DRAGON LORD THERON POV
The vampire’s blade whistled past my ear, missing by inches.
"Foolish bloodsucker," I growled, taking Marcus by the throat and lifting him off the ground. "I ca here to help, not fight."
"Then why did you attack first?" he gasped, grabbing at my hand.
I set him down gently and stepped back. Around us, the other magical creatures Elder Malin had gathered were still tense and ready to fight. The witches had their power crackling around their fingers. The werewolves were half-shifted, showing their fangs.
"I didn’t attack," I said quietly. "I tried you. How did you think I was going to trust you with my life if I didn’t know if you could fight?"
The truth was more complex than that. Dragons don’t just make agreents with anyone. We’re proud beings, and we’ve been burned before by trusting the wrong people. The last ti I worked with other supernaturals, half of them betrayed when things got scary.
But Elder Malin’s sacrifice had shown sothing important. The old werewolf had given his life to save one girl. Not because she was powerful or useful, but because he thought she was worth saving.
That kind of belief was rare. And it made think maybe these creatures were different.
"Elder Malin is dead," revealed Luna, the silver-haired witch. "I can feel it. His life force is gone."
A heavy silence fell over the group. Even though we’d only known the old monster for a few minutes, his death hit us all hard. He’d brought us together, and now he was gone.
"Then we need to move fast," I said. "The girl he died to save won’t survive much longer without help."
"What girl?" asked one of the northern dogs. "Who is she to us?"
I almost laughed. These animals had no idea what they’d gotten themselves into.
"Her na is Aria," I explained. "And she’s the daughter of the Moon Goddess. The one person who can stop the Shadow Lords from taking over every world in existence."
"Impossible," Marcus said, wiping blood from his mouth. "The Moon Goddess doesn’t have children."
"She does," I said firmly. "Seven of them, scattered across different worlds. I’ve spent the last three hundred years looking for them."
The statent surprised even . I hadn’t planned to tell them about my long search. But sothing about Elder Malin’s sacrifice made want to be honest.
"Why?" Luna asked. "Why spend so long looking for them?"
The mories ca rushing back. My country, burned to ash by Shadow Lords. My family, killed while I was away on a stupid treasure hunt. The guilt that had eaten at for ages.
"Because the Shadow Lords destroyed my world first," I said quietly. "Two thousand years ago. I was young and stupid and thought I was unbeatable. I left my people to fight alone while I went looking for fa."
The group was listening carefully now. Even Marcus had quit trying to look tough.
"When I ca back, everyone I’d ever loved was dead," I continued. "The Shadow Lords had used my world as practice before going on to others. And I understood that if I didn’t stop them, they’d keep destroying world after world until nothing was left."
"So you’ve been hunting them alone for two thousand years?" asked Ember, the dragon woman who’d been in human form earlier.
"Not hunting," I clarified. "Preparing. Learning their weaknesses. Finding their enemies. And most importantly, looking for the seven children who could actually defeat them."
"And now you’ve found one," Luna said.
"Now I’ve found one," I agreed. "But she’s not ready. She doesn’t even know her full power yet. And she’s about to face her own dark half in a fight that could destroy her."
I could feel Aria’s struggle through the ancient magic that linked all of the Moon Goddess’s children. She was fighting bravely, but she was losing. The dark version of herself was too strong, too tempting.
"What do you need from us?" Marcus asked.
This was the hard part. The part where I had to ask for sothing that might make them all hate .
"I need one of the triplets," I said simply.
The quiet that followed was deafening.
"What do you an?" Ember asked carefully.
"Dragons don’t fight alongside others," I explained. "We fight with a close partner. Soone who shares our power and our mission. If I’m going to help save Aria, I need one of her mates to join with permanently."
"That’s insane," Marcus said. "You’re asking one of them to give up their humanity."
"Not give up," I anded. "Transform. A dragon bond doesn’t destroy who you are. It makes you more than you were."
But I understood their shock. Dragon bonds were serious power. Once ford, they lived for thousands of years. The bonded warrior would gain amazing power, but they’d also be tied to forever.
"Which one?" Luna asked quietly.
I’d been thinking about that since I’d first learned about the triplets. Each one had different skills, different personalities. But only one was right for what we needed to do.
"Jaxon," I said. "The wild one. He’s the only one bold enough to handle dragon power without being consud by it."
"And if he refuses?" Ember asked.
"Then Aria dies," I said simply. "And the Shadow Lords win. And every place in existence becos their playground."
I hated being so cruel, but it was the truth. Without my full power, I couldn’t help them win this war. And without a bonded partner, I couldn’t reach my full power.
"There’s sothing else," I added, knowing this would make things even worse. "The bond has to be made willingly. I can’t force it. Jaxon has to choose to link his life to mine forever."
"Why would he do that?" Marcus asked.
"Because he loves her," I said simply. "And sotis love ans making impossible sacrifices."
The group fell silent again, absorbing what I’d told them. I could see the doubt in their eyes, the fear. They were wondering if they could trust . If this was all so clever trick.
I didn’t bla them. If I were in their situation, I’d be suspicious too.
"How do we know you’re telling the truth?" Luna asked.
Instead of replying with words, I let my human form drop away. My true dragon shape filled the space around Elder Malin’s house, scales gleaming gold and silver in the moonlight. When I spoke, my voice echoed with old power.
"Because I am Theron the Last," I said. "The final dragon of the Golden Realm. And I have spent two thousand years preparing for this mont."
I shifted back to human form and looked each of them in the eye.
"The question is," I said, "are you ready to help save everything that matters?"
Before anyone could answer, a new voice spoke from the dark.
"Actually, the question is whether any of you are going to survive the next five minutes."
We all spun around to see a person stepping out from behind the trees. At first glance, he looked like a normal human man. But his eyes were sparkling with that familiar sick green light.
"Shadow Lord," Marcus hissed.
"Oh, much worse than that," the figure said with a smile that made my dragon senses scream danger. "I’m the one they sent to collect you all. Because it turns out, Elder Malin wasn’t the only one who could gather troops."
More figures stepped out of the darkness. Dozens of them. All with those sa bright green eyes.
"You see," the first Shadow Lord added, "we knew you’d all co here eventually. Creatures like you are so predictable. So noble. So ready to sacrifice yourselves for others."
My heart sank as I realized what had happened. Elder Malin’s eting hadn’t been secret at all. The Shadow Lords had been watching and waiting for us to co together in one place.
"It’s a trap," Ember whispered.
"Of course it’s a trap," the Shadow Lord laughed. "Did you really think we’d let the seven most powerful supernatural beings in this realm run around free?"
Seven most powerful people. But there were only six of us here. Which ant...
"One of you isn’t what you seem," the Shadow Lord said, reading my thoughts. "One of you has been working for us all along."
I looked around at the faces of the creatures I’d just started to trust. Marcus the vampire. Luna the witch. Ember the dragon. The northern wolves.
One of them was a rogue.
And I had no idea which one.
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