C8 The First Shadowborn
The creature pulled itself through the tear in the sky.
Every Veilbreaker in the valley froze.
Even the dragon fell silent.
The thing emerging from the Veil looked vaguely human.
Vaguely.
Its limbs were too long.
Its fingers ended in black claws.
Dark scales covered patches of pale gray skin.
And its eyes—
Kael wished he had never seen them.
Dozens of glowing amber eyes opened across its face and neck.
Watching.
Studying.
Hunting.
The Shadowborn smiled.
The sight made Kael’s blood run cold.
“Everyone move!” the Veilbreaker leader shouted.
His voice shattered the paralysis gripping the valley.
Instantly, warriors rushed into position.
Blue runes ignited across the stone pillars surrounding the camp.
Energy surged through the ancient structures.
The air vibrated.
For a moment, Kael thought it might work.
Then the Shadowborn laughed.
The sound was wrong.
It echoed from too many mouths at once.
Like a hundred voices speaking in perfect harmony.
The nearest pillar exploded.
Stone fragments rained across the valley.
Several Veilbreakers were thrown backward.
The magical barrier collapsed.
Just like that.
⸻
“Run.”
The dragon’s voice struck Kael’s mind.
Hard.
Urgent.
Now.
Kael didn’t hesitate.
“Seraphine!”
She was already moving.
Together they sprinted along the battlements as chaos erupted below.
The Shadowborn landed in the center of the valley.
The ground cracked beneath its weight.
Several Veilbreakers attacked immediately.
Bolts of blue energy streaked toward the creature.
The Shadowborn raised one hand.
The attacks vanished.
Not blocked.
Not deflected.
Gone.
As though they had never existed.
Silence swept across the battlefield.
Fear followed.
The creature tilted its head.
Curious.
Then it moved.
Too fast to follow.
One moment it stood in the valley.
The next it stood among the Veilbreakers.
Screams erupted.
Kael looked away.
He didn’t need to see what happened.
The sounds were enough.
⸻
The dragon spread its injured wings.
Pain flashed across its face.
Yet it forced itself into the air.
Massive wings beat against the night wind.
The dragon climbed toward the crack in the sky.
Toward the Shadowborn.
“No,” Kael whispered.
The creature was too strong.
Too dangerous.
The dragon knew it too.
But it attacked anyway.
A column of silver fire erupted from its jaws.
The blast struck the Shadowborn directly.
Light engulfed the valley.
For one glorious moment, Kael dared to hope.
Then the fire vanished.
The Shadowborn stepped from the flames completely unharmed.
Its smile widened.
The dragon’s golden eye narrowed.
Impossible.
The Shadowborn spoke for the first time.
Its voice rolled across the mountains.
Ancient.
Cold.
Powerful.
“You have forgotten.”
The words echoed unnaturally.
“As all prisoners eventually do.”
Kael felt the dragon recoil.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Fear.
Real fear.
The Shadowborn raised its hand.
Dark energy exploded outward.
The dragon crashed from the sky.
⸻
“Kael!”
Seraphine’s voice snapped him back to reality.
They had reached the far side of the tower.
The escape path led into the forest beyond.
For the first time since this nightmare began, freedom was within reach.
Then Kael heard something.
A whisper.
Faint.
Familiar.
The dragon.
Its thoughts barely reached him now.
Dragon Speaker…
Kael stopped.
“No.”
Seraphine grabbed his arm.
“What are you doing?”
“The dragon.”
“Kael—”
“It needs help.”
“It needs a miracle.”
Her voice cracked.
“Look around!”
The valley was falling apart.
Fire spread through the camp.
Veilbreakers fought desperately.
The Shadowborn walked among them like death itself.
Nothing seemed capable of stopping it.
Yet the dragon’s voice persisted.
Weak.
Fading.
The Broken Crown…
Kael closed his eyes.
The name again.
The clue.
The path to Skyrend.
You must find it.
The connection trembled.
You are the last Dragon Speaker.
The words hit harder than any weapon.
The last.
Not one of many.
The final one.
The final chance.
⸻
A horn suddenly echoed through the mountains.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The Shadowborn stopped moving.
Every eye turned toward the eastern ridge.
Something was coming.
Fast.
A dark shape burst from the clouds.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Kael’s eyes widened.
Dragons.
Dozens of them.
Black dragons.
Silver dragons.
Red dragons.
Golden dragons.
The night sky filled with wings.
The mountains trembled beneath their roars.
The dragon army had arrived.
For the first time since emerging from the Veil, the Shadowborn’s smile disappeared.
It looked upward.
Watching the approaching dragons.
Calculating.
The lead dragon descended through the clouds.
Larger than all the others.
Ancient beyond imagination.
Its scales shimmered like molten gold.
Its eyes burned with intelligence.
Power radiated from every movement.
Even the wounded dragon stared in shock.
Impossible…
The ancient dragon landed atop a shattered cliff.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Then it spoke.
Not aloud.
Its voice echoed inside every mind in the valley.
Human.
Dragon.
Veilbreaker.
All heard the same words.
The Dragon Queen has returned.
Kael’s heart nearly stopped.
Nyxara.
The Dragon Queen thought to be dead for centuries.
Was alive.
And she had come for war.
