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Reborn to Marry My Ex’s Dragon Uncle - Betrayal and Vengeance - Short Movie
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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.
00:40Aldric, 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.
01:00The 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.
01:16Aldric 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 consort.
01:33I 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?
02:40He 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.
03:05I married you because I pitted you.
03:07If 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
03:18to the Phoenix Lord as 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.
03:32In our first life, Aldric had bled my nine children dry.
03:35He 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.
03:43Kaelin 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.
04:24Kaelin, explain yourself.
04:26Kaelin 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.
04:35After 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 Kaelin an air soon.
04:48Then sent me on my way.
04:49I returned to find Kaelin 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 Kaelin 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.
05:15Aldrich 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.
05:36Aldrich 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.
05:46Kaelin 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 Aldrich's chest.
05:55Aldrich, 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.
06:05Kaelin's response was immediate.
06:07She's beautiful, at least.
06:09The two of you are ugly and useless.
06:11That puts her ahead.
06:11Aldrich went white, then shifted into dragon family.
06:14He looked ferocious.
06:15He fought like a beginner.
06:17Kaelin played with him, barely tried.
06:18The court watched Aldrich 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?
06:26Aldrich 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!
06:36Gone before anyone could point out he'd forgotten entirely about the golden light he'd summoned
06:40everyone to see.
06:41Aldrich didn't forget Sleights.
06:43He waited until Kaelin was away and came for me.
06:46He wove mist across the back courtyard, trapping me on the hillside.
06:49Called wind and rain down until 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. He still hasn't touched you, hasn't he?
07:01He came toward me. I backed up. He seized my wrist.
07:03Your bloodline isn't quite right for a proper consort, but a secondary one? That could work.
07:10I slapped him. He grabbed me by the throat. I couldn't breathe. Then he let go.
07:13Even now, Kaelin'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. You're a low-clan princess, Lyra. When that day comes,
07:25I'll crush you like nothing.
07:26He didn't know. The clan he despised was about to ruin him completely.
07:30I cast my glamour. Between one breath and the next, we were standing in front of the
07:33Dragon King's council chamber. Every word Aldric had just said had fallen on the Dragon King's
07:38ears, and the ears of every allied clan lord present. The Fox Clan was low-ranked, yes,
07:44but they were under Dragon Court protection. What Aldric had said amounted to announcing,
07:47in public, that the Dragon Court held its subject clans in contempt, not something a future
07:52king could afford to say aloud. The Dragon King's crystal scepter cracked against Aldric's
07:57wings.
07:57You have deeply disappointed me.
07:59Aldric hit the ground. His shoulders trembled. The Dragon King stripped him of his privileges
08:03and confined him to quarters. The air presumptive, favored of the court one hour ago, became invisible
08:09by afternoon. I had won cleanly. Kaelin was furious.
08:12Do you understand how dangerous that was? What if he had actually killed you?
08:16He'd figured it out, of course. I had used an enchantment to lure Aldric in deliberately.
08:20Revenge, yes, but also self-preservation. Aldric wasn't going to leave me alone regardless.
08:25Better to move first. I hadn't consulted Kaelin 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. He exhaled.
08:34Don't do something like that without telling me. I'm your husband. Protecting you is my
08:38responsibility.
08:39Something warm moved through my chest when he said it. Something I hadn't expected.
08:43Time moved quickly after that. The night Sarah went into labor, a storm rolled in. Lightning,
08:49black clouds, golden light pouring off the palace walls. The court's ritual seers declared it the
08:54sign of a golden dragon's birth. The Dragon King got out of bed and went to Sarah's chambers to wait.
08:59I wasn't going to miss this. Aldric's bloodline wasn't pure enough for a golden dragon. If that
09:04light was real, it wasn't his. Sarah labored all night. Dragon Young were large. She screamed until dawn.
09:10Then the screaming stopped. The child was not brought out. The Dragon King went by himself.
09:15What followed was a silence somehow worse than the screaming. Then came his order.
09:19Seal it. Tell no one.
09:21Word leaked anyway. It always does. Sarah had delivered something golden. It was not a dragon.
09:26A one-clawed golden serpent. A common golden serpent could, with enough medicine and time,
09:31be coaxed into dragon form. A one-clawed one could not. Too weak. It would never transform.
09:36And across its face, a large, dark birthmark. Ugly and unmistakable. The Dragon King took one look
09:42and left without naming it. The 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. Sarah and Aldric produced this.
09:53The bloodline failure was obvious. Aldric'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. He also issued a command.
10:03I was to produce a dragon child within the year. The entire court now understood exactly what Aldric
10:09had fathered. Aldric locked himself in his rooms. Sarah's situation was no better. Aldric blamed her
10:14for everything. Threatened to cast her out with the child and start over. My father wrote asking me
10:19to help her. I went, reluctantly. Sarah was not grateful. Don't look so pleased with yourself, Lyra.
10:24You know why Kaylin wears that mask? Because he's Herius under it. You'll end up just like me,
10:29producing nothing worth keeping. And even if you do manage something, it'll just be Catalyst
10:34stock for the King's workings. Ha!
10:36Catalyst stock. My blood went cold. I thought of my nine children in my first life,
10:41their deaths, and my hand went to my stomach before I could stop it. Sarah refused to say more and
10:46threw
10:46me out. I went to Kaylin, asked him directly what was going on. He deflected, said it was to protect
10:51me.
10:51My hand was still on my stomach. I was done being patient.
10:54Kaylin, stop. I'm telling you I'm pregnant. He went very still. I held his gaze. That night,
11:01after the spiced plum wine, I'd caught a chill standing in Aldric's rain. I'd demanded wine to
11:07warm up. Kaylin had relented. We'd both had more than intended, and somewhere in the middle of it,
11:12ended up on the same half of the bed. Why won't you let me see your face?
11:17I traced my fingers along his mask. He caught my hand, and pressed his lips to my wrist. From my
11:23wrist, to my arm, then to my mouth. Dragons are creatures of desire, he said, voice low.
11:32I know. I reached up and pulled him closer by the back of his neck. Come here, Kaylin. I want
11:38this.
11:38Neither of us had expected it to matter. I took his hand. I'm this child's mother. I have every right
11:44to know what threatens him. Let's protect him together. Kaylin looked at me for a long time.
11:48Then the mask slipped from his fingers and fell. I stared. Kaylin was not ugly. He was, without
11:54question, the finest looking man in the dragon court or anywhere else I had ever been. Except
11:59for the scar. It ran the full length of his left cheek. Deep. Old. Terrible. I touched it. A wound
12:05that left a mark like this had been profound. That night, he told me everything. Kaylin and the
12:09dragon king were not full brothers. Kaylin had been born to the true dragon queen. The dragon king
12:15was the son of a lesser consort. A concubine elevated to queen only after the true queen died in child
12:21birth. By rights, Kaylin should have inherited, but he had no mother to protect him, and the new queen
12:26had no interest in his survival. So he did the only thing that kept him alive. He destroyed his own
12:31face.
12:31There was an old rule in the dragon court. Unwritten but absolute. The king must be unblemished. A scarred face
12:37was a sign of heaven's disfavor. It disqualified. That was why the dragon king obsessed over the
12:42appearance of his grandchildren. That was why he had demanded I carry Kaylin's child, and why he
12:46wanted that child as a ritual catalyst. Pure blood, bound to the rightful bloodline he had stolen.
12:51No wonder Kaylin wore the mask. No wonder he hadn't touched me. He had been trying to make sure I
12:56never
12:56became pregnant at all. And now I am. I looked at him. Are we giving this child up? Kaylin gripped
13:01my
13:01shoulders. Lyra, this child chose us. I'm not letting go. Not of either of you. I'm done
13:09retreating. We decided immediately to conceal the pregnancy with glamour, until we had a plan.
13:15The physical signs I could mask. The body's reactions I could not. At the dragon king's feast,
13:20I vomited in front of everyone. Sarah was at my side in an instant, rubbing my back, radiating delight.
13:26Lyra? You're not pregnant, are you? What wonderful news that would be.
13:31The dragon king's eyes lit up before I could speak. The royal physician was summoned at a near run,
13:36his fingers on my wrist before he'd fully stopped moving. I kept my expression neutral and thought,
13:41this is over. Kaylin was at the eastern sea, reaching out to his mother's people. I was alone.
13:47The physician looked up from my pulse with great solemnity.
13:50My lady is not with child. A digestive concern, I believe. Nothing more.
13:55He caught my eye. He was winking at me. I understood instantly. I arranged my expression
14:00into embarrassment. I did eat rather a lot of roasted chicken last night. Five, I think.
14:05The hall went silent. The 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 as a side
14:15effect of his performance. He told me he was making amends. I could not save the queen. Let this be
14:20what I owe, Lord Kaylin. The 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. I sent a sealed letter
14:29to
14:29my mother that same day, requesting the complete glamour grimoire. As the Fox Clan's legitimate
14:34princess, I had the right to inherit it. As a reckless child, I had only learned a fraction of
14:38it. Learn it fully, and I could deceive anyone. My mother sent it within days. The weeks that followed,
14:44drilling the grimoire by day, managing Sarah and Aldrich's attempts to catch me out by night.
14:48Sarah appeared at my door daily. She was certain I was pregnant. Confirmation would earn her favor
14:53with both Aldrich and the Dragon King. My glamour held. Then Sarah arrived with a small, ornate box.
14:58Your clan's Radiance Elixir arrived. I brought it over for you. The Radiance Elixir was a staple
15:03among foxwomen. Most took several times a month. It preserved beauty and complexion. It also contained
15:08one ingredient that harmed unborn children. Every pregnant foxwoman stopped taking it immediately.
15:13Sarah knew this. I didn't reach for the box. You've looked exhausted lately. Has the elixir stopped
15:18agreeing with you? She tried to watch me take one on the spot. I showed her the door. My refusal,
15:23of course,
15:24looked exactly like guilt. Within the hour, she was back. With Aldrich, the Dragon King, and a clan
15:28priestess, Sarah pointed at me. The fox clan has a glamour craft that can conceal the truth.
15:35I believe Lyra is using it right now to hide her pregnancy. The Dragon King's scepter tapped the floor.
15:41His eyes settled on me. Is that so? I burst into tears and said I had no idea what she
15:46was talking
15:47about. Sarah's patience snapped. Stop performing. I brought someone who can see through you. The
15:53priestess stepped forward. I recognized her the moment she entered. Sarah had gone all the way back
15:57to the fox clan and brought Nora, the most powerful ritual practitioner our people had. Nora raised her
16:02staff toward my face. My lady, forgive the intrusion. She was talented, genuinely. Her craft swept
16:09through the room in broad circles. What Sarah had apparently forgotten, the most talented practitioner
16:14in the fox clan was my mother. Under my mother's direct instruction, I had reached the highest level
16:18of glamour craft. Nora had not. She had no chance. Nora circled me three times, then three more. Her
16:24expression shifted from confidence to confusion. That's impossible. She used her last resort. Sacred
16:30flame bloomed in her palm. Pure foxfire, the kind that burned through all illusion. Using it costs
16:36enormous reserves. Whatever Sarah had promised her, it had been worth it to Nora. Nora stood
16:41holding the sacred flame. I quietly brought out my reflecting talisman. Her expression troubled.
16:47Your majesty, I find nothing irregular about Lady Lyra. It's possible she has reached the highest level
16:53of glamour craft. That is beyond my ability to penetrate. The dragon king's gaze moved me. His frown eased
16:59into something calculating. I underestimated Kaylin. Something in his tone made my skin tighten. Before
17:05I could respond, his hand moved. Everything went dark. I woke in a quiet wing of the palace. I didn't
17:11recognize. The dragon king sat above me, studying my stomach with calm, unhurried interest. Awake? I have
17:16to say, you and Kaylin managed to hide it longer than I expected. I pulled my hands over my belly
17:19instinctively. No point in performing anymore. Is this what we're calling it? Imprisonment? He smiled the way
17:24people smile when they want you to feel stupid for asking. I'm concerned for Kaylin's child, that's all. He's
17:29away. Someone should look after things. When he returns, you'll all be together again. He knew. He knew Kaylin had
17:33gone to the Eastern Sea to call in forces. I had to do something. After he left, I lay on
17:38the bed and stared at the
17:40ceiling. The chamber was sealed tight, warding circles on every surface. My glamour was useless here. Nothing
17:45living could pass in or out. Then, the next morning, two servants whispered outside my door and forgot how thin
17:51walls were. Lord Aldric is taking a new consort. Already? His last one just gave birth. And didn't
17:57she do something for the king? Doesn't matter anymore. She's been sent back to the Fox Clan.
18:03Terrible, really. The child went with her, they say? Sarah had been sent away. No. Aldric didn't send
18:10people away. That wasn't how he operated. I reached into the lining of my robe and found the feather
18:15whistle. My father had pressed one into each of our hands the day we left home. One for me, one
18:20for Sarah.
18:21So we could always find each other. I had never expected to need it. Through the whistle, I learned
18:26the truth. Sarah had been handed to the Phoenix Lord, exactly as I had been in my first life. Her
18:31child was missing. Hearing my voice through the whistle, Sarah finally understood why I had tried
18:36to stop her from taking Aldric's hand that day. She was frantic. She begged me to save her. Save her
18:41child! I told her I couldn't do it alone. We had to work together. She went quiet. I started thinking
18:47of
18:47other ways to reach Kalen. Then her voice came back through the whistle. Steady this time. She would
18:52help me. She would get a message out. Something had changed. She had found her child's body the
18:56night before. The one-clawed serpent had been too low-ranked for a blood catalyst. So they used it
19:01for something worse. A test subject. The body was covered in bruising. Dark purple from end to end.
19:06Sarah had looked at it. And something in her simply stopped functioning the way it used to. She would get
19:11my
19:11message to Kalen. And after that, she wanted Aldric. We made our plan quickly. My part was simple.
19:16Wait. Kalen came back faster than I thought he would.
19:20Lyra. It's me.
19:21He was suddenly there, his hand around my wrist. No time. We're leaving.
19:24The Dragon King materialized in the doorway like smoke given form.
19:28Kalen. You return and don't come to greet your brother first?
19:31Kalen put himself between me and the door. I reached past his arm and took his hand.
19:35I wanted him to know I wasn't standing behind him. I 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.
19:44Kalen. Why has fortune always favored you? Your 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. I'll see you safely delivered. Name you a lady of the court. Comfort for the rest of your
20:04life.
20:05What do you say?
20:06I almost laughed. Aldric had been disgusting. This 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. In truth, he wasn't ugly.
20:22No man ruled the dragon court on an ugly face.
20:25But next to Kalen, 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. Let's see how defiant they are after.
20:41But 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, Kalen'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. Then he shouted.
20:56Have you all lost your minds? I am king! This is treason!
21:01These elders had served the court before the Dragon Nord's time.
21:04They had always belonged to Kalen'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 Kalen came to them, they did not hesitate.
21:16The Dragon King was forced to his knees. He kept his chin up.
21:19You're all blind! His face is damaged! A 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 Kalen's mask myself.
21:30The scar was gone. His face was unmarked. Clean.
21:33Because Fox Clan women knew, above everything else, how to heal what had been broken.
21:37From the night Kalen showed me the scar, I had been treating it.
21:40The mask continued after the healing for one reason only.
21:43To let the Dragon King believe nothing had changed, right up until everything had.
21:46I looked at the Dragon King.
21:47I should have mentioned.
21:49The Fox Clan's greatest gift isn't glamour.
21:52I let him work out the rest.
21:57Facing the United Elder Council, Kalen's forces, and a husband whose disqualifying flaw no longer existed, the Dragon King did
22:03the 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.
22:26Sarah looked at Aldric with the expression of someone who had thought about this moment for 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 lowest rank the Dragon Court
22:44recognized, 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.
23:06Sarah had him placed with the lowest-ranked clan in the territory, assigned as an alchemical thrall.
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, a quality, something 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.
23:43Kaylin and I had already decided we would love them exactly as they came.
23:46Why did I have conquered them?
23:46Why did I zeros eng sequencing?
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