Cassin 46
906 Words
Chapter 46
Dragon King River's POV
Damn it. Of all the enemies that could have appeared...
It had to be him. The moment I saw the man standing on that ridge, I knew exactly who he was. Even after all these centuries. Even after believing he was dead. I would recognize him anywhere. Cassian The First Keeper. The monster responsible for the deaths of hundreds of dragons. The man who nearly destroyed our entire race.
And now he was here. Looking at my daughter. My hands clenched into fists. Fire flickered across my skin. Around me, the dragon warriors were restless. Many of them had never seen Cassian.
But they knew the stories. Every dragon knew the stories. The Dragon Purges. The massacres. The bloodshed. Entire dragon families wiped out. Children hunted before they even learned to shift. And at the center of it all… Cassian. Ana beside him, Sam.
Gareth appeared beside me. His face was pale.
"Tell me I didn't just see what I think I saw."
I didn't answer. I didn't need to. His silence told him everything.
"Moon Goddess help us."
"No."
My eyes followed the ridge where Cassian had stood.
"She can't help us with this."
Because Cassian wasn't supernatural. He wasn't cursed. He wasn't blessed. He was simply a man. A man who refused to die. A man obsessed with dragons. A man who had dedicated centuries to hunting us. And now he had seen Sammy. Which meant everything had changed. Everything.
Sammy's -
Nobody would tell me anything. Which was really starting to piss me off. Every time I asked about Cassian, people suddenly found something else to do. Or looked at my father. Or changed the subject. It was getting old. Fast. I was currently sitting inside one of the pack houses surrounded by dragon warriors. Apparently I was being protected. I preferred imprisoned. At least that word was honest. The door opened. Finally. River stepped inside. Alone. Good. Maybe now I can get answers. I stood immediately.
"Who is he?"
River sighed.
Straight to the point. Definitely his daughter. He closed the door behind him. Then sat down across from me. For a few moments he remained silent. Choosing his words carefully. That alone worried me. Finally he spoke.
"Cassian was born human."
I waited.
"Over seven hundred years ago."
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
River didn't smile. Didn't laugh. Nothing. Which meant he was serious. Great. Just great.
"He discovered dragons existed when he was young."
River's jaw tightened. "His entire family was killed during a dragon attack."
My stomach sank. "Oh."
"It wasn't intentional." River rubbed his forehead. "It was an accident."
That didn't really matter if you were the family involved. I understood that much.
"Cassian spent the rest of his life hunting dragons." River's expression darkened. "He became very good at it."
"How good?"
The silence that followed answered my question. Too good.
Way too good.
"He learned our weaknesses." River looked directly at me.
"He learned our habits." Another pause. "He learned our magic."
My stomach twisted. "How?"
River's eyes narrowed. "Nobody knows."
That wasn't comforting. Not even a little. I sat back in my chair.
Trying to process everything.
"So why is he interested in me?"
The question seemed to hit River harder than I expected. His expression became guarded. Careful. And I hated that look.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"Sammy."
"No." I pointed at him. "No more half answers."
His eyes widened slightly. Apparently nobody pointed at kings.
I didn't care.
"I'm tired of people deciding what I should and shouldn't know."
River remained silent.
I folded my arms. "Talk."
For a moment he looked exactly like someone arguing with himself.
Then he sighed. A long, defeated sigh. "Your dragon isn't normal."
I stared at him. "Okay?"
"Most dragons awaken naturally."
Still following. River swallowed. "Yours was sealed."
The room went completely silent. "What?"
"Before you were taken."
My heart stopped. "What are you talking about?"
River's eyes filled with pain. "The day you disappeared..."
His voice broke. "Your mother and I discovered something."
The air suddenly felt too heavy. Too thick. I couldn't breathe.
"What?"
River looked directly into my eyes. And quietly said the words that changed everything.
"You were born with the Heart Flame."
Silence. I blinked. "With the what?"
River leaned forward. "The Heart Flame."
His voice was barely above a whisper. "A power that hasn't existed for thousands of years."
I stared at him. Waiting for the joke. It never came.
"The last dragon born with it united every dragon clan."
A chill ran down my spine.
River continued. "The one before that ended a war that nearly destroyed the world."
I didn't like where this was going. Not one bit. Then River said the worst possible thing.
"Cassian has been searching for the Heart Flame for centuries."
My blood ran cold. The room seemed to tilt. Because suddenly that smile on the ridge made sense. The way he looked at me.
The way he bowed. The way he seemed almost happy to see me.
He wasn't surprised. He wasn't curious. He had been looking for me. For a very long time. And now he had finally found me.
Far away, outside the house, another dragon roared. But for the first time since meeting my father… The sound didn't make me feel safe.
It made me wonder if twelve hundred dragons would actually be enough.
- Writer
