Chapter 18
Chapter 18
The sky split apart as hundreds of wings tore through the clouds at once. Hunter dragons dove toward the palace like a living storm, their roars shaking the mountains and echoing across the hidden city. Fire lit the sky, and the first blast struck the outer wall with explosive force, sending fragments of white stone crashing down onto the terraces below.
Ariana flinched as the golden dragon beside her roared and spread its massive wings, forming a shield of living gold across the broken chamber. Kael stepped closer immediately, placing himself in front of her. “Stay behind me.” Ariana shot him a look despite the chaos. “Behind you? Kael, there are dragons.” “I noticed,” he replied, his voice tight but steady.
Another wave of fire slammed into the palace, heat surging through the shattered windows as smoke filled the air. Below them, warriors rushed across the terraces, raising glowing barriers that flickered under the pressure of repeated strikes. But the swarm was overwhelming. There were too many of them, moving too fast and striking too hard. Ariana stared upward, her chest tightening. “They’re all targeting the palace.” The man in black and gold nodded grimly. “They can sense the Sovereign p>
Kael’s wolf stirred uneasily beneath his skin. “Then maybe standing on the tallest building in the city isn’t our best strategy.” Ariana barely heard him. The power inside her had started to pulse again, not violently like before, but steady and deliberate, like something inside her was waking up and taking control. The golden dragon beside her let out a low rumble. “They challenge you.” Ariana frowned. “They’re trying to kill me.” The answer came calmly. “Both can be true p>
A dragon dove toward the terrace, its jaws opening as fire gathered in its throat. Kael shifted instantly, his wolf bursting forward just as the flames were released. The blast scorched the stone where Ariana had been standing seconds earlier. Kael slammed into the dragon mid-attack, forcing its head violently aside. The creature roared, but before it could recover, the golden dragon struck from above, driving it backward through the shattered balcony. Both dragons crashed into the courtyard below with a deafening impact.
Ariana stared at the destruction, her breath uneven. “You really expect me to control all of them?” The man beside her did not look away from the sky. “If you are the Sovereign… yes.” Kael shifted back into human form, breathing hard. “Less talking,” he muttered. “More surviving.” Ariana lifted her gaze again. More dragons were descending now, dozens of them, their red eyes glowing through the storm clouds. Even the Dragon King, locked in combat above, could not stop them all.
Then she felt it again.The pull.Stronger now, sharper, impossible to ignore.
“Kael He glanced at her. “What?” Her voice lowered. “I don’t think they’re just hunting me.” He frowned. “Then what?” Ariana slowly raised her hand toward the sky, her heart pounding. “They’re waiting p>
The golden power inside her surged. Her eyes burned brighter, and the air around her began to shimmer. Every dragon noticed. Dozens of massive heads turned toward the palace, toward her, toward the power rising from her. Kael’s voice dropped. “Ariana… what are you doing?” She shook her head slightly. “I don’t know. But I think my blood does.” The Dragon King’s voice echoed through her mind. “Command them p>
Ariana swallowed hard. “That’s a lot of dragons.” The answer came steady and certain. “You are the Sovereign.” Another dragon dove toward the palace, but this time she did not move. She stepped forward instead, lifting her hand as golden light burst outward from her body. Her voice rose, stronger than before.
“STOP p>
The word cracked through the battlefield like thunder.
For one impossible moment, everything froze. Wings held mid-beat. Fire lingered in open jaws. The sky went silent. Kael stared upward, disbelief flashing across his face. “That’s… new.” Ariana’s breathing turned uneven as the power surged through her, too much, too fast, like she was holding back something far greater than herself. Dozens of dragons hovered in the air, waiting.
Then the sky shifted.A pulse of dark energy spread outward from the fortress.
Malrec.
The runes along its black walls flared to life, and the moment that magic touched the battlefield, Ariana’s control shattered. The dragons roared as the swarm broke free, diving toward the palace all at once. Kael grabbed her arm. “Run.” But before they could move, the sky exploded again.
Golden light tore through the storm.
The Dragon King descended, crashing onto the terrace with enough force to shake the mountain. His wings spread wide, shielding Ariana completely. But even he hesitated when he saw what was coming next.
The fortress began to move.Slowly.
Directly toward the palace.
The runes burned brighter as Malrec stood at its front, watching her, waiting. Then he raised both hands, and the sky above the city tore open. Something enormous pushed through the darkness beyond the clouds, and even the Dragon King froze.
Ariana’s voice trembled. “What is that?” The man in black and gold stared upward, horror replacing every trace of control he had left. “Malrec wouldn’t But the answer came with a roar, deeper than any dragon, older, heavier, and filled with something that felt wrong.
When it finally emerged, Kael felt his blood run cold.It was not a dragon.It was something far worse.
A creature made of living shadow. Its wings swallowed the light, its body darker than the night itself, and its eyes burned with the same silver glow as Malrec’s.
The man beside Ariana whispered one word.
“Abyssal p>