Chapter 229
I froze. Three hundred rogue vampires. That’s not an army. That’s a goddamn apocalypse. I turned slowly to the war table.
“Just got off the comm with Prince Vymir.” I said, loud and clear. “He’s bringing three hundred rogue vampires to the fight. Every last one of them trained, hungry, and pissed.”
Silence. Then Bram barked a laugh. “Three hundred? Shit, that’s like adding a thousand elite warriors.”
Daxon grinned, all teeth. “Fuck yes.”
Lachlan grinned, his Abercrombie smile on full display.
Draven nodded. “Then we go. Forty eight hours from now, we strike.”
“Portals will be ready,” Aelira said.
“Scouts are already moving,” Garron added.
“We’ll protect your healers,” Druen rumbled.
Isolde and Alaric stepped forward. “And we’ll prepare the spell circles,” she said. “This time… we’re not leaving anyone behind.”
I exhaled slowly, the edges of my fangs prickling. My heart beat like war drums.
Elowen, my love….We’re coming.
And this time, we’re bringing hell with us.
Vaelrix Drakenholt POV
The wind above the Dragon Castle carried the scent of molten gold, ozone, and something ancient that never quite left these skies. Below
me, the cliffs pulsed with life, geodes cracked open like celestial scars, dragons resting on ledges as if they were part of the mountain
itself. My home now. My duty. My prison.
And yet… all I could feel was her absence. Elowen. Every fucking heartbeat echoed her name.
I should’ve torn the sky apart the second she was taken. I should’ve shifted and let the world burn. But we’d had no weaknesses to
exploit. Raelith was to strong, the Aegis too silent, and the gods too fucking slow.
I stood on the highest spire, my comm crystal pulsing a steady violet from where it was fused into my vambrace. Finally. Something. I
Chapter 229
touched it. “Vaelrix.”
“It’s Daxon,” came the gruff voice of my wolf brother. “We’ve got movement.”
My entire body tensed. “Talk.”
“Taya had a vision,” he said. “A big one. Raelith’s realm took a hit. The gods shattered it, cracked it clean down the middle. She can’t cross over anymore, just send shadows. And her whispers? Fading. Fast.”
A beat of silence. Then two words that detonated in my chest like a war drum…”She’s fighting.”
Everything inside me went still. Elowen. Still fighting. Still enduring. Still holding the fuck on. My blood roared through me like dragonfire and wolf fury fused.
“She’s not broken?” I rasped.
“No,” Daxon said, his voice like steel. “And we’ve got forty eight hours. Then Raelith loses her hold. We’re going in.”
I closed my eyes for a second and exhaled smoke. “What’s the team?”
“You ready for this?” he asked.
I growled. “I was born for this.”
He chuckled, low and dark. “Three hundred rogue vampires just joined us. Purebloods and Blood witches. Prince Vymir rallied them.
They’re ready to tear Aegis apart.”
I blinked. That… that was massive. Three hundred rogue vampires wasn’t a win. That was a fucking declaration.
“Hot damn,” I muttered, my claws flexing. “Finally.”
“We need you,” Daxon said. “Full force. No holding back.”
I smiled, sharp, wild and absolutely feral. “Then it’s time I unleash the Ironwings.”
There was a pause. “Wait, your elite squad?”
“Two hundred and fifty dragon riders,” I confirmed, my voice like thunder. “Fae archers trained for airborne combat, each one bonded to a
war class drake. They haven’t flown in a battle this big in decades. They’ve been begging for blood.”
I looked over the edge of the cliff, where massive obsidian scaled dragons stirred in the morning mist. Their riders stood ready, with their
armor polished, arrows enchanted, and their hair braided with skysteel.
“My Ironwings,” I said, “will ride.”
Chapter 229
Daxon exhaled. “Fuck yes. We’re getting her out.”
“You’re damn right we are,” I growled. “No more waiting. No more pieces. This time, we bring everything.”
Daxon’s voice lowered. “You still have that spell anchor she left you?”
I reached into my chest armor and pulled it free, a sliver of moonstone braided with strands of Elowen’s hair and sealed in crystal. Her essence. Her scent. Her promise.
“I never take it off,” I said softly.
He didn’t speak for a moment.
“Good,” he finally muttered. “We’ll get her out Vaelrix.”
“And I’ll be beside you,” I replied. “With fire and fury.”
The crystal dimmed. The line went silent. And I turned to my war captain.
“Sound the horns,” I commanded. “Rouse the drakes. Sharpen the arrows. In forty eight hours, we fly to war.”
The wind howled behind me like prophecy. Elowen, my mate. My moonfire. My reason. Hold on just a little longer.
Your king is coming.
And this time, we’re not stopping ’til the fucking skies fall.
