Lorien’s POV
Sherelle’s voice still lingered in the air, dripping with venomous satisfaction, but I didn’t care. Her reasons, her vendetta, her obsession-none of it mattered to me.
I exhaled, twirling a gemstone between my fingers, watching the way the dim light caught the glinting facets. Then, with a casual shrug, I spoke.
“I have no interest in your reasons, Sherelle.” My voice was flippant, almost bored. “But it’s not hard to see that you have no heart.”
Sherelle’s gaze snapped to me, eyes flashing with warning.
“What?” she demanded, bristling like a cat backed into a corner.
I ignored her indignation, letting the gemstone slip between my fingers onto the table with a sharp clink.
“There’s only a bottomless pit where your heart should be,” I continued, studying her with detached amusement. “A void that swallows everything in its wake.”
Her lips parted slightly, as if to argue, but she hesitated. A flicker of something unreadable crossed her face before she scowled, voice sharp.
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
I tilted my head, eyes gleaming with amusement. “Tell me, Sherelle. Is it really Kamrynn’s downfall that you seek?”
She scoffed, crossing her arms. “Obviously.”
“And after that? Will you finally be satisfied once she’s destroyed?”
Her expression didn’t falter. “Of course. That’s what I want.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbow on the table as I studied her. “No, it’s not.”
Sherelle’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I let out a low chuckle, shaking my head. “Kamrynn must be truly powerful.”
Sherelle’s lips curled in irritation. “What are you getting at?”
“She’s captivated you.” I shrugged. “Just like everyone else. And the worst part? You don’t even realize it. You’ve let her live in your head for so long that you’ve forgotten what you actually want.”
Sherelle clenched her fists. “Stop talking nonsense.”
I stood up, slow and deliberate, letting my full height loom over her. Then, with a wicked grin, I reached out and gripped her chin between my fingers, forcing her to look at me.
“You’ve put her on such a high pedestal,” I murmured, voice smooth as silk, “that no matter what you do, this inferiority complex of yours will never go away.”
Her breath hitched, but I didn’t let up.
“Whatever you do will never be enough. It’ll never be enough.” I let my thumb trace the edge of her jaw before smirking. “It’s a curse. One you placed on yourself.”
Sherelle’s nails dug into her palms, her body trembling.
“You want to be her so bad,” I whispered, “but you never quite measure up, do you?”
Her breath came out shakily, her pupils dilating ever so slightly in rage.
“It’s why you’ve always been so unhappy.”
She jerked her head back, but I didn’t stop.
“You could have everything the world has to offer, and you’d still look at Kamrynn picking at scraps and think she has it better.”
A slow, amused smirk spread across my lips as I murmured the final blow.
“I’m pretty sure there’s no cure for that.”
With a sharp snarl, Sherelle slapped my hand away, her entire body vibrating with fury.
“Don’t you ever look down on me.” Her voice was a warning, lethal and burning with barely restrained rage. “You don’t get to stand on a moral high ground when you’re just as guilty. You want to use Kamrynn too.”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair before sinking back onto the couch. “Morality, compassion, kindness-those concepts died in my world a long time ago.”
Sherelle’s eyes remained hard, but I didn’t care.
“Now, all that’s left is survival,” I murmured, staring at the ceiling. “And I don’t care what I have to do in order to survive.”
Sherelle let out a soft, mocking laugh.
“Well then,” she smirked, “maybe take it easy on Kamrynn. She might actually break.”
I scoffed, lifting a brow. “Why do you suddenly care?”
Sherelle rolled her eyes. “It’s called sarcasm.”
I exhaled sharply. “I’m not a fan of wordplay.”
“Well, that’s your problem,” she said dismissively before turning away, walking toward the far side of the room. “I have preparations to finish.”
I watched her go, then let out a slow breath, allowing my body to relax. But not for long.
The familiar, sickening heat crawled through my veins, and I knew what was coming.
I closed my eyes and let it happen.
A sharp, searing pain jolted through my body as my transformation began.
The ancient symbols etched onto my forehead pulsed, glowing with golden light. My pupils sharpened into reptilian slits, my irises burning a molten gold.
The horns sprouted first-twisting, curling from my skull with a crackling noise. My skin hardened, shifting into scales as razor-sharp claws extended from my fingertips. My teeth elongated, turning to lethal fangs.
A long, reptilian tail tore through the back of my coat, curling around me.
Fifty percent.
That was all I could manage now.
And still, even at only half my true form, the pain was unbearable.
I nearly doubled over as the black, veiny mass surged from my hip, spreading like poison across my body. It crept higher, inching toward my chest.
If it reached my heart, I would die.
I gritted my teeth, sweat beading on my forehead as I fought for control.
I could no longer transform completely.
Not with this cursed infection.
Not with the thing eating away at me.
With a shaky breath, I collapsed back onto the sofa, exhaling slowly.
This… this was my punishment.
The weight of my failures crushed me, suffocated me, reminding me of the disgrace I had become.
I let my eyes drift to the ceiling, my mind traveling back.
To the past.
To before.
Before the ruin. Before the fall.
Once, I had been the proud heir to the throne of Solaria.
The kingdom in the skies.
I had wanted nothing more than to bring honor to my people, to better my kingdom, to be the ruler they deserved.
Perhaps I had been too eager.
Too reckless.
Desperate to prove myself, I had made a mistake.
A mistake that had cost not just my kingdom-
-but my entire race.
Solaria had fallen.
And it was all because of my idiocy.
I clenched my fists, my nails-claws now-digging into my palms as I sat in the dimly lit room. The weight of my failure pressed down on my chest like a mountain, suffocating, unrelenting.
I hated myself.
I hated myself so much that I would have ended it all-
-if it didn’t mean taking the last of my kind with me.
Because I was the last.
The last of the Solarian Draconians.
The final heir of a kingdom that no longer existed.
A mythical kingdom that had once soared above the clouds, untouched by the wars and corruption of the world below.
Solaria-the land of the free.
A floating empire, carved from the bones of the heavens themselves, where dragons ruled the skies and Draconians walked among the stars.
Its towers reached higher than the mortal eye could see, their spires shimmering with golden runes, whispering ancient magic into the wind.
Its streets were rivers of celestial light, pulsing with the power of the cosmos, guiding the flight of our kin, whispering forgotten stories to those who cared to listen.
And at the heart of it all, the Great Nest.
The sacred cradle of our race.
A temple of endless flame, where dragon eggs were nurtured in warmth and magic until they were ready to hatch-until the next generation of Solaria’s rulers took their first breath.
A next generation that would never come.
Because Solaria was gone.
Burned.
Destroyed.
Dead.
And I was the one who had doomed it.
It had been a long-standing law-a sacred decree, older than time itself-that Draconians must never meddle with witches and their kind.
Dark magic was chaos, a force that could not be tamed, could not be understood. It did not mix with the purity of dragon blood.
But I had broken that law.
I had descended from the safety of our floating kingdom-set foot on the cursed land below-because I had been young.
Reckless. Desperate.
My father-King Veydrion, the Sky Tyrant-had fallen gravely ill.
No elixir, no divine blessing, no ancient spell from our archives could cure him.
So I sought a witch.
I found the most powerful one I could.
I begged for her aid.
And she gave me what I asked for.
My father rose from his sickbed, stronger than ever.
But Solaria fell.
Because the cure was a curse.
A sickness swept through our people-
Not one that killed them outright.
No.
That would have been merciful.
It twisted them.
Warped them into monsters.
Their eyes turned red, their claws elongated, their wings tore through their backs as they screamed in agony.
It was a virus unlike anything the world had ever seen.
A disease of the soul.
They became rabid, mindless beasts-driven by nothing but hunger, destruction, bloodlust.
We tore each other apart.
Brother against brother.
Mother against child.
Until Solaria was nothing but ashes and screams.
Until the streets ran red with Draconian blood.
Until I was the only one left.
I had survived because of her.
Queen Elythria.
My mother.
The Last Light of Solaria.
She had held my face in her trembling hands, her golden eyes dimming, her lips stained with the blood of her people.
And she had made me swear.
Swear on my life.
Swear on our ancestors.
Swear on the soul of our people.
That I would run.
That I would survive.
That I would restore our kingdom.
So I ran.
I escaped as the sky burned.
And now, I was here.
A fallen dragon.
A disgraced heir.
The last of my kind.
With a disease still festering in my body.
Unlike my people, I had been able to suppress the virus.
But only because I was a pureblood.
The last true Solarian royal.
Through sheer will alone, I fought against the sickness, against the murderous hunger clawing at the edges of my sanity.
But my will would not last much longer.
I had very little time left.
And I would have given up-
-if not for her.
Kamrynn.
She was my only hope.
Draconians had always been heathens. We did not bow to gods. We did not beg for salvation.
But even I had to admit-there were higher forces at play.
And Kamrynn-
Kamrynn carried the power of Selene, the Moon Goddess, inside her.
She was divine.
She was sacred.
And I would exploit it.
I would have her.
Not as a mate.
Not as a lover.
As my healer.
As my breeder.
Her power would purge the virus from my blood, cleanse my soul, revive me.
And even though she was only a werewolf, I knew-I knew-that she would be able to carry and birth my offspring.
Ordinarily, only Draconian females could nourish and birth a dragon egg, feed it magic, keep it warm until it hatched.
But Kamrynn was no ordinary wolf.
She was strong.
Special.
With her by my side-willing or not-I would rebuild my race.
Draconians would not go extinct.
I would not allow it.
Sherelle wanted Kamrynn’s identity.
I wanted Kamrynn’s body.
And thus, the plan was set.
I would have her.
I would survive.
I would restore Solaria.
No matter what it took.