Chapter 31

War of Flame

Evelynn never gave the human nobles an answer.

Because before she could speak, war arrived first.

The attack began at dawn.

Black Citadel woke to dragon horns screaming across the mountains.

Not ordinary warning calls.

War horns.

Deep enough to shake stone.

Evelynn bolted upright in bed the moment the first roar echoed through the palace. The soulbond slammed violently awake with her—Kael’s emotions crashing through the connection in a wave of immediate fury and focus.

Battle.

She barely had time to throw on clothes before the palace shook hard enough to rattle every window in the eastern wing.

Then came the second explosion.

Closer.

Dragonfire.

Servants screamed somewhere down the corridor while guards rushed past her chamber doors shouting orders in draconic.

Evelynn stepped into the hallway just as Serin nearly collided with her.

He looked pale.

Actually pale.

“They attacked the southern border.”

Her stomach dropped instantly. “Who?”

“Humans.”

Of course.

Another explosion thundered through the mountains beyond the palace walls. The soulbond surged violently again, and suddenly Evelynn saw through Kael’s eyes for half a second—

black wings cutting through storm clouds above burning fortress walls while dragonfire lit the sky gold beneath him.

Then the vision vanished.

Evelynn grabbed the wall sharply.

Serin noticed immediately. “What happened?”

“The bond.”

That was explanation enough now.

The palace had already descended into organized chaos by the time they reached the western tower balconies. Dragons launched constantly from the upper platforms while soldiers filled the courtyards below carrying black iron weapons glowing faintly with dragonfire enchantments.

And beyond the mountains—

smoke.

Huge dark plumes rising from the southern ridges.

The war had reached dragon territory.

Kael stood at the center of the highest launch platform surrounded by generals and armored dragon riders when Evelynn finally found him.

He looked terrifying.

Not out of control.

Worse.

Controlled.

Black battle armor wrapped across his shoulders and chest while dragonfire curled slowly beneath his skin like something alive waiting to be unleashed. Massive black wings shifted behind him already half-transformed, catching sharp morning light across obsidian scales.

Every dragon around him moved carefully.

Respectfully.

Fearfully.

The Dragon King looked exactly like the monster human kingdoms had feared for centuries.

And somehow Evelynn still saw the exhausted man beneath it.

Kael sensed her approach before turning.

Of course he did.

The bond tightened sharply between them the moment his eyes landed on her.

Relief.

Instant.

Then frustration immediately afterward.

“You should not be here.”

Evelynn folded her arms despite the panic clawing through her chest. “You say that every time something explodes.”

“Because things keep exploding around you.”

Fair point.

One of the dragon generals interrupted sharply. “Your Majesty, the eastern watch confirms human siege divisions crossing the border.”

Kael’s expression darkened instantly.

The general continued carefully. “And there are reports of wyvern riders carrying silver weapons.”

Dragon poison.

The soulbond twisted violently with Kael’s rage.

Evelynn felt it immediately.

The same cold fury from the strategy chamber.

The same dangerous stillness.

Another dragon rider landed hard onto the platform moments later, breathing heavily.

“The human king marches with the army personally.”

Silence crashed through the platform.

Even the wind seemed to stop.

Kael’s eyes narrowed slowly.

That mattered.

Evelynn looked between the generals. “Why does that matter?”

No one answered immediately.

Then one older dragon commander muttered darkly:

“Because kings do not ride to borders unless they intend extermination.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Kael stepped toward the edge of the platform overlooking Black Citadel below. Thousands of dragons circled the skies now above the city while dragonfire towers awakened one by one across the mountains.

War preparation.

Real war.

The soulbond carried something sharp beneath Kael’s anger now.

Decision.

Evelynn moved beside him quickly. “What are you thinking?”

Kael’s voice remained terrifyingly calm.

“That the human kingdom finally chose fear over peace.”

“And you?”

His eyes lifted toward the distant smoke beyond the mountains.

“I warned them what would happen if they threatened you again.”

The words settled heavily between them.

Not dramatic.

Not exaggerated.

Truth.

Then suddenly another pulse hit through the bond.

Pain.

Sharp enough to make Evelynn gasp.

Kael reacted instantly. “What?”

She pressed one hand against her wrist.

The black markings burned again beneath skin.

Not random.

Responding.

Kael saw it too.

The markings glowed faintly gold now beneath the morning light while dragonfire around the launch platform flickered in direct response.

One of the nearby generals stepped backward visibly.

“They react to battle,” he whispered.

Kael’s expression hardened.

No.

Not battle.

To him.

The soulbond surged stronger the closer war came.

Which meant—

Evelynn looked up sharply. “The prophecy.”

Kael’s gaze met hers immediately.

Both of them realized it together.

The war itself was awakening the bond further.

Wonderful.

Exactly what nobody needed.

A deafening roar suddenly split the skies overhead.

Every dragon on the launch platform looked upward instantly.

Evelynn followed their gaze—

and her breath caught.

Far beyond the southern mountains, dark shapes filled the clouds.

Not one dragon.

Hundreds.

Black wings spreading across the horizon like storm clouds moving toward Black Citadel.

The dragon army.

And beneath them, faint even from this distance—

human fire burning across the borderlands.

The war had already begun.

The platform fell silent around them while dragonfire towers ignited one by one throughout the city below.

Kael stepped forward slowly toward the edge of the platform.

The wind caught his wings.

The soulbond pulsed heavily.

Not rage this time.

Purpose.

Ancient and terrible.

Evelynn suddenly understood why entire kingdoms once feared the Ash King.

Because when Kael finally stopped holding himself back—

even dragons followed him into hell.

Kael turned toward her one final time before launching into the sky.

And through the bond, Evelynn felt the exact moment the Dragon King chose war.