- 6 hours ago
Reborn To Marry My Ex’S Dragon Uncle Hot
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00:00My cousin Sarah and I were both given to the Dragon Court.
00:03I went to the firstborn, Aldric.
00:05She went to the second son, Dorian.
00:07A year later, Sarah bore a white dragon.
00:09While I came out, nine, ugly, malformed, nothing resembling a dragon.
00:13The Dragon King cared deeply about appearances.
00:16He named Dorian his heir on the spot.
00:18Aldric, in his fury, handed all nine of my children to the Phoenix Court as blood catalysts, me along with
00:23them.
00:24If I marry Sarah, the throne will be mine.
00:28I couldn't survive the shame.
00:29I walked into the Sacred Flame and let it take me.
00:32He didn't know.
00:32Sarah was hybrid.
00:33I was pure.
00:34My children had been ugly because they took after him.
00:37When I opened my eyes, I was back on Selection Day.
00:39Aldric, Dorian, the Fox Clan has sent two.
00:43Each of you choose.
00:44I understood immediately.
00:45I had been reborn.
00:46This life, I could not let Aldric choose me.
00:49But as I stood there scheming, Aldric walked past me with a look of distaste and pulled Sarah forward instead.
00:54I understood immediately.
00:56Aldric had been reborn too.
00:57I reached for Sarah's hand, shook my head at her.
00:59The Dragon King wasn't a tyrant of these things.
01:02If she refused, she could go home.
01:04Sarah yanked her hand away.
01:05Liar.
01:06Satisfaction dripped from her voice.
01:08Don't tell me you're jealous that Aldric chose me.
01:10The Dragon Court passed its throne the same way most courts did.
01:14Bloodline first, then birth order.
01:15Aldric and Dorian were both sons of the Dragon Queen.
01:18Aldric had precedence.
01:20Sarah was blinded by the crown she thought she could see.
01:23I cursed her silently for a fool, then let her go.
01:26If Aldric took Sarah, that left me with Dorian.
01:28Except Dorian refused on the spot.
01:30Father, I'm not ready for a console.
01:32I blinked, touched my face.
01:34I really wasn't that bad.
01:36Fine, go home.
01:37Find a fox-blooded man who actually deserved me.
01:40I was pleasantly imagining exactly that when a figure stepped out from the back of the hall.
01:44He wore a mask.
01:45Two short horns curled from his brow.
01:47Brother, did you forget I haven't taken a consort either?
01:50Brother, was this Caelan, the Dragon King's youngest sibling?
01:54Rumor had it the Dragon King doted on him.
01:56Had even once considered naming him heir.
01:58But Caelan was wild, unpredictable.
02:00Refused to take consort or sire children.
02:03The idea was shelved.
02:04He hadn't appeared in my first life at all.
02:06Caelan strolled toward me, easy and unhurried.
02:09His dark eyes fixed on me.
02:10Brother, she's beautiful.
02:12You let your sons choose first and didn't think of me?
02:14Hardly fair.
02:15The Dragon King called him an insufferable wretch and waved his hand.
02:18I was given to Caelan.
02:20Aldric, still holding Sarah's arm, couldn't resist.
02:23Uncle, don't let her face fool you.
02:25Caelan's fingers locked around my wrist.
02:27His dark eyes sharpened instantly.
02:30Who I choose is not your business.
02:33Caelan brought me to his quarters.
02:35No intention of removing the mask.
02:37Not even that night.
02:38Alone, together.
02:39What surprised me more, he had no intention of sharing the bed.
02:42He placed a folded blanket down the center of the stone bed.
02:45Divided it precisely in two.
02:46You sleep on the inside.
02:48I'll take the outside.
02:49I sat there clutching my blanket, genuinely confused.
02:52Dragon men were known for their appetites.
02:55In my first life, Aldric had been relentless.
02:57Illness didn't slow him.
02:58My discomfort didn't slow him.
03:00Was Caelan perhaps unable?
03:02He seemed to read my thoughts.
03:03His expression cooled.
03:04I married you because I pitied you.
03:06If I hadn't, do you know where you'd be right now?
03:09Aldric had planned to have me killed again.
03:11He wasn't going to marry me, but he wasn't going to release me either.
03:14The moment I stepped outside the dragon court unattached, I would have been bound and delivered to the phoenix lord
03:19as a gift.
03:20Aldric carried memories from our first life.
03:22He knew the phoenix lord wanted me.
03:24He intended to use that.
03:25The thought of what the phoenix lord did to the women in his court made me cold all over.
03:29That cold fear turned quickly into hatred.
03:31In our first life, Aldric had bled my nine children dry.
03:34He had cornered me into the flame.
03:36Now, reborn, he still wasn't finished.
03:39How could something so brutal claim the right to rule?
03:41The thought followed me into sleep.
03:43Dawn.
03:43Caelan pulled me up to pay morning respects to the dragon king.
03:46I was still yawning when we arrived.
03:48Aldric and Sarah were already there.
03:50Composed.
03:51Impeccable.
03:51Sarah looked radiant.
03:52Her legs were shaking slightly.
03:54Marks on her neck.
03:55A great many of them.
03:56I winced.
03:57That must have been brutal.
03:58Aldric was rough even when welcomed.
04:00For Sarah's first time, she probably needed help getting out of bed.
04:03She caught my expression and mistook it for envy.
04:06She tugged her collar and leaned close.
04:08How was your night, Lyra?
04:09Word is, he didn't touch you at all.
04:12I glanced pointedly at her inner thighs.
04:14Worry about yourself, Sarah.
04:15She drew back with a huff.
04:17Enjoy it now.
04:18Wait until the king finishes with you.
04:20Sure enough.
04:21The dragon king's voice came cold and measured.
04:23Caelan, explain yourself.
04:26Caelan looked entirely unbothered.
04:28Thought she was interesting yesterday.
04:30Changed my mind by evening.
04:32The dragon king hurled his crystal goblet into the courtyard.
04:35Disgraceful.
04:36After the morning audience, the dragon king summoned me privately.
04:39He wanted to know what had actually happened.
04:42I told him I'd been too shy.
04:43He studied me for a long time.
04:45Told me to give Caelan an air soon.
04:48Then sent me on my way.
04:49I returned to find Caelan waiting, frost in his eyes.
04:52What did he ask you?
04:53I told him everything.
04:54He was quiet for a moment.
04:56Then he told me to avoid private meetings with the dragon king going forward.
05:00If anything came up, redirect it to him.
05:02It only deepened the mystery.
05:04The dynamic between these two was as unreadable as the mask Caelan never removed.
05:08Before I could untangle any of it, news swept through the entire court.
05:12Sarah was with child.
05:13A golden light surrounded her belly.
05:15Aldrick was beside himself.
05:17He invited the whole court to witness at dawn.
05:19I was invited too.
05:21Of course.
05:21Sarah opened with a performance.
05:23She dropped the dragon pearl on the floor and smiled at me sweetly.
05:26Leia, I'm carrying dragon young.
05:29Could you pick that up for me?
05:31She was barely a month along.
05:32She could bend perfectly well.
05:34This was theater.
05:34The court watched with amusement.
05:36Aldrick joined in, implying I was a pretty bird who couldn't lay eggs.
05:40I was about to respond when a sharp gust lifted the pearl,
05:43knocked it against Sarah's face, and dropped it neatly back into her hand.
05:46Caelan lowered his wrist.
05:48He looked at Sarah with no particular expression.
05:50Did you lose the use of your hands?
05:52Sarah burst into tears against Aldrick's chest.
05:55Aldrick, humiliated, redirected me.
05:57Uncle!
05:58She only asked her to pick something up.
05:59Why the outburst?
06:00Lyra's pretty, I'll give her that.
06:02But she can't even carry a dragon child.
06:04You're the only one who sees anything in her.
06:05Caelan's response was immediate.
06:07She's beautiful, at least.
06:09The two of you are ugly and useless.
06:11That puts her ahead.
06:11Aldrick went white, then shifted into dragonfly.
06:14He looked ferocious.
06:15He fought like a beginner.
06:16Caelan played with him, barely tried.
06:18The court watched Aldrick crumble under what amounted to light sparring, and the question
06:22moved quietly through the room.
06:24Was this really the man meant to be king?
06:26Aldrick stopped before he could lose more thoroughly.
06:29He grabbed Sarah and walked out.
06:31When my white dragon is born and takes the throne, none of you will be laughing!
06:35Gone before anyone could point out he'd forgotten entirely about the golden light he'd summoned
06:40everyone to see.
06:41Aldrick didn't forget Slyce.
06:43He waited until Caelan was away, and came for me.
06:45He wove mist across the back courtyard, trapping me on the hillside, called wind and rain down
06:51until I was soaked through and shaking.
06:53Only then did he appear.
06:54He looked at me, drenched, and something greedy moved across his face.
06:57Lyra.
06:58He still hasn't touched you, hasn't he?
07:01He came toward me.
07:02I backed up.
07:02He seized my wrist.
07:03Your bloodline isn't quite right for a proper consort, but a secondary one?
07:08That could work.
07:10I slapped him.
07:10He grabbed me by the throat.
07:12I couldn't breathe.
07:12Then he let go.
07:13Even now, Caelan's name keeps him from going all the way.
07:16When he finds out the only things you can produce are malformed little monsters, let's
07:20see how long he protects you.
07:21You're a low-clan princess, Lyra.
07:23When that day comes, I'll crush you like nothing.
07:26He didn't know.
07:27The clan he despised was about to ruin him completely.
07:29I cast my glamour.
07:31Between one breath and the next.
07:32We were standing in front of the Dragon King's council chamber.
07:35Every word Aldric had just said had fallen on the Dragon King's ears, and the ears of
07:39every allied clan lord present.
07:41The Fox Clan was low-ranked, yes, but they were under Dragon Court protection.
07:46What Aldric had said amounted to announcing, in public, that the Dragon Court held its subject
07:50clans in contempt.
07:51Not something a future king could afford to say aloud.
07:54The Dragon King's crystal scepter cracked against Aldric's nose.
07:57You have deeply disappointed me.
07:59Aldric hit the ground.
08:00His shoulders trembled.
08:02The Dragon King stripped him of his privileges and confined him to quarters.
08:05The air presumptive, favored of the court one hour ago, became invisible by afternoon.
08:10I had won cleanly.
08:11Caelan was furious.
08:12Do you understand how dangerous that was?
08:14What if he had actually killed you?
08:16He'd figured it out, of course.
08:17I had used an enchantment to lure Aldric in deliberately.
08:20Revenge, yes, but also self-preservation.
08:23Aldric wasn't going to leave me alone regardless.
08:25Better to move first.
08:26I hadn't consulted Caelan because he didn't know about my first life.
08:29He looked at me, soaking wet, and couldn't bring himself to say much more.
08:33He exhaled.
08:33Don't do something like that without telling me.
08:36I'm your husband.
08:37Protecting you is my responsibility.
08:39Something warm moved through my chest when he said it.
08:42Something I hadn't expected.
08:43Time moved quickly after that.
08:45The night Sarah went into labor, a storm rolled in.
08:48Lightning, black clouds, golden light pouring off the palace walls.
08:52The court's ritual seers declared it the sign of a golden dragon's birth.
08:56The Dragon King got out of bed and went to Sarah's chambers to wait.
08:59I wasn't going to miss this.
09:01Aldric's bloodline wasn't pure enough for a golden dragon.
09:04If that light was real, it wasn't his.
09:06Sarah labored all night.
09:07Dragon Young were large.
09:09She screamed until dawn.
09:10Then the screaming stopped.
09:11The child was not brought out.
09:13The Dragon King went by himself.
09:15What followed was a silence somehow worse than the screaming.
09:18Then came his order.
09:19Seal it.
09:20Tell no one.
09:21Word leaked anyway.
09:22It always does.
09:23Sarah had delivered something golden.
09:25It was not a dragon.
09:26A one-clawed golden serpent.
09:28A common golden serpent could, with enough medicine and time, be coaxed into dragon form.
09:33A one-clawed one could not.
09:34Too weak.
09:35It would never transform.
09:36And across its face, a large, dark birthmark.
09:39Ugly and unmistakable.
09:41The Dragon King took one look and left without naming it.
09:44The Dragon Court hadn't seen a birth to this poor in over a thousand years.
09:47In my first life, Sarah and Dorian produced a white dragon together.
09:51Sarah and Aldric produced this.
09:53The bloodline failure was obvious.
09:54Aldric's own lineage wasn't as pure as he'd always believed.
09:58The Dragon King began arranging a match for Dorian the very next morning.
10:01He also issued a command.
10:03I was to produce a dragon child within the year.
10:06The entire court now understood exactly what Aldric had fathered.
10:10Aldric locked himself in his rooms.
10:12Sarah's situation was no better.
10:13Aldric blamed her for everything.
10:15Threatened to cast her out with the child and start over.
10:18My father wrote asking me to help her.
10:20I went, reluctantly.
10:21Sarah was not grateful.
10:22Don't look so pleased with yourself, Lyra.
10:25You know why Cailin wears that mask?
10:26Because he's Heereus under it.
10:28You'll end up just like me, producing nothing worth keeping.
10:31And even if you do manage something, it'll just be catalyst stock for the King's workings.
10:36Ha!
10:36Catalyst stock.
10:37My blood went cold.
10:38I thought of my nine children in my first life.
10:41Their deaths.
10:42And my hand went to my stomach before I could stop it.
10:44Sarah refused to say more and threw me out.
10:46I went to Cailin.
10:47Asked him directly what was going on.
10:49He deflected.
10:50Said it was to protect me.
10:51My hand was still on my stomach.
10:53I was done being patient.
10:54Cailin.
10:55Stop.
10:56I'm telling you I'm pregnant.
10:58He went very still.
10:59I held his gaze.
11:00That night.
11:01After the spiced plum wine.
11:03I'd caught a chill standing in Aldric's rain.
11:05I'd demanded wine to warm up.
11:08Cailin had relented.
11:09We'd both had more than intended.
11:11And somewhere in the middle of it, ended up on the same half of the bed.
11:15Why won't you let me see your face?
11:17I traced my fingers along his mask.
11:19He caught my hand and pressed his lips to my wrist.
11:22From my wrist to my arm.
11:24Then to my mouth.
11:28Dragons are creatures of desire.
11:30He said, voice low.
11:32I know.
11:33I reached up and pulled him closer by the back of his neck.
11:36Come here, Cailin.
11:37I want this.
11:38Neither of us had expected it to matter.
11:40I took his hand.
11:41I'm this child's mother.
11:43I have every right to know what threatens him.
11:45Let's protect him together.
11:46Cailin looked at me for a long time.
11:48Then the mask slipped from his fingers and fell.
11:51I stared.
11:52Cailin was not ugly.
11:53He was, without question, the finest looking man in the dragon court or anywhere else I had ever been.
11:58Except for the scar.
11:59It ran the full length of his left cheek.
12:02Deep.
12:02Old.
12:03Terrible.
12:03I touched it.
12:04A wound that left a mark like this had been profound.
12:07That night he told me everything.
12:09Cailin and the dragon king were not full brothers.
12:12Cailin had been born to the true dragon queen.
12:14The dragon king was the son of a lesser consort.
12:17A concubine elevated to queen only after the true queen died in childbirth.
12:22By rights, Cailin should have inherited.
12:24But he had no mother to protect him.
12:25And the new queen had no interest in his survival.
12:28So he did the only thing that kept him alive.
12:30He destroyed his own face.
12:31There was an old rule in the dragon court.
12:33Unwritten but absolute.
12:35The king must be unblemished.
12:36A scarred face was a sign of heaven's disfavor.
12:39It disqualified.
12:39That was why the dragon king obsessed over the appearance of his grandchildren.
12:43That was why he had demanded I carry Cailin's child.
12:46And why he wanted that child as a ritual catalyst.
12:48Pure blood.
12:49Bound to the rightful bloodline he had stolen.
12:51No wonder Cailin wore the mask.
12:53No wonder he hadn't touched me.
12:54He had been trying to make sure I never became pregnant at all.
12:57And now I am.
12:58I looked at him.
12:59Are we giving this child up?
13:00Cailin gripped my shoulders.
13:01Lyra.
13:03This child chose us.
13:05I'm not letting go.
13:07Not of either of you.
13:08I'm done retreating.
13:11We decided immediately to conceal the pregnancy with glamour until we had a plan.
13:15The physical signs I could mask.
13:17The body's reactions I could not.
13:19At the dragon king's feast, I vomited in front of everyone.
13:22Sarah was at my side in an instant, rubbing my back, radiating delight.
13:26Lyra?
13:28You're not pregnant, are you?
13:29What wonderful news that would be.
13:31The dragon king's eyes lit up before I could speak.
13:34The royal physician was summoned at a near run, his fingers on my wrist before he'd fully
13:38stopped moving.
13:39I kept my expression neutral and thought, this is over.
13:42Cailin was at the Eastern Sea, reaching out to his mother's people.
13:45I was alone.
13:47The physician looked up from my pulse with great solemnity.
13:50My lady is not with child.
13:52A digestive concern, I believe.
13:54Nothing more.
13:55He caught my eye.
13:56He was winking at me.
13:57I understood instantly.
13:59I arranged my expression into embarrassment.
14:01I did eat rather a lot of roasted chicken last night.
14:04Five, I think.
14:05The hall went silent.
14:07The dragon king dismissed me with barely concealed irritation.
14:10On the way back, I crossed paths with a physician, who had caught the king's displeasure
14:14as a side effect of his performance.
14:16He told me he was making amends.
14:18I could not save the queen.
14:19Let this be what I owe, Lord Cailin.
14:21The true dragon queen had been killed by the dragon king's household too.
14:24I couldn't let myself think about what would happen to my child if we failed.
14:27I sent a sealed letter to my mother that same day, requesting the complete glamour grimoire.
14:32As the Fox Clan's legitimate princess, I had the right to inherit it.
14:36As a reckless child, I had only learned a fraction of it.
14:38Learn it fully, and I could deceive anyone.
14:41My mother sent it within days.
14:42The weeks that followed, drilling the grimoire by day, managing Sarah and Aldrick's attempts
14:47to catch me out by night.
14:48Sarah appeared at my door daily.
14:50She was certain I was pregnant.
14:51Confirmation would earn her favor with both Aldrick and the dragon king.
14:55My glamour held.
14:56Then Sarah arrived with a small, ornate box.
14:58Your clan's radiance elixir arrived.
15:00I brought it over for you.
15:02The radiance elixir was a staple among foxwomen.
15:04Most took several times a month.
15:05It preserved beauty and complexion.
15:07It also contained one ingredient that harmed unborn children.
15:10Every pregnant foxwoman stopped taking it immediately.
15:13Sarah knew this.
15:14I didn't reach for the box.
15:15You've looked exhausted lately.
15:17Has the elixir stopped agreeing with you?
15:19She tried to watch me take one on the spot.
15:21I showed her the door.
15:22My refusal, of course, looked exactly like guilt.
15:25Within the hour, she was back.
15:26With Aldrick, the dragon king, and a clan priestess, Sarah pointed at me.
15:30The fox clan has a glamour craft that can conceal the truth.
15:35I believe Lyra is using it right now to hide her pregnancy.
15:38The dragon king's scepter tapped the floor.
15:41His eyes settled on me.
15:43Is that so?
15:44I burst into tears and said I had no idea what she was talking about.
15:48Sarah's patience snapped.
15:49Stop performing!
15:51I brought someone who can see through you!
15:53The priestess stepped forward.
15:54I recognized her the moment she entered.
15:56Sarah had gone all the way back to the fox clan and brought Nora, the most powerful ritual practitioner our
16:00people had.
16:01Nora raised her staff toward my face.
16:04My lady, forgive the intrusion.
16:06She was talented, genuinely.
16:08Her craft swept through the room in broad circles.
16:11What Sarah had apparently forgotten, the most talented practitioner in the fox clan was my mother.
16:15Under my mother's direct instruction, I had reached the highest level of glamour craft.
16:19Nora had not.
16:20She had no chance.
16:21Nora circled me three times, then three more.
16:24Her expression shifted from confidence to confusion.
16:27That's impossible.
16:28She used her last resort.
16:30Sacred flame bloomed in her palm.
16:32Pure foxfire.
16:33The kind that burned through all illusion.
16:35Using it costs enormous reserves.
16:37Whatever Sarah had promised her, it had been worth it to Nora.
16:40Nora stood holding the sacred flame.
16:42I quietly brought out my reflecting talisman.
16:45Her expression troubled.
16:47Your majesty, I find nothing irregular about Lady Lyra.
16:50It's possible she has reached the highest level of glamour craft.
16:54That is beyond my ability to penetrate.
16:56The dragon king's gaze moved me.
16:58His frown eased into something calculating.
17:01I underestimated Kaelin.
17:02Something in his tone made my skin tighten.
17:05Before I could respond, his hand moved.
17:07Everything went dark.
17:08I woke in a quiet wing of the palace.
17:10I didn't recognize.
17:11The dragon king sat above me, studying my stomach with calm, unhurried interest.
17:15Awake.
17:15I have to say, you and Kaelin managed to hide it longer than I expected.
17:18I pulled my hands over my belly instinctively.
17:20No point in performing anymore.
17:21Is this what we're calling it?
17:22Imprisonment?
17:23He smiled the way people smile when they want you to feel stupid for asking.
17:26Imprisonment.
17:26I'm concerned for Kaelin's child, that's all.
17:28He's away.
17:29Someone should look after things.
17:30When he returns, you'll all be together again.
17:31He knew.
17:32He knew Kaelin had gone to the eastern sea to call in forces.
17:35I had to do something.
17:36After he left, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
17:40The chamber was sealed tight, warding circles on every surface.
17:44My glamour was useless here.
17:45Nothing living could pass in or out.
17:47Then, the next morning, two servants whispered outside my door and forgot how thin walls were.
17:52Lord Aldric is taking a new consort.
17:54Already?
17:55His last one just gave birth.
17:56And didn't she do something for the king?
17:58Doesn't matter anymore.
17:59She's been sent back to the Fox Clan.
18:03Terrible, really.
18:05The child went with her, they say?
18:07Sarah had been sent away.
18:09No.
18:10Aldric didn't send people away.
18:11That wasn't how he operated.
18:13I reached into the lining of my robe and found the feather whistle.
18:16My father had pressed one into each of our hands the day we left home.
18:19One for me, one for Sarah.
18:21So we could always find each other.
18:23I had never expected to need it.
18:24Through the whistle, I learned the truth.
18:26Sarah had been handed to the Phoenix Lord.
18:28Exactly as I had been in my first life.
18:31Her child was missing.
18:32Hearing my voice through the whistle, Sarah finally understood why I had tried to stop
18:36her from taking Aldric's hand that day.
18:38She was frantic.
18:39She begged me to save her.
18:41Save her child!
18:42I told her I couldn't do it alone.
18:44We had to work together.
18:45She went quiet.
18:46I started thinking of other ways to reach Kaelin.
18:48Then her voice came back through the whistle.
18:50Steady this time.
18:51She would help me.
18:52She would get a message out.
18:54Something had changed.
18:55She had found her child's body the night before.
18:57The one-clawed serpent had been too low-ranked for a blood catalyst.
19:00So they used it for something worse.
19:02A test subject.
19:03The body was covered in bruising.
19:05Dark purple from end to end.
19:06Sarah had looked at it.
19:07And something in her simply stopped functioning the way it used to.
19:10She would get my message to Kaelin.
19:12And after that, she wanted Aldric.
19:14We made our plan quickly.
19:15My part was simple.
19:16Wait.
19:16Kaelin came back faster than I thought he would.
19:19Lyra.
19:20It's me.
19:21He was suddenly there, his hand around my wrist.
19:23No time.
19:24We're leaving.
19:24Then the Dragon King materialized in the doorway like smoke given form.
19:28Kaelin, you return and don't come to greet your brother first?
19:31Kaelin put himself between me and the door.
19:33I reached past his arm and took his hand.
19:35I wanted him to know I wasn't standing behind him.
19:37I was standing with him.
19:38The Dragon King looked at our joined hands and something crossed his face I hadn't expected.
19:42Something that looked almost like grief.
19:44Kaelin, why has fortune always favored you?
19:47Your father's regard, your mother's love, that face.
19:50And now a wife who would walk into ruin beside you.
19:53His voice went flat.
19:54I refuse to accept it.
19:56He looked at me.
19:58Leave him.
19:59I'll see you safely delivered.
20:01Name you a lady of the court.
20:03Comfort for the rest of your life.
20:04What do you say?
20:06I almost laughed.
20:08Aldric had been disgusting.
20:10This old man was somehow worse.
20:12I looked at the lines of his face.
20:15Why would I leave him for someone who looks like you?
20:18The Dragon King's vanity was his deepest wound.
20:21In truth, he wasn't ugly.
20:22No man ruled the dragon court on an ugly face.
20:25But next to Kaelin, he had always known the difference.
20:27My words landed exactly where I meant them to.
20:30You've chosen the hard way.
20:32He gave the order.
20:34Armed guards poured in from every entrance.
20:37Take them both.
20:38Let's see how defiant they are after.
20:41What he didn't know.
20:41The soul-binding relic from the Eastern Sea was already pressed against his spine.
20:45Before his guards could reach us, Kaelin's forces had taken every one of them.
20:48The Elder Council entered from the outer hall and knelt.
20:51We welcome the return of our true king.
20:53The Dragon King stood very still.
20:55Then he shouted.
20:56Have you all lost your minds?
20:57I am king!
20:59This is treason!
21:01These elders had served the court before the Dragon Nord's time.
21:04They had always belonged to Kaelin's cause.
21:06They had simply been afraid for too long.
21:08The Dragon Nord had made too many enemies, pushed too many allies toward resentment.
21:13When Kaelin came to them, they did not hesitate.
21:16The Dragon King was forced to his knees.
21:18He kept his chin up.
21:19You're all blind!
21:20His face is damaged!
21:22A scarred king is no king at all!
21:23Release me or I'll have every one of you destroyed!
21:25I looked at him for a moment.
21:27Then I reached up and removed Kaelin's mask myself.
21:29The scar was gone.
21:31His face was unmarked.
21:32Clean.
21:33Because FoxClan women knew, above everything else, how to heal what had been broken.
21:37From the night Kaelin showed me the scar, I had been treating it.
21:40The mask continued after the healing for one reason only.
21:42To let the Dragon King believe nothing had changed, right up until everything had.
21:46I looked at the Dragon King.
21:48I should have mentioned.
21:49The FoxClan's greatest gift isn't glamour.
21:52I let him work out the rest.
21:57Facing the United Elder Council, Kaelin's forces, and a husband whose disqualifying flaw
22:01no longer existed, the Dragon King did the only thing left to him.
22:05He picked up the crystal seppler and drove it into his own throat.
22:08Blood crossed the throne room floor.
22:10Aldric collapsed.
22:11He scrambled to his knees and begged.
22:12Loudly.
22:13Repeatedly.
22:14Technically, his fate was mine to decide.
22:15But Cira's price for helping me had been simple and non-negotiable.
22:18She wanted Aldric.
22:19A deal was a deal.
22:20I glanced at him on the floor and patted Cira's shoulder.
22:22Don't disappoint me.
22:23Don't disappoint me.
22:26Cira looked at Aldric with the expression of someone who had thought about this moment
22:29for a very long time.
22:30I won't.
22:31I'll make sure he can't die and can't bear to live.
22:34She meant it.
22:35She kept it.
22:35The day she took him back, she had his bloodline formally tested.
22:39The results, which the Dragon King had been falsifying for years, showed Aldric at the
22:43lowest rank the Dragon Court recognized, barely above the one-clawed serpent he had fathered.
22:47Without Cira's own strong bloodline, even that much wouldn't have been possible.
22:51She made the results public.
22:52Every accusation Aldric had leveled at her inverted in a single afternoon.
22:56When Aldric saw the numbers, something in him broke.
22:59He kept saying it.
23:01He'd been reborn.
23:02This wasn't supposed to happen.
23:03He wanted to die.
23:04He didn't get to.
23:06Cira had him placed with the lowest ranked clan in the territory, assigned as an alchemical
23:09thrall.
23:10He woke up to it every day.
23:11I spent my pregnancy eating well and watching events unfold from a comfortable distance.
23:16Perhaps it was contentment.
23:18Perhaps it was Kaylin.
23:20Perhaps it was simply this life being different from the last.
23:23When my time came, I delivered nine dragons young.
23:26Every one of them carried something from my first nine children.
23:28A feature.
23:29A quality.
23:30Something I recognized.
23:31But this time those things fit.
23:33What had seemed strange before was beautiful now.
23:36Each one entirely, completely themselves.
23:39Ugly or lovely, it would not have mattered.
23:42Kaylin and I had already decided we would love them exactly as they came.
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