Carl attacked first.His fist moved toward Jackson’s face with enough force to break stone.Jackson caught it.One hand.No effort.No anger.The impact released a wave of heat across the cliff.Jackson’s coat moved.Nothing else did.Carl twisted and struck with his other hand.Jackson blocked.Carl aimed at his ribs.Jackson moved half a step.Every attack missed by inches.He never struck back.That angered Carl more.“Fight me.”“No.”“Afraid?”Jackson smiled.Carl attacked faster.The seal warmed against his chest.His body remembered the Vessel’s speed and adapted.Jackson continued avoiding every blow.He looked almost pleased.Carl kicked toward his knee.Jackson caught his leg and released it before Carl lost balance.“You’ve become stronger than I expected.”The words stopped him.They were not mockery.Jackson sounded genuinely proud.Carl’s anger exploded.“You don’t get to be proud of me!”Golden fire covered his fist.He attacked again.Jackson caught it.This time, black

Carl’s hands tightened.“You don’t know that.”“I watched the Council destroy every person who searched for you.”Jackson’s answer came without hesitation.He had spent twenty-five years removing hunters, false records, and blood marks before they reached Sparrow Mountain.Carl heard only one part.“You watched.”“Yes.”“How much?”“Everything I could.”Jackson knew when Carl first held a weapon.He knew when Master Aiden sent him into military training.He knew every promotion Carl earned and every mission he survived.He knew about the prison.The betrayals.The people Carl saved even when saving them brought no reward.A faint pride entered his voice.“You became stronger without Dragon training than many heirs raised in Varynthia.”Carl felt no pride.Only anger.“You know my achievements.”“Yes.”“You know Sophia.”Jackson’s expression changed slightly.“She is brave.”“Stay away from her.”“I have.”“You had her watched.”“To keep others from reaching her first.”Carl stepped clo

Carl returned to the cliff before dawn.Jackson did not follow.After Carl disappeared beyond the trees, an attendant entered the house.“You didn’t tell him.”“Not yet.”Jackson looked toward the empty chair.Carl believed his father spent twenty-five years only watching.He did not know how often Jackson intervened.When Master Aiden’s clinic nearly closed, an anonymous foundation purchased medicine and paid every debt.Aiden believed an old military friend arranged it.The friend never existed.Years later, three assassins entered the village during Carl’s childhood.They vanished before reaching the house.Jackson burned their blood seals and left their ash beneath a river.When Carl joined the military, Council agents placed his name on a list of soldiers meant to die during a failed mission.An unknown commander changed the assignment.The commander disappeared afterward with enough gold to protect his family for life.During Carl’s imprisonment, hidden orders demanded his execut

Jackson stopped Carl before he reached the path.“There is another reason I called you here.”Carl turned.“I assumed you wanted more than an argument.”“The Council has begun dividing. Once they move openly, Earth will become their battlefield.”“That sounds like your problem.”“It became yours when the Ashborn record recognized you.”Carl touched the necklace.“What do you want?”“A place beside me.”Not an apology.Not a request to rebuild what they lost.An offer of power.Jackson opened one hand.Golden fire formed an image of Varynthia.Armies stood beneath black towers. Thousands of Dragon Vessels lowered their weapons toward one throne.“This is what waits if you accept.”Carl looked at the vision.“As your soldier?”“No.”“Your weapon?”“No.”Jackson’s eyes held his.“My heir.”The image shifted.Carl stood beside the Sovereign’s throne.The Council knelt below.No one could threaten Sophia.No hunter could reach Aiden or Anna.Every enemy who once humiliated Carl would become

News reached the Council before Carl returned to the archive.Jackson Young met the Ashborn Heir.The seven crimson flames rose.Solenne stood first.“He violated ancient law.”Kael remained seated.“Which law?”“The Sovereign cannot acknowledge forbidden blood.”“Jackson abandoned the throne.”“Then he has no right to name an heir.”Seraphine smiled.“He named him?”The messenger hesitated.“He offered Carl a place beside him.”“And Carl?”“Refused.”Seraphine laughed with delight.Solenne turned toward her.“You find rebellion amusing?”“I find the heir consistent.”Octavia struck the table.“Jackson is building an army.”“With one son who rejected him?” Lucien asked.“He summoned Carl without Council permission.”“Jackson rarely asks permission.”The flames burned hotter.Solenne accused him of undermining the First Law and preparing to seize the Sovereign’s throne.Kael remained neutral.He neither defended Jackson nor supported judgment.That frustrated everyone.“Choose a positio