Betrayal
939 Words
Five Years Earlier — Continued
Adam's POV
From a distance, the witch kingdom looked like an abandoned property — crumbling roof, derelict huts, overgrown grounds. For dragons, the true form was visible: a black castle that had been renovated recently, nearly rivaling ours, surrounded by kept grounds. Before their current queen, we had coexisted under a formal alliance. The old queen kept order. When she died thirteen years ago, the agreement died with her.
Atlas had always believed the witches were responsible for our mother's disappearance. Sorena had said there was no evidence of any such plan. I had accepted that.
I landed outside the castle while Sorena was still sleeping. Atlas would be deep in his duties and too occupied to notice.
The witch queen greeted me the moment I crossed her border. No backup, no visible guards — either arrogance or confidence in her own power. Possibly both.
She was striking. Red hair nearly to her waist. Eyes a deep shade of gold, almost feline. The power coming off her was enormous and layered in a way that felt like it was actively concealing something. I couldn't read her.
"Adam," she greeted, extending her hand.
"Queen Ana," I replied, and kissed it.
She led me inside to a large room decorated in purple and black, heavy Victorian drapes, furniture that showed taste. She settled into a black velvet chair and crossed her legs.
"So. You want to remove your brother from his throne," she said.
A chair appeared beside me. I sat. A martini materialized in front of me.
"I can see into the deepest part of what someone wants the moment they enter my territory," she said. "Such a terrible thing to happen to poor Sorena."
"Don't," I said.
She felt Flame's anger and changed course.
"I can help you. But what do I receive in return?" she asked.
"A united kingdom. No more conflict between our people. A lasting peace treaty," I said.
"Peace treaties are temporary. An alliance is more interesting — but even that isn't sufficient. What else?"
"What do you want?" I asked.
"A service. I will name it when the time comes — today, a year from now, five years from now. When I need it, you will be ready."
The image of Sorena came back to me, and the decision was already made.
"I don't want him killed," I said.
"That's not what I had in mind. I can have him removed and sealed somewhere he won't interfere with anyone — safely. All you need to do is play your part."
She shared the plan directly into my mind. Simple, elegant, and cruel in a way that covered every angle.
"We have a deal," I said.
Five Hours Later
Atlas's POV
I was in my office with Ellis when a soldier came in with a report: my mother had been sighted outside the castle, near the border. I was in the air before I finished processing the sentence.
I shifted into Kai mid-jump from the balcony and flew low and fast across the border, scanning everything below. I came over Azure Lake and found her at the far end — a woman in a white robe, black hair, gray eyes, picking flowers near my father's house.
My heart surged. And then Kai told me something was wrong.
I got closer. The recognition that should have been there wasn't. She felt wrong in a way that was subtle and deliberate. I landed and shifted back, one hand on my sword.
"Very good," the woman said, and her form dissolved into red hair and gold cat-eyes.
Witch.
"So this is the infamous Atlas," she mocked.
I pulled my sword. It caught flame from Kai's breath the moment it left the scabbard — the king's signature. I attacked. She dodged and I went through the portal she had opened before I understood what was happening.
Blue sky. White clouds. Trees. An enormous castle on the horizon. I turned to go back through and something hit me — black mist, wrapping around me, pinning every limb. I couldn't move. I couldn't shift. I couldn't breathe fire.
The portal was closing. Through it, I could see the witch hand my sword to someone. My stomach dropped when I recognized who it was.
Adam.
My own brother.
The portal was narrowing. I saw my father emerge from his house — the first time in weeks — taking in the scene in an instant. He shoved Adam aside and launched himself at the witch. He wasn't fast enough.
The last thing I saw before the portal sealed was my father's heart in her hand, and Adam breaking her neck with his bare hands — whether from guilt or rage, I would never know.
My father was dead. My brother had arranged it.
The black mist held me as a figure stepped forward wearing my face. My exact face. I had read about only one creature capable of that kind of mimicry. A demon. And not a lesser one — the mist was suppressing Kai completely.
As it finished taking my form, I was thrown into a cell. The bars burned when I touched them — not fire, but cold. A cold that went deeper than temperature. Neon crystal. Lethal only if it pierced the heart, but capable of draining a dragon completely.
I tried every angle of escape. None of them worked. Eventually, men brought in another prisoner. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. She told me her name was Jessica, and we spent the next five years in adjacent cells, keeping each other from losing our minds entirely.
- Writer
