of them point, mouths open in shock. My father's head snaps toward me, his eyes widening as he takes in my appearance.
I know what he's seeing. The marks covering my skin from the claiming ceremony, still visible despite the dress. The confidence in my bearing that I never had in Valoria. The way I stand beside Alessia without fear or shame, claiming my place among these dragons.
"Kaia," my father breathes, and for just a moment, something that might be relief crosses his face. Then it hardens into anger again. "What have they done to you?"
"No one killed me, Father," I say clearly, making sure every soldier can hear.
"Although a few creatures in the Shadowlands tried their best. I left Valoria of my own free will to go find the dragons you kept telling me were monsters.
Only to discover that they're not monsters at all.
They're people. Shifters like us, just a different kind.
And I found out that my mother was one of them, that half of my blood comes from the very people you've been trying to exterminate. "
More gasps from the army. I can see confusion on many faces, soldiers trying to reconcile what I'm saying with whatever lies they've been fed. My father's expression darkens, his jaw clenching.
"We have much to discuss," he says, his voice tight with forced control. "Come home with me now and we'll talk about this privately. This doesn't need to be a public spectacle."
A sharp, bitter laugh tumbles from my lips. "They owe you nothing, Father. And a conversation is better than you ever thought it might be. Better than you deserve, honestly, considering you've been sending warriors to kill them for years."
"Stop being difficult and come home," he orders, his Alpha command bleeding into his words. "This is ridiculous, Kaia. You're embarrassing yourself and the kingdom."
The command washes over me but doesn't take hold.
I'm not fully wolf, I realize. The dragon blood from my mother protects me from Alpha compulsion, just like it always protected me from the worst of his control.
"No," I say firmly. "You lied to me my entire life!
I had so many questions about my mother, about why I couldn't shift, about my magic.
And you never gave me real answers. You let me think something was wrong with me when really I'm exactly what I'm supposed to be.
Half dragon, half wolf, and completely done with your manipulation. "
My father twists around suddenly to look at his cousin Margot, who's been sitting silently on her horse throughout this exchange.
"You," he snarls. "You corroborated that Beta's story.
You said that Kaia was dead, told me to trust you and that we'd handle it properly.
Why? You just wanted the throne! You wanted me to think my daughter was gone so you could position yourself as heir! "
Margot's face has gone pale but her expression is defiant.
"I was only doing what needed to be done to grab the power your line never should have held in the first place!
The throne should be mine by right of blood, not yours.
Your father stole it from my branch of the family decades ago through manipulation and murder.
I was just taking back what belonged to me! "
My father's face goes purple with rage. He pulls his sword fully from its sheath, the metal singing as it clears the scabbard. Before anyone can react, before Margot can even raise her hands to defend herself, he rushes forward.
The blade slices across her chest in one brutal motion. Blood sprays across the grass. Margot makes a horrible gurgling sound, her hands coming up to clutch at the wound. Then she's falling, tumbling off her horse and hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
Absolute silence falls over the valley. Even Zara has gone still in her dragon form, shocked by the sudden violence. I watch in horror as Margot's blood pools beneath her, spreading across the dirt. Her body twitches once, twice, then goes completely still.
My father just killed his own cousin. His heir. The woman who was supposed to rule after him if I didn't. He cut her down without hesitation, without trial, without mercy.
I move on instinct, rushing to Solace who's still frozen near Zara.
I help her to her feet, pulling her back toward the safety of Zara's massive form.
Solace is trembling, her eyes fixed on Margot's body with an expression I can't read.
Horror, yes, but also recognition. This is what my father is.
This is what he's always been, just hidden behind royal civility.
"Let us talk," my father says, turning back to face me.
His sword is still drawn, Margot's blood dripping from the blade.
His voice is calm now, controlled, like he didn't just murder someone in cold blood.
"Clearly we have things to discuss, misunderstandings to clear up.
Come inside with me, sit down properly, and we can resolve this like civilized people. "
I stare at him, disgust rising in my throat.
"I don't want to talk to a man who would strike down his own family like that.
I understand that what she did must have been wrong, that she lied and manipulated.
But you have no respect for life or your people.
You just killed her without trial, without giving her a chance to defend herself or face proper justice. That's not leadership. That's tyranny."