Chapter 259: A Moment Too Late

Renee looked at her son.

Still the same as ever, even when he cried. His chin was scrunched tight, his brows pulled so deeply together that they almost touched, and yet his eyes stayed sharp and focused through the tears. He cried without sound, letting everything fall freely, holding himself together with both hands clenched on the edge of his seat as if that alone kept him steady.

Her voice softened, but she kept going, trying to stay as strong as he was. Because even though Riley’s eyes were full of tears, he was listening like he could not allow a single word to slip past him.

Then again, Renee figured that both her son and the dragon lord would want to hear what happened.

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As if satisfied with its work, the intruder stepped back from Lord Rueben. The old vassal was already collapsing under the weight of the forbidden fire taking root inside him, but the creature only watched for a moment, tilting its ruined head as if assessing the damage.

Then it turned away.

No hesitation and no need for a final strike.

It simply left him there.

It was definitely not mercy because that eye had nothing but insanity. Instead, it felt like the monster had made a decision where he was more valuable in that state than dead.

However, the determined vassal couldn’t just die like that—not after everything.

Lord Rueben had tried to crawl toward safety. Even while burning from within, he forced himself to move. His intention had been clear. He wanted to remove the fang from his person. If he carried it out of the estate while engulfed in forbidden fire, he would spread the flames to everyone outside.

He couldn’t allow that. All he could do was get the fang to the others so they could take the egg far away.

He dragged himself forward, in pain and in tears, but eventually his strength gave out. He collapsed on the scorched ground, unable to lift his arm again.

That was when it happened.

A crack in space opened beside him. The small pocket created by the fang ruptured outward. The egg that should have been hidden away burst back into the world. A sharp wave of mana exploded from the shell, bright enough to cut through the forbidden flames.

Lord Rueben, who had been screaming in agony with every movement, let out a broken cry when the egg came in contact with the fire that was trying to engulf him. He believed the shell would catch flame and be destroyed. But it didn’t burn.

Instead, something else rose.

Runic symbols began to gather around them, writhing most fiercely around the egg as it struggled desperately to smother the flames.

Then everything clicked for the confused and agonized vassal.

A seal he had only ever heard of, but never seen, suddenly came to life.

It didn’t matter where they were, but every vassal who still lived under the old restrictions felt their bodies stir in response.

Renee’s voice trembled as she finished the sentence, because even she had never forgotten the way her grandmother described that moment.

“The sealing spell meant for the worst-case scenario had been activated, and the egg that snuffed out the forbidden fire fell into a long and silent hibernation by the time the alerted vassals found Lord Rueben.”

“!!!”

Kael Dravaryn, the current dragon lord, felt dizzy.

He’d been so close. So incredibly close.

When he got there, Riley and Lord Rueben were still at the estate, and yet somehow he had missed them.

Would things have been different if he had looked outside before rushing to his room?

Would he have seen the signs sooner?

Or maybe if he hadn’t just fainted afterwards, perhaps he would’ve found them first?

But in truth, the worst part was quite simple.

If he had just managed to defeat that monster, Riley would never have reached the point where the seal had to activate.

It wouldn’t have taken this long for them to find each other. And Riley wouldn’t have ended up in this disadvantageous position where he had to play catch-up for his safety.

Kael closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his breath.

He had been there. He had been close enough to reach them.

And he had still fai—

“?!”

Kael flinched when a sharp flick landed on his forehead. His brows drew together at once, pulled out of his spiraling thoughts by the sting, only to realize that Riley had flicked him.

Hard.

“Ow!” It was just that, as expected, it was the twig that had to shake his hand because he practically flicked granite as an unadjusted dragon.

Then again, maybe it was intentional because his mate didn’t look remotely angry.

Yes. Riley really didn’t even try to hide it. He just gave Kael a look that said he knew exactly what kind of dark place he had wandered into.

Riley didn’t need to be a genius to guess what his golden dragon was thinking. Considering how Kael felt about the entire thing from the very beginning, he was probably blaming himself for everything, digging through every moment, somehow wallowing in the “what ifs” and “the could have beens.”

And really, Riley understood that mindset.

He had felt a major flicker of regret and guilt, too, but not for the same reasons. His own regret came from realizing just how many lives had been knocked off course because of him. How so many clans had moved around him like planets orbiting a single problem. How Kael had spent years in agony, alone and searching.

Maybe, if things had gone differently, they all could have been spared. Maybe none of them would have suffered the way they did.

But then Riley looked at his parents. Just thinking about his own life stopped the guilt before it could swallow him.

Admittedly, that was rather selfish of him. Because, unlike everyone else, he had actually been right at the center of all the problems. If he were removed from the equation, then the rest would admittedly have a less complicated life.

And yet, maybe it was the humanity in him speaking, but no matter how he looked at it, it would never be fair to blame himself, the egg, who had never even asked to go through any of that.

So why would he carry the blame for those demons who clearly had nothing better to do?

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