"You always did talk too much before a fight, Raymond."Soren's voice didn't shake. The raw terror that had paralyzed him in the tomb was gone, replaced by an icy, absolute stillness. Beside him, Ignis let out a low, vibrating growl that rattled the dust loose from the safehouse rafters."And you always mistook arrogance for strength, my prince," Raymond said smoothly. He raised the stolen royal blade, its silver edge catching the dim torchlight. "Look at you. Hiding in a basement, relying on outlaws and children to shield you.""They aren't my shields," Soren said, stepping past Ignis until only five feet of stone separated him from his executioner. "They're the reason I'm going to finish what should have ended thirty-five years ago.""Soren, don't!" Kaelen shouted from the tunnel mouth, her fingers tight on her frost daggers. "He has the High Council's guards behind him! It's a trap!""He's right, kid!" Varek barked, his warhammer raised. "We take the tunnel now, or we get buried in

"I am no illusion!" Soren screamed, slamming his palm flat against the flagstones.A blinding wave of crimson dragon flame erupted from his hand, washing over the floor in a fiery circle. The intense heat caught Raymond off balance, forcing the commander to leap backward as his silver cape caught fire.Soren scrambled to his feet, blood dripping from his lip, but his gray eyes burned with absolute, unyielding malice."Soren, behind you!" Kaelen screamed.Two Iron Clan guards broke through her frost barrier, their heavy spears aimed straight for Soren’s exposed back.Before the blades could touch him, Ignis lunged across the chamber. The shadow dragon's massive tail whipped through the air like a steel cable, shattering the guards' spears and slamming both men into the stone pillars with crushing force.I stand with you, Master! Ignis roared in Soren's mind, its crimson eyes glowing with ferocious loyalty."Thank you, buddy," Soren muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth."You rely o

Raymond stumbled backward, clutching his throat as his breath turned into a wet, choking gasp. The stolen royal sword slipped from his numb fingers, clattering loudly across the stone floor."You... you remembered..." Raymond choked out, his eyes wide with disbelief as he sank onto one knee."I remembered everything," Soren said, stepping forward and picking up his ancient family sword from the dirt. The blade hummed with a soft, comforting vibration as soon as Soren's skin touched the hilt. "I remembered the oath you swore under the dragon crest. And I remembered how you broke it.""Soren!" Varek yelled from the tunnel entrance. "The whole ceiling is coming down! The guards are bringing heavy explosives down the main shaft!"The room trembled violently, dust and heavy rocks raining down from the vaulted ceiling as deep cracks spider-webbed across the walls."We have to go! Now!" Kaelen pleaded, running into the main chamber and grabbing Soren's arm. "Leave him!"Soren stared down at

"You lie!"The silver-marked woman lunged forward, her dragon-bone spear stopping a bare inch from Soren’s throat."The royal line was slaughtered thirty-five years ago!" she hissed, her breath pluming in the freezing mountain air. "The High Council paraded their severed heads through the Citadel! You are nothing but an Iron Clan imposter trying to trick us out of hiding!""Lower your tooth-pick before I eat it!" Varek growled, stepping up with his warhammer raised."Varek, stay back," Soren commanded calmly, never breaking eye contact with the woman. "Chief Yael, look at the blade."The woman's eyes flicked down to the ancient sword in Soren's grip. The golden runes carved into the steel were humming with a soft, resonant vibration, reacting to the cold mountain mana."Only pure royal blood can ignite the sun-steel," Kaelen added, stepping up to Soren's side with her frost daggers lowered, showing no hostility. "Look at him, Yael. Look at the dragon at his back."Ignis stepped out fr

"If that seal breaks, the sky will bleed!"Yael’s scream was nearly swallowed by the howling mountain gale, her voice raw with pure terror as she pointed her dragon-bone spear toward the jagged peaks of the Northern Spire."How long do we have?" Soren shouted back, his hand gripped tightly around Kaelen’s arm as the ground beneath them shivered with a hollow, rhythmic vibration."An hour," Yael cried, her silver tribal markings glowing faintly against her pale, cold skin. "Maybe less! The High Mages are using blood sacrifices to crack the ancient runes!""Then we don't have time to plan," Soren spat, his gray eyes flashing with a dangerous, golden light as he turned toward the black dragon circling overhead. "Ignis! Down!"The massive shadow dragon dropped from the clouds like a falling meteor, its four wings snapping wide at the last second to cushion its landing, sending a wave of loose snow blasting across the courtyard."You're not going up there alone!" Kaelen yelled, her hands g