Dragon's Last Hope

Chapter 16

Throughout Pioneer Square, humans had emerged from buildings to witness the impossible, twenty-seven dragons in full manifestation, their massive forms illuminated by streetlights and their own elemental auras. Some fled in terror, but many remained, phones recording what would become the most significant revelation in human history.

The Nullifier slowly stood, his enhanced perception allowing him to see beyond the fear that would have paralysed an ordinary human. "What happens now?"

Maya's massive form shifted, golden light pulsing through her scales as she considered the question. Through her bonds, she felt her mates' varying reactions, Kai's eagerness for a new world order, Leon's cautious strategic calculations, Darius's steadfast commitment to tradition, Cassius's excitement for change, Kieran's cool analysis of possibilities, Lucian's hope for reconciliation, and Xander's void-touched perception of multiple potential timelines.

"Now," she said, her voice carrying both authority and compassion, "we renegotiate the covenant."

From her elevated position on the museum roof, Maya could see Order reinforcements establishing a perimeter around Pioneer Square, helicopters maintaining distance, tactical teams setting up containment positions, and communications gear being assembled on nearby rooftops.

“But it seems some of your friends would rather we do things the hard way, but I do wonder how they are planning to suppress the truth, too many people have seen us in our true forms, or are they still hunting the rest of the supernatural beings as well, such as werewolves? But based on the scents of some of your friends that are from dormant dragon and other supernatural bloodlines, they have been allowed their other half to wake up. We have been one people for centuries, just those on both sides have been too foolish to see it.”

The Nullifier's expression froze, his enhanced perception scanning Maya's draconic form as if searching for deception. "What are you talking about? Dormant bloodlines? Werewolves?"

"Did your masters not tell you?" Maya's mental voice carried a note of genuine surprise. "Your own genetic modifications were developed from dragon DNA. Those surgical scars at your temples? That's where they implanted crystallised dragon essence to enhance your perception."

Through the global network, Maya could feel the other dragons absorbing this revelation with varying degrees of shock and outrage. The Order hadn't just been hunting them; it had been harvesting them, using their biological material to create specialised hunters.

The Nullifier's hand went unconsciously to his temples, fingers tracing the scars that had been explained to him as necessary channels for the "synthetic enhancement compounds" he'd been administered.

"That's not possible," he whispered, but his enhanced perception, the very gift that allowed him to sense dragon resonances, was now confirming Maya's words. He could feel something alien yet familiar within his own body, responding to the High Dragon's presence.

"Your Order has been lying to its own people for centuries," Leon's shadow-touched form rumbled. "Using dragon essence to create weapons against us while preaching purity and protection for humanity."

Throughout Pioneer Square, the nineteen dragons who had answered Maya's call were now scanning the Order operatives establishing the perimeter. Through the network, Maya could feel their collective shock as they confirmed what she had sensed: nearly thirty per cent of the Order's field agents carried dormant supernatural markers in their DNA, most of them draconic.

"The irony would be amusing if it weren't so tragic," Kai observed, flames flickering between his teeth. "They've been hunting their own cousins without realising it."

The Nullifier's enhanced perception was now working against him, forcing him to see the truth that had been hidden from him throughout his training. The resonance patterns within his own body, patterns he had been taught to identify as targets, were now revealing themselves as distant echoes of the very dragons he had been hunting.

"Why would they..." he began, but Maya's golden consciousness had already accessed the answer through the ley line network, ancient knowledge flowing into her expanded awareness.

"Control," she projected, her mental voice reaching not just the Nullifier but every Order operative within range. "After the Great Purge, your ancestors discovered that dragon essence could enhance human capabilities. Rather than admit they had been wrong, they created a new narrative, that dragons were dangerous creatures whose power could be 'purified' and used for humanity's benefit."

Through her bond with Xander, Maya accessed void-touched perceptions that transcended conventional time. The Order's true history unfolded before her, not just the public narrative of protection and containment, but the secret programs of harvesting and experimentation that had continued for centuries.

"They've been breeding their own operatives selectively," she continued, the revelation flowing through her expanded consciousness. "Finding our young and not just our own, but those of all supernatural beings, breeding them together, then turning them against their own. Raising them to hate themselves for being born, who they were always meant to be. Mate bonds for supernatural kinds are our souls finding those who complete us, much like what you call falling in love. But our love is built into our DNA, waiting for it to click into place, where you get to find the one that you chose.”

The Nullifier's face paled as the truth of Maya's words resonated within him. Through her enhanced perception, she could see the moment when his carefully constructed worldview began to fracture—denial giving way to horrified understanding.

"I have dreams," he whispered, almost to himself. "Flying dreams. They told me it was a side effect of the enhancements."

"Not a side effect," Darius rumbled, his earth-touched perception sensing the dormant dragon essence within the man. "Your true nature is trying to awaken."

Throughout Pioneer Square, other Order operatives were experiencing similar revelations as Maya's projected awareness touched their minds. Some dropped their weapons in shock, while others clutched their heads as suppressed memories began to surface.

"Your masters knew this would happen eventually," Maya continued, her golden eyes fixed on the Nullifier. "That's why Protocol Seven exists—not just to eliminate dragons, but to prevent their own people from discovering the truth."

Through the global network, Maya felt the remaining dragons around the world reporting similar observations. The Order's elite units all carried traces of supernatural DNA, some draconic, others were-touched or fae-marked. The hunters had been recruiting from the very bloodlines they claimed to protect humanity against.

"Your Order isn't just fighting us," she projected, her mental voice reaching every operative within range. "It's fighting itself. Fighting the truth of what it has become."

The Nullifier slowly sank back to his knees, the weight of revelation too heavy to bear standing. Through the enhanced perception the Order had given him, using dragon essence harvested from his own distant ancestors, he could now see the resonance patterns connecting him to the creatures he had been trained to hunt.

"How many of us?" he asked, his voice barely audible. "How many are... like me?"