“I can’t,” Vaeris said gently.
“Then you’re a monster.”
“Icouldbe.” His smile darkened. “There are a thousand ways to abuse this deal, and gods help me, I want to. But I haven’t. Do you know how hard that is? To own someone completely…and refuse to touch the power of it?”
I flinched, but he kept going.
“You were only supposed to be a tool, but those nights we talked until dawn. You told me about the dreams you’d buried. Dreams that life had already stolen from you.” He swallowed sharply. “How was I supposed to pretend it was nothing after that?”
Silence as brittle as glass stretched.
“That is why I’m asking,” he said roughly. “Not compelling.Askingyou to come home.”
“Vaeris,” Kairos said softly. “I’m going to drown you in your own blood.”
A month ago, this speech would have destroyed me. I would have believed every word and convinced myself that maybe hedidlove me.
I crossed my arms. “This isn’t about me. He wants the dragons released.”
Kairos’s head snapped toward me. “The what?”
Heat crept up my neck as I faced him. “When the palace fractured, a rune underneath also shattered. It was one of the seals.”
Kairos stared at me. “You knew about this?”
“A dragon told me,” I whispered. “In a vision. I had no clue if it was real.” How was I supposed to explain that? That something ancient had crawled into my dreams?
Kairos clenched his teeth.
“The dragons aren’t free,” Vaeris said. “Not yet. But thetsunamis hitting your coast is their power bleeding through.”
Kairos rubbed his forehead. “Gods. We broke a dragon seal.”
Vaeris gestured at me. “She did, yes.”
“You planned this,” Kairos hissed. “You reckless fool.”
Vaeris’s eyes glittered. “There is one seal left. If that breaks, the dragons return.”
Kairos swore. “Where is it?”
“No idea,” Vaeris drawled. “Drøthmar was obvious, the palace was built directly over it. Any scholar studying the old texts could piece it together if they knew what to look for. But the second seal? I’ve spent decades searching and found nothing.”
“Convenient,” Kairos spat.
“But she can find it.” Vaeris’s gaze shifted to me. “You sensed the first seal, didn’t you? At the palace.”
My stomach hardened. Yes, I’d heard roaring under my feet, deep and furious voices.
“The seals have protected this world for thousands of years,” Kairos shouted.
“The dragons deserve to be free,” Vaeris said calmly.
“You’re talking about creatures who enslaved entire civilizations.” Kairos’s baritone trembled. “They burned cities for sport. Is that what you want back?”
“They were betrayed.”
“Because they were out of control!”
