Page 77 of Kingdom of Darkness and Dragons
The silence stretched between us, heavy with the weight of impossible choices and moral compromises. When Tarshi finally spoke, his voice had lost its earlier edge.
"You knew," he said. "About the resistance. About what was really planned for the festival."
It wasn't a question, and I didn't try to deny it. "I suspected. There had been increased chatter about potential terrorist activities, and the timing seemed too convenient. I tried to warn Livia not to attend."
"But you didn't try to stop it," Septimus pointed out.
"How could I? I had no proof, no specific intelligence. And even if I had..." I spread my hands helplessly. "Who would have believed the Emperor's son claiming his father was planning to sacrifice his own citizens?"
"You could have tried," Tarshi said, but there was less accusation in his voice now.
"I should have tried," I agreed. "I should have found a way to expose the truth, to prevent what happened. I was a coward."
"No," Antonius said quietly. "You were trapped. Just like the rest of us."
I looked at him in surprise, seeing something that might have been sympathy in his dark eyes.
"You think we don't understand impossible choices?" he continued. "You think gladiators never had to compromise their principles to survive? The difference is that your chains were made of gold instead of iron, but they were still chains."
"That doesn't excuse—"
"It doesn't excuse anything," Marcus interrupted. "But it explains it. And explanation is the first step toward trust."
The words were more than I had dared to hope for, a crack in the wall of hostility that had separated me from the group since my identity was revealed.
"There's more you need to know," I said, feeling the weight of secrets I'd carried alone for too long. "About the dragons, about my father's plans for the Talfen."
"We're listening," Septimus said.
I took a deep breath, knowing that what I was about to reveal would change everything. "The dragon breeding program is failing. Has been for years. The offspring are getting smaller, weaker. Many births produce normal animals instead of shifters. The bloodlines are becoming diluted."
"Because you're breeding slaves," Tarshi said with disgust. "Forcing matings between creatures who have no choice in the matter."
"Exactly. And my father knows it. That's why this campaign is different from the raids and border skirmishes of the past. This isn't about territory or resources." I met their shocked gazes. "This is about capturing every remaining dragon shifter in the world. Men, women, children—all of them. He wants to completely revitalize the breeding program with fresh genetic material."
"And the non-shifters?" Septimus asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.
"Extermination. Complete and systematic. He believes that as long as free Talfen exist, they'll continue to harbour and protect the shifters. So the solution is to eliminate them all except for the dragons needed for breeding."
The horror on their faces was a mirror of what I'd felt when my father had explained his vision with the casual enthusiasm of a man discussing livestock improvements.
"That's genocide," Antonius said flatly.
"Yes," I agreed. "It is."
"But why now?" he pressed. "The Empire has been raiding Talfen territory for decades. Why escalate to total war?"
It was Sirrax who answered, his voice heavy with the weight of terrible understanding. "Learning to hide better. Protect our young. Free dragons stronger, more organized."
I nodded grimly. "Sirrax is right. My father feels threatened. For the first time in generations, the Empire is facing an enemy that might actually be able to fight back effectively. So he's decided to eliminate the threat before it can fully develop."
"The shadow mages," Tarshi said suddenly. "They're part of it, aren't they? The Talfen resistance."
"According to Imperial intelligence, yes. Beings of immense power who've given up their humanity to wield forces that conventional armies can't match.”
"We saw what one of them could do in that valley.” Marcus said quietly. “And if he has Livia..."
The unfinished thought hung in the air like a physical presence. We all knew what it meant, what the implications were for our rescue mission.
