Chapter 15: The Dragon King
Chapter 15
The sky above the mountain darkened, not because of clouds, but because of wings. Sothing enormous tore through the sky above the hidden city, its shadow swallowing the last of the light across the battlefield. The air itself trembled as the creature descended, and even the dragons circling the palace froze. The golden dragon beside Ariana lowered its massive body, while the hunter dragon stalking forward stopped mid-step, its wings folding halfway. For the first ti since the attack began, the predators looked afraid.
Ariana felt the change imdiately. The power inside her chest tightened again, pulsing like a second heartbeat that did not fully belong to her. Sothing ancient was coming, sothing that did not need to prove its strength because it already ruled everything beneath it. Across the shattered terrace, Kael pushed himself up slowly from the cracked marble floor where he had been thrown. Blood ran down his arm and his shoulder burned from the dragon’s strike, but he ignored it. His eyes lifted toward the sky, and for the first ti since becoming Alpha, Kael felt sothing dangerously close to dread.
The creature descending from the clouds was larger than anything he had imagined. Its wings stretched across half the sky, and each slow movent pushed waves of wind through the ruined city, rattling broken towers and sending debris tumbling down the mountainside. Black scales glead like polished obsidian beneath the fading light, and its eyes burned with ancient gold. The golden dragon beside Ariana bowed lower. The hunter dragon crouched in submission. Kael felt his wolf recoil, not in fear alone, but in recognition. This was not just a predator. This was sothing above them.
The Dragon King had arrived.
It landed on the broken palace terrace with a force that shook the entire mountain. Stone cracked beneath its weight, dust burst into the air, and fragnts of marble slid across the floor. For several seconds, no one moved. The Dragon King folded its wings slowly, every motion deliberate and controlled, then lowered its massive head toward the chamber. Silence followed, heavy and absolute.
Ariana’s heart pounded so hard it hurt. Beside her, the man in black and gold stared at the creature, his composure finally breaking. "This should not be possible," he whispered. Kael stepped forward despite the danger, placing himself closer to Ariana. "Why?" he demanded. The man swallowed. "The Dragon King vanished when the last Sovereign died." Ariana frowned. "So he’s been asleep?" The man shook his head slowly. "No. He’s been waiting."
The Dragon King’s gaze moved across the chamber, pausing briefly on Kael before settling on Ariana. The mont their eyes t, the power inside her surged violently, heat rushing through her veins. Her breath caught as sothing vast and ancient filled her mind. A voice followed, deep and steady, not spoken aloud but felt everywhere at once. "So... you have returned." Ariana stiffened. "You can talk?" The answer ca like distant thunder. "I always could." Kael glanced between them, tension rising. "What’s happening?" Ariana swallowed. "He’s talking to ." The man beside them nodded grimly. "That is the Sovereign bond."
Kael’s expression darkened imdiately. "I don’t like it." The Dragon King’s gaze flickered toward him for a brief mont before returning to Ariana. "The wolf Alpha," it said, almost thoughtfully. Kael stepped forward, his voice cold. "I don’t care what you are. You’re not taking her anywhere." The golden dragon beside Ariana lifted its head proudly. "She is the Sovereign." The Dragon King remained still. "Perhaps." Ariana’s chest tightened. "Perhaps?" The response ca without emotion. "The throne has been empty for centuries. Many have claid it."
Before Ariana could answer, the hunter dragon roared and lunged again, fire building in its throat. Kael moved instantly, shifting mid-step as he threw himself toward it. "Now would be a good ti!" he shouted. The Dragon King did not move. Its gaze remained fixed on Ariana. "The Sovereign commands dragons. Prove it." Ariana froze. "What?" The voice sharpened. "Command ." The entire chamber went still. Kael looked at her. "You don’t have to do that." But the man beside her shook his head. "She does." Ariana’s voice trembled. "What happens if I can’t?" The answer ca cold and certain. "Then he decides you are not the true Sovereign."
"And then?" Kael demanded.
The man’s voice lowered. "Then he burns this city to the ground."
Ariana’s breath caught. The weight of it pressed into her chest, heavy and suffocating. She looked up at the Dragon King, at the creature that could end everything with a single command, and for a mont she felt small in a way she had never felt before. "I don’t know how," she whispered. The voice answered again, steady and unyielding. "You do. Your blood rembers." The power inside her surged, stronger this ti, rising to et the fear instead of being crushed by it.
Behind her, Kael fought to hold the hunter dragon back, its fire tearing through the chamber as stone cracked and heat filled the air. "Ariana!" he called, his voice strained but still reaching her. That was enough. She stepped forward, lifting her hand as the golden light inside her flared brighter than ever. Her voice shook at first, then steadied as sothing deeper took over.
"Bow to ."
For a single, terrifying second, nothing happened. The hunter dragon roared, the city trembled, and Kael braced against the incoming fire. Then the impossible unfolded. The Dragon King lowered its massive head, slowly and deliberately, bowing before her. The mountain itself seed to tremble under the weight of that single movent. Silence fell.
The man beside her exhaled in disbelief. "She did it." Kael stared, stunned, but Ariana barely registered it. Because the mont the Dragon King bowed, sothing else answered.
A roar split the sky. Everyone looked up.
Ariana’s heart stopped. From the clouds above the mountains, an army of dragons erged. Hundreds of them. Their wings darkened the sky like a storm, and every single one of them had glowing red eyes.
They were not here to bow. They were here to kill.
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