Chapter 377: Among Us
Explaining what they saw to their parents hadn’t been easy, not when Lord Karion had to be physically restrained so he wouldn’t end up razing the entire dragon estate out of sheer rage.
Riley could understand that reaction.
Someone like Karion, someone who carried that much responsibility on his shoulders, wouldn’t be able to accept something like this happening right under his watch.
The moment the explanation sank in, the older golden dragon’s aura surged violently, the pressure in the room spiking as his jaw tightened and his hands curled into fists.
"I’ll—"
"Karion!"
Lady Cirila’s voice cut through sharply.
He froze.
Not immediately calm, not even close, but he stopped.
His teeth gnashed together in frustration as he dragged in a slow, controlled breath, his stance shifting as he forced himself to rein it in. It was obvious that every bit of restraint he had was being used just to keep himself from acting on impulse.
"...We need to find the culprit as soon as possible."
The words came out measured, but the anger behind them hadn’t lessened in the slightest.
Normally, Riley would think that Kael’s temperament couldn’t be more different than that of his parents, but seeing his father-in-law like this was definitely enlightening.
At times like this, they were clearly father and son.
"I’m guessing you don’t want to inform the other elders about this?" the retired dragon lord asked.
Kael had already been about to nod, because informing the others would only complicate things further, especially when they still didn’t know who they could trust. Worse, it might even alert whoever was behind this, because none of those selfish bastards would pass up the chance to have someone from their side claim that suddenly opened seat.
But before he could respond—
"Actually."
Riley’s voice cut in from the side.
He had been staring blankly for a moment, his thoughts momentarily drifting toward the most random things, but when he finally met their eyes, his expression had already settled.
"We should actually inform them."
The reaction was immediate.
"!!!"
Everyone looked at him.
"What?" Lady Cirila asked, clearly startled. "Isn’t that extremely unsafe?"
Riley didn’t hesitate.
"Yes, Mom," he said evenly. "But information doesn’t always have to be right."
There was a brief pause as that sank in.
"Huh?"
"Since they’re being awfully difficult, then let’s do this differently," Riley continued, leaning back slightly as if the plan had already been set in motion in his mind.
"Six remaining elders and six different pieces of information."
The way he said it was almost casual, but the implication wasn’t.
Lawren Hale reacted first.
"Son," he said slowly, his gaze sharpening, "are you planning on seeing what they do with it?"
Riley nodded.
"We observe which information matters to them, who they choose to share it with, and what actions they take based on what they’re given."
For a moment, no one spoke.
They just looked at him.
Trying to process it.
"It would likely work with those dragons," Riley added, his tone turning slightly more thoughtful, "because they wouldn’t even consider the possibility of Kael lying to their faces. Not when he’s always been blunt, direct, and more inclined to skip the hassle by overpowering everyone."
He paused, then glanced at his mate.
"...No offense, Honey."
Kael clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed, but he didn’t argue when it was unfortunately true. Instead, he simply watched his twig, his gaze lingering on him in a way that made it obvious he was taking in more than just the words.
The explaining black dragon, on the other hand, looked like the stress had caught up to him all at once. Whatever energy he had built up over the past few days seemed to have been drained, but even then, he kept going.
"But frankly, that’s something I would have done before all this," he said, gesturing vaguely to encompass everything that had happened so far. "But...I really wouldn’t say the same now, not with what I know."
His expression shifted, something sharper settling into place.
"Because why waste time when we already have one rather confirmed enemy in our midst?"
That caught their attention.
Out of everyone present, it was Thyrran who spoke.
"Master, we do?"
"Yeah," Riley replied, straightening slightly in his seat. "Unfortunately."
He let the silence stretch for a beat before continuing.
"Based on my recent experience, have we learned anything about the heart?"
The question hung in the air.
No one answered.
It didn’t need one.
"If human hearts need blood because of the oxygen required to keep them beating," Riley went on, his tone steady despite the weight of what he was implying, "then what about a dragon heart that wasn’t originally satisfied with the blood I already had?"
His gaze shifted.
Settling on his very golden mate.
If anything, he was practically reminding him about their not-so-distant past.
And Kael understood.
He took a slow breath before answering.
"Dragon blood," he said. "Preferably blood with a lot of mana."
"...!!!"
Riley didn’t look away.
"And out of the great ancients surrounding the dragon lord," he continued, "who has established their own makeshift blood bank?"
The silence that followed was heavier this time. After all, the Iltheran heir wasn’t just explaining, but blatantly accusing.
Not exactly his proudest moment, but after everything he went through that day, he just needed this sort of catharsis.
Riley pressed his lips together, waiting.
Then Lord Karion spoke, his voice low and once again filled with barely restrained fury.
"That son of a—"
Yep.
That guy.
The same one, who, unbeknownst to the gathered Dravaryns and Hales, was having a rave of his own as he threatened to rip his own attendant into confetti-like strips.
Inside the confines of his office, the air had long since turned suffocating.
An attendant knelt at the center of the room, his body trembling as blood spread beneath him in uneven streaks, staining the polished floor that the Chancellor had always insisted on remaining immaculate.
"You—!"
The sound tore through the room, sharp and grating.
Chancellor Malrik stood a few steps away, his expression twisted in fury as his eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"Are you stupid?! You dared return like that?"
His gaze dropped, not to the man, but to the mess.
To the blood.
"If you had used the brain I left you with, then you would have stayed out until you stopped gushing!"
As one could expect, there was no concern in his voice, only irritation. As if the sight before him was nothing more than an inconvenience.
The attendant flinched, his shoulders shaking as he lowered himself further, his hands bracing against the floor as he began to apologize in a rushed, disjointed manner.
"I’m sorry, Chancellor. I’m sorry—"
His forehead struck the ground.
Once.
Then again.
Each impact heavier than the last.
The dull sound echoed faintly, followed by the soft smear of fresh blood spreading outward, mixing with what had already pooled beneath him.
Malrik’s expression darkened.
"Stop that this instant!"
The command came out cold, clipped.
But the attendant didn’t stop.
Or perhaps he couldn’t.
"I’m sorry, Chancellor—"
"I said—"
"Enough!"
The word cracked through the room, the pressure that followed forcing the attendant to still, his body locking up as if something had seized control of him.
For a moment, the only sound left was his unsteady breathing.
Malrik took a slow step forward, his eyes finally lifting from the floor to the man kneeling before him.
"Speak," he said, his voice lower now, controlled. "Explain why you’ve returned in this state."
The attendant’s head remained bowed, but he forced himself to answer.
"Chancellor... the mark..."
Malrik’s brows drew together slightly, impatience flickering across his face.
"What about it?"
"I couldn’t retrieve him," the attendant said, his voice strained, as though even speaking was an effort. "The moment I arrived... he had already shifted."
There was a brief pause.
Then, more clearly—
"Into his dragon form."
For a second, Malrik didn’t react.
His attention lingered, as if the words had yet to fully register.
Then his gaze snapped back to the attendant.
"What did you say?"
The question came out slower, like he was talking to someone whom he thought was too far beneath him.
The attendant swallowed, his voice wavering despite the unnatural obedience in his posture.
"Chancellor... the mark. I couldn’t take him back because I couldn’t overpower him in his dragon form."
The room fell silent.
Malrik’s eyes widened, the anger that had dominated his expression faltering just enough to make room for something else.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Because what the attendant had just said didn’t align with anything he knew.
It shouldn’t have been possible.
Not for someone who had been sealed.
Not for someone whose memories had been wiped so thoroughly that even the faintest trace of his former self should have been erased.
And yet—
His jaw tightened as the thought settled in.
How could a dragon he had personally helped suppress, one who should have remained nothing more than a manageable pawn, suddenly regain enough of himself to shift?
What the hell was this idiot even talking about?