Warlock Ch 375. Dragons
"Which is unlike you," Cassius murmured, one brow raised. "Back then, Kaelan wasn't exactly famous for restraint."
Damian gave a slow nod. "Exactly. But sothing about her… felt different. She didn't attack like the others. She was following orders, yes, but I could tell—she didn't believe in it. I could see it in her eyes."
Victoria, lounging near the window, smirked faintly. "And you let her live. That's rare."
"She let live too," Damian said softly. "She could've finished once I staggered, and I know it. Instead, she said sothing like… 'I see what you'll beco, warlock. I won't stop you now. But when you go too far, rember it was who let you live.'"
Evelyn leaned forward slightly, brows drawn. "That's… cryptic."
"Poetic," Victoria added with a shrug. "Typical dragon talk."
Damian exhaled slowly through his nose, eyes narrowing slightly. "If she's here now, it's not for a show of force or diplomatic puffery. She's a battlefield general. A warborn. She doesn't move unless it's worth moving for. Which ans sothing—or soone—crossed a line."
Cassius tapped the edge of his glass with one finger, his thoughts clearly racing. "You think it's Ralvek?"
"Not directly," Damian replied. "But maybe sothing he's touched. If any part of that experint he's brewing draws on ancient magic, dragonkin relics, or sothing that sses with ley lines they've staked territory on… they'd notice. And they don't like being poked."
Evelyn closed the scroll in her hands with a quiet snap and set it on the table. "That would explain the roar we heard last night. It wasn't a threat. It was a warning."
"They're watching," Cassius muttered, eyes distant. "And knowing dragons, they'll treat us like suspects until proven otherwise."
Victoria pushed off the wall and walked slowly toward the table, lips pursed in thought. "So what's the plan? Avoid them, play it safe, pray they don't burn us alive?"
"No," Damian said, finally eting their eyes. "We find out what their goal is. If they're here to wipe out what they think is a threat, we need to make sure they don't lump us into it."
"And if the general recognizes you?" Evelyn asked.
Damian didn't answer right away. His jaw flexed slightly before he replied. "Then she'll rember that I didn't kill her. And she'll decide whether that rcy ant anything."
Cassius studied him, eyes unreadable. "You think she'll talk first?"
"I don't know," Damian said. "But she's not soone who wastes her breath. If she speaks, it's for a reason."
The room grew quiet again, thick with unspoken possibilities. Footsteps from the kitchen broke the tension as shadow servants appeared, efficiently placing steaming plates and delicate porcelain cups on the table. The sll of freshly baked mana-bread, roasted nightroot vegetables, and smoked spice-pork filled the room, warm and heavy.
Cassius reached out and grabbed a piece of bread, sighing like an old man facing another decade of war. "Well, if the dragons are coming, at least we'll be fed before they vaporize us."
Victoria chuckled under her breath. "We should hang a sign outside. 'Please incinerate after breakfast.'"
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "You're all so dramatic."
Damian didn't respond. He sat still, staring at his untouched tea, thoughts spiraling deeper than any of them could guess. He wasn't just worried about a political war anymore. Dragons ant ancient grudges, long mories, and power that made Ralvek look like a spoiled child playing with fire.
And her… that general.
He rembered her eyes, sharp and piercing. The way she didn't hesitate to strike, but didn't flinch when he held his spear to her throat either. She fought like soone who already knew the outco but needed to see it through anyway. He hadn't learned her na that day. He'd only bled beside her.
'If she's here… she'll rember.'
And if she didn't co for Ralvek?
Then maybe—just maybe—she ca for him.
His grip tightened slightly around the edge of his cup.
Let her co.
This ti, he wouldn't run.
The doors creaked softly.
All four heads turned.
Selena stepped in.
She was dressed simply—one of the spare tunics Evelyn had shown her yesterday—but her movents were stiff, her eyes slightly swollen, rimd red as if she hadn't slept. Her gaze flicked across the room quickly and landed on Damian.
She froze for half a second.
Cassius glanced at her, then sideways to Damian, arching one eyebrow as if to say 'yours to deal with'.
"Princess?" Damian said, standing slowly from his chair, his voice soft but unmistakably concerned. "What happened to you?"
Selena blinked once. "Nothing."
Her voice was quiet. She moved to sit at the far end of the table, opposite Damian, her gaze not quite eting his. Evelyn frowned faintly, sharing a glance with Victoria but said nothing. Victoria, for once, didn't smirk.
Damian didn't press. He sat again, studying her for a second longer.
She looked like she'd spent the whole night crying.
And deep down, he already had a feeling why.
Two days.
That was all she had left.
No confirmation yet. No decision from her father. No promise she'd stay. Just a ticking clock counting down to another inevitable goodbye.
He hated it.
The quiet lingered for a while. The clinking of silverware being arranged by the servants. The soft pouring of enchanted berry-wine into crystal goblets. The faint pop of a warming spell refreshing a dish that had cooled. The kind of small, dostic peace that made everything outside these walls feel like a different world.
Selena slowly reached for a piece of mana-bread, her fingers lingering on the soft crust.
Cassius leaned back in his chair and said casually, "You're late. We were starting to think you lted in the bath."
Selena gave a weak smile, but it didn't touch her eyes. "I wasn't hungry."
Victoria leaned on one elbow. "No one here eats just because they're hungry. We eat because Cassius insists on shadow-chefs who can cast food-enhancent spells."
Cassius grinned. "Don't mock what you keep devouring."
Evelyn gently set a glass of water in front of Selena. "Drink. You look like a wind spell could knock you over."
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