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Chapter 216
~Davion’s POV~
I was shocked when I heard him ntion the na Valerie.
Not the surna—just the first na—but that alone was enough to freeze the blood in my veins.
mories rushed in like a flood, cracking through the ntal vault I had sealed them behind. mories I hadn’t dared revisit in years.
Not since the last ti I saw that child.
It reminded of her mother.
Zara Gold.
The first ti I t her, she stord the gates of my fortress, not for glory, not for power, but for her then ex-husband, Snow Zephyr.
She ca to plead his life—one she felt was unjustly claid by the hands of her enemy with the Lycan King, Kaid, accompanying her.
Fierce, wild, desperate. She passed all my trials to obtain my golden scale, the only way to save Snow’s life.
Even now, the mory of her fighting my right hand, Varian, was fresh. She hadn’t known who she faced until Varian shifted, and the look on her face... I still laughed about it sotis.
I chuckled under my breath.
"Dad?" Xander’s voice broke through the fog of my thoughts.
"Y-yes?" I turned my gaze to him, swallowing the weight in my throat.
"You didn’t answer my question. You spaced out."
"I did," I admitted with a sigh.
"So... does that an you... I have a younger sister?"
My laughter echoed deep, reverberating through our mind-link as well. I noticed Xander flinch slightly in his dragon form at the sudden boom.
"I have never once cheated on your mother," I said, voice firm and unflinching.
"But what if it was before you t her? Before the bond?" he pressed. "What if Valerie is the child of soone you knew long ago?"
I gave a slow, thoughtful shake of my head. "If that were true, then her full na would be Valerie Sapphire Violet Snow—not Valerie Nightshade. And I assure you, I would have known if I had fathered a child with Zara."
Xander looked... disappointed. It wasn’t hard to read. His expression dipped, shoulders slouched, and his wings twitched with unease.
I caught the way he swallowed back sothing thick and tight in his throat.
"Son?" I asked, softer this ti.
"It’s nothing, Dad."
But I wasn’t blind.
"You..." I hesitated for only a mont. "You love this girl?"
He didn’t answer imdiately and that was answer enough.
"I... I don’t know," he finally said. "I care. Maybe too much. But I’m confused. I don’t know if it’s love or sothing else. She feels familiar... like family. But also not."
I fell silent.
Xander had never been the type to get emotional—he was composed, sharp-minded, focused. But this? This was real. This girl had wounded him just by existing in his mind too closely.
"I’ve never seen you like this over a woman," I muttered. "Not once."
"Our bloodline makes it hard," he said with a shrug. "Girls fall over themselves just to say they kissed a dragon. No one ever felt real. Until Valerie."
I exhaled through my nose. Ah, but he was right. It was the burden of our lineage. Our charm, our power, our allure—it made everything feel... pre-decided. Predestined.
Until soone ca along to shatter that illusion.
Just like Zara had done to .
I stared at him for a long mont. "Tell the truth. Is she the one blessed by the Moon Goddess with six mates?"
Xander’s eyes widened in alarm.
I nodded slowly. "Then it is her. Don’t kid , son. Even I am well inford."
He looked like I had just smacked him.
"Son," I said, a low growl rumbling beneath my words, "that girl already has six mates. Six powerful n fated to be bound to her for life. And you-you want to branch in? Just how many royals do you want her tied with?"
My voice bood louder than I intended. The tremor it caused beneath us as we hovered in the sky, was felt even in the gardens below.
Xander flinched. "Father, I’m not trying to... I just... I want to protect her. Be there. Perhaps not as a lover, but as sothing else. A brother... a friend... sothing."
"Better," I muttered, though I could sense the regret in him. "Co with ."
"Father—"
"Xander. Follow ."
He didn’t argue this ti.
We launched into the air, our wings unfurling in perfect synchrony as we climbed above the castle peaks.
The wind lashed at our scaled skin, but we moved through it as smoothly as blades. I kept ahead of him, giving no room for talk, only reflection.
Because I wasn’t even sure what I was about to show him.
As we flew, I let old mories drift into focus. mories of Zara, the woman who once stole my heart. The woman I never laid a finger on, out of respect for the love she gave another.
She was the only woman I loved before I ever knew my mate. And perhaps the only one who taught what losing felt like, even without ever having her.
Our destination ca into view—The mory Ho—a hidden retreat used only by the royal family. It was tucked away beyond the valley, nestled in gardens no one wandered unless invited.
I transford mid-air, wings folding against my back as I dropped into a graceful landing near the threshold of the old stone mansion.
Xander did the sa, taking his place beside , glancing around with curiosity.
"Father...?"
"Shh and follow ."
He obeyed without a second thought.
We walked past the tangled foliage of an old grove until we reached the front of the secluded house. As soon as my foot hit the wood of the front steps, a light breeze swept through.
Then ca the whistle.
Magic stirred, and the door swung open of its own accord.
Standing before us was a tall man, looking no younger than a forty-year-old, but in actual fact, he was two hundred years old, with thick black hair tied at the back, dressed in simple white robes over dark trousers.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," he said, bowing with a hand to his chest. "Welco."
"Thank you, Sunblaze."
"It is my honour," he replied, his voice calm as flowing water.
Then his gaze shifted to Xander. "Your Highness. What brings the Prince and His Royal Majesty to the mory Ho this morning?"
"Sothing important," I replied. "Please... we are not to be disturbed. I need to show my son sothing."
Sunblaze dipped his head. "As you command, my king."
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