The Dragon Kings' Forbidden Witch

”You were about to tell us something about Morgana before Rhen arrived.”

”What did you find out about her, brother?”

Thorne looked at Draeven.

His dark eyes, still showing the presence of NOCTYS beneath.

But there was something else beneath that control.

Something like caution.

His gaze moved from Draeven toward the direction where the ancient dragons had retreated.

And then, his dark eyes returning to his brothers.

”Not here, brother, let’s leave here before we talk.”

Kaelen’s pale eyes flashed again.

”What is there to hide?” His voice carried both fury and something deeper, a desperate need to understand, to control, to know exactly what was happening around him.

”Don’t make it look as if they don’t know what you’re about to say.”

He gestured sharply toward the direction the dragons had departed.

”You heard them, Thorne. They know who the Mother of Dragons is. So if it’s her....if it’s Morgana, they probably know by now. What difference does it make if we talk here or somewhere else? They already know whatever secret you’re keeping.”

Thorne looked at him.

His dark eyes met Kaelen’s pale gaze directly, he looked at him and then instead of responding, Thorne turned and walked toward the exit of the Sanctum.

Kaelen watched him go.

His pale eyes blazing with fury at being dismissed, at being ignored, at being denied the answers he demanded.

His fists clenched even tighter, the scales on his wrists becoming more pronounced.

”Arrogant bastard,” he muttered.

Draeven looked at Kaelen and shook his head slowly.

”Let’s get out of here,” Draeven said.

His voice carried command and also something gentler, something that suggested he understood his youngest brother’s frustration even as he refused to enable it.

Draeven moved toward the exit that Thorne had already begun to traverse.

Kaelen followed, his movement sharp and angry, his pale eyes still blazing with the fire of his unsatisfied questions.

***

The doors to Draeven’s private office closed behind them with the weight of finality.

Stone walls surrounded them. Ancient stone that had witnessed centuries of kingship and consequence. A fireplace dominated one corner, though no fire burned within it. The shadows seemed deeper here, more absolute.

Draeven moved to the window and stood looking out at the palace grounds below. The night had fully settled over the kingdom now, and the grounds were lit only by scattered torches. From this height, the palace looked like a sleeping beast....vast and powerful and utterly indifferent to the drama unfolding within its walls.

Thorne settled into one of the high-backed chairs with the grace of someone accustomed to command.

Kaelen refused to sit.

Instead, he paced.

Back and forth across the office, his pale eyes still blazing with the fire of GLACIUS barely restrained beneath human flesh. His movements were sharp, predatory, the physical manifestation of a dragon struggling against the confines of mortal form.

The tension in the room was thick enough to taste.

Kaelen turned sharply to face Thorne.

”Well, start talking, brother. Don’t keep us waiting.”

His voice cut through the silence like a blade.

Thorne’s dark eyes lifted slowly. He studied his youngest brother for a moment, then began to speak.

”After I saw her with the ancient ones, I decided to look into her origins.”

A pause hung between them.

”And I wasn’t expecting what I found.”

Draeven turned from the window. ”What did you find?”

Thorne met his oldest brother’s gaze directly.

”I suspect that our innocent-looking servant is a witch.”

He let that settle.

”She has magic.”

Kaelen stopped mid-stride.

His entire body went rigid. His pale eyes flashed with something between denial and fury.

”That’s impossible.”

His voice carried absolute certainty. He turned to face both brothers.

”I don’t sense anything magical on her. If she had magic, I would know it. We all would.”

He began pacing again, faster now, his agitation mounting.

”Why would she be here if she had magic? Knowing how dangerous it is for magic users? How come neither we nor the mages have sensed her?”

The questions tumbled out one after another, each carrying legitimate concern beneath the denial.

Draeven’s voice cut through Kaelen’s questions.

”There are only two options.”

He looked at his brothers ”Either she is hiding it so well that even our dragons are unable to detect it, or she doesn’t know what she carries.”

Kaelen’s pacing slowed. His mind was working through the logic, rejecting it, accepting it, rejecting it again.

Kaelen stopped completely.

His body went still in a way that suggested profound understanding had just crashed through him.

”The ancient ones said they also need her.”

He looked directly at Draeven.

”Which means we have to recognize her as soon as possible.”

Draeven moved to the window and his expression darkened.

”It isn’t as easy as that, brother.”

He looked back at them. His voice had become heavier, weighted with something older than the present moment.

”What if they demand that we hand her over to them?”

The question hung dangerously in the air.

”You know how Pyros was according to legend.”

Kaelen’s entire body tensed at the name of the ancient Crimson Dragon.

”He demands sacrifices.”

Draeven’s voice dropped lower.

”Do you remember what offering he prefers?”

Kaelen’s hands clenched into fists at his sides.

His voice dropped to something dangerous, something primal.

”That old thing prefers witches. Virgin witches. To be precise.”

He turned to face both his brothers. His pale eyes were blazing with raw power.

”We are not handing her over to them.”

The words were absolute.

”I won’t let you. Even if I have to fight you to death, I won’t have her handed over.”

His possessiveness was raw, undeniable, evident in every line of his body.

Thorne’s voice emerged like ice cutting through Kaelen’s fury.

”Relax, brother, nobody is handing her over to them.”

He looked directly at Draeven.

”It’s not going to happen on our watch.”

His dark eyes moved back to Kaelen.

”And I also found out why our dragons haven’t been responding to her.”