Chapter 144: Words He Shouldn’t Have Heard
Slap!
The sharp crack echoed through the chamber.
The siblings flinched. And guards stiffened as the door to the room closed. The sound carried like a lash, landing squarely across the cheek of a prince.
Moments before this, the King of Silvara had returned in haste. He had received the alarming reports, but nothing prepared him for the sight before him.
The palace was in disarray, which was an understatement, really. Whispers ran through the halls, well, of what remained of them. And here, in the heart of it all, was his family, waiting with downcast eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" His voice thundered. Yet when he demanded answers, no one dared to be direct. His adult children avoided his gaze, their silence more telling than words.
It was only when his eyes fell upon his wife and eldest son that he began to piece together the truth—or at least the truth as it was given.
Crown Prince Rowan spoke first, voice low and heavy. He claimed responsibility. He said he had kept the human aide too long, longer than necessary. That was what provoked the dragon lord.
In his fury, Kael had retaliated when he could not find his aide. Rowan insisted it had all happened too quickly. That once Riley was returned, the dragon lord had vanished with him before anyone could act.
The King’s fury boiled over.
His disappointment was palpable, a storm in his chest breaking free. They were already facing a crisis that threatened their standing and safety, and now this—this carelessness?
"You have doomed us all," he roared, his words cutting as sharply as the slap that followed.
His wrath fell squarely on Rowan, who accepted it in silence. The prince did not defend himself, did not reveal that he had taken the blame for another.
Behind him, Queen Rhiannon trembled.
Her hands rose to her mouth, her nails gnawed until blood streaked her fingertips. However, no admission passed her lips. No truth slipped free. She had made the call. She had set this chain of events into motion.
But no matter how she clawed at herself, it did nothing to bring back her son and that cursed human whom they desperately needed.
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Meanwhile, the two beings everyone was worrying themselves sick over were not nearly as troubled.
One was fast asleep, cocooned snugly inside a sleeping bag.
While the other was supposed to be guarding the secluded cave in the mountain.
Supposed to be.
But instead of keeping watch over the mountain paths and on potential enemies, the dragon lord found his attention dragged toward a small, ridiculous object.
A pen recorder.
The same one that they’d senselessly battled over.
Kael rolled it between his fingers, scowling at the mundane little tool, before finally casting a small magical barrier to muffle the sound.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to use it.
Okay, maybe at first, he really didn’t know. But how stupid could he be if he still hasn’t figured out how it worked after seeing his aide use the same device twice now?
So he sat down, pressed the button, and let the voices spill out. He had said he would make a plan, and this was part of it. At least, that was the excuse.
But he did not stop at the incriminating evidence he had already heard earlier. Instead, he kept it running.
Just what had gotten that twig so worked up, he even argued for the pen?
Then the next words crackled to life.
The Queen’s voice, shrill and venomous: "When the dragon lord sees him broken and defective, he will not value him anymore! He will not help him!"
Kael’s face darkened instantly. He didn’t need to hear them drop names because it was rather obvious who she was referring to.
And then, as if she really had no desire to live longer, she continued, "Once he realizes the losses already outweigh the human’s value, he will stop!"
The recorder nearly cracked under his grip.
With a low growl, the indignant dragon set the pen recorder down carefully, lest he break the very evidence he needed.
But then another voice came, soft yet firm, and it caught him entirely off guard.
"But you are wrong."
Kael blinked, his head tilting toward the sound.
"I don’t know what is happening, or why I am here. But I woke up hearing that Kael would throw me away because I’m defective?"
"While I am sure such people exist, Kael is not one of them."
His ears twitched. He was not sure why.
The voice kept going, and without realizing it, the stoic dragon lord had actually leaned forward as the recording kept going.
"I do not know how you know him, Your Majesty, but I know him as someone who would take care of me when I am sick. He will not sleep. He will guard until I am better."
Kael’s hand went to his face. Hot. Why? Dragons did not feel hot. What nonsense was this?
And just what was his aide saying to those big and small noodles?
"He is someone who would carry me when I am too tired to move."
He blinked, very slowly, replaying the words.
"He would even go against customs and traditions for me."
The tips of his ears twitched again.
Was the twig putting that much importance on them facing the dragon clan?
Such a simple thing. Perhaps he should receive lessons on what to value more, so he won’t end up deceived by lies.
Kael knew they were such mundane things. And yet... he did not know why the words lodged themselves in his mind.
And then—
"Your Majesty, just because you think I am a burden does not mean Kael thinks I am one too."
The heat rose again, a strange, irritating flush beneath his skin.
And then the final nail:
"Your Majesty, it may be hard to believe, but if nothing else, I think you understand this. The dragon lord would stop at nothing to get back what is his."
The dragon lord sat very still. He looked over to the sleeping Riley, sprawled carelessly in a cocoon of blankets, and frowned.
Was that why the twig had fought so hard to hide the recorder earlier? To keep this part from him?
Obviously, the aide had only been buying time, exaggerating to protect himself. That had to be it.
So why hide it? Why not tell him outright, as usual, so he could corroborate the story?
Hadn’t that been their practice for a while now? Both even relied on it for better results. And yet the twig didn’t want him to hear this when he’d even called him ’Honey’ on several occasions.
Kael listened three more times.
Three.
Each time, the words echoed, and each time his ears twitched despite himself. He despised the elves’ endless chatter, but somehow he found himself replaying the human’s voice again.
Why waste so many words on worthless scum who would never understand?
And then came Rowan’s voice: "If he takes you away in anger, then you won’t get what you need to survive longer. I know it doesn’t make sense, but please keep in touch with my mother daily. I apologize, truly. The moment the dragon lord helps us track the Codex, we will release you both. It is the least I can offer for what you have endured."
Kael’s eyes slitted dangerously. Release? Who would be releasing whom?
If it were seriously up to him, he would be releasing no one from this godforsaken place.
Tsk.
That was enough. He had heard all he needed.
The dragon lord turned the recorder off and rose to his feet.
Clearly, the twig thought highly of him and was too shy to say anything.
But then again, as someone who often spoke more than needed, maybe that person was really just like that.
If he had things to say, he could’ve just said them.
But since he wanted to continue hiding it, then fine. He would just finish this quickly.
Because who knew when that careless twig would be taken again.
He cut his finger with a sharp nail, blood dripping scarlet. With it, he traced sigils into the air, erecting a shimmering barrier around Riley’s sleeping form. A blood barrier. The strongest he could craft without prior preparation.
A blood sacrifice. With the same blood he had no intention of giving to those who demanded it.
His gaze lingered on Riley. Fragile. Vulnerable. Foolish. Too many words wasted on others who did not deserve them.
But then he remembered those same words—the ones Riley had spat at the queen—and his complaint died in his throat.
He only layered the shield thicker. Stronger. Untouchable.
And when it was done, the dragon lord vanished into the night like a phantom, intent on reclaiming everything they needed to leave this place behind.
This cursed land, full of eyesores hovering too close to his twig.