Chapter 275
The sound tore through the halls of Westeroz like a blade through silk. By the time I reached her chamber, she was writhing in bed, drenched in sweat, eyes wide with terror.
“I saw him!” she cried. “He was inside my head—inside me! I couldn’t move—I couldn’t breathe—Aria, he knows! He knows everything!”
I rushed to her side, gripping her trembling hands. “You’re safe now. He didn’t succeed.”
Her wild gaze met mine. “You don’t understand. He left something behind. A mark. A piece of him. I can still feel it.”
Mirella appeared at the doorway, her face pale and grim.
“I need to examine her,” she said. “Now.”
I stepped back as Mirella placed both hands on Lilah’s temples and began to chant under her breath. The air thickened. The windows groaned. Kyral, who’d followed me in, growled lowly and paced the room, agitated.
A spark of shadow curled at Lilah’s throat—a tiny wisp, barely visible.
Mirella’s hands flared with golden light, and the shadow hissed, resisting.
“What is it?” I asked.
“An echo,” Mirella said. “A sliver of his will. It’s not strong enough to control her… yet. But if left unchecked, it will grow. He’s using her as a tether.”
“To me?”
“To the Elderblade. To you.” Mirella’s eyes darkened. “He’s trying to merge bloodlines. If he can’t take the throne, he’ll corrupt it.”
I turned to Kyral.
“We have to burn it out.”
The ritual chamber below the castle was ancient—older even than the Flame Court. A circle of dragonbone surrounded the sanctum, and in the center, a pedestal of obsidian etched with runes that only ignited in the presence of royalty.
Lilah lay on the pedestal, trembling but resolute. She refused sedation. She wanted to fight.
“Whatever he did to me,” she said, “I want it gone. All of it.”
I stood beside her with Kyral at my side, her scales flickering with growing flame. Zaerion waited outside, his wings extended over the temple like a shield.
The Alpha stood at the chamber entrance, arms crossed, eyes unblinking. He didn’t say a word, but I knew if anything went wrong, he’d tear the whole place apart to protect me.
Mirella began the incantation, her hands glowing brighter with each word. The runes flared to life, and the air turned blisteringly hot.
I raised my hand.
“Kyral,” I whispered.
She stepped forward, tiny wings outstretched, and opened her mouth.
A stream of blue fire poured over Lilah’s chest—not burning her flesh, but striking the shadow embedded within. The darkness writhed, shrieked, tried to escape, but the flame consumed it.
Lilah screamed.
The ground shook.
Cracks spiderwebbed through the floor.
But she did not break.
And when the fire finally died, she was still breathing.
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Is it gone?”
I nodded, breathless. “Yes. You’re free.”
But before we could celebrate, the temple walls trembled again.
Not from the ritual.
From outside.
Zaerion’s roar thundered through the mountain.
We raced outside.
The sky was black with smoke.
A fleet of airships—ancient ones, powered by bloodstone engines—had appeared on the horizon. Their sails bore the symbol of the old Flame Court, twisted into something grotesque: a dragon impaled by a crown of thorns.
“They’ve come for the blade,” the Alpha growled. “Or you.”
Mirella turned to me. “You have to make a choice. We can’t protect both the castle and the dragons.”
I looked at Kyral, then at the Elderblade strapped to my back.
“I’m not leaving my people,” I said.
“But you may have to,” the Alpha replied. “They want war. And they’ll scorch the earth to have it.”
The first explosion struck the northern towers. Fire rained from the sky as the airships unleashed volleys of shadowflame and molten shot.
Screams erupted in the courtyard. Guards scrambled. Dragons rose into the air, roaring in defiance.
I mounted Zaerion without hesitation, Kyral climbing onto my shoulder.
The Alpha climbed up behind me. “We end this now.”
We took to the sky—straight into the heart of the storm.
The battle above Westeroz was chaos incarnate.
Dragons darted between airships, unleashing torrents of flame. Arrows enchanted with necromantic sigils shot toward us. One grazed Kyral’s wing—she shrieked, but held steady.
We soared higher, dodging blasts of magic and returning fire with fury. The Elderblade pulsed in my grip, humming with vengeance.
Then I saw it.
At the heart of the fleet—larger than all others—floated a black ship with bone-carved sails. A figure stood at the helm, arms raised, summoning a storm of shadow around him.
The Bone King.
He’d come in the flesh.
“Bring me closer,” I told Zaerion.
We dived.
But before we could strike, the ship emitted a shockwave of darkness, hurling us backward. Kyral tumbled mid-air, but I caught her, clutching her to my chest.
Zaerion roared in pain.
We crashed onto a lower ship, splintering its deck. Soldiers scattered.
The Alpha leapt down beside me, slashing through enemies like a whirlwind.
I stood, blood dripping from my brow, and pointed the Elderblade at the Bone King’s ship.
“I’m done playing queen,” I said. “I’m here to end this.”
The magic around the Bone King thickened as I approached.
But I wasn’t afraid anymore.
I wasn’t confused or lost or shackled by the fear of what they’d made me to be.
I was the flame.
The sword ignited in my grip—blazing with fire from every soul that had ever burned for this throne.
And I struck.
The blade clashed with his shadowflame, sending shockwaves through the sky. Kyral screeched and dove in, biting at the shadows. Mirella joined the fight from above, launching firelight spears through the mists.
But he was strong.
Stronger than before.
Fueled by the bones of a thousand fallen dragons.
“You think you can kill me?” he spat. “You were created from the same lies. The same blood.”
“No,” I said, pressing the blade forward.
“I was forged from truth.”
He roared and unleashed one final blast of shadow, meant to consume us both.
But it never landed.
Zaerion crashed down behind me, wrapping his wings around us, shielding us in pure dragonfire.
The darkness died.
And the Bone King vanished again—smoke on the wind.
We limped back to the castle as the sky began to clear.
Half the fleet was destroyed. The rest had retreated. We’d survived… barely.
Inside the throne room, I collapsed onto the steps, shaking with adrenaline.
The Alpha knelt before me, bloodied, but breathing.
“You should rest,” he said.
“I will. When this is over.”
He touched my face, gentler than he’d ever been.
“There’s something else,” he said.
I blinked. “What?”
He hesitated.
“I wasn’t just sent to protect you,” he said. “I was assigned to you. From the beginning.”
“What are you saying?”
“I was meant to keep you in line. To make sure you fulfilled the prophecy. To kill you if you didn’t.”
I stared at him, the words barely sinking in.
He looked away. “But I failed. Because I fell in love with you.”
Silence.
My heart pounded.
And then, softly—I reached for his hand.
“Then you’re not the only one who failed.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
