Chapter 160
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Across the room, the Dragonborn nobles already waited…Vornyx and Vessa, Zephralyn and Kaelen, Mavreth and Lirien. And at the head of it all stood Kaelrion. His stare was pure dragon. Furious. Unrelenting. Barely restrained.
Vaelrix stood beside me like a living storm in dragonshifter form, and I swear the air around him sizzled with authority.
“State your purpose,” Kaelrion snapped, already sounding fucking done with this.
“Conversation,” I said. “And survival.”
He scoffed. “The two rarely coexist.”
I ignored him and moved to the table. My people followed like an army behind a queen I hadn’t claimed to be.
“These are my mates…Ashrian, Bram, Daxon, Lachlan. That’s Draven and Aelira, Halrik and Nira, Taya, Rylen, Amaris, and Jace. And our mage support. We represent what’s left of sanity in the human realm. And it’s slipping.”
“Speak plainly,” Zephralyn said, her eyes narrowing.
“Oh, I will.” I let the fury in my chest simmer just under my voice.
“There’s an organization called the Aegis Protocol. Vampires and humans, working together, experimenting on hybrids, fae, wolves, bears, witches, shifters, all of us. They want to create a new species. A fucking superspecies. One that can’t be controlled. One that won’t need gods. And now they’ve allied with the Hollow Creed. Human hunters.”
Kaelrion leaned forward, his knuckles white against the stone table. “You’re saying they’re breeding power?”
“Yes. And killing anyone who can’t be used,” Ashrian said, his voice rough.
Daxon added, “We’ve seen the bodies. Tortured. Drained. Taken apart like lab rats.”
Lachlan’s accent rolled sharp and grim. “It’s no‘ just physical. They’re breakin‘ magical barriers. Hybridizing old bloodlines. It’s war by manipulation.”
“And Raelith?” Vessa asked. “You mentioned her.”
I met her gaze. “She’s joined the fight. The Blood Goddess herself. She’s taken Vaela and Soria, Draven and Aelira’s daughters…and turned them into vampires. With Lucien Virell at her side.”
Gasps rippled through the nobles.
“Those girls were pure blooded wolves,” Mavreth muttered.
“Not anymore,” Bram growled. “They’re… something else now. They kissed the monsters who did this. They’re gone.”
“They’re not gone,” Daxon whispered, but even he didn’t sound convinced.
Lyssira snarled in my head, her voice sharp and righteous. “They chose the dark, El. They drank it. Wore it. Gloated in it. Don’t you
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Chapter 160
fucking dare pity them. They betrayed their blood.”
I blinked hard but nodded internally. “I know.”
“They’re the heads of the snake,” I said aloud. “Vaela and Soria, Lucien, and Raelith. They’re puppeteering it all, and if we don’t strike now, this realm is next.”
Kaelrion leaned back, his arms crossed and his jaw tight. “And you want us to clean up the mess of the human realm?”
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I didn’t flinch. “No. I want you to listen. Because the gods? They’re awake now. They’ve been whispering. Pleading. They want worship again, temples, offerings, and connection. They’ve told us the only way to beat this is if they gain strength through belief. Not just in the human realm. Everywhere.”
Aevalyn of the Starborn stepped forward from where she stood at the edge of the chamber. “I’ve seen it. The starlight moves again. The veil is thinning.”
“We’ve rebuilt four temples already,” I said. “Moon, Earth, Star, and Sun. They’re recharging. But they need more. And your people? You fae? You were once the most devoted to the divine. You sang your prayers to the sky.”
“We have not forgotten,” Zephralyn whispered.
“Well it’s time to remember,” I snapped. “Because this isn’t just another war. This is the beginning of annihilation.”
Kaelrion’s eyes burned into mine. “And what if the gods fail you?”
I tilted my head, slow. “Then I’ll burn them with Raelith too.”
That silenced the room. Then Thornakar’s voice echoed in every mind again, deep and ancient.
“She is the storm before the reckoning. You will follow her, or be swept aside by the dark tide.”
Kaelrion cursed under his breath. “Fine,” he growled. “You’ll have my court’s support. But don’t expect hand holding. We fly on fire and we don’t wait for the weak.”
Vaelrix grinned. “That’s why we like you.”
Lyssira in my head howled, “Let’s fucking go, girl.”
And I smiled.
Because shit was about to get real.
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Hunted Hybrid – Aegis War Saga 1
Chapter 161
