Chapter 50 #2
The king runs his gloved hand across the shimmering obsidian scales of Isolde’s dragon face before she lets out a heavy roar and launches back into the skies. My heart pounds as I watch her disappear into the inky clouds.
King Caledor strides slowly toward Arc, who stands just beyond the patio steps.
The king is shorter and leaner than his son.
Instead of sleek platinum hair like Arc, the king’s flows silver.
As he moves closer, I catch a silvery glint in his icy blue eyes.
His features are sharp and severe, making me shiver.
I hold my breath as the king stops a few feet in front of his son. Arc’s back heaves with deep, steady breaths.
“My son.” The king’s voice booms above the noise of the whipping wind. He spreads his arms out wide. “It’s good to be home.”
For moments, no one speaks. Soren tenses in front of me. Mei is utterly silent beside me, while I’m not sure Draven has taken a breath since we stepped outside.
The wind slows, but the air stays heavy with tension and electricity.
Finally, Arc speaks. “Father. It’s been a long time, and yet you’re early.”
The king laughs, clapping his hands together. “You know I’ve always been one for theatrics.” He narrows his eyes at his son. “I think that’s why I like Isolde so much. You must have really scorned her to have her betray you like this.”
Arc scowls at the mention of Isolde, and his eyes flash to the skies.
“Ah, yes, she has some other work to do. But don’t worry, you’ll get to catch up with her soon.
” The king gestures toward the palace. “Shall we go inside? We have much to talk about and I’d love to see what you’ve done to the place.
” The king leans around Arc to peer at the four of us standing just beyond the doorway.
“I see you have guests. How wonderful! I must say, though, I am surprised. Isolde made it seem like you didn’t have many friends.
” The king claps his son on the shoulder as he strides past him.
Arc’s shoulders tense before he turns, following his father toward the palace. Soren’s hand reaches back to my thigh, nudging me gently backward into the palace. We slide into the great hall, giving the king a wide berth.
I hold my breath as the king circles around the center of the room, an icy energy rippling off him that forces a cough from my throat. His eyes flicker to me, and his lips curl into a grin as Soren moves further in front of me, a snarl escaping his chest.
“What do we have here?” he says as he lowers his head to eye me like a predator. “Could this be the Chosen One? The half-blood savior to banish me?” He gasps and clutches his hands to his chest before erupting in laughter.
“You won’t come any closer,” Soren commands.
The king grins at him. “What an honorable protector you are.” His smile fades and he refocuses his attention on me. “Fortunately for you and your guardian, I don’t really have any business with you. Not now that I know a Dreamer lives amongst you.”
I stiffen at the mention of Camryn, and King Caledor scans the room. His eyes fall onto the dais near the opposite wall. Arc watches silently as his father slides his fingers along the smooth stone. The king turns, lowering himself onto the throne—his throne.
“It feels good to be back. But, if I’m being honest, I don’t know if it suits me anymore.” He casts his glinting eyes at his son.
“Why have you come back?” Arc asks, his deep voice filling the room.
The king tsks. “That’s not a very warm welcome for your father, your king.” The sharpness in his tone sends chills down my spine.
“Answer me,” Arc demands. Soren tenses while my magic prickles beneath my skin.
The king eyes his son. “It looks like your balls finally dropped, hey son?” He doesn’t wait for a response. “I had intended to stay away the full five-hundred years. But when I sensed the Dreamer and your friend Isolde found me, I knew I had to act now. I’m ready for a new adventure.”
“Why?” Arc’s voice is low and heavy, filled with centuries of unanswered questions.
His father glares at him. “Why what?”
“Why did you curse me? Force me to stay shackled to darkness for a love that would never come?”
My chest clenches at the pain evident in Arc’s voice.
The king burst from the dais, stopping inches from Arc’s face.
“How do you think I felt watching you betray me like the rest of them?! Watching you stand by while your human lover murdered my wife. Your mother!” His eyes are wild and chills prickle my spine.
“You needed to pay for what you did. And what’s a better punishment than having you search for something you’d never find?
Something I exterminated when I left this land.
Humans were the downfall of our realm, and I wanted you to feel what it was like to watch everything you hoped for slip through your fingers. ”
I watch the two powerful fae males glare at each other, unmoving.
Arc’s lip twitches. “That’s quite the lesson, father.” His jaw clenches as he stares into his father’s silver-lined eyes. “Who betrayed you? You said I was just like the others. Who?”
The king turns on his heels, flicking the tail of his black cloak behind him as he stalks back to the throne.
“The human filth you loved so much and their half-blood spawn. And the pathetic fae sympathizers. All of them, traitors. Plotting to overthrow me?! And to steal my magic? I couldn’t let them get away with it. ”
Arc’s brows pull together. “What do you mean, steal your magic?”
The king throws his head back in laughter. “You truly didn’t know?” A devious grin spreads across the king’s face. “My closest advisors betrayed me. They siphoned magic from the pool to create an escape route from our realm. Cowards, all of them.”
My mouth gapes.
“My closest confidants aligned with the humans. They knew I would start a war, and they wanted out. I learned of their betrayal the night your mother was murdered. How unfortunate that you were just caught in the crosshairs.”
Arc’s icy magic flickers to life, blue light pulsing around him.
The king waves his hand in front of him, dismissing the threat. “None of that, boy. Your magic is useless against me, anyway.”
The palace rumbles violently, and my hand grips the wall while Soren clasps my waist. Thunder erupts again, only this time, it is the unmistakable sound of cracking stone.
My head whips to see the northern wall burst open like an overflowing dam, sending rubble and dust raining down into the great hall. Mei and I duck, Soren covering us with his body.
Arc falls to the floor as thick bricks land at his feet. The thundering roar of destruction is replaced by a more terrifying sound—a dragon’s cry.
A torrent of fire bursts through the expansive hole in the wall, followed by the obsidian form of Isolde’s dragon.
As she soars through the opening, clutched within her massive talons are two bodies.
Gliding toward the floor, she releases her claws, and the two figures fall to the ground with heavy thuds.
Camryn.
My friend’s dark hair falls in front of her face, and her clothes are tattered. She lay motionless, and my eyes flicker to the other form on the ground—Caelum.
His wings are splayed out behind him, feathers dirty and bent.
I gasp as Isolde shifts to her womanly form, soft feet landing on the rubble.
The king’s voice rises from the throne. “Ah, just in time.”
Arc’s eyes shift from the gleaming grin of his father to Camryn and Caelum’s bodies on the floor.
And then a guttural roar erupts through the chamber, trembling my very bones. I stare wide eyed at Caelum, who has come to, only to realize his mate lies motionless beside him. He releases another bellow so forceful, the untouched walls crack like ice.