Return of The Forsaken Heir

CHPT 4

Clara stood at the center of the wooden stage with blood pouring from her pale lips. Her soul burned with dark fire as she prepared to blow up the entire city. Leo moved behind her in a silent blur, pressing his fingers gently against the back of her neck.

A warm, soothing pulse of hidden dragon power slipped softly into Clara's neck. The red lightning in the sky vanished instantly as her magic melted away. Her eyes closed and her body fell backward into Leo's strong arms.

Leo pulled Clara against his chest, holding the green Jade Crown tightly with his other hand. The frightened crowd broke through the wooden gates, screaming and running in every direction to save their lives. Leo dashed through the chaotic mob like a shadow, vanishing toward the mountains.

Inside the Blood Dragon Hall, Seven sect patriarchs sat around a round black table, their faces dark with fury and shame. Elder Zhao smashed his wine cup onto the stone floor, splashing red wine across the room.

"A single woman killed our general and walked away in broad daylight!" Elder Zhao roared in pure rage. "The entire city saw us get humiliated on our own execution stage! If word of this reaches the other provinces, our sects will become the laughingstock of the world!"

"Silence, all of you!" Grand Patriarch Gideon commanded, slamming his fist onto the table. The entire hall went dead quiet as the old leader stood up, his eyes glowing with a wicked light. "A dead general means nothing compared to the great treasure sleeping right beneath our feet."

Gideon pointed at the stone floor beneath their boots. "Under this very city lies the ancient Nine-Dragon Sovereign Core," Gideon whispered with a greedy sneer. "It is the greatest source of divine power in the entire world, and its time of awakening has come."

"To wake that sleeping core, we must perform the sacred blood ritual written in the ancient scrolls," Gideon explained. "The great array requires the life-blood of living citizens of Dragonfall City. Once their blood washes into the earth, the gates of eternal life will open for us."

"Is human blood enough to break the seal, Grand Patriarch?" one of the elders asked in a hushed voice. "No," Gideon replied with a cruel grin, shaking his head slowly. "The core will only ignite when it tastes the pure royal blood of a true dragon heir, and Leo is that key."

Gareth jumped up from his chair, his face red with anger and pride. "Then let me take my army to the slums right now!" Gareth screamed, waving his sword. "I will chop down every peasant in the dirt until that beggar boy crawls out!"

"Sit down, Gareth, you are acting like a fool," victoria's cold voice rang out through the hall. She stepped out from the shadows, her eyes dead and sharp. "If you slaughter the city now, Leo will take his family and run far away into the wild."

"What do you suggest we do then, Lady victoria?" Gideon asked, looking at her with a pleased smile. "Leo cares about two things more than his own life," victoria replied with an icy sneer. "His blind father and his crippled sister are his only weakness, so we will use them as our bait."

"He carried them into the eastern mountains this morning," victoria added with pure malice. "Track them down and put knives to their throats. Leo will come out to rescue them, and that is how you will catch him." Gideon laughed loudly, clapping his hands together as he gave the order to his subordinates. 

"Release the Night-Stalker Hound Corps into the high mountains!" Gideon commanded with a wicked grin. "Find that beggar boy, cage his family, and bring me every single drop of his royal dragon blood!" Outside the hall, twenty massive black beasts howled into the mountain wind, racing into the dark trees.

Miles away in the quiet eastern mountains, Leo pushed through the thick bushes into the hidden stone cave. He gently laid Clara's sleeping body down on a soft bed of dry yellow leaves. The cave was warm but the air outside carried the dangerous scent of wild rain.

"Leo? Is that you, my boy?" Thomas cried out from the dark, his hands trembling with joy. "Brother, you came back to us!" Lily sobbed, crawling across the rocky floor to grab his knees. Leo knelt down, wrapping his arms around them both with a tired, gentle smile.

"I promised you I would return safely, Lily," Leo whispered softly, kissing her head. He reached into his coat and pulled out the green Jade Crown, placing it gently into Thomas's shaking hands. "I took Mother's crown back from their hands, Father, and her honor is safe."

Thomas’s blind fingers traced the smooth jade of the crown, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. "Eleanor... my beloved wife," Thomas wept softly, pressing the green jade against his hollow chest. "Your boy brought you back to us. Even in our misery, you are still with our family."

"They will not destroy us, Father," Leo said softly, wiping his father's wet face with his sleeve. "I am strong, and I will protect you both no matter what happens."

A low groan came from the back of the cave as Clara slowly opened her purple eyes, rubbing her chest. "Leo... where are we?" she asked weakly, struggling to sit up against the cold stone wall.

At the sound of her faint voice, everyone in the dark cave turned to look at her at the exact same time. Thomas tilted his blind face toward the back wall, while Lily stopped crying and gasped softly.

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw her moving. "Lady Clara! You are awake!" he shouted, his heart panting heavily in his chest as pure relief washed over his face.

He quickly rushed across the cave and dropped to his knees right beside her, his hands trembling as he reached out to support her back. He helped her lean comfortably against the dry rock, making sure she did not fall back over.

In his deep panic, Leo reached out to feel where the violent magic seal had burned her skin. But in his rush, his shaking hand accidentally pressed straight against her soft breast.

Clara’s eyes instantly opened wide, her purple gaze turning sharp and icy as her face flushed a bright, angry red. She glared at him, her lips pressed into a tight line that radiated pure anger.

Leo did not even notice his awkward mistake because his mind was spinning with worry. Wanting to check if her heartbeat was steady, he leaned straight forward and placed his ear directly against the center of her chest.

Clara froze, her whole body turning stiff as a board before she grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. "Are you trying to check my pulse, or are you just trying to kiss me, you little brute?" she demanded furiously, her voice dripping with dangerous heat. "idiot".

Leo gasped, his cheeks burning red as he suddenly realized how bad both of his actions had just looked. "I-I am so sorry!" he stammered out quickly, scrambling backward on his hands and knees in total embarrassment. "I swear in my life I was only trying to check your pulse!"

"How do you feel? Is your chest still burning?" Leo asked, his breath coming in heavy pants as he carefully checked her arms and face for any injuries. "You scared me so much back in the square!"

"We are inside a secret cave in the eastern mountains," Leo said, walking over to hand her a wooden cup of fresh water. "You tried to use that dangerous seal today. I had to knock you out to save your life."

"Your life is precious, Clara, and my mother never wanted you to die for us," Leo said gently. He took the Jade Crown back from Thomas's hands, looking closely at the green stones in the dim light. Underneath the largest emerald setting at the base of the crown, his sharp eyes noticed a tiny golden latch.

Leo pressed his thumb against the hidden metal notch with a click. A secret hollow compartment opened inside the jade rim, and a rolled piece of parchment slipped out. The old silk dropped softly into Leo's trembling hands, smelling faintly of dried lotus flowers and royal ink.

"What did you find, big brother?" Lily asked softly. "It is a letter written in Mother's own handwriting," Leo whispered, his voice catching in his tight throat. Thomas froze in place, holding his breath as Leo slowly unrolled the silk page before them.

The parchment was covered in black ink, written in beautiful handwriting of his late mother, Queen Eleanor. Leo's eyes grew wide with shock as he read the secret words left behind for him. He held the paper close to the light so he could see every single line.

"My sweet Leo," the letter read. "If you are reading this note, it means our family has fallen into great danger. The Seven Sects were never our friends. They lied to our clan because they wanted to steal the ancient magic stone buried deep under this city."

"That stone holds a terrifying power," the note continued. "The evil leaders plan to kill one million innocent people so they can use their blood to unlock the stone and become immortal. You carry our royal bloodline, my son. Never let those bad men catch you, because your blood is the final key they need to activate their deadly trap!"

Leo's hands shook violently, his teeth grinding together as pure anger filled his whole chest. "They killed our mother..." Leo whispered, his voice shaking with rage as bitter tears filled his eyes. "They framed our whole family and ruined our lives just to steal our ancient secret!"

Outside the cave, over two hundred soldiers moved back and forth along the steep cliff, their burning torches cutting through the night fog. They had combed the mountain paths for hours without catching any sight of the runaway family.

"Are you certain they climbed this high?" one of the executioners asked, leaning on his spear while catching his breath. "The rocky trail ends down by the riverbed, and there are no footprints left in the stone." The squad leader frowned, scanning the dark forest with growing frustration in his tired eyes.

"The young master ordered us to search every inch of this ridge," the squad leader answered in a stern voice. "A blind man and a crippled child cannot move fast, so they must be hiding somewhere near these cliffs." A younger guard raised his torch, pointing toward a rock wall covered in thick green vines.

"Look past those thorny bushes," the young guard called out softly to the others. "There is a crack in the stone wall behind the leaves." The leader squinted into the dark, shaking his head with doubt as he looked at the narrow opening.

"That space is too tight," the leader replied, "A family in a hurry would head for the eastern valley, not squeeze themselves into a hidden crack in the cliff." Before the soldiers could turn away, one of the massive black hounds lunged toward the thorny bushes with a furious growl.

The beast dug its claws into the earth, sniffing the leaves wildly before letting out a loud, terrifying howl into the night. The guards froze in place, immediately raising their spears as the rest of the search party rushed up the slope.

Inside the cave, Leo stood up fast, pulling his knife from his belt while stepping right in front of his family. Lily gasped in horror, wrapping her arms tightly around her blind father's trembling waist as tears filled her eyes.

Gareth walked through the wall of armored soldiers, a cold, arrogant smile spreading across his face as he looked into the dark. "Did you really believe you could hide from my hounds in this mountain crack, Leo?" Gareth shouted, his cruel voice echoing off the walls.

Gareth raised his burning torch high in the air, his voice dripping with deadly venom. "Crawl out on your hands and knees right now, Leo, or I will drop this flame onto the fuses and bury your whole family alive under the stone!"