"So you finally found a match for the little demon." Nix's taunting voice greeted the Draycent ruler as he entered his private chambers in the palace.
"Yes, we did," Raze replied. "I was beginning to despair of finding a Lucent capable of melding with my son."
Nix scowled and paced her cage, whipping her raven black tail back and forth behind her. "I wonder how it was possible though," she muttered, ignoring his emphasis.
"She is an incredibly powerful Lucent," he said. "It is strange, though, how she has white hair, like all Draycent, save for a strand of black on her right side, but we know nothing of her parentage. Besides that, the only difference between her and all the other tainted children we've collected over the years is that she and her older brother survived together for many years, far past what is normal."
Nix eyed him warily. "I'm surprised the priests allowed it."
"I am Raze Kalamity, King of The Draycent, slayer of dragons. Those priests know their place," he replied curtly.
"Then why must we keep up this ruse?" She demanded, motioning to the cage and glaring at him with her cruel dark eyes.
"It's not a ruse," he countered irritably. "You are dangerous. Just not entirely in the way they assume."
"And yet, you are content to leave it like this." A daring smirk spread across her lips, revealing her inhuman fangs.
Slowly, Raze returned the eerie smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
His indifference to her threat irked her. "So are you going to have her locked away too?"
The Draycent laughed. "Of course not. Things are different now. We've learned much."
"But I must still pay the price," she snarled bitterly.
"It's not like that, my darling tainted Lucent," he soothed, but his deep voice held no kindness, only cravings for power. "Rather, because of you, I may have found a way to break the Pledge Curse and ensure the Draycent's dominance."
He strode over to the window and peered out across the city. "The Draycent are superior to all. We were destined to rule and I won't let some stupid curse get in the way. I will see to it that we reign over all humankind... And the dragons."
Nix's covetous gaze followed him as he turned away and picked up the gem studded flask from the end table beside his curtained bed. Anyone would assume it held some fine alcohol but it contained a far more powerful substance.
Putting it to his lips, Raze savored the otherworldy taste, but he dared take no more than a sip. Not because he didn't have a generous supply, but that even so small a dose was nearly more than his body could handle.
"So delicious," Nix muttered excitedly, her body sharing the burden of his indulgence. Light flowed faintly over her wings then over the rest of her body, temporarily reducing the blight again and with it some of the bitterness.
Her eyes softened as she regained some of her former self.
"Better?" He asked quietly as his gaze met hers'.
Their exchange was interrupted by a pounding at the door. "My Lord!" A voice called urgently from without.
Without another glance in his lucent's direction, Raze strode out of the room.
"My Lord," the messenger bowed as he met him at the door.
"What is it?"
"It's Elias. He's returned."
"Is that all?" He snapped. No one dared bother him with something so trivial.
The messenger frowned as he answered. "Something went terribly wrong."
YOU ARE READING
Wings of Shadows ~ Book 1 ~ Beginnings ~
FantasíaRivynn couldn't understand why she and her brother, Rain, were kept chained away from everyone else. They were told it was to keep them safe from the shadows... But what if that was a lie? ~~~~~~ Rain hadn't told her... but the shadows were real...
