Chapter 21 #3
He could be so cruel.
The intensity of his anger shocked me, but the harshness of his words cut like a knife. “Crystal,” I scowled back.
I glared into his eyes, trying to convey my hatred for him, but his eyes only mirrored the same detestation. Then we locked into what I could only describe as a staring contest. To my surprise, he folded first and turned away, disappearing back into the crowd.
He instantly forgot I existed and joined a conversation with a nearby noble.
I let out an aggravated groan and turned on my heel to stare at the night sky. I was tired of looking at Titus—his stupid, beautiful face. Tired of his mind games. His hot-and-cold personality.
I couldn’t believe that, for a moment, I’d contemplated the possibility that he had feelings for me, when nothing could be further from the truth.
“You are nothing to me.”
The words burned my throat like acid as I tried to process them. I didn’t trust him. I started to doubt he ever had any real intention of sending me home.
I was supposed to be training so I could successfully retrieve the Dagger of Destiny from Mount Orid—so I could go home, back to the mortal realm. Now Titus had some kind of errand he conveniently needed a mortal for?
I turned to check on Calpurnia. She was in Cercies’ lap, her hand in his, palm up, and it looked like he was helping her summon a small flame. She squealed in excitement, and he grinned proudly as he inhaled her scent from her hair.
They were cute together, but I was almost getting sick of all the cuteness. I was tired of watching couples on the dance floor. Their loving eyes, spinning between candlelight and starlight. Moon-kissed skin highlighting the apples of their cheeks and beaming smiles.
As if right on cue, a fire sprite presented me with a tray holding one last glass of wine.
Fuck yes, score!
Assuming it was a fluke—that the sprite didn’t know Titus didn’t want me to drink—I quickly took the glass and nodded graciously in thanks.
Yes. Just what I needed to smooth over my bitter mood.
I smiled as I inhaled its heady vapor and raised the goblet to my lips—when, in my peripheral, I saw Rexius. Miserable. Hunched over the stone railing, staring into the dark abyss beyond the balcony.
By no means was I fond of the spawn of Prisca, but for whatever reason I approached the prince.
Maybe it was because we were the only two loners.
Maybe misery loves company. Or maybe it was simply the right thing to do.
He had helped save me that day. He was the one who had found me in the sacred forest and called out to Aurelius to heal me.
Before I could sip the fabulous nectar, I lowered the goblet and stepped beside him.
“Hey… is everything okay?” I asked.
He scowled at first. Then, as if he were tired of pretending to hate me, his facade cracked and his face fell. “I was supposed to be out there tonight,” he admitted, staring into the night sky.
“Why weren’t you?” I asked softly.
“Because Aurelius said I wasn’t ready,” he said. “He doesn’t trust me—or my dragon’s bond.”
The prince’s face was heavy with shame, and it tugged at my heart.
I briefly considered handling it like a parent—saying it was probably for the best, but he’d likely heard that from everyone already. So, with a half smirk, I said, “Well… your dragon seems like a jerk.”
To my surprise, he actually laughed. It didn’t last long, but it was real.
“Here,” I said. “Seems like you need this more than I do.” I handed him the wine glass I hadn’t even gotten to sip.
He thanked me, accepted it, lifted it in a small “cheers,” and pressed the gold cup to his lips.
Then a female voice shrieked like broken glass—startling us and freezing us in place.
“NOOOOOO!”
Prisca erupted from nowhere and lunged for the goblet. Guests gasped in shock and confusion. The music stopped. Couples halted mid-step. All eyes snapped to Prisca and her son.
Suddenly, Prisca was frozen mid-stride, one hand outstretched— Titus behind her, clearly using his paralyzing magic.
“Why can’t he drink it, Prisca?” Titus snarled, teeth bared.
Being all too familiar with this kind of magic, I knew that though she couldn’t move, she could speak. She was choosing not to. Nobody dared move or breathe as Titus stalked toward his nephew.
Titus snatched the glass from Rexius, swirled it, smelled it, and dipped a finger into the liquid. His fingertip began to sizzle with an acidic burn.
“Poison?!” he shouted—both questioning and accusing with a single word.
The goblet dropped to the ground, metal clanking against stone until it settled. The liquid corroded the floor, making the rock smoke and melt.
Her eyes were never on me. They were on Rexius. The wine had been meant for me. And when I unknowingly passed it to her son, I saw it happen. The careful cruelty dissolved into raw maternal panic. She would sacrifice me without hesitation, but not him. Not her son.
Titus erupted into full-body flame, his fire-resistant clothing charring away slowly, stitch by stitch. The siblings glared at each other.
The entire realm seemed to hold its breath as guests waited endless seconds for Titus to unleash his fury.
But then he closed his eyes.
A deep, guttural growl rattled the dishes and glasses on the table like a small earthquake. A beast rose from the dark depths to the balcony’s edge.
Draxxinar.
He flapped his massive wings, sending tablecloths flying and snuffing every candle and lantern in an instant.
His yellow, slitted eyes blinked vertically, then shifted until they locked on Titus.
Hot steam poured from his nostrils through the crowd, prompting screams and frantic scrambling.
Everyone backed away from the nightmare of a beast—leaving only me, Rexius, and Prisca caught in Titus’s demonic wake.
The High Lord commanded his dragon in words I’d never heard before, but I knew exactly what he ordered.
It was what he’d threatened to do several times.
To my surprise, Prisca showed no fear of the beast or her brother.
“Fuck you, Titus,” she said. Her body was immobile, her voice calm, her face wicked.
Draxxinar opened his toothy mouth—each tooth the size of a canoe—and snatched her in one bite. Aurelius tried to intervene, but it was too late. The beast tossed her into the air like a weightless doll before savagely crushing her body in his jaws.
I heard bones snap. But she didn’t scream.
Guests shrieked in horror. One noble fainted. Two captains rushed to him, checking his vitals. Draxxinar retreated to the depths from which he came.
I turned to Rexius and watched him drop to his knees and wretch into his hands.
Absolute chaos erupted on the balcony—and yet Titus stood there as if frozen in time. His inferno slowly snuffed out until only the smoldering remains of his burned clothing lingered.
It was like he was in a trance, staring into black nothingness while guests ran and screamed behind him.
I crouched beside Rexius, trying to comfort him, but he continued vomiting violently.
I scanned the chaos for Calpurnia. I needed to know she was safe—unharmed—but Cercies already had his massive body in front of her, blocking any threat.
She rose from behind a chair, and I watched him scoop her up and carry her inside.
Relief flooded me.
Then it quickly shattered.
Aurelius emerged from the chaos, striding toward Titus with a deadly look in his eyes. Panic pumped through my veins. My heart raced.
Things had just gone from bad to worse—so much worse. Aurelius didn’t look angry anymore. He looked decided. Like he’d just watched the last line get crossed.
The Master of Dragons raised his arm. White light beamed from his hand, aimed directly at Titus’s back.
I couldn’t think. I just reacted—unsure why I cared so much about the High Lord when he’d been nothing but heartless and cruel.
I tried to warn him. “TITUS!” I screamed.
Before the beam could make contact, Titus spun around— inhumanly fast—and a massive shockwave of energy erupted from his body, absorbing the white light magic and deflecting it.
Everyone was thrown to the ground, hitting hard, as if a bomb had detonated.
My body smacked the stone floor with a sound like a watermelon dropped onto concrete. Something in my chest cracked on impact. Everything fell silent—no screaming, no running.
My ears rang violently. I could smell the metallic scent of blood, and warm liquid ran down my mouth. My vision blurred, but Titus’s voice cut through the ringing.
“The party’s over. Everyone—return to your rooms.”
He stalked back into the castle as Gleeda rushed out as fast as her aged body could carry her. She found me first and began to restore me with her healing light. I wasn’t sure why she came to me first—maybe I was the most injured because I was the only mortal.
As soon as I was healed, I forced myself upright. I helped Rexius up and guided him into the castle, his arm heavy over my shoulders. He could barely walk. He didn’t seem physically injured, but something was seriously wrong.
Down the hall, a sitting room opened to my left. I plopped Rexius onto the couch. His larger Fae body was heavy, and I struggled to lower him gently. I needed something to clean him up—he was covered in vomit and still in shock.
I took off running down the hall, searching for a washroom, but instead I found Aurelius.
If it weren’t for his silver hair, I don’t think I would’ve recognized him. He looked angry. I’d never seen him angry before, and his fury was directed at me.
In that moment, I felt more afraid of him than I ever had of Titus.
“Why did you warn him?” he whisper-shouted, shaking my shoulders. My body thrashed from the force—hard enough to rattle me, not enough to hurt—but it wasn’t gentle either. Aurelius had always been gentle with me. This side of him was unsettling.
Then I saw it—he wasn’t just angry. He was scared.
The desperation in his voice sounded like an animal cornered.
“I… I don’t know,” I stammered, tears forming. “I thought he’d just saved me from Prisca, and I reacted. I didn’t want anyone else to die.”
“Save you?” Aurelius scoffed. “He doesn’t care about you. He used it as an opportunity to finally kill his sister once and for all.”
How could I have been so blind?
My heart sank. My vision blurred with tears. I sobbed into my hands—holding nothing back—unraveling everything. What had just happened, my frustration with Titus… I let it spill
out, like I’d been holding it by a single thread and Aurelius had just snipped it.
I could feel him staring, like he was trying to decipher who my tears were for.
After a moment, he softened and pulled me into his arms. I cried against his chest while he stroked my hair.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Don’t cry. I forgive you, Delilah.”
Umm…what?
Defending Titus—and therefore going against Aurelius—was not the reason I was upset.
I looked up at him. The anger was gone, replaced with pity. “I
should have expected nothing less from your soft human heart,” he added.
He was the one who chose to attack his High Lord. I had nothing to do with that.
If I was being honest with myself, I was more heartbroken that Titus didn’t care about me. I had thought… I don’t know what I’d thought.
I was stupid.
Aurelius continued stroking my hair until he heard Rexius heave again. He released me.
“I’ll get him to his rooms and cleaned up,” he said. “Get some rest, Delilah. You’re leaving in the morning for the Kingdom of Terrain.”
I scoffed. “I’m not leaving with that psychopath. You saw what he did to his sister—can you imagine what he would do to me?”
But would Titus do that to me? Or had he done it to protect me? Or was it just an excuse to kill the sister he hated? Once again, the High Lord left me with more questions than answers.
He was so cruel to me at the party. I didn’t know what to believe.
It was true—I was scared of Titus. And although Aurelius generally felt like the safer option, I was starting to question that, too.
But if I had to choose between an upset Aurelius and a homicidal Titus, the choice was a no-brainer.
Aurelius revealed nothing as he studied me blankly. His Fae face locked tightly into place.
I changed tactics, playing into his emotions. I brushed my fingertips delicately on his forearm.
“Can I go with you instead?”
His unreadable expression broke into a kind smile—but there was a hint of something else there. Something almost possessive.
K. ROSé
“There’s nothing I want more than to have you by my side,” he said. “But I just attempted to attack the High Lord—in the open, with witnesses. I need him to leave Embris for a while so I can sort this out and do major damage control.”
“So you want me to babysit the serial killer out of town so you can clean up your mess?” I asked, indignation sharp in my tone.
He sighed, slightly irritated. “It’s unlikely he’ll harm you, because without you he won’t be able to obtain the God Dragon.
But me…” His voice tightened. “I’m not sure he even knows I tried to attack him.
But everyone saw it. When the shock wears off, he’ll find out.
And he will come for me. Do you understand? ”
I hadn’t thought about what the nobles and council might say— what they might do to him after what they had witnessed.
This was a disaster. A complete mess. And somehow, I’d found myself right in the middle of it—between two of the most powerful, domineering males in the entire kingdom.
I needed to stop pretending I had a choice. Like I had a say in what I did or where I went. I needed to stop believing they might care about me—because deep down, I knew these males possessed unfathomable power and could force me to do anything they wanted.
If I was going to survive this realm and make it home unscathed, I needed to be smart. Let them underestimate me.
That’s how I managed to escape. I almost got away because they didn’t think I was capable.
So, I agreed to Aurelius’s plan.
But I was going to play the part of the subservient human, cowering beneath their dominance, so they never saw the truth.
Because the truth was… that version of me died when I got here.
And the new version? They won’t see coming.