Chapter 242: Dark Crystals.
Ogain’s magical abilities had grown more refined with time, his power now gentle, intuitive, and deeply connected to her soul. Through the bond they shared, he could ease her emotional wounds without a word. All it took was her touch, fingertips moving on his black feathers, and the magic would ripple softly into her, weaving warmth into her veins like golden threads of sunlight through the mist.
"You’re sad... and silent," he whispered, his breath a breeze against her cheek. "If you don’t speak it, it will hunt you down like a shadow."
The griffin beside her stirred, feathers ruffling as it picked up the weight in the air, an unspoken ache that pulsed between them.
Ren lowered her gaze. "My husband’s aura is tainted with darkness... and my father is dying."
At her confession, Ogain responded not with words but with action, his magic surged, a comforting tide that washed over her chest, chasing the heaviness away. A breath escaped her lips, lighter now.
"Reneira," he said softly, "we must speak to your brother."
Agara, leaning nearby, added with a tilt of mischief and urgency, "If he already knows a mermaid, that would save us trouble, then I won’t need to go hunting for one and bind her with a spell."
Dear Hector,
I don’t know how to say this, but I only met your mother once, during a time when my dragon had fallen into a fever, and we were forced to rest in Sobis Village. She was working at the inn where I lodged. We talked... shared a meal... but when I awoke the next morning, she was gone.
I knew she was a half-blood, but I had no idea she was a princess, nor did I ever imagine she would carry my child.
I would like to meet you. To hear your story. To understand what happened... and how I remained in the dark for so long. Did your mother ever mention me? Did she tell you I existed? That you had a father?