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Chapter 435
~Zara’s POV~
A dull ache throbbed at the back of my head as I stirred awake. My body felt like lead and I groaned as I sluggishly tried to move my limbs.
The world around was a blur of dim light and shifting shadows. My limbs felt foreign, weighted down by sothing tight and unyielding.
"Damn it," I groaned, forcing my eyes open.
I first noticed the stone beneath —smooth, polished, and eerily warm. The second was Kaid, sitting beside , his back straight, but his expression was tense.
The third?
We were both bound.
My eyes flew open upon realisation of my predicant. Shit
Thick, glowing binds wrapped around our wrists and ankles, pulsing with a strange golden energy. No chains, no rope—just pure magic, humming softly against my skin.
Kaid exhaled sharply. "Well, this isn’t ideal."
I pulled against the binds experintally, but they held firm, sending a small pulse of energy up my arms. Not painful, but strong enough to warn not to try anything stupid.
"Where—?" I started, but then I saw them.
The dragons.
They stood before us, six imposing figures draped in fine silks and armor-like adornnts that glead under the cavern’s soft golden glow.
Their wings were partially extended, making them seem even more massive. Each one was impossibly beautiful, radiating power that felt ancient and untad.
Then suddenly, the doors pulled open and a man so regal it made my heart thump and stop beating montarily walked right in.
His hair was the silkiest silver hair I had ever seen, with violet highlights at the base, making it the first of its kind I had ever seen.
My gaze ventured beyond and landed on his eyes—deep violet eyes that seed to pull one in if they looked too much.
And I was already being overwheld by it—or perhaps I should say, lost in it. But when he flexed his wings...
"Oh!" I breathed out softly, utterly captivated. They were the most stunning violet wings I had ever seen, fading into silver at the tips, and paired with dark, elegantly curling horns.
He stepped forward, his fiery violet eyes locking onto mine.
"You’re awake," he said smoothly, yet I couldn’t shake the goosebumps that appeared on my skin from his deep, commanding tone.
No one else spoke. The silence that followed was heavy, stretching between us like an unspoken challenge.
But it took a great deal for one to get intimidated. I lifted my chin. "And you are?"
He arched a brow, amused by my defiance despite being completely restrained. "I am Prince Davion of the Dragon Court." His gaze flickered to Kaid before returning to . "And you, intruders, are currently in my domain."
Intruders?
I clenched my jaw, but before I could snap back, another one stepped forward—his wings the color of a storm, his silver eyes sharp.
"We found you trespassing near the sacred chamber," he said coolly. "Tell us why you are here before we decide what to do with you."
Kaid and I exchanged a look. I could see the tension in his jaw, the gears turning in his mind.
We could lie.
Or we could tell the truth and hope they didn’t rip us apart where we sat. I took a slow breath, weighing our options. Then, carefully, I spoke.
"We’re here for the Golden Scale."
The mont the words left my mouth, the air in the cavern shifted.
The dragons stiffened. Their wings twitched, and sothing dark flickered across their eyes. I didn’t miss the way one of them—an erald-winged male with sharp, angular features—tightened his fists at his sides.
Kaid, still bound beside , tensed. I could feel his body coiled like a spring, ready to react if things went sideways.
Prince Davion’s violet eyes narrowed. "The Golden Scale?" He echoed the words slowly, his voice losing its previous amusent.
"Yes." I held his gaze, trying to appear confident despite the very real possibility that we could be executed in the next few minutes. "We were sent to retrieve it."
A tense silence followed.
Then, a low rumble filled the cavern. At first, I thought it was the sound of the earth shifting beneath us, but then I realized—it was laughter.
Eerily cold... severely dangerous laughter taunted us.
Davion smirked, but there was no warmth in it. "Do you hear that, brothers?" He glanced at the other dragons. "They were ’sent’ to retrieve the Golden Scale."
A scoff ca from the storm-winged dragon. "As if it were so simple trinket."
The erald-winged one finally spoke, his voice laced with nace. "Who sent you?"
Kaid exhaled through his nose, probably already realizing that lying wouldn’t do us any good. "The Elders."
That got their attention.
The atmosphere crackled with sudden tension. One of the dragons shifted, his claws flexing against the stone floor.
Davion’s expression darkened. "The Elders," he repeated, as if testing the words on his tongue. "And what, exactly, did they tell you about the Scale?"
I hesitated. Sothing about the way he asked that felt... off.
"That it’s powerful," I answered carefully. "And that it’s here."
Davion exchanged a look with the dragons. It was subtle, but I caught it—the flicker of understanding that passed between them.
They knew sothing.
Before I could press further, Davion took a slow step toward . Even bound, I refused to shrink back.
"And if I told you," he murmured, tilting his head slightly, "that the Elders lied to you?"
My stomach dropped.
Kaid’s head snapped up. "What?"
Davion’s smirk returned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "The scale is not here," he said simply. "And it hasn’t been for a very long ti."
The words hit like a punch to the gut.
Not here? That wasn’t possible.
I shook my head. "No. That doesn’t make sense. We were—"
"Deceived."
The storm-winged dragon stepped closer, arms crossed. "The Golden Scale is not in this realm. But you already knew that, didn’t you?"
I stiffened. "What?"
Davion knelt before , violet eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Tell ," he murmured. "Why would the Elders send two warriors into dragon territory with false information?"
I swallowed hard, my mind racing.
This was bad. Very, very bad.
Kaid’s jaw was tight, his eyes dark with thought. I could tell he was thinking the sa thing I was.
We had been set up. That was what they wanted us to think, to believe, but we knew better and now, I knew they did too.
We weren’t sent by any elders... we were on our own little rogue mission. My breath caught in my throat. My mind reeled at Davion’s words.
Just as Davion turned to leave, a sudden movent caught his attention. Soone tapped the of the stormy dragon lightly, whispering sothing too low for us to hear.
His eyes widened for a mont, a flicker of surprise—quick, sharp—crossed his face before he imdiately stepped forward. Leaning in, he whispered sothing to Davion.
A heavy silence followed after that as the other dragon stepped back. With a slow exhale, Davion straightened. His gaze swept over us, calculating. Finally, he spoke.
"One of you is royalty."
Kaid stiffened. "Isn’t it obvious...?"
Davion raised a hand, silencing him without breaking eye contact with . His violet eyes burned with sothing unreadable, sothing piercing.
"This one," he said, his voice quieter but no less certain.
His gaze was locked on . His piercing violet eyes didn’t waver from even when Kaid shifted beside , tension radiating off him in waves. "You an old royal..." His voice was low, uncertain.
Davion gave a slow, deliberate nod. "You two know sothing about the Golden Scale." His voice was like silk over steel, smooth yet dangerously sharp. "But tell , what is it with werewolves and the Golden Scale... and using it to resurrect loved ones?"
My pulse stuttered. Kaid and I both froze.
Resurrect...? aning we weren’t the only ones who had done that in the past?
The word struck like a bolt of lightning. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the cavern.
I struggled to find my voice. "We—" I swallowed, my throat dry. "We were told it was powerful. That it could change fate. But resurrection?"
I tried to downplay it to make them give us.
Davion arched a brow, his expression unreadable, then he narrowed his eyes. "Is that not what you seek?"
Kaid clenched his jaw. "No," he said firmly. "We were sent for the Scale, yes, but we were never told it had anything to do with bringing back the dead," I lied.
Silence. Heavy and suffocating.
The erald-winged dragon stepped forward, his gaze sharp. "Then the Elders truly deceived you."
A muscle in Kaid’s jaw twitched. "Why?" His voice was tight, controlled, but I could hear the simring anger beneath.
Davion studied for a long mont. It unnerved that I couldn’t read his gaze nor his intentions.
Then he exhaled. "Because the Golden Scale is not just powerful—it is dangerous. And it was never ant for werewolves to wield."
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