Crown Of The Forbidden Heir

Training Of Fire, Blood, And Magic

CHAPTER 4 

 TRAINING OF FIRE, BLOOD, AND MAGIC

The words still echoed in my chest like a drum. My heart hammered, but this time not from fear. From something stronger. Something alive in me that hadn’t existed before. Power. Raw, untamed, undeniable power. The Goddess had unlocked it—but it wasn’t enough. I could feel it simmering, itching to explode, to consume, to dominate.

Lyra stepped closer, her hand brushing my arm. “Kael… calm down. You can’t let it overwhelm you. You need control.”

Control? I snorted, though there was no humor in it. “Control? Lyra , I’ve just seen five kingdoms in chaos! I’ve just been told I have the blood of a demon, a dragon, and a sorcerer! I can’t control this—I barely survived controlling my own arms an hour ago!”

She shook her head, but her eyes were steady. “You can. You’ve always had it. I just helped you see it. But raw power is useless if you can’t wield it. Come. You must train.”

“Train where?” I asked. The throne room wasn’t built for this. The walls were gold and marble, not meant for someone who could level mountains with a thought.

She smirked faintly. “Here is just the beginning. Follow me.”

I didn’t like being led, but something in her tone left no room for argument. I followed her down twisting hallways, through a gate that shimmered like liquid, and into a courtyard unlike anything I had imagined.

The sky above wasn’t sky at all. It shifted with every heartbeat—clouds of fire, streams of lightning, and a golden sun that wasn’t sunlight. The ground beneath my feet pulsed like living earth. This was no training field. This was… alive.

Lyra's voice cut through the crackling air. “This is the Heart Ground. It adapts to your strength and your will. Every strike, every spell, every step you take—it will respond. If you falter, it will punish you. If you succeed… it will reward you.”

I swallowed. “Great. And what’s my first lesson? Don’t blow myself up?”

She laughed softly. “Something like that.”

We began with fire.

“Focus,” she instructed. “Feel the energy inside you. The demon blood first. Let it burn, let it scream, but control it. Bend it.”

I clenched my fists. Flames erupted from my palms before I even meant them to. The Heart Ground twisted, stones rising in jagged spikes, wind whipping into tornadoes around me.

“Too much,” Lyra said sharply. “Control it, or it will consume you.”

I gritted my teeth. “I *am* controlling it!”

She raised a brow. “No, you’re reacting. There’s a difference. The demon in you is wild. Let it fight, but don’t let it win.”

I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and let the fire inside me calm. Slowly, the flames dimmed, coiling around my arms like living ribbons instead of erupting like volcanoes. The air stilled. The ground flattened.

Lyra’s eyes softened. “Better.”

Then she grinned. “Now, dragon.”

I frowned. “Dragon? What the hell—how do I—”

“You will feel it,” she said, stepping back. “Close your eyes. Sense the strength in your bones. The scales, the wings, the claws. You are not human. Let your dragon blood awaken.”

I gritted my teeth. My skin crawled, heat rising under my flesh. Scales erupted along my arms. I felt my spine elongate, muscles tensing like coiled steel. My lungs expanded. My arms itched with wings I could almost feel.

The Heart Ground responded instantly. Rocks split under me. The courtyard trembled. Wind whipped through my hair, tearing at my clothes.

“Control it, Kael!” Lyra shouted. “Command it. Don’t let the dragon run your body!”

I roared, not a word, just raw sound. The wind followed me, my wings—not fully formed, but imagined—stirred the air. The courtyard became alive with my power. I could feel it everywhere—the air, the stones, the sky above.

I dropped to one knee, gasping, sweat pouring down my face. My heart pounded like war drums.

Lyra's smile was proud, almost teasing. “Not bad for a beginner.”

“Beginner?” I wheezed. “I’m burning the world around me, Lyra! How is this beginner-level?”

“You will learn,” she said. “Sorcery comes last. It is the most difficult because it binds your bloodlines together. You cannot wield it without controlling the other two.”

Next came sorcery.

I felt raw magic surge around me. Energy pulsed with a heartbeat. Spells I had never spoken erupted in my mind. Flames, ice, lightning, illusions—they all screamed to be used at once.

“Focus on one element,” Lyra instructed. “Only one. Then bind the others together. Otherwise, the magic will tear you apart.”

I chose fire. Blue fire. Not ordinary fire—energy felt alive, crawling across my skin. I imagined it forming a wall.

It obeyed me.

I forced it to bind with wind, then stone, then lightning. I gritted my teeth. Pain flared as energy twisted, seeking escape. I screamed. My magic felt like a living thing, testing me, pushing me, begging me to either master it or die.

Lyra held her ground. Calm. Steady. Guiding.

“Good… again. And again!”

Hours passed—or maybe days. Time warped in the Heart Ground. Every second I pushed, every second I failed, I rose stronger. Every shout, every strike, every battle with my own essence forged me into something I had never dreamed I could become.

By the end, I wasn’t human. I wasn’t fully dragon. I wasn’t merely a sorcerer. I was all three, fused into one vessel of unstoppable power.

Lyra studied me. Her eyes glimmered. “Perfect, Elias. You are ready… almost. But one thing remains.”

I turned to her, exhausted but alive. “What?”

“Leadership,” she said. “Strength without control is nothing. You must understand your people. You must command loyalty. Your enemies will respect power… but your people must *love* it. Only then will the five kingdoms fear you as more than just a weapon.”

I stared at her. “Love me? I don’t even know how to speak to these people. They’ve been hidden for centuries.”

Lyra smiled faintly. “You will learn. They are not simple villagers—they are warriors, scholars, mystics. They understand destiny. They will respond to someone who is true and fearless.”

I swallowed. “And the kingdoms? When do we face them?”

“Soon,” she said. Her wings flared. Light poured around her. “They have felt your awakening. Each will send scouts, spies, assassins. You must strike first. You must dominate. You must survive.”

 “I will. I will survive… and I will conquer them all.”

Lyra nodded. “Good. That fire, that hunger, that fury—never let it die. But temper it with reason. One cannot rule with rage alone.”

I exhaled, feeling exhaustion, exhilaration, and determination in equal measure. “Then show me… the first kingdom.”

Her eyes shimmered. “Follow me.”

She led me to the edge of the Heart Ground. Another portal opened—a shimmering ring of light. I saw the Crimson Empire, a kingdom engulfed in blood-red clouds, flames erupting from its towers. Massive dragons circled the skies. Sorcerers cast spells that cracked the ground. Soldiers with enchanted weapons marched endlessly, unstoppable.

Lyra turned to me. “This is your first target. You will not attack blindly. You will study, learn, and conquer. Every kingdom has weakness, Kael Every tyrant has a flaw. And you—Vessel of three bloodlines—will find it.”

I looked at the chaos below. My chest tightened. Fire surged in my veins, claws itched to strike, and the magic of my sorcery hummed.

I raised my hand, feeling power like never before. “Then I begin.”

Lyra nodded. “And I will be at your side. The Goddess has blessed me to guide you. You will not face them alone.”

I glanced at her, exhaustion and exhilaration warping my face. “I… I think I finally understand… what I am.”

She smiled. “Good. Now go. Begin your reign. Begin your war. Begin your life as the King who cannot be destroyed.”

The Heart Ground shifted. Energy pulsed beneath my feet. My three bloodlines roared inside me.

I felt alive, unstoppable, and dangerous.

And for the first time, I didn’t fear the five kingdoms.

I welcomed them.