Chapter Five
1449 Words
Kael POV
“Will she live?”
The question left my mouth before I registered that I had spoken.
The healer stood rigid outside the treatment chamber, her hands still stained faintly with blood.
“Yes, General.”
I stared at her still.
She swallowed. “The blade missed her heart by inches. If it had gone slightly more to the left, she would have died instantly.”
My jaw flexed.
“Inches,” I repeated once more.
“Yes, sir.” she answered sharply.
A small silence stretched as my thoughts drifted to a few hours back.
I should have killed all those people there, throwing objects at her, I should have stopped her from running off…
Now I am getting punished for my decisions.
“She lost a great deal of blood,” the healer continued carefully. “But no vital artery was severed.
We've closed the wound, and she is stable.”
“So how about now?” I asked sharply.
“Well, for now,” she admitted. “She remains unconscious. It may take hours or even days before she wakes.”
Days.
I gave one sharp nod. “Double the guards in this wing and tell them no one enters without my permission.”
“Yes, General.” She hurried back inside.
I remained where I was.
The image replayed yet again, whether I wanted it or not…
Rushing there to see her blood pooling out, as she laid lifeless on the floor.
I exhaled slowly, ready to move before I heard footsteps approaching.
“Sir.”
I did not turn yet, I knew it was one of my guards. “Report.”
“The assassin has disappeared from the palace grounds.
Several witnesses saw a cloaked figure leaving the courtyard but lost him in the lower corridors.”
Coward.
“Has there been a report of a face?”
“No, sir.”
My hands folded behind my back.
“But…” the guard hesitated.
I turned slightly.
“There is a woman in your chambers.”
That made me face him fully.
“She claims she knows who ordered the attack.”
My eyes narrowed. “What's her name?”
“She refused to give one.”
Of course, she did.
“Is she armed?”
“No, sir.”
“She should pray that remains true.”
I began walking, t steps sharp and heavy.
The guard followed but stood back once we reached my quarters.
I pushed the door open, slamming it hard behind me.
She was seated on the edge of my bed, her posture relaxed and comfortable.
As if she belonged there.
She rose slowly when she saw me.
“General Kael,” she said, lowering her head, just a little.
I closed the door behind me.
“Who did it?”
My voice came out sharp. I didn't have time for greeting or courtesy.
Her lips curved faintly. “Straight to the blade as always.”
“Names. Now,” I said, my tone even colder.
She stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the stone floor.
“You have not changed one bit over the years, huh?”
“You are wasting my time.” I snapped back.
Her fingers brushed lightly against my sleeve. “You always prefer action over conversation.”
I did not move as she circled me slowly.
“I know who orchestrated the stabbing.”
“Speak,” I said flatly, barely holding onto my patience now.
“Not yet.”
My patience is hanging by a thread now .
“What do you want?”
She smiled slowly. “A bargain.”
I turned to face her fully now.
“You came into my chambers uninvited, that is already bold, and now you dare to make a bargain.”
“Boldness has always interested you.”
Her hand slid up my chest.
Before she could move further, I caught both her wrists, my grip hard.
She inhaled sharply as I pulled her forward.
“That I allow you to walk out of here alive,” I said quietly, “is already generous the way I see it.”
She did not flinch, even from the pain.
“For me?” she whispered. “No.”
I tightened my grip slightly.
“State your terms.”
“If I give you the man,” she said softly, “or at least where you will find him… I want something in return.”
“What?”
“I want you to marry me.”
The words hung between us as my grip stilled.
“As your second wife.”
For a second, I thought I had misheard.
“A second wife?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
My fingers tightened around her wrists again.
“You stand in my chambers and make demands of me?”
She tilted her head, unbothered.
“You married a criminal, Kael.”
“She is not a criminal.”
“She was condemned,” she corrected smoothly. “You stopped the execution.”
I said nothing at that and that caught her attention.
“You felt it, didn’t you?”
Silence followed.
“That pull,” she continued. “You have commanded armies and stood beside countless women who would have killed for your attention and yet none of them moved you.”
Her voice lowered, moving closer to my ear.
“Until her.”
My jaw locked but I didn't respond.
“You ordered marriage instead of execution,” she pressed. “That was not a strategy, that was our instinct.”
My silence betrayed nothing.
But she saw enough.
“Take me as your second wife,” she said calmly. “Publicly and properly, and I'll give you the assassin.”
I pulled her closer, our faces inches apart.
“You overestimate your value.”
“Do I?”
“You think I need you?”
“I think,” she said softly, “you need information and I have it.”
A knock struck the door.
I released her instantly.
“Enter.”
A guard stepped inside and bowed.
“Sir. The King Alpha requests your presence.”
“Now?”
“Yes, sir.”
I glanced at the woman as she adjusted her dress calmly.
I looked back at the guard. “Dismissed.”
He exited and I turned to her.
“Stay.”
She smiled faintly. “I will.”
I left without another word.
The throne room doors opened as I approached.
King Alpha Alaric stood near the throne, his hands clasped behind him.
“General,” he said smoothly. “I trust the ceremony was… memorable.”
“It concluded,” I replied. “Finally.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“And your bride?”
“She's alive.”
“Good.”
There was no relief in his tone. Though not that I expected any.
Up to me, I wouldn't be marrying someone charged with treason.
“It would have been inconvenient if my mercy had ended in immediate scandal.”
I met his gaze sharply.
“The attack will be handled.”
“I expect nothing less.”
He stepped down from the throne slowly.
He then stopped right in front of me, carefully studying me a moment longer before changing direction.
“There is another matter.”
“One of my men reported unusual activity beyond the eastern boundary, in the lower forest.”
“What kind of activity?”
“A farmer has been seen traveling nightly into a restricted ravine.”
“And?”
“He is not alone.”
“Alone? How?” I asked sharply.
“Three eggs were discovered.”
I frowned slightly.
“Eggs?”
“They are being tended and protected well by the farmer.”
“What kind of eggs warrant a private summons?”
Alaric’s golden gaze fixed on mine.
“The worst kind.”
A heavy silence settled, and then…
“Dragon eggs.”
The word struck me like steel.
Dragons!
My breath stilled.
They've been extinct for over a century, how?
“Is this news true?”
“Yes. As sure as it can be,” he answered swiftly.
“And how many eggs?”
“Three.”
Three!
Three adult dragons meant war-level power.
“If dragons return under another banner to challenge for the throne, then everyone here burns...”
I nodded once.
“We need to kill them now and avoid that future.”
“When do we move?” I asked quickly.
“Tomorrow night and you make it swift.”
I nodded and turned away, walking to the door.
- Writer
