Chapter 33

The Burning Sky

By midnight, the skies above Black Citadel had turned black with fire.

Not smoke.

Fire.

Kael’s dragonflame spread across the storm clouds in massive burning fractures that painted the heavens gold and obsidian while the entire mountain range shook beneath the war.

Evelynn stood frozen on the highest launch platform as dragons tore through the skies overhead in panicked formations. Some still fought the human armies beyond the southern ridges.

Others were retreating.

Retreating from their own king.

That terrified her more than anything else.

Because dragons did not fear easily.

Yet every soldier landing on the fortress platforms carried the same expression now.

Horror.

One wounded dragon rider nearly collapsed beside the tower gates while black ash rained from the burning sky around them.

“He destroyed the southern valley,” the rider gasped. “The entire valley…”

No one answered.

Because everyone could see it.

The mountains beyond Black Citadel glowed molten red beneath Kael’s fire. Entire forests burned in the distance while human siege camps vanished beneath waves of black dragonflame hot enough to melt stone.

The war had stopped being a battle.

Now it was survival.

The soulbond pulsed violently again.

Evelynn nearly dropped to one knee as Kael’s emotions crashed through her in another unbearable wave.

Not human thought anymore.

Dragon instinct.

Territory.

Pain.

Fury.

And underneath it—

betrayal.

Still betrayal.

Three hundred years later, it remained the wound poisoning everything else.

A roar thundered across the skies so loud the tower beneath her feet cracked.

Every dragon on the platform immediately lowered themselves instinctively.

Submission.

Even the generals.

Evelynn looked up just as Kael’s full dragon form tore through the clouds overhead.

The sight stole breath from her lungs all over again.

He was enormous.

Far larger than anything human stories could describe properly. Black scales reflected burning stormlight like polished obsidian while wings stretched wide enough to eclipse entire sections of the fortress beneath him.

And his eyes—

gold fire burned there now.

No humanity left visible.

Black dragonflame dripped from between massive teeth as he circled above the city like an ancient god deciding whether the world deserved mercy.

Then the dragons around Black Citadel reacted.

All at once.

The entire sky erupted with roars.

Hundreds of dragons answered their king instinctively, dragonfire igniting across the storm clouds while the air itself seemed to catch fire around them.

The bond slammed painfully through Evelynn’s chest.

Not command.

Emotion.

Kael’s rage was infecting the entire dragon army.

“Oh no…”

One older dragon commander beside her looked absolutely stricken. “The flamecall…”

Evelynn turned sharply. “The what?”

The commander never looked away from the burning sky. “Ancient kings could force emotional resonance through dragonfire.” His voice sounded horrified. “If the Ash King fully loses control, the others may follow him.”

Meaning the entire dragon army could become unstable.

Wonderful.

Exactly what the world needed.

Another explosion shook the mountains.

Far below the fortress walls, human survivors fled through snow and ash while burning debris rained from the skies around them. Evelynn could barely distinguish armies anymore. Only fire.

Everywhere.

The soulbond suddenly surged again—

and this time she saw through Kael’s eyes completely.

The world below looked tiny from this height.

Cities.

Armies.

Mountains.

All insignificant beneath dragon sight.

The poison still burned through his blood. Evelynn felt it clearly now, buried beneath layers of rage and dragon instinct. Every heartbeat hurt. Every breath carried fire through damaged lungs.

The dragon wanted revenge.

Wanted silence.

Wanted the world to stop hurting.

Then something below caught his attention.

Human soldiers fleeing across the southern pass.

Among them—

children.

Evelynn felt the exact moment Kael noticed them.

The dragonfire gathering in his throat hesitated.

Just slightly.

And suddenly she understood something important.

He wasn’t fully gone yet.

The dragon still recognized pain.

Still recognized fear.

Kael’s consciousness remained buried somewhere beneath all the rage and fire.

Drowning.

But alive.

The vision shattered abruptly as another dragon landed hard onto the platform beside Evelynn.

Bronze-scaled. Bleeding badly.

“The king approaches the city!”

Panic spread instantly through the gathered commanders.

One shouted orders immediately while horns sounded across Black Citadel below.

Evacuation.

The massive gates of the lower districts opened while civilians flooded upward through the fortress roads carrying children, supplies, anything they could save from the spreading firestorm.

And above them—

Kael descended.

Slowly.

Like judgment itself.

The entire sky darkened beneath his wings.

Black fire spiraled through storm clouds while dragons scattered desperately out of his path. Even from hundreds of feet away, the heat rolling from his body scorched the upper towers of Black Citadel.

Evelynn couldn’t move.

The soulbond pulled tighter with every second now.

Kael felt her.

Somewhere beneath the dragon, he still felt her.

Then suddenly—

his eyes shifted.

Directly toward the tower platform.

Toward her.

The entire world seemed to stop.

The dragon hovered above Black Citadel enormous enough to shadow the entire fortress while black flames curled between his teeth and storm winds screamed around his wings.

Every soldier on the platform froze.

No one breathed.

Because the Dragon King had found her.

The soulbond pulsed once.

Violently.

And for one terrible second, Evelynn felt both sides of him collide at once.

The dragon wanted destruction.

Kael wanted her.

The conflict shook the skies.

Black fire exploded outward across the clouds while Kael roared loud enough to split the storm apart entirely. Lightning flashed across his scales as the massive dragon twisted violently through the air like he was fighting himself.

The older commander whispered hoarsely:

“He’s resisting the flame madness…”

But barely.

Evelynn stepped toward the edge of the platform before anyone could stop her.

The heat alone burned against her skin now.

Kael circled lower.

Closer.

The dragonfire in his throat dimmed slightly the nearer he came to her presence.

The soulbond reacted instantly.

Warmth cut through the rage.

Pain through the loneliness.

And suddenly Evelynn understood the terrifying truth.

She was the only thing left anchoring the Dragon King to himself.

If she failed—

the sky itself would burn.