The fire exploded outward.
Lillian threw herself sideways as a wave of silver flame erupted from Lujayn's outstretched hand. The heat was searing, unnatural, like standing too close to the sun. She hit the ground hard, her shoulder slamming against a tree root, and rolled just as another blast incinerated the spot where she had been standing.
"Matteo!" she screamed, scrambling to her feet.
He was already moving, his hands crackling with blue lightning. A bolt shot from his palms, striking Lujayn square in the chest. The dragon didn't even flinch. She laughed, a cold, ancient sound that echoed through the clearing.
"Child's play," Lujayn said, her voice dripping with contempt. "You think your little sparks can hurt me? I am older than your entire bloodline, mage. I have seen empires rise and fall. I have burned cities to ash."
Matteo grinned, but it was strained. "And yet here you are, skulking around in the dark, killing merchants and diplomats. Very impressive. Very dignified."
Lujayn's eyes narrowed. "You mock me."
"I mock everyone. It's my charm." He glanced at Lillian, his silver eyes urgent. "Run. Now."
"I'm not leaving you—"
"That's not a request." He shoved her backward, hard. "Go! Find Seraphine! Warn the others!"
Lillian stumbled, her heart pounding. She wanted to argue, wanted to stay, wanted to fight. But she saw the look in his eyes. Desperation. Fear. Love. He wasn't protecting himself. He was protecting her.
She ran.
The forest blurred past her, branches whipping at her face, roots catching at her feet. Behind her, she heard the crash of magic—lightning and silver flame colliding, trees splintering, the ground shaking. She didn't look back. She couldn't.
"Find Seraphine. Warn the others."
She had to get to the city. Had to tell the Council, had to protect the remaining descendants. But who could she trust? The Council was compromised. Aldric was dead. Everyone she had ever relied on was either a victim or a suspect.
Except Matteo.
And he was fighting a dragon alone.
She burst out of the forest and onto the main road, her lungs burning. The city gates were still visible in the distance, shimmering in the moonlight. She had to make it. She had to—
A hand grabbed her arm.
Lillian spun, her dagger already in her hand. But it wasn't an attacker. It was Seraphine, pale and trembling, her golden eyes wide with terror.
"Lillian! Thank the gods." Seraphine pulled her into a narrow alley, pressing her back against the wall. "I felt it. The dragon's presence. It's here. It's in the city."
"Not the city." Lillian gasped for breath. "The forest. Matteo is fighting it. We need to get help."
Seraphine shook her head frantically. "There's no one to help. The Council is in chaos. Everyone is accusing everyone else. No one knows who to trust."
Lillian gripped Seraphine's shoulders, forcing her to meet her eyes. "Then we trust each other. You're a Fae Emissary. You know about the dragons. You know about the war. Help me understand what we're dealing with."
Seraphine's breathing slowed. "The dragon. She said her name was Lujayn?"
"Yes. The last silver dragon. Or so she claims."
Seraphine's face went pale. "Lujayn. I know that name. From the old texts. She was the leader of the Dragon Court. The one who orchestrated the genocide of the werewolves and the vampires." She swallowed hard. "She wasn't betrayed, Lillian. She was a monster. She killed thousands. Tens of thousands."
Lillian stared at her. "But Matteo said—"
"Matteo was wrong." Seraphine's voice was urgent. "The forbidden texts he read were corrupted. Changed by the dragons themselves. They rewrote history to make themselves into victims. But the truth is far darker."
Lillian felt her world tilt. "Then why is she killing the descendants? If she was the aggressor, why seek revenge?"
"Because she didn't lose the war. She escaped. And she's been waiting, for a hundred years, for the right moment to strike." Seraphine grabbed Lillian's arm. "The peace meeting three months ago. It wasn't about reconciliation. It was about exposing her. The descendants had gathered evidence. Proof that Lujayn was still alive. That she had infiltrated the Council. They were going to bring her down."
"But someone sabotaged the meeting."
"Lujayn herself." Seraphine's eyes burned. "She killed Aldric a hundred years ago. Took his place. And she's been pulling the strings ever since. The war, the tension between races, the distrust. It was all her."
Lillian felt sick. "So the murders. The merchant, the diplomat, the warrior. She was silencing the witnesses."
"Exactly." Seraphine nodded grimly. "And now she's trying to stop us before we can expose her. We're the only ones left who know the truth."
Lillian straightened, her mind racing. "Then we need to get to the Council. Tell them everything."
"They won't believe us. She's been playing the role of Aldric for a hundred years. She's trusted. Respected. We're nobodies." Seraphine's voice cracked. "She'll turn it around. Make us look like the villains."
"Then we need proof." Lillian pulled out the silver-white hair from her pocket. "This. It's dragon scale. Pure silver dragon scale. If we can show the Council that this came from her, that it matches her magic—"
"It won't be enough. She'll deny it. She'll say we planted it." Seraphine shook her head. "We need something stronger. Something incontrovertible."
Lillian was about to respond when the ground shook.
A massive explosion rocked the city, sending tiles flying from rooftops. Lillian stumbled, grabbing Seraphine for support. In the distance, a plume of silver flame shot into the sky, illuminating the night like a second sun.
"Matteo," Lillian breathed.
She started running.
The forest was unrecognizable.
Trees lay splintered and burning, their trunks blackened by silver fire. The ground was scorched, cracked, smoking. And in the center of the devastation, Matteo knelt, his coat shredded, his face streaked with blood and soot.
Lillian sprinted toward him, her heart in her throat. "Matteo!"
He looked up, and his grin was weak, but still there. "Hey, partner. You're back. I was starting to think you'd abandoned me."
"Never." She dropped to her knees beside him, her hands hovering over his wounds. "What happened? Where is she?"
"Gone. For now." He coughed, blood spattering his lips. "She said something about... about finishing the ritual. Whatever that means." He grabbed her wrist, his grip surprisingly strong. "We have to stop her. Before she completes it."
"Ritual? What ritual?"
"Something to do with the descendants. The ones she's killing." He winced, pressing a hand to his side. "She's not just killing them. She's collecting their souls. Something about... about power. Unlimited power."
Lillian's blood ran cold. "She's using their deaths to fuel a spell?"
"A big one." He met her eyes, his silver gaze urgent. "The next victim. We have to find them. Protect them. Before she—"
The whisper came again, soft and mocking.
"The fifth falls. The sixth rises. The reckoning approaches."
Lillian spun, searching the darkness. But there was nothing. Just the burning trees and the smoking ground and the echo of Lujayn's laughter.
Matteo struggled to his feet, swaying. "We need to move. Now. She's going to strike again tonight."
"You can barely stand."
"Then you'll have to carry me." He grinned, blood staining his teeth. "Think of it as team building."
Lillian wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him he was insane. But there was no time. No time for arguments, no time for fear, no time for anything except stopping Lujayn.
She grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder. "Where? Where is she going?"
"The palace. The Council chambers." His voice was strained. "The next victim is there. Lady Vesper. The vampire representative."
Lillian's blood froze. "She's going to kill Lady Vesper? Tonight?"
"Right now." He leaned heavily on her, his breath ragged. "We have to get there before she does."
They stumbled through the burning forest, through the devastated trees, toward the distant lights of the palace. Lillian's muscles screamed, her lungs burned, but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Every step was a step closer to stopping Lujayn.
Every step was a step closer to saving the city.
The palace was chaos.
Guards ran in every direction, shouting orders, their faces pale with fear. The Council chambers were barricaded, the doors sealed, the windows shuttered. Lillian dragged Matteo up the stairs, past the panicked servants, past the terrified nobles, toward the heart of the storm.
"Lady Lillian!" a guard called out. "You can't go in there. The Council is in session. They're debating—"
"They're about to be attacked!" Lillian shoved past him. "Move!"
The doors to the Council chambers burst open as she slammed into them. Inside, the Council was gathered around the central table, their faces a mixture of fear and fury. Lady Vesper stood at the head, her crimson eyes blazing.
"Lillian!" Vesper snapped. "What is the meaning of this? You're not authorized—"
"She's here!" Lillian gasped. "Lujayn! She's coming for you!"
The room went silent.
Vesper stared at her. "Lujayn? The dragon? That's impossible. She's been dead for a century."
" She's not dead. She's been Aldric this whole time." Lillian pointed at the empty seat where Aldric usually sat. "She killed him. Took his place. She's been manipulating everything."
The Council erupted into chaos. Accusations flew, voices rose, and Lillian could feel the situation slipping out of control.
And then the doors exploded.
Silver flame ripped through the wood, sending splinters flying across the room. Lillian threw herself over Matteo, shielding him from the blast. When she looked up, Lujayn stood in the doorway, her silver-white hair blazing, her eyes burning with ancient fury.
"Hello, Council," she said, her voice echoing with power. "Did you miss me?"
Vesper stepped forward, her fangs bared. "You. You're the one who killed my envoy. You're the one who's been murdering my people."
"Your people." Lujayn laughed, cold and sharp. "Your people killed mine. Burned my children. Destroyed my home. And you expect me to forgive?"
"That was a hundred years ago—"
"Time doesn't heal wounds. It just makes them fester." Lujayn raised her hand, silver fire gathering in her palm. "Now. Who's first?"
Lillian lunged forward, her dagger drawn. "Matteo! Now!"
Matteo's hands crackled with lightning. He wasn't healed, wasn't ready, but he was a mage. And mages always had one trick left.
The lightning struck Lujayn square in the chest.
She staggered, the silver fire flickering. "You—"
"Surprise." Matteo grinned, blood still dripping from his lips. "I wasn't as hurt as I looked. You're not the only one who can fake weakness."
Lujayn roared, a sound that shook the very foundations of the palace. "You will pay for that, mage."
"Maybe." Matteo's grin widened. "But not today."
He grabbed Lillian's hand, and the world twisted.
They landed in the forest, miles away from the palace, gasping for breath. The trees were dark and silent, the sky clear and cold. Lillian collapsed against a tree trunk, her heart pounding.
"What was that?" she demanded. "Did you just teleport us again?"
"Emergency teleport." Matteo slumped beside her, his face pale. "Very illegal. Very dangerous. Very necessary."
She wanted to yell at him. Wanted to shake him for being so reckless. But she looked at his face—his exhausted, blood-streaked face—and the words died in her throat.
"You saved me," she said quietly.
"Of course I did." He grinned weakly. "You're my partner. That's what partners do."
Lillian stared at him, her heart aching. "Matteo—"
"We're not done." He struggled to sit up, his silver eyes burning. "Lujayn is still out there. Still hunting. And we still have a list of descendants to protect."
She nodded slowly. "Then we keep fighting. We keep searching. We don't stop until she's stopped."
"Attagirl." He leaned back, closing his eyes. "But first. Rest. Just for a few hours. Then we figure out our next move."
Lillian watched him drift into unconsciousness, his breathing slow and even. She should have been afraid. Should have been planning their next step. Instead, she just sat there, watching him breathe, and felt something she hadn't felt in a long time.
Hope.
She was just starting to relax when a faint whisper reached her ears, carried on the wind.
"The fifth falls. The sixth rises. And the reckoning..." The whisper paused, and then a voice she recognized, cold, ancient, triumphant, continued.
"The reckoning begins tonight."
Lillian shot to her feet, her hand on her dagger.
In the distance, she saw a flash of silver light, rising from the direction of the city. Not an explosion.
Something worse.
Something that looked like a pillar of pure magic, stretching from the palace to the sky.
Matteo stirred, his eyes fluttering open.
"What... what is that?" Lillian stared at the pillar, her blood turning to ice.
"The ritual. Lujayn's started the ritual." He sat up, his face pale. "She's not just killing descendants. She's using their deaths to rip open the veil. To bring back the dragons."
Lillian turned to him, her heart pounding. "How do we stop her?"
He met her gaze, his silver eyes dark with dread. "We don't. Not alone. We need the one person who knows more about the dragons than anyone."
She stared at him. "The Keeper. The real Keeper."
He nodded slowly. "The one who's been hiding in the Forbidden Mountains for a hundred years."
Lillian's breath caught. "The one Lujayn killed a century ago."
Matteo's face was grim. "Exactly."