Page 85 of Song of the Dragon Rider
“Damien…” He sighed and ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair. “How long have you known?”
“A while.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, clearly upset by my answer.
I grimaced. “Because I worried you would want to send her back to her world.” I trusted my uncle, but I knew he wouldn’t agree with my methods. I understood right and wrong, and keeping Cat here against her will was wrong. And my uncle would tell me so.
Uncle Bai's face reddened with anger, a rare sight that made the tension in the room ratchet up several degrees. “Damien, how could you keep this from me?” His voice, usually calm and measured, shook with betrayal and concern. “And what about Klaus? How is he involved? I remember him appearing at the Nightwing Banquet. How is he able to leave Faelight Forest?”
I hesitated, knowing my next words would only add fuel to the fire. “Cat made a bargain with Klaus. If she's ever in danger, he can leave the forest to come to her aid.”
In a move that proved the crushing strength hidden beneath his unassuming exterior, Uncle Bai slammed his fist against the frozen lava wall. “Do you realize what she’s done? If the emperor discovers this, it will bring disaster down upon us all! Do you realize who Klaus is?!He’s the grandson of the last fae king!”
I swallowed hard as the gravity of the situation pressed down on me. “I know, Uncle, I know.” Truthfully, I didn’t know that last tidbit about Klaus’s identity, but I didn’t want to add fuel to Bai’s already blazing flame. “But please, we need to keep this between us. Cat is... she's important, and not just to me. She has the twin flame mark. There must be a reason she's here!”
Uncle Bai paced back and forth, his brow furrowed deeply as he considered the information. Finally, he stopped and fixed his gaze on me. In a blink, his anger subsided into a troubled expression. “Damien, youknowshe's not meant to be in this world. Interfering with the natural order of things could have unforeseen consequences.”
“But Cat’s presence here can’t be a random occurrence, Uncle!” I argued desperately. “It wasn’t a coincidence that twopeople who look identical would accidentally enter the portal at the same time. The twin flame mark—there’s a reason she has it! There's a reason she'shere. We’ve been searching for her for decades!”
The lines of his face softened as he considered my words. “This is bigger than us, Damien. Bigger than your feelings for her.”
I nodded, understanding the truth of his caution yet unable to quench the fire that compelled me to protect Cat at all costs. “Help me keep her safe here, Uncle. Help me find a way. If she marries Thorne, she’ll never be able to escape Dragon Valley and find her way back home.”
He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine for sincerity and resolve. Finally, he nodded, albeit reluctantly. “I'll help you, Damien. Not just for your sake, but for the balance at stake. We cannot afford mistakes.”
My shoulders slumped in relief and I felt the first twinge of hope amidst the storm of challenges we faced. “Thank you,” I said. My uncle’s support meant everything, but the road would be fraught with peril. Whatever lay ahead, I was ready to face it, knowing I wasn't alone in the fight.
I rose earlythe next day, unconcerned if the guards outside the volcano could see me or not. The emperor already knew I had my dragon bones and periodically left the island, so sneaking around was pointless. I stepped out into the living room to shift.
“Where are you going?” Uncle Bai asked.
“The Gilded Serpent,” I said casually. “I have questions for Lysandra.”
“Oh?” Uncle Bai raised a brow. “Like?”
I began to shift. “Like is she working for Thorne or me.”
“Do you believe she’s been part of Thorne’s network this whole time?” Uncle Bai asked.
But I could no longer answer. As my human form contorted, bones reshaped with a chorus of crackles and pops that echoed off the volcanic walls. Taut skin stretched and darkened, revealing scales as black as the obsidian that lined our lair to cover my body in a protective layer. My fingers and toes fused and elongated into powerful claws, each movement resonating with the raw power of my dragon heritage. Massive wings unfurled from my back with a sound like thunderclaps, filling the cavernous space with their immense span. My face elongated to form a snout, and sharp, formidable teeth designed for a predator replaced my human ones.
The physical transformation was first and foremost, but with each second that passed, my dragon instincts surged stronger, sharpening my primal intelligence and senses to their peak. The acrid tang of sulfur and molten rock was more pungent, and the heat of the lava flows below seemed to invigorate me rather than threaten.
Standing fully transformed, I was an imposing figure: a sleek, powerful dragon cloaked in scales that absorbed light, making me appear as a shadow even against the dimly lit backdrop of the volcano. My eyes, deep pools of molten gold, scanned the surroundings with a new depth of clarity.
“I never trusted Thorne,” Uncle Bai admitted as he looked up at me. “He treated you like his own personal hound dog. I wouldn’t be surprised if his niceties were all a ruse.”
I huffed, letting out a puff of smoke in agreement.
Uncle Bai, unphased by my dramatics, merely nodded, his expression a mix of admiration and concern. “Be careful, Damien,” he called out as I prepared to take flight. “Remember,The Gilded Serpent is most likely being watched, and if Lysandra is Thorne’s inside person, she is most likely protected.”
With a powerful beat of my wings, I propelled myself upwards toward the mouth of the volcano, the familiar rush of air lifting me higher. The open sky beckoned as a vast expanse of freedom, yet it was also a reminder of the constraints that tethered me to this realm's politics and intrigues. As I soared towards The Gilded Serpent, my mind raced with strategies, not just for confronting Lysandra, but for navigating the increasingly complex labyrinth of loyalties and betrayals that seemed to strangle me tighter with each passing day.
Cloak in placeand hood lowered over my head, I entered The Gilded Serpent. In the daytime, it was not as packed as usual. I headed straight to the second floor to my private room. Once I entered, I rang the bell to notify Lysandra and sat in one of the wide chairs. Waiting.
Leaving my hood on, I pondered how to approach Lysandra. For years, she’d tried to become my woman. Now the question was whether it was sincere or not. If I suddenly bent to her womanly wiles today, she would know it was a trap. Especially if she was working with Thorne.
After waiting a couple minutes longer than usual, Lysandra appeared in a plume of perfume. Dressed in see-through silks that exposed more skin than they covered and gleaming in jewelry, I couldn’t deny she was a beautiful woman. But there had always been something about Lysandra that bothered me, something I could never quite put my finger on.
