Chapter 5 - Secrets, Revealed

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"A ritual?" The duke raised his eyebrows as he listened to his nephew, the crown prince.

"Yes, between what I saw, and the testimony of Sir Valleus, it was definitely some sort of ritual." Warm silence filled the air as Aushen continued eating, watched in perturbed confusion by Odessa, his uncle, and his aunt and cousin.

"What did they hope to achieve, I wonder?" the duke mused to himself.

"Well, I may have an idea," Aushen replied, mind trained on his first look at Valleus' dragon characteristics.

Timed almost perfectly, there was a knock at the door. After the butler spoke briefly with the people at the door, he bowed to the duke. "Your Grace, the chief knight says he has a matter of great importance and urgency to discuss with you. He has brought with him Sir Valleus."

Aushen could guess what this meant. Valleus must've just shown his fellow knights his new draconic features. The duke opened his mouth to deny entry, but Aushen politely interrupted.

"Your Grace, if I may– I believe Sir Valleus may shed some light on the object of our assailants' motives."

The duke cast a puzzled glance at his nephew, but trusting the young man's judgment, he told the butler to allow the knights to enter.

The chief knight entered, Valleus tucked closely behind him. The young knight allowed his gaze to meet Aushen's, and a sense of slight relief washed over him. The crown prince would vouch for everything he said, and would do his best to ensure Valleus met with no dire consequences.

"Your Grace, has His Highness already discussed with you the affairs of his capture and escape?" the Chief Knight asked.

"He has; in fact, he was just explaining to me his thoughts on the motives of these foul men when you arrived. I understand Sir Valleus has something to add?"

The Chief Knight took a step to the side, allowing Valleus to be in full view of the duke. Valleus inhaled shakily. "Yes, Your Grace. I'm sure His Highness has already explained– they had a red crystal they referred to as the 'Heart of the Dragon'. When they cut His Highness' hand and applied his blood to the stone, it glowed. After that, when I went to save the prince, I ended up cut on my own hand, and then I fell on the crystal, crushing it with the hand I'd been cut on."

With a brief scan around the room, Valleus bit his lip. "This is the hand which touched the 'Heart of the Dragon'," he announced, holding up his left hand.

Even the servants, trained to be silent and never react to anything they heard or saw, had to gasp aloud at the sight of Valleus' scaled hand. The butler himself was wide-eyed for a moment before he began quickly ushering the servants out of the room.

The duke stared, motionless, for what felt like an eternity. The duchess and their daughter, Aushen and Odessa's cousin, glanced fearfully between Valleus and the duke. "By the spirits..." Odessa whispered, shocked. Aushen, for his part, wished he could stand and hug Valleus, protecting him from any negative response. However, he knew his presence alone was helpful in assuaging some of the young knight's fears.

Valleus cleared his throat. "Whatever ritual they were attempting seems to have accidentally succeeded... on me." After a brief pause, he added, "This isn't the only draconic characteristic the ritual seems to have given me, but it's the only one I can't will away. Were I not in mixed company..." he trailed off. He attempted to indicate that he was hesitant to take his shirt off in front of the noble ladies, but the implication was that he became something so horrific that it would frighten them. Perhaps it would.

"Your Grace," Aushen called out, directing the room's attention to himself. "I saw firsthand what it is that Sir Valleus is referring to. He has large, scaled wings, and is able to produce fire at will. He can also draw long claws from his scaled hand." The duchess gasped, clearly disturbed by the description. "All of that said, though... he still took very attentive care of me, and is still the same knight I've always known him to be." Aushen knew he was overstepping his bounds a bit, but he felt he simply had to protect Valleus any way he could.

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