Page 232 of The Fallen Fae King

I have heard the stories of this room, which is Hadrian’s personal wing of the palace. It contains everything that once belonged to the tyrant Golden Dragon: statues, swords, daggers, spears, jewel-encrusted golden bowls, plates, and goblets.

A dragon’s treasure hoard.

Yet only royalty is allowed up here.

Hadrian is the shame of the Draca Kingdom. The gold sparkles with cursed magic. It stings my own magic, and I am careful not to touch the gold as I weave between it.

“Over here, Your Majesty,” Wren calls out.

His voice is weak and pained, unlike him.

Fear rushes through me.

He is barely holding on.

Suddenly, how important the surly bastard has always been to me kicks me in the guts.

If my plot gets him killed, then I will never forgive myself.

I can sense the portal, despite not being able to see it. It is a swirling mass of midnight shadows.

“What in the name of the Shadow Gods is that? What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I wince at how close Aurelius sounds.

He must be standing in the doorway now.

“It has nothing to do with the Shadow Gods.” I taunt. “And I think that I’m rebelling.”

“Don’t even think about going through that portal, Lan.” Aurelius marches past me like I’m unimportant, rather than the leader of this uprising.

Bloody typical.

I step back, but not fast enough to dodge the swing of Aurelius’ fist across my jaw.

I wince.

Fair.

Aurelius’ golden gaze meets mine.

Five hisses at him.

“I warned you that I was the villain.” I give a sharp smile. “So sweet that you thought you were ever in control.”

“This is your plot.” Aurelius looks lost.

“From the very beginning.”

Aurelius’ gaze darts across my face like somehow, he can put the pieces together and make the puzzle look different. “What are you trying to do? I don’t understand. I thought that we were on the same side. Don’t we have our own plot? Don’t you have a fucking deal to serve me? How you can you break that?”

“Who said that I was breaking anything?” I reply with an inscrutable expression. “I am serving you. You were always blind to what was going on around you. There is far more at play than you know. More mysteries and more at stake. But you and I have never been on the same side.” I hold up the Rebirth Ring between us. “Dragon’s blood is the only thing that can atone for this. From now on, everything changes. You’ll learn who I truly am.”

“As you will me, Relius,” Lanlin says low and tempting. “Come with me through the portal.”

What is Lanlin doing?

Then I realize, and I work hard to keep my expression blank.

Idiot dragon, he truly doesn’t understand either me or Lanlin.