Novels by Ridwanullahi

"You asked if I knew your name," Lord Alaric Veyr said, his voice echoing off the vaulted stone ceiling of the Veyr family archive.Heavy wooden bookshelves stretched forty feet into the darkness above, lined with ancient leather-bound tomes and glowing crystal scrolls. Aurelia walked alongside them, her gray eyes scanning the dust-mote-filled air as Alaric pulled a thick, brass-bound ledger from the deepest recess of the central vault.He slammed the book onto the mahogany reading table, turning to a parchment page yellowed with age."The founder of beast taming—the very first human to contract a monster—bore the name Veyron," Alaric said, his finger tracing a crest featuring a coiled dragon above an open palm. "His descendants carried the Primordial Beast Tamer bloodline. It gave every true member of that house the absolute authority to force any beast, regardless of tier, into submission."Kael stared at the crest, his heart thumping against his ribs. "Primordial Beast Tamer..." he

"Silence!"Aurelia's voice cut through the roaring crowd like a silver blade as she stepped down from the podium."Slandering a fellow student with unproven dark magic charges carries immediate expulsion. Are you prepared to take that risk?""It's not slander!" Voss yelled back. His fists shaking violently. "He controlled our contract beasts without a bond! What else could that be except dark sorcery?!"The crowd erupted again. Waves of fists pumping in the air."Expel him!""Burn the dark tamer!"Behind the grand dais, Mr. Claw stood frozen. His hand tightening around his iron staff.Controlling another tamer's beast without a contract...The phrase echoed in his mind. Stirring an ancient, terrifying memory buried deep in the academy's locked archives."My father is already on his way," Aurelia said coldly, taking her stand beside Kael. "Until the Headmaster arrives, no one touches him."Minutes later, two heavy, high-grade carriages pulled up to the edge of the arena plaza.Lord Val

Astra's cold tongue flicked against Kael's wrist. A steady rhythm against his racing pulse as he stood alone at the forest threshold.Around him, hundreds of academy students clustered into tightly knit four-man squads. Their laughter and overlapping chatter filling the staging grounds.Nobody looked Kael in the eye—except Draven."Hey, loser."Draven sneered, stepping up with his arms crossed over his chest. His iron-clawed bear pacing at his heels."I hope your little worm makes it out alive today. Without us protecting you, I wonder how you'll even find a single core."Kael turned his head slightly. Leaned close to Draven's ear."Protect me...?"Kael whispered. His voice dropping to a razor-thin rasp."Or do you want me to tell everyone here who actually killed those Rank B serpents the last time we stepped through that gate?"Draven's face turned instantly red. Blood rushing to his ears as he stumbled back half a step.He shot a nervous glance at the nearby students before glaring

"This is yours now."Lord Valen slid a heavy, mahogany box across the obsidian desk. His gloved fingers rested on the iron latch."It isn't free. I assume my daughter made our terms explicitly clear?"Voss Thorne dropped onto both knees. His forehead pressing so hard against the cold marble floor that his shoulders trembled."Yes! Yes, my Lord! She told me everything! I am ready to do whatever you command! If you tell me to walk west, I will never look east!""Good."Lord Valen flipped open the latch—revealing an egg the size of an iron shield. Its shell covered in jagged, slate-grey ridges."Prick your finger. Let three drops of blood hit the shell."With shaking hands, Voss pulled a silver dagger from his belt. Sliced his thumb.Blood dripped onto the rough stone shell.The room exploded in a shockwave of white and black aura.The pressure slammed down like an anvil—cracking the marble beneath Voss's knees and rattling the glass display cases lining the walls.Nyra shielded her face

"Oh, you're still here?"Kael paused at the top of the grand marble steps of the Veyr Manor. His hands casually shoved into his pockets.Down at the bottom of the landing, Voss Thorne was still on his knees. His face red. His body trembling from hours of holding the same rigid posture.His parents stood nearby—pale and furious—but completely unable to move under the sharp gaze of the Veyr family guards flanking the iron gates.Voss gritted his teeth. His jaw muscles worked as he pushed his palms against the gravel to push himself up."You're out. I'm standing.""I said you could kneel until I came back down, and then you're forgiven." Kael stepped down the stairs with slow, deliberate strides. "I didn't say I was letting you stand. You injured my beast in front of the entire academy, and now you want to beg in private where no one can see your disgrace?"Voss flinched. His eyes burning with embarrassment and rage."My family paid four hundred gold coins for your bloody herbs! The comp

The oak door splintered inward under the heavy butt of an iron-tipped staff.Four men clad in purple-and-silver coats strode into the ruined apartment. The cold morning air rushed in through the glassless windows.At the head of the group stood Nyra Valen.Her violet-black hair was pinned back with silver needles. Her cold eyes scanned the shattered furniture and scorched floorboards with absolute disgust.Beside her, a purplish aura flickered lazily off the shoulders of her Rank B Purple-Flame Tiger."Kael Veyron."The lead guard's voice echoed off the exposed stone."Lord Valen commands your presence at the estate. Immediately."It wasn't an invitation. It was an order backed by four drawn blades.Kael didn't look up from where he sat on the edge of his cot.He slowly wrapped a strip of clean linen around his wrist—covering the pale, faintly glowing scales resting against his pulse."You should be dropping to your knees in gratitude that my father even knows your name, lizard-tamer.