Chapter 230: The Guardian’s Answer

Holy—!

Woah.

Okay. Wow.

Riley had hoped that trying a different approach might poke a reaction out of the guardian… but he never expected an actual, audible, unquestionable “Okay.”

He stood there completely shell-shocked, brain short-circuiting.

He even had to physically shake himself because there was no universe where he should have hit a target that cleanly.

Heck, he wasn’t even sure if it meant anything. Humans said “okay” to just about anything under the sun. It could mean yes, maybe, whatever, or “I’m ignoring you politely.”

But Thyrran wasn’t human.

And Thyrran had stayed silent when Kael asked the same question.

So… this was something.

Riley tried to steady himself, eyes glued to the poised, towering guardian as he tried to think about what he should do next.

But the stunned human wasn’t the only one staring.

Because Kael definitely saw that reaction.

And the dragon lord, who had been getting nothing but dead silence and the occasional hiss, looked like he wanted to set the entire archive on fire.

Who wouldn’t go crazy when your tiny twig kept reacting like he was in a full conversation with answers you couldn’t hear?

He was the dragon lord, for fuck’s sake.

Kael’s jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed. His aura spiked. And finally—

He grabbed Riley’s arm, fingers firm but trembling slightly, as if reminding the human that he was still there and was about to lose his mind from curiosity.

Riley finally tore his gaze from the guardian and looked at Kael…

Only to see one of the most painful expressions on the dragon’s face.

A contorted mix of worry, frustration, and downright agony from being left out.

Riley winced. The guilt hit him instantly.

He reached up and smoothed a finger across his boyfriend’s furrowed brows like he was ironing out stress lines.

“Sorry,” Riley murmured. “I was so busy thinking of how to phrase the questions so we could get answers.”

Kael frowned harder. “What?”

Riley inhaled and turned slightly, explaining, “I wasn’t certain earlier, but… I think there was something about the way we’re asking our questions.”

“?”

“And somehow, it reminded me of a game I used to play when I was younger,” Riley said.

Kael’s confusion deepened.

Riley continued quickly before the dragon lord combusted.

“It’s one of those games where the game master would say something like, ’I’m taking a vacation. You can come with me if you bring a comb.’”

Kael’s frown deepened. Hard.

Riley let out a small, nervous chuckle and sped up before the golden dragon judged him into oblivion.

“I know it probably sounds stupid, but hear me out. I swear it’ll make sense.”

Hopefully.

“See, the idea was that everyone would list items or answer whatever the game master asked for. And eventually, some people would be told they could ’come.’ But all that really meant was that their answer matched a hidden pattern the game master had already decided on.”

“Players would then keep throwing out guesses, hoping to slowly figure out the correlation between the correct answers.”

Kael’s brow slowly rose.

Encouraged, Riley kept going.

“The condition could be anything. Items that start with the same letter, items of the same category, same number of syllables, or even doing a specific gesture when you say it.”

Riley watched those golden eyes blink. “?”

“But some game masters would make it trickier. You had to change the way you delivered the answer to meet the condition.”

“And that,” Riley said, pointing at the serpent, “was basically how I’ve been getting answers since earlier.”

The dragon lord tilted his head, an unintentionally cute gesture for someone who could destroy a continent.

“Not all my questions were answered,” Riley explained, “but I noticed how the guardian didn’t have a problem answering other questions.”

“So you even asked his name when you already know it?”

“Yes. Because like a lie detector test, I needed a baseline for known facts.”

Kael’s mouth twitched.

“First, I noticed that all the questions you asked got ignored. Completely. Then when I mixed my questions together, only direct questions about my identity got that total silence.”

Riley exhaled slowly, eyes focused.

“But see… even silence could be an answer. Because it wasn’t an ’I don’t know.’ Instead it felt like a deliberate silence. And for some reason it reminded me of how my parents seemed to answer your questions the same way.”

“Then,” Riley continued, “you asked if I was sealed, and I figured… maybe anything related to my identity can’t be answered.”

“Can’t be answered?” Kael asked.

“Yeah. So I chose not to ask.”

“And Thyrran actually said ’Okay.’”

“!!!”

“What?!” he demanded.

“I know, right? That’s why I reacted like that,” Riley said, still in disbelief as he turned back to the guardian.

He swallowed once and tried again.

“Lord Thyrran, how do I break my seal?”

Silence.

A heavy one.

The serpent adjusted his body, lowering himself slightly as if preparing for something. His eyes fixed on Riley in a stare so intense it made the air feel heavier.

But the mortal continued staring back, both of them locked in an unblinking exchange because frankly, Riley had expected it, probably even counted on it.

So with each passing moment, he was sure he could feel his heartbeat in his throat, but even then, he refused to look away.

Then finally—

Riley drew in a breath and declared, “Break my seal.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Thyrran’s eyes ignited with brilliance.

And at that exact second, the other guardians around them jolted—

Their stone-like stillness cracking

Falling away

Waking

All of them turning sharply toward Riley.

All of them staring.

And Riley’s bravado instantly died.

“Uh-oh.”

Thyrran’s eyes glowed faintly.

Riley stiffened as a voice slipped straight into his mind, cold and echoing like a whisper traveling through stone.

Follow me.

The surprised human jolted so hard he almost tripped over his own feet.

“Oh shit—”

Kael immediately grabbed his arm. “What happened?”

Riley swallowed, forcing his voice steady. “Thyrran… told me to follow him.”

Kael’s eyes widened. The guardian had refused to say a single word to him, yet Riley got another direct answer.

Thyrran turned and began to slither away, body moving like a black river through the vast hall.

Riley hesitated only a second before starting after him. Kael went with him, of course.

But before they made it far, the other guardians moved.

Stone scraped. Air thickened.

The guardians stepped closer—closing in, surrounding them in a tightening circle.

Riley froze. Kael stepped in front of him instantly, wings threatening to tear free from his back.

But the pressure, Riley realized, wasn’t closing on him.

It was closing around Kael.

A second voice hit his mind.

Sharp. Final.

Only you.

Riley blanched.

Only him.

Only he could follow.

Kael was not allowed.

“Oh hell…” he whispered. “Kael… they don’t want you to come.”

Kael’s reaction was immediate. Violent.

His eyes shifted, pupils thinning to slits. Power rippled off him in waves as translucent golden wings burst to life behind his back, glowing with heat.

Every guardian tensed.

Seventy tons of magical stone wanted to move.

“Over my dead body,” Kael growled, pulling Riley back against his chest. “He is not going anywhere without me.”

Thyrran didn’t attack.

Didn’t hiss.

Didn’t coil.

He simply waited—still as a statue—watching Riley.

Waiting for his decision.

The other guardians stood poised, not aggressive but ready. They weren’t surrounding Riley.

They were guarding a boundary.

Protecting something.

Testing something.

It became clear.

If Riley stepped forward, Kael would be stopped.

If Riley stepped back, Thyrran would remain silent.

The tension in the air felt sharp enough to cut through bone.

Kael tightened his grip. “Riley, no.”

Riley’s heart hammered in his chest. He could feel Kael’s fear, his protective rage, the way his wings arched forward like a shield.

And across from him, Thyrran lowered his great head once more.

Waiting. Not urging.

Just waiting.

It was Riley’s move.

Well, it somehow sucked to be him at that moment.

Because honestly, who in their right mind would want to follow a giant snake into an unknown part of an ancient archive?

Okay, yes—he had thought about it during breakfast.

And yes—he was most definitely regretting it now.

But if he did not go, then what was the point of all this?

Riley had figured it out earlier. Whatever the conditions were, it seemed like only he was allowed to know them. It was not something he could ask directly about. The only reason this was even working was because he wasn’t asking questions—he was demonstrating knowledge of the seal.

So if Kael insisted on going too, the path likely wouldn’t open.

And if Kael somehow forced his way in… Riley feared something might happen to him.

Because even the guardians of the archives reacted like this.

And that made Riley worry.

Why was he sealed?

It could be something important—maybe even something ancient and grand.

But what if it was something terrible?

What if he had done something vile enough that even ancient beings refused to speak of it?

Surely he wasn’t some pariah from myth, right?

Surely he wasn’t the second coming of the primordial dragon or something equally ridiculous… right?

Riley swallowed hard.

He was nervous. Extremely nervous.

But if he felt like this, Kael was probably drowning in fear and anger all at once.

He turned to his dragon lord—his golden dragon—who looked absolutely anguished.

Kael’s wings were half-manifested, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with fury and terror he couldn’t voice. His entire body was taut, as if one wrong move would snap something inside him.

Riley approached him slowly.

Then he rose up on tiptoe and wrapped his arms around Kael, pressing himself close.

“I promise I’ll be back,” Riley whispered. “Because I promised to be your mate, right?”

Kael’s breath caught.

He blinked once, as if waking from a daze, and looked down at Riley.

“Riley…” he whispered, voice rough and cracking.

The twig, summoning every scrap of courage he had left, gave him a small, wobbly smile.

“We still have to go on our first date,” he said softly. “So I will return whatever happens, okay?”

Kael’s mouth opened, with heavy, desperate words rising in his throat.

He wanted to say none of this was okay.

He wanted to say he hated this.

He wanted to ask Riley to stay.

He wanted to tear the archives apart.

He wanted everything but this.

But his words never made it out.

They were drowned—buried—by the crushing silence that followed Riley’s departing back as he stepped toward Thyrran.

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