The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 86

CASSIAN

I knew the moment I stepped out of the vault that I would not sleep again that night.

The silence followed me like a weight, thick, oppressive, wrong. The vault doors sealed behind me with their familiar thrum of ancient magic, but the reassurance I normally felt never came. Instead, there was only absence. A hollow where something vital should have been.

I lifted my hand, palm open, and closed my eyes.

I reached.

The vault answered me immediately, stone, wards, blood-bound sigils woven into my very bones. The palace responded too, a lattice of power humming beneath my feet. And there, faint as a dying ember, I felt it.

The egg.

Still within the palace.

Still alive.

Barely.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

I pushed harder, extending my awareness down corridors and through walls, searching for the familiar pull that should have guided me straight to it. The black egg had always responded to me, never warmly, never eagerly, but it acknowledged my presence. Tonight, it was distant. Fragmented. As if wrapped in layers of something that muffled its call.

Too faint to track.

Too unstable.

I clenched my jaw and withdrew before I did something reckless.

My first instinct, my worst one, was to go to the dragon beneath the castle.

The thought rose, sharp and insistent.

No, I told myself immediately.

Taheer’s warning echoed in my mind.

Do not engage it. Do not provoke it. Do not let it sense desperation.

It was better to stay away from Veyraxis if she wasn't a first pact dragon. That would make her dangerous and erratic.

I dragged a hand through my hair and paced the length of my chamber. The stone floor felt colder than usual beneath my boots.

Should I tell my parents?

The idea made my stomach tighten.

My father would demand answers I didn’t have. He would launch an immediate search for the egg, which would throw the palace into turmoil. My mother would hear everything I wasn’t saying. And neither of them would hesitate to use force if they believed it would bring back the egg, even if it meant tearing the palace apart.

Before I could decide, a knock sounded at my door.

“Your Highness,” a guard said, stepping inside with a rigid bow. “You are summoned to the throne room.”

Of course I was. Perfect timing.

The throne room felt colder than my chambers, despite the ever-burning braziers lining the walls. My father stood near the dais, hands clasped behind his back, his posture rigid. My mother sat upon the lower throne, her expression unreadable, her fingers resting lightly on the armrest carved with sigils of the old tongue.

The Dragon King, my father said, without turning. “Why was Taheer seen in the courtyard tonight? What happened?"

I didn’t hesitate. Hesitation was a confession.

“He came to check on me,” I said evenly. “I used the call. Briefly.”

My father turned then, eyes narrowing. “You used the call? During the mourning period?”

“I couldn't feel the bond. I was worried.”

“That was unwise.”

“I know,” I replied. “I apologized. He left immediately.”

My mother’s gaze sharpened. “And did he tell you anything? Anything about what happened to his fallen friend?"

“No,” I said. “He won’t speak of such things until the mourning ends. I think he knows what might have happened.”

A pause.

Too long.

My mother leaned forward slightly. “Cassian,” she said softly, “the spirits have been restless. This wrongness in the air, we all feel it."

I stiffened. My mother's other, lesser known power was the ability to summon and talk to spirits. Souls of the dead. And yes, it was every bit as eery as it sounded.

“They speak to me more frequently now,” she continued. “Whispering of imbalance. Of thinning threads. Of power ebbing where it once surged.”

My father frowned. “You believe my dragon dying is the cause?"

“I believe they are a symptom,” she said. “Magic does not wane without reason. And waning magic doesn't only affect us, it affects the dragons even more."

I kept my expression neutral, though my pulse quickened.

“And yet,” she turned to my father, whispering low, "the spirits say nothing of the dragon beneath us.”

I forced myself not to react. To pretend as if I didn't hear what she said.

"Did you say something mother?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Nothing that concerns you." She murmured.

“They avoid that silence,” she said to my father. “As if something there repels them.”

My father waved a hand. “That is irrelevant to this. What matters is restoration. We need the dragons close. Their presence stabilizes the magic flow.”

“They are already restless,” I said carefully. “Forcing them back too soon may worsen matters.”

My mother’s gaze slid to me. “You sound hesitant.”

“I’m being cautious,” I corrected.

She studied me for a long moment, then shifted topics with unsettling ease.

“We have a seer in the Dragon Queen Selection, do we not?"

My attention snapped fully to my mother.

“Lady Lira Vale,” my mother said. “She has shown… potential. Has she had any interesting visions yet?”

“No,” I answered truthfully. “None that she’s shared.”

My father scoffed. “The Vale sight has always been unreliable and useless. The last true vision we received from Lord Eaton Vale was over two years ago."

He frowned. “I wonder if the old man still lives.”

My jaw tightened. “Lira told me her grandfather is ill,” I said. “Ailing, but alive.”

“Still,” my father mused, “we should know for certain if he has seen anything. The old man was very useful back in the days."

“I’ll send a party to the Vale residence,” I said quickly. “Quietly.”

My mother nodded. “Do so. We must know if he has seen anything. I'll talk to the daughter."

She rose then, descending the dais with measured grace.

“There are other methods though," she said, lowering her voice. “Dangerous ones.”

My father grimaced. “Not that.”

“It may come to it,” she replied coolly. “A forced resonance. A ritual to awaken the magic nexus and draw the imbalance to the surface.”

Cold spread through my veins.

“That would tear through every ward we have,” I said. “And anyone sensitive to magic...”

“Would feel it,” she finished. “Yes.”

Silence fell.

“At present, it is only a consideration,” she said. “But if the dragons continue to weaken…”

She didn’t finish the thought.

She didn’t need to.

As the meeting drew to a close, my mother stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“I’ve arranged a private dinner for you and Lady Calista this evening,” she said. “You should get to know one another better. Seeing as she would soon be your wife."

I inclined my head, keeping my expression neutral. “As you wish.”

But inside, frustration simmered.

As I left the throne room and headed back to my chambers I signaled two guards discreetly.

“Find Lady Lira Vale,” I instructed. “Bring her to the library. Quietly."

They nodded and moved off at once.

I turned, and nearly collided with Evander.

He stood in the corridor like a rigid wall, arms crossed, eyes sharp.

“Looking for Lady Lira?” he asked lightly.

I met his gaze without flinching. “Move.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing."