BLOOD OF THE DRAGON GOD

chapter 12

The second Vivienne burst into the training yard with that sealed ledger I knew the real fight had just grown ten times bigger.

Sweat still dripped down my back from morning drills. I lowered my practice sword as she hurried over, her silver robes dusty and her face tight with urgency. Garrick stood beside me wiping his blade, his scarred brow already furrowed.

"Logan, Captain, you need to see this right now," Vivienne said breathing fast. She held up a thick leather bound book with strange glowing runes on the cover. "I took a small team to Malakor’s seized estate before the high mages could strip it clean. This was hidden behind a false wall in his private study. Encrypted financial records."

I took the ledger from her hands feeling its heavy weight. "Encrypted how? Can you read it?"

She nodded glancing around to make sure no noble pages lingered nearby. "I broke the cipher this morning. It is worse than we thought. Malakor was not running the show. He was a hired blade. A very well paid one."

Garrick stepped closer lowering his voice to a growl. "Talk straight Investigator. Who paid him?"

Vivienne opened the book and pointed to long columns of gold transfers and coded names. "The Sun-Kin Dominion. An empire far to the east across the Burning Sea. They funneled massive amounts of gold into Malakor’s accounts for over two years. Look here. Payments for opening the rift. Payments for targeting the northern border to test for ancient bloodlines. Payments for the cultists inside the palace."

I stared at the numbers my stomach twisting. "The Sun-Kin? I have never even heard of them. Why would they care about our kingdom?"

Vivienne flipped to another page her finger tracing the entries. "They care about your blood Logan. The Dragon God line. The Dominion has records of old prophecies. They want the power for themselves. Malakor was just their man on the inside. A mercenary who stirred chaos so they could weaken us from within."

Garrick cursed and slammed his fist against a wooden post. "This changes everything. We thought we cut the head off the snake. But the real snake sits across the sea pulling strings."

"Exactly," Vivienne said closing the ledger for a moment. "Malakor received his final big payment three days before the rift opened. The message attached to it is clear. Awaken the dragon blood by any means. Deliver the vessel alive if possible. If not harvest the crest."

I felt the mark on my collarbone burn hotter. "The vessel. That is me. They wanted me alive to study or control. Malakor’s whole rebellion the demons the sabotage it was all for them."

Vivienne met my eyes her voice steady but urgent. "Yes. And there is more. The ledger shows ongoing contacts. A Sun-Kin ambassador is already in the capital under a false name. They have allies among three noble houses. That is why your supplies keep getting blocked Logan. It is not just old families hating a peasant knight. It is coordinated."

Garrick paced a few steps his heavy boots kicking up dust. "How deep does this go Vivienne? Does the king know any of it?"

"Not yet," she replied. "I came straight to you two. If we take this to the throne room too soon the wrong people hear it first. The Dominion has gold and they use it well. We need proof that cannot be dismissed."

I handed the ledger back to her my mind racing. "What kind of proof? These numbers look solid to me."

"Names," Vivienne said flipping pages again. "Here. Coded references to Lord Harven and two others. They received kickbacks for delaying knight supplies. Small cuts but enough to tie them to the payments. And look at this entry. A planned second rift near the eastern ports. The Sun-Kin want a full invasion route."

Garrick stopped pacing and stared at the book. "Invasion. So this was never about civil war. It was preparation for conquest. Malakor was just the loud distraction."

"Precisely," Vivienne confirmed. "The Dominion plays the long game. They tested Logan on the border with that attack. When his power woke they sent Malakor to push him further. Everything was designed to expose and capture the dragon blood."

I rubbed the back of my neck feeling the weight of it all. "So I am not just a threat to our nobles. I am a prize for an entire empire. Great. What do we do now? Burn the ledger and pretend we saw nothing?"

"No," Vivienne said sharply. "We use it. But smartly. I can decrypt more tonight. If we find the ambassador’s location we strike first. Quietly."

Garrick nodded once his expression grim. "I will pull a few trusted knights. No one from the noble houses. Logan you stay visible. Keep training in the yard. Let them think we are still chasing shadows. The lower districts love you. Use that. Have them spread quiet rumors that the real enemy is coming from outside."

I let out a short laugh with no humor in it. "Easy for you to say Captain. The people cheer when I walk by but if they knew an empire wants my blood as a weapon they might run the other way."

Vivienne touched my arm lightly her voice softer. "They will not run Logan. You saved their children from the hounds. You closed the rift. The lower classes will stand with the Dragon Knight. We just need to give them the right story."

"Story," I repeated tasting the word. "Fine. But I want in on the next move. No more hiding in the barracks while you two dig through ledgers. If the Sun-Kin want me they can come get me. On my terms."

Garrick grunted approval. "Spoken like your father. But do not get reckless boy. This Dominion sounds organized. Gold like this buys armies and spies. We need to move careful."

Vivienne tucked the ledger under her arm. "I will copy the important pages tonight and hide the original. Meet me in the lower archives after midnight. We go through the rest together. Logan bring that sharp eye of yours. You notice things the rest of us miss."

I nodded already thinking ahead. "Midnight. I will be there. But Vivienne what if the king finds out we kept this from him?"

She met my gaze steady. "Then we explain that half his court is bought. Better to bring him clean proof than empty warnings. The Sun-Kin are playing for the whole kingdom. We cannot afford mistakes."

Garrick clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Get back to drills for now. Make it look normal. Swing that sword like the nobles are watching. Because they are."

I picked up my blade again the iron feeling heavier than usual. "They can watch all they want. Let them report back to their eastern masters. The Dragon Knight is not some prize to be harvested."

Vivienne gave me a small sharp smile before turning to leave. "Good. Keep that fire. We are going to need it when the real storm hits."

As she walked away Garrick lowered his voice one last time. "This changes the game Logan. No more small sabotage. We are looking at war with an empire that knows exactly what you are. Stay sharp."

"I will," I said gripping the hilt tighter. The cheers from the lower gates still echoed faintly in the distance. The people saw a hero. I saw a target. But with Vivienne and Garrick beside me maybe we could turn the hunt around.

Training resumed hard and loud. I pushed through every swing letting the nobles watching from the walls see only anger and strength. Inside my head the name Sun-Kin Dominion burned like the crest on my chest. They thought they could buy my kingdom and cage my blood.

They were wrong.

Midnight could not come soon enough. The ledger had opened a door to something far bigger than Malakor. An empire across the sea wanted me. And I planned to make them regret ever looking our way.