The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 84

CASSIAN

The sound wasn’t a sound at all. It was a pull, ancient, deliberate, threaded through my blood and sent outward through the wards that bound this palace and the land beyond it.

After what seemed to be an eternity later, the air shifted.

Heat rolled in first. Then the scent of ash and wind.

Taheer emerged from the darkness in a ripple of shadow and fire, his massive form folding down into something the courtyard could contain. His wings tucked in tight, scales duller than usual, eyes dimmed by grief.

“You should not have used the call,” he said immediately, his voice low and rough. “Not during the seven days.”

“I know,” I said. “I wouldn’t have if it weren’t urgent.”

His gaze sharpened. “Then speak.”

I swallowed. “Something is wrong beneath the castle.”

That made him still.

“Define wrong,” Taheer said carefully.

“There is a dragon,” I said. “Alive. Imprisoned. And it tried to kill someone tonight.”

His breath hissed out slowly. “That is… not possible.”

“It is,” I snapped. “Because I saw it. I felt it. And because it called to a girl... a girl in the Dragon Queen Selection."

Silence stretched between us, thick and uneasy.

Taheer’s eyes flicked to the palace walls. “You are certain it was a dragon.”

“I know what a dragon looks like,” I said sharply. “Don’t insult me.”

“That is not an insult,” he replied. “It is disbelief.”

“Then adjust your beliefs,” I said. “Because it’s there. Beneath the stone. Beneath the wards. And it tried to kill someone tonight."

That did it.

Taheer turned fully toward me, his expression grim. “Tell me everything.”

So I did.

I told him about Lira, about finding her in the passageway, how I had followed her to see where she was going, finding the secret tunnels beneath the castle, the fury in the dragon’s voice, the way the power surged so violently I’d nearly lost control restraining it. I described the dragon’s size, the iron-dark sheen of its scales, the way its presence pressed down like judgment itself.

When I finished, Taheer was quiet for a long time.

Finally, he said, “You should not have heard this story from me.”

“I don’t care,” I replied. “I need to know what is beneath my home.”

He exhaled slowly. “Very well.”

He lifted his gaze to the sky. “Long before the First Pact… there were Compacts."

“I know the stories,” I said. “The dragons ruled the land and controlled the magic."

“Stories,” Taheer echoed. “Because the truth was buried.”

My jaw tightened.

“There were the Compacts back then,” Taheer continued. “They were not war-beasts. Man could not ride them. They did not meddle in the affairs of man. They were more interested in restoring balance. And keeping the magic contained."

My pulse quickened. “So the dragon isn't a first pact dragon? It's older... like you?"

“Yes.”

I stared at him. “How? Why is a dragon underneath the castle?"

“Because your ancestors feared her,” he said bluntly.

I let out a harsh laugh. “That’s not an answer.”

“It is,” he said. “Just not one you want.”

He continued, voice heavy. “She is called Veyraxis. The Ash Mother. As long as she remained free, no man could control her. Veyraxis threatened the First Pact. She was the first dragon to refuse the pact, believing it an insult to ally with humans. She was wiped from the texts and our memories because of the havoc she caused."

I felt cold. “So they trapped her.”

“They betrayed her,” Taheer corrected. “I thought she flew far away to another continent. But now I see, I see what might have transpired..."

"You didn't know she was under there?" I asked softly.

Taheer nodded slowly.

"Veyraxis kept to herself. I haven't seen her in over a century. I assumed she was far far away...."

My stomach turned. “Are you saying she's been under there for over a century?! That’s… impossible.”

“It is not,” he said quietly. “Your grandfather was certainly powerful enough to keep her trapped under there."

Anger flared, sharp and disorienting. “Why has no one spoken of this?”

“Because your crown survived by silencing it,” Taheer said. “The death of truth was the price of dominion.”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “And the resentment. The hatred.”

“She must have been alone for decades,” Taheer said. “Bound. Listening to generations of kings draw power from her prison. But for her to be there for so long, there must be something else...”

The egg.

My breath caught.

“There's an egg..." I said. “In the vault. It must be hers."

I staggered back a step. “That’s why, That’s why the egg.."

“Must be dying,” Taheer finished. “It's been years. She must be desperate.”

The courtyard seemed to tilt.

“Then why,” I said hoarsely, “why would she call to a lady in the Queen's selection? How is that possible?”

Taheer’s gaze sharpened again. “You said the girl’s name is Lira Vale.”

“Yes.”

He was quiet for a long moment.

Then he said, It could be her blood.”

I frowned. “That makes no sense.”

“It does if her line was involved in her binding,” Taheer said. “Or in the attempt to undo it.”

My heart pounded.

“She can hear the dragon,” I said slowly.

“Listen to me carefully, Prince Cassian ,” Taheer said at last. “You must keep this dragon secret. From your family. The crown must never know.”

My jaw tightened. “My father already suspects something is wrong."

“Then mislead him,” he said without apology. “If the crown engages Veyraxis directly, she will burn this palace to cinders."

“And Lira?”

“She is already involved,” Taheer said. “Whether you wish it or not.”

I swallowed. “What do I do?”

“For now?” he said. “Nothing. Do not provoke the dragon. Do not promise her anything. And do not, under any circumstances, bring your father near her.”

I nodded stiffly.

“I will return in a few days,” Taheer added. “I will speak to the rest. There are… fragments of law even kings once feared."

“Taheer,” I said. “If the egg dies...”

His gaze softened, just a fraction. “Then Veyraxis's wrath will be upon us all."

With that, he stepped back into shadow and was gone.

......................

I returned to the palace in a haze.

My feet carried me where my mind didn’t want to go.

The vault.

The guards bowed as I passed. The wards parted at my approach, familiar and obedient.

The door groaned open.

I stepped inside, and stopped.

The air felt wrong.

Too quiet. Too hollow.

My eyes went immediately to the pedestal.

To the space where the black egg should have been.

Empty.

The world seemed to shatter around me.

“No,” I whispered.

I surged forward, scanning the chamber, my pulse roaring in my ears.

The egg was gone.