Chapter 255: Dragon

Azura’s POV

She crashed hard onto the cold stone floor, the glowing red spell breaking apart into harmless sparks.

She scrambled to her knees immediately, her breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps.

"No!" Genevieve shrieked, looking up with frantic eyes as she pushed herself up off the floor.

"You can’t stop me!"

She saw me standing in the center of the doorway, and the rage in her expression suddenly crumbled into pure, unfiltered panic.

"Please!" she pleaded, her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes. "I need to save him! I need to save my son!"

"What did he tell you?" I asked, taking a step closer as my voice turned cold and rigid. "What made you this blind, Genevieve?"

"I’m sorry!" she sobbed, backing away slightly toward the central altar. "I’m so sorry! But..."

She lifted her hands again, her fingers curling as she began to chant another dark spell. The Dragon King materialized behind her like a shadow in the torchlight.

He reached out with a lightning-fast grip, grabbing her right arm to pin her in place.

Genevieve did not hesitate. She turned and blasted him point-blank with a burst of bright blue magical energy. The force of the strike hit him full in the chest, knocking him back until he slammed hard against the stone wall.

Her blue eyes were glowing bright now, wild with the frenzy of a mother who had completely lost her mind to fear.

"Go back!" she screamed at us, her chest heaving as she stumbled back toward the altar. "I need to get this done!"

I stepped forward again, my hands clenching into tight fists at my sides.

"What has he done to you?"

"Nothing!" she yelled, her voice breaking into a guttural sob. "I just can’t let my son die!"

"What about my aunties?" I shouted back, pointing a trembling finger at the two pale women lying silent on the stone tables. "You’re killing them!"

"I’m sorry," she sobbed, fresh tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she looked down at the blade in her hand.

"I’m so sorry, Azura. But I have to do this."

"I won’t let you," I said firmly, taking another step.

Before I could reach her, the sound of tearing metal and flesh filled the room.

A long, silver sword pierced straight through the center of Genevieve’s stomach.

It came from behind her.

Genevieve froze instantly. Her eyes went wide with shock, her mouth falling open as dark red blood spilled from her lips, dripping down onto the front of her tunic.

Lysander’s face appeared slowly over her shoulder. He stood right behind her, his pale cheeks almost touching hers as he rested his chin lightly against her skin, looking past her trembling body straight at me.

"She was so easy to trick," Lysander murmured, his lips curling up into a cruel, leisurely smile.

He pulled the broad blade backward with a sickening, wet slide.

A swirling void portal flared open in the air directly behind him. Without another word, Lysander stepped backward into the dark tear in space, his cold eyes locked on mine until the portal snapped shut and he was gone.

Genevieve staggered forward two steps, her legs giving out beneath her weight. She collapsed heavily onto the cold stone floor, a dark pool of blood expanding rapidly beneath her stomach.

I rushed forward, dropping to my knees right beside her trembling frame.

"Breathe," I stammered, pressing both of my hands hard against the open wound on her abdomen, trying desperately to hold the warm blood inside her body. "Just breathe, Genevieve. Please."

The double doors burst open behind us, and the rest of our group poured into the room. Arthur was the first to cross the threshold, his eyes landing instantly on his mate lying in a pool of red.

He let out a ragged, agonizing roar and fell straight to his knees beside her.

"What happened?" Arthur screamed, his large hands hovering over her pale face in horror.

I couldn’t answer because my mind was in chaos.

Rhydor dropped to his knees on her other side, his broad shoulders shaking as he looked at his mother’s pale face.

"Who did this?" Rhydor asked, his voice urgent and strained.

I looked up into his eyes.

"Lysander. I don’t know what he told her to make her trust him. But he did it. And he’s somewhere out there right now."

Rhydor’s amber eyes flared with pure, lethal fury, but he forced his gaze down, leaning close to his mother’s ear.

"Take it easy, Mother," he said softly, his voice trembling despite his effort to keep it steady. "It will be alright."

"I need to save him..." Genevieve choked out, her breath coming in shallow, wet rattles as she weakly tried to reach for his arm. "I need to go home with him..."

"You’re not going anywhere," Rhydor said, shaking his head firmly as he carefully smoothed a strand of hair away from her damp forehead.

"We’ll get you treated. You need to go back to the pack house right now."

"No..." she cried softly, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the dark ceiling. "I want to see my son..."

Arthur reached down and grabbed her cold hand in both of his, pressing it tight against his mouth.

"For crying out loud, woman, listen to us!" he barked, his voice choked with raw emotion.

"You getting killed out here won’t save him! If you really need to save him, you need to survive first. Listen to me, my love. You need to survive."

She turned her head slightly, looking into her husband’s tear-filled eyes, and then shifted her gaze over to me.

"I’m sorry..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackle of the wall torches.

"It’s okay," I said softly, my voice tight.

I turned around and looked up at the Dragon King, who was standing quietly near the shattered doorway.

"Please take her back," I urged him, my voice pleading.

"Take her back to Crescent Moon, where it’s safe."

Arthur looked up at his son, his face set in a hard, resolute line despite the grief tearing him apart.

"I’ll be with her. You handle him." He stared deep into Rhydor’s eyes, his grip on his mate never slackening. "Please bring your brother home."

Rhydor reached out and touched his father’s broad shoulder, his knuckles white.

"I’m not coming back without him," he said, his tone absolute.

"And I’ll make sure we get rid of that old man once and for all."

Arthur gave a single, tight nod.

The Dragon King stepped closer, reached out a hand, and in a flash of shifting light, teleported Arthur and Genevieve away from the chamber.

I sat back on my heels, looking down at my hands. They were dripping with dark red blood.

Slowly, I turned my head to look at my aunts, who were still lying motionless on the stone tables, their breathing shallow but steady.

A moment later, space folded again, and the Dragon King materialized right beside us.

"Take us out," I said, my voice heavy with exhaustion.

Aethryx let out a flat, unamused breath, his expression completely neutral.

"I am tired of taking everyone everywhere they want to go," he said dryly. "If you want to go outside, you walk."

"Please," I begged, looking up at his pale eyes. "It’s much faster with you."

The Dragon King exhaled a slow, dry breath, his arms remaining folded across his broad chest.

"I am only taking four people. The rest... they can walk."

Amanda immediately stepped closer to his side without asking. Silas moved in right after her, taking his place on her left, while Rhydor stepped up beside me.

The Dragon King shifted his gaze over to the remaining warriors standing near the broken doorway. Isadora, Leo, Ethan, and Axel were all watching him with wide, expectant eyes.

"You have legs," the Dragon King said, his voice completely cold. "Use them."

Before Axel could even curse, space folded around the four of us, and the dark chamber vanished.

We appeared out on the open rocky ridge overlooking the valley.

The ground beneath our boots was vibrating with a deep, rhythmic hum that rattled the rocks near my feet. The air smelled of burnt earth and old dust.

I looked up, scanning the sweeping hills below.

From every single direction, dark shapes were swarming across the open fields. Massive figures were moving toward us in the thousands, their distorted limbs tearing through the dry brush.

I gasped, my stomach dropping into a pit of ice as I recognized their jagged, unnatural silhouettes from a distance. The Bornes. The creatures that did not die.

Even when their limbs were severed, or their heads were cut clean off, their dark flesh would reattach and keep coming forward.

"Oh goodness," I groaned, wiping a smudge of blood from my forehead with the back of my hand. "Why them?"

"Do you think he would send the easy ones?" Rhydor asked, his voice grim as he unsheathed his claws. "Knowing we came all the way here just for him?"

The Dragon King frowned slightly, his sharp grey eyes scanning the endless horde marching up the slopes.

"What are they?"

"They don’t die," Rhydor answered, not even bothering to look at him as he tracked the lead creatures. "They’re just... scared of the light."

Aethryx tilted his head to the side.

"Light as in fire and the sun?"

Rhydor gave a short nod.

"Mm."

The Dragon King nodded slowly as if absorbing a simple piece of trivia. He reached behind his shoulder, unbuckled his massive broadsword from his back, and held it out toward Amanda.

Amanda took a quick step back, looking down at the massive iron blade with wide eyes.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Hold it," the Dragon King said, his voice entirely calm. "It’s my favorite. Don’t scratch it."

Without waiting for her to answer, he reached up and unbuttoned his heavy dark coat, slipping his arms out of the sleeves and letting the heavy garment drop to the dirt floor.

Intricate black tattoos covered every inch of his skin. Dark dragon scales and ancient symbols swept across his broad arms, his hands, his fingers, and his neck. His chest was completely bare, save for two thick, glowing red lines etched straight across his broad shoulders.

Rhydor stared at him, his eyebrows pulling down in disbelief. "What kind of mad psycho is he?"

The Dragon King did not answer. He turned around and began walking casually toward the edge of the high cliff.

"Excuse me?" I called out, my voice laced with confusion as I took a half-step after him. "You’re heading toward the cliff."

He did not slow down. He did not even turn his head.

He walked right off the edge, stepping out into the empty air, and plunged straight into the deep abyss below.

Silas rushed forward instantly, leaning over the rocky edge to look down into the fog.

"Was his plan to get himself killed?" Silas shouted, his voice echoing over the valley. "Is that going to solve anything right now?"

"I don’t know," I said, shaking my head as I reached the ledge beside him.

Amanda stood nearby, holding the massive sword carefully in both hands, her blue eyes looking down into the ravine with a thoughtful expression.

"He’s a dragon, right?"

Both Azura and Silas turned their heads and nodded at her.

"What if he’s transforming?" Amanda asked simply.

I blinked in surprise, looking back down into the fog.

"Really? Why didn’t he just do it up here on the plateau?"

"A dragon and a wolf are obviously not the same size," Amanda replied, her tone completely logical. "He might need a much bigger space."

Before I could answer, a deafening roar tore through the sky, so powerful it shook the rocks beneath our boots and rattled my teeth inside my skull.

The sound of massive wings beating against the heavy air echoed through the valley, loud and thunderous, coming closer by the second.

We all looked up into the dark clouds. Nothing was there.

"Is he trying to show off or what?" Rhydor muttered, his jaw working as he narrowed his eyes at the sky.

A split second later, a colossal torrent of golden fire exploded directly out of the storm clouds above.

The stream of fire slammed straight into the middle of the approaching army below, incinerating hundreds of creatures in an instant.

The Bornes shrieked in agony as the heat washed over them, their dark flesh turning to ash before they could even attempt to regenerate.

The blinding light from the flames illuminated the massive shadow descending from the clouds.

Giant curved horns crowned his head, and his eyes burned like twin pools of molten ruby. Wings so large they completely blocked out the stars stretched across the entire sky, casting a terrifying, glorious shadow over the battlefield.

Silas gasped, his mouth hanging wide open as he stepped back from the ledge.

"Holy... holy goddess!"

I stood completely speechless, the cold wind whipping my face as I stared up at the majestic beast towering over the mountains.

The Dragon King opened his massive jaws, and another blinding wave of dragon fire erupted into the darkness, burning the immortal army to ash.