Well, what else would anyone expect?

How could Kael not be livid?

The distress call from Renee had been brief, clipped, and shaking. An unidentified intruder. A violent screech. All within the confines of that supposedly secure dragon estate.

Bullshit estate.

The golden dragon didn’t ask questions, nor did he wait for any other explanation.

He didn’t even bother informing anyone at the MBE of where he was going.

Kael Dravaryn simply turned and left, swearing to every god, ancestor, and forgotten entity he could and couldn’t name that he would burn the world down if anything had happened to his mate again.

The return trip felt endless despite him teleporting against all odds.

Every second stretched painfully thin as Kael focused solely on the bond, on the constant awareness of Riley’s presence. He shut everything else out. None of it mattered for as long as he could still feel him.

Riley would probably lecture him later about trauma and about his response.

But Kael couldn’t care less.

If something happened to Riley, then everyone else could share in that trauma.

By the time he arrived, Kael didn’t slow down.

He didn’t assess the situation.

And he definitely didn’t temper himself.

He barged in.

Blazing.

Concentrated mana erupted outward in a violent surge, golden and crushing, flooding the space with raw authority. He didn’t bother reining it in. If anyone had decided to test him today, then he would remind them exactly how much grace he had been showing in the past.

The moment his presence fully manifested, his mana snapped into focus.

It locked onto the foreign entities instantly.

Malrik Veyth and Ysvara Lorcrest did not even have time to react.

Both were driven to their knees as if struck by an invisible force, breath ripped from their lungs. Ysvara’s wailing was cut off mid-sound, collapsing into a hoarse choke as pressure crushed down on her chest. Malrik fared no better, one hand braced uselessly against the floor as he struggled to draw air.

Kael stood there, eyes burning, power unrestrained.

Uninvited.

Unforgiven.

And very much not amused.

__

The only consolation, if it could even be called that, was that Kael stopped himself.

After pinning the intruders against the wall and practically strangling them with his mana, the golden dragon felt it. A sharp, blooming distress that cut through his fury like ice water poured down his spine.

Riley.

Under the table.

"?!"

The realization hit hard enough to snap him back into himself.

For a split second, the Dragon Lord, who had arrived seeing red and fully prepared to end the lives of anyone he didn’t like, went utterly still.

Then he moved.

A stealthy barrier snapped into place around the huddled trio beneath his desk, thick and absolute. It sealed pressure and presence away from them before Kael even fully withdrew his attention. Only after ensuring that Riley, Liam, and Orien were shielded did he reappear in front of the struggling intruders.

Malrik and Ysvara were still pinned. Still choking and unable to break free from under the sheer power of Kael’s presence.

In truth, Kael hadn’t planned to listen to a single word.

They could call it whatever, but to him this was simply an intrusion.

So he had every intention of using it to remove problems that had lingered far too long.

His mana shifted. Condensed. Focused.

He raised a hand.

And that was when Malrik spoke.

__

The Chancellor forced the words out through clenched teeth, invoking protocol with the desperation of someone who had finally understood what kind of death stood in front of him. He called upon relations and when that didn’t work, he called upon procedure.

Malrik knew he wouldn’t die right away, but even if that was true for a dragon, how could he forget the fact that right now that youngling was still holding the position of the dragon lord and could actually do what the others simply couldn’t.

And so he had to do something. Especially when the insane golden dragon hadn’t bothered with pretenses and especially when his mother stood nearby with absolutely no intention of stopping him.

The chancellor who could survive choking but not the invasion of such mana was going to mention something more sensational.

Something bigger. Something important enough to force hesitation. He was about to gamble everything on information instead of law.

Only to end up being saved by Ysvara who started wailing, convulsing, and leaking mana that was rearranging into something mid-air.

Glowing symbols mixed with blood suddenly twisted in the air, then slowly, right before everyone’s eyes, they locked into place.

Ancient script.

That bitch was really having another premonition.

And Chancellor Malrik wished he’d just gotten rid of her earlier.

__

Safe to say, it pissed Kael off.

It pissed him off enough that if Lord Karion had not stepped in when he did, there would not have been a building to argue in.

Karion’s intervention was firm and immediate, one hand catching Kael’s wrist while the other pressed against the surge of golden mana that was already threatening to tear the estate’s wing apart. The pressure between them was immense, but it was just enough to force a pause.

What truly set Kael off, however, was when the Chancellor dared to plead his case.

"We came because of this," Malrik said hoarsely, still struggling to breathe properly. "Because of what she saw."

That single sentence was what pushed the situation from volatile to explosive.

And yet, that was how they all ended up inside the office instead of as ash scattered across the floor.

Elder Ysvara had regained consciousness by then. She looked dreadful, nothing like the dragon she usually was. Her posture was hunched, her hands trembling as she clutched the edge of a chair, eyes darting as if the visions were still clawing at her from the inside of her mind. The moment she was able to speak, she began unloading her fears in a rush, words tumbling over one another in panic.

Kael didn’t want to hear any of it.

Not after what they had pulled.

Not even after seeing what should have been a valid reason.

He remained standing at first, rigid and coiled, every line of his body screaming restraint rather than calm. But then he sat down.

It wasn’t the argument that made him do it.

It was Riley.

The moment Kael felt Riley’s body lean against his leg beneath the desk, light yet unmistakably present, something in him shifted. The rage didn’t vanish, but it compressed, packed down just enough for something resembling patience to surface.

Fine.

He could spare the world a little patience.

Because the twig said so.

"Lord Dravaryn," Elder Ysvara finally spoke.

Her voice was broken. Hoarse. Each word scraped its way out as if her throat itself had been wounded.

"I-I think something terrible has happened," she said, fingers curling into her robes. "At first, I thought my vision was a glimpse of the future. A warning of what might come. B-but after what just happened, I no longer believe it was only a possibility."

Her breathing hitched.

Her vision had come without warning.

One moment there was nothing, and the next, a heartbeat slammed into her senses. Loud. Overwhelming. So close it felt as though it was pounding inside her own chest rather than somewhere beyond it. The rhythm was frantic, desperate, each thud echoing through her bones until it drowned out every other thought.

Then the light vanished.

Darkness swallowed everything at once, thick and suffocating, followed by a cold so sharp it felt invasive. It crept through her limbs, her spine, her breath, until she could no longer tell where she ended and the void began.

Something pulled, no, not quite.

It was more like the sensation of being torn apart from the inside, as though unseen hands had reached into her core and begun ripping her away piece by piece. There was no pain she could name, only the certainty of separation. Of unraveling. Of something fundamental being destroyed beyond recovery.

And then there was nothing.

No sound. No warmth. No heartbeat.

Her eyes unfocused as she recounted what she felt.

"And then death," she whispered.

The room was silent.

"I didn’t understand it at first," Ysvara said, shaking her head. "There was no battle. No enemy. Just that certain sensation."

Lord Karion’s brow furrowed. "Then why are you certain it was Elder Zephyros?"

Ysvara lifted her head slowly.

"Because of where it happened," she said, as she thought to herself, ’Because who else would be in such a place only accessible by kin?’

The answer was immediate and absolute.

Lady Cirila narrowed her eyes. "Elder Ysvara," she said carefully, "did you come here because you wanted to confirm this vision?"

"Yes," Ysvara replied without hesitation.

"Then why," Cirila pressed, "did you arrive with Chancellor Malrik instead of coming directly to us?"

Ysvara blinked.

Confusion crossed her face, genuine and unguarded. "I... I don’t remember deciding that."

Malrik stepped forward at once. "She may not recall it," he said quickly, "but as I mentioned earlier, she was experiencing violent episodes near the nest. The dragonlings were becoming visibly agitated. As you know, such disturbances can be dangerous, so I—."

Kael cut him off.

"If you must know," Kael said coldly, "there appear to be no issues with Elder Zephyros."

"But that’s not possible, My Lord!" Ysvara interjected desperately.

"I felt it. I saw it. And now it’s worse!" She trembled as she insisted.

Kael’s eyes flicked toward her, gold and merciless.

"Worse?" he said, challenging her words.

Ysvara clenched her hands, shaking her head even as fear crept into her expression.

"Y-yes. My lord, in my last vision... We’re all going to die," she muttered.

But even that soft muttering could be heard by one new immortal who just heard they were all going to die.

Great.

Fuck.