Page 131 of The Forbidden Dragon King
Suddenly, I feel trapped.
My breathing becomes ragged.
I’ve never been this close to the secrets at the heart of this court before. I can’t flee now.
“So, he was a brutal warlord,” I say. “Like Tarquin or his parents before him.”
“Not like them.” War’s eyes flash. “He didn’t need an army behind him. Too much power in the hands of a single dragon could never be good, but in the hands of a warlord, it was enough to make the gods weep blood.”
I push myself shakily to my feet. “What…?”
“He lost control. He razed the realms, until there was nothing left of his enemies but ash. Only a guild of Maximinus’ ancestors, who held the same metallicum powers as him, could contain Hadrian. They created enchanted chains and a cell to hold him in. Then they turned his own weapon on him and reduced him to ash.”
I’m barely breathing, while War is breathing too fast.
“This was a mistake,” she mutters. “I’m taking you back to your nice safe rooms.”
“Hey, wait.” I dance away, as War tries to grab for my elbow. “I just wanted to know who Aurelius truly is.”
“He isn’t Hadrian!” War roars. “And maybe you should care more about whoyouare.”
I shove her, even though it’s like trying to move a rock. “I’m nobody.”
War gives a vicious grin, backing me further into thetower. “Nobody? Not how Wraith tells it. Lone survivor of the Orm massacre. A rare non-shifter. Soulmate to the Shadow Fae King. Loved by the Shadow Dragon King…”
“I said,” I snarl, “I’mnobody. I should know.”
“Apart from the fact that we’re most blind about ourselves.”
When my back hits something hard, which sears me even through my tunic, I yelp and twist around.
I find myself looking up at a full-sized gold statue of Emperor Hadrian.
The dragon shifter is dressed in armor and a cloak. His expression is haughty and forbidding in a way that makes me shiver. His right hand rests on the hilt of the same dagger with dragon head and scaled sheath, which I’ve seen at Aurelius’ waist.
It’s as if Hadrian himself has been turned to gold.
Except, not only Hadrian.
“He-h-he looks identical t-to Aurelius.” I stutter.
I can’t look away from the dominant Emperor, who looks so much like my Alpha.
My blood runs cold.
How can I deny that the legends are right and Aurelius is truly Hadrian reincarnated now?
“He won’t be the same,” War says with a stunning, simple belief. “Heisn’tHadrian, wolf. I know people, and Aurelius isn’t a wicked beast, even if Maximinus has made him atone for this…” She jerks her thumb at Hadrian’s statue, “…cocksucker’s sins. Even if Maximinus has been trying to use him to continue Tarquin’s attempt to create a second empire, but this time, with him leashed from the start.”
I force myself to look up at the statue again.
On second glance, the dragon looks nothing like Aurelius.
Physically, he is identical.
It sets my teeth on edge to realize that he is even wearing the same style of crown.Is it the exact same one taken from these rooms?
Yet everything about his bearing, expression, and the look in his eyes is different.
