The Dragon Kings' Forbidden Witch

”Morgana has been arrested,” Draeven said, delivering the information with the same clipped precision he had used with Thorne. ”She’s in the dungeons. She’s being held on charges of theft.”

For a moment, Kaelen simply stood in the doorway.

Then his entire demeanor changed.

The cold distance that he usually maintained, the emotional detachment that had become his primary coping mechanism since the transformation incident, suddenly fractured.

His pale eyes blazed with something that was dangerously close to his dragon rising.

”What?” His voice was barely controlled. ”Who arrested her? On what fucking authority?”

”Mistress Calla,” Draeven said. ”On charges that appear to be fabricated. A necklace was planted in her quarters. She was set up.”

Kaelen’s hands clenched at his sides.

”By whom?” he demanded, though he clearly already understood the answer.

”We believe Isolde,” Thorne said, his dark eyes meeting Kaelen’s. ”It has her signature all over it. The strategy, the precision, the use of multiple witnesses.”

Kaelen moved to the window and looked out, his entire body tense with barely contained rage.

When he spoke, his voice was ice. ”We’re going to get her out. We’re going to find Isolde and make her pay. And we’re going to do it now.”

”It’s not that simple,” Draeven said quietly.

Kaelen turned to look at his eldest brother, and the fury in his pale eyes was absolute.

”Make it simple,” he commanded. ”Because I’m not leaving her in a dungeon while we sit here discussing strategy.”

”Timothy,” Draeven called out.

Captain Rhen opened the door from the corridor outside where Timothy had been waiting.

Timothy entered and bowed.

”Tell my brothers what you told me,” Draeven commanded. ”Every detail. Everything you witnessed.”

Timothy looked nervous now, faced with all three kings, but he gathered his courage and began to speak.

He told them about Mistress Calla arriving at the stables with her inspection team. He told them about the systematic search. He told them about the discovery of the necklace in Morgana’s trunk. He told them about her denial, her confusion, her fear.

He told them about the arrest, the chains, the guards escorting her away.

And he told them about the noble daughters appearing as witnesses. About Isolde’s false sympathy. About Vivienne’s accusations. About Seraphine’s regret. About Celeste’s tears and guilt.

When he finished, the silence in the office was absolute.

”And she was taken to the dungeons immediately after?” Draeven asked.

”Yes, Your Majesty,” Timothy confirmed. ”I watched them take her down. I watched the doors close behind her.”

Draeven nodded slowly. ”You did well to bring this information to us, Timothy. Captain Rhen will ensure you’re taken care of. You may go now.”

Timothy bowed and left the room.

When the door closed, Thorne immediately spoke.

”Fuck!” His voice was sharp with rage. ”This is definitely Isolde’s handwork. The precision, the planning, the use of the inspection as cover, it’s brilliant and it’s cruel and it’s exactly her strategy.”

Kaelen’s voice was cold and lethal. ”That bitch.”

He moved toward the door.

”Stop,” Draeven said, and though his voice was not loud, it carried absolute command.

Kaelen stopped, frozen at the threshold.

”We cannot react the way you intend to,” Draeven said, and his words seemed to cut through the air like a blade.

Kaelen turned back to face his eldest brother, and the fury in his pale eyes was barely contained.

”Then what the fuck are you saying?” he demanded. ”You want us to leave her there? Is that what you’re saying, Draeven?”

”No,” Draeven said, shaking his head. ”That is not what I’m saying.”

Thorne’s dark eyes moved between his brothers. ”Then what do we do? You want us to leave her there? Is that what you’re saying?”

Draeven rose from his chair and moved to stand before his brothers.

”On what ground will you act on behalf of a servant girl?” he asked, his voice level but carrying the weight of political reality. ”When the council asks....and they will ask, why the three Dragon Kings are defending someone accused of theft against the testimony of four noble daughters, what are you going to say?”

”The truth,” Kaelen said immediately. ”That she’s innocent.”

”Based on what evidence?” Draeven asked coldly. ”You weren’t there. You didn’t witness what happened. You have nothing but the word of a servant girl against the word of multiple nobles and a palace official.”

Thorne’s dark eyes narrowed as he began to understand where Draeven was going with this.

”There’s more to it than that,” Draeven continued, his voice dropping. ”Have you forgotten that our dragons are still not reacting to her? Despite what we feel when she’s around us, despite the connection we sense, our dragons have not fully claimed her. They are not responding like they want to claim her.”

He paused, letting that sink in.

”So when the council asks why we are reacting on behalf of a servant girl, what are we going to tell them? That our dragons recognize something in her? That we sense her significance? That we feel something we can’t explain?”

His voice hardened. ”Because if we say that, we open a door that we cannot close. The council will want to know what we sense. They will want to understand what makes her significant. And once they understand, she becomes a prize. A tool. A weapon.”

Kaelen’s hands clenched into fists.

”Every house with ambition will want to use her,” Draeven continued. ”Every elder on the council will want to study her. Every politician will want to control her. And if we openly claim her now, we’re not protecting her. We’re feeding her to wolves.”

Thorne’s voice was sharp with anger. ”That’s bullshit. Since when did we start caring what the council of elders thinks? Or what anybody thinks?”

He moved closer to Draeven, his dark eyes blazing. ”We’re kings. We have power. We can do what we want. We can free her. We can protect her. We can tell the council to fuck off if we want to.”

”We can,” Draeven agreed. ”And then what? We become tyrants. We show the council that we are willing to override their authority, that we don’t care what they think. And Morgana becomes the reason. She becomes the girl who made the kings act outside their own laws. She becomes a symbol of chaos and rebellion.”