I felt the lie again. Oblivion tempted me with what I wanted, but to excess. I denied it yet again, and this time… this time I felt the link waver. The edges started to curl inward and then, as though it had never raged within me, it curled in on itself and disappeared with a loud pop.

  The weight lifted and I rushed forward. Placing myself between Cami and the lich. Only when I knew my bonded was safe behind me, did I drop my anti-magic domain.

  “Who is your master?” I demanded.

  “How? How did you break the curse? That isn’t possible!”

  “Don’t you know it’s rude to answer a question with a question? I asked you a question, and I expect an answer. I will have an answer before I destroy you… now, who is your master?”

  The lich laughed in that same maniacal tone. “Destroy me? Even if you crush these bones, I will still reform. You can’t destroy a lich unless you have their phylactery.”

  “So, I’ve been told,” I rumbled, a growl threatening to leap forth from my throat.

  He wasn’t willing to talk? Then it was time for battle.

  I surged forward as I opened my mouth, and blue lightning ripped through the intervening space between us. Unlike the sluggish fire of a lazy red, there was no dodging a lightning bolt. No monster alive was fast enough to react before it would strike.

  Still, as mages seemed prone to do, he had another layer of magical protection. My lightning bolt struck a protection from electricity ward. The ward rippled like a heat distortion in the air as it absorbed the attack. But it seemed his ward had limits, because at the very end it shattered and the tail end of the bolt struck the lich, knocking him back.

  He cursed as whatever spell he’d been casting was interrupted, but I didn’t give him a chance to get to his feet. The key to beating a caster was to interrupt them continuously.

  As I moved, I felt magic settle into me. Cami must have cast Haste, as my movement rate immediately doubled. My foot smashed down on the lich’s bones while it still sprawled on the ground. I dug in like a dog going after a bone and began ripping its frame apart. Ice magic blasted me, but I soaked it up. A wave of death energy washed over me, but I resisted it with a bottomless pit of draconic life-force.

  Little by little, I ripped the lich apart. Till finally, he stopped resisting. When I smashed my foot down upon its skull, the red light in its eyes faded. But that wasn’t the end; it was just the moment I’d been waiting for.

  I held my hand out. “Now, Cami!”

  As weak as she was with her crippled legs, Cami’s arms were still empowered by my strength beyond any normal humans. She threw her spear and I caught it out of the air. With Soul Seer, I noted the instant the lich’s soul tried to flee its body.

  I might not be able to affect souls, but Cami’s spear could. I swung its tip down, dragging the blade through the lich’s exiting soul. I didn’t know exactly how the spear worked, but I’d see what Cami had did with it before.

  The blade cleaved through the soul as though it were mist, but the damage it left behind was visible to my Soul Seer ability. I swung the soul piercing blade once, twice, and then a third time through the lich’s incorporeal remains. Each cut sliced the soul up a bit more until it lost cohesion and burst apart.

  “Reform from that,” I sneered. The fact that the lich was permanently dead and couldn’t hear my taunt didn’t make me enjoy saying it any less.

  You have slain a level 18 lich. You have destroyed the lich’s soul.

  Normally, the gods frown upon anyone destroying the soul of one of the mortal races which they shepherd, but this being rejected the blessing of the gods and sought undeath.

  You have gained 420 XP.

  You have gained 5 DKP.

  The adrenaline from the battle still raged through me, but when I turned and saw Cami slump to the ground, I was next to her in an instant.

  Haste continued to make my movements seem a blur. In an instant, I transformed from dragon warrior to the standard human form I’d taken for the past year. I didn’t want to risk crushing her.

  Before saying anything, I cast the healing magic I had.

  Lesser Regeneration

  Life’s Blood

  But when I tried to cast the second one, the spell didn’t seem to want to take shape. It was like the magic refused to answer me.

  You are attempting to cast a spell blessed by Miseria.

  You have rejected Miseria.

  Do you wish to reconsider?

  I rejected Miseria again, but grabbed the spell. Magic was part of Ileria. It belonged to dragons, not to the gods. I forced the spell to take the proper shape, but felt it shift in my grasp.

  You are attempting to reforge a spell into a new shape.

  Do you wish to create the spell - Dragon’s Life Blood?

  I agreed and immediately felt 25 DKP drain from me. I started to curse the cost, but stopped when the spell stabilized.

  Dragon’s Life Blood - Tier 3 spell. This spell relies upon your own life force to dramatically increase its healing power. The spell heals 60 HP + 40 HP per 80 HP sacrificed by you.

  Mana: 30

  Cast Time: 2 seconds

  Cool-Down: 3 minutes

  Range: 100’ +10’ per level

  I poured enough of my life force into the spell to completely restore Cami in two seconds. My skin erupted as a hundred tiny cuts split my skin between my scales and thin streams of blood rushed out of my body. I felt momentarily weak as the blood swirled around Cami, becoming a brilliant golden aura as it faded.

  Her eyes opened wide and she gasped. When she looked at me, she said. “Thank you, Nico.”

  I set her spear down beside her. The tiny cuts in my skin healed as quickly as they had appeared. That spell was a bit melodramatic, but I couldn’t fault its power. Cami had gone from 25% health to full in the two seconds it took to cast.

  I stood and stretched. Then, when I noticed that Cami wasn’t moving, I held out my hand to her.

  Her nose scrunched up like it did at times. I remembered how ugly I once thought the expression was, but it was growing on me. At this moment, it almost seemed cute.

  “Uh, Nico?” The tremor in Cami’s voice tore at me. “I still can’t feel my legs.”

  I didn’t waste any time; some injuries left lasting effects. We talked even as I transformed. Scooping her up as gently as possible with my claws, I leaped into the air.

  “Lisella will be able to heal you,” I sent to my bonded. I was worried, but had a strange amount of confidence in my mentor.

  Cami assured me she didn’t feel any pain and then, as if she didn’t want to dwell on her injury, she asked, “What about the hoard?”

  “As you saw, most of it was gone. Besides, we can come back again and collect any remnants. You are more important than the dregs of any left-overs from some pathetic white dragon. We’ll get you fixed up, and then we can go treasure hunting together.”

  “I thought you needed to free the dragons and form Scale Nation properly,” she teased.

  “Well… yes, this is true… but we still need loot.”

  “Oh, definitely… but did you check out the rest of your notifications? I felt some pop up when you were struggling against the curse. It seems our bond is getting stronger—though it hasn’t leveled up—and I was able to see your notifications.”

  I didn’t respond but instead looked for myself. In the heat of the moment, I must not have noticed them.

  For resisting the call of both oblivion and the gods, your Balance Warden title has been upgraded to level 2.

  Gain the ability: Mortal Cloak.

  Mortal Cloak - This ability will grant you a measure of protection from observation by extra-dimensional beings. They will be unable to observe you or to speak to you directly. Such beings now require the use of an intermediary. You may also flare this ability for a limited time, completely blocking out the presence or influence of any extra-dimensional beings within the radius of its effect.

  Duration: 1 minute

  Cool-down: 1 hour

  AoE: 500 feet centered on you

  Increasing the level of this ability will provide moderate increases in duration, minimal decreases in cool-down, and significant increases in the area of affect.

  That would definitely come in handy, though I was a bit conflicted. Miseria had been helpful before, but I certainly wasn’t going to bend the knee. I wondered if there was a way to keep her as an ally.

  We were equals… of a sort. I supposed if anything could be the equal of a dragon, it would be a god.

  The second notification was even more welcome.

  A King never bends the knee.

  For living as a dragon King, you gain the system recognized title: Dragon Noble.

  Dragons will be aware of your presence and will be somewhat more inclined to follow you. +25% persuasion when speaking to dragons. Your control of the flow of magic in Ileria is increased by +25%. Dragons of lower age categories will feel a pressure to obey you. The greater the age category difference between them and you, the greater the pressure.

  Ah, the system finally recognized my innate nobility. It was about time.

  I discussed these notifications with Cami and we talked about the future. Neither of us seemed to consider for even a second the idea that she might not make a full recovery. As we drifted into a comfortable silence, I remembered the vision I’d had of the five-headed dragon. I began to share it with Cami and we discussed what I thought it might mean.

  Chapter 14 - Alliances

  Despite my concern for Cami, it felt good to talk to her. The time passed quickly as I flew in a straight line for the capital. I had intended to bypass the estate until Cami said, “Shouldn’t you take Vox and Nagafen back with you?”

  I grumbled, not wanting to waste the time. As far as I knew, Lisella was still in the capital and I wanted her to fix whatever was wrong with Cami’s legs as quickly as possible. I might have been feeling a bit impatient, though I liked to think that I was normally immune to such issues.

  We landed at the estate and I held on to Cami. I tried not to jostle her any more than necessary. When I explained the situation to the Silver dragon and her bonded, Vox insisted that they examine her first.

  “My King, congratulations on your new title, all your followers and minions were notified. But please trust me as your royal advisor. I’ve had far longer to learn about healing. There are only a few conditions which are not healed by restoring an individual back to full HP,” Vox implored.

  Considering her words, I again realized that hurry was causing me problems.

  Cami said she was willing to let them examine her, so I gave my consent.

  Nagafen carried my bonded on a magically conjured platform into the manor. I, of course, had to transform to human shape to enter the building, but if Cami would feel more comfortable inside, then it was a small price to bear.

  Once inside, I asked, “What do you believe is wrong with her? She doesn’t have an amputation. I thought that was the only thing that wouldn’t heal back.”

  Vox chided me as Nagafen ran his hands over Cami’s legs. “Please give us some time, my King. If I had to guess, I would say she has suffered an injury to her spinal cord.”

  Vox cast a series of spells to examine Cami and identify the condition.

  “Hmm… this is interesting. She appears to be in a state of transition. Her body is trying to heal itself, so the system hasn’t acknowledged a status condition… but she is also clearly damaged. It will take a full regeneration spell to restore her spine, which is seventh tier magic. I’m afraid I don’t possess any healing spells beyond the fifth tier.”

  “Why do you say that is interesting?” Cami asked.

  “Simple, child. You should either have a status condition or you should be able to walk, but it seems that your bond is on the verge of deepening. As you are currently sharing Nico’s health, the system is confused.” Vox shrugged. “Eventually, it will adapt. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of such things. My mother and father had a level 25 bond. They could see each other’s notifications and shared my mother’s soul space between them. They could even transfer health back and forth. It was a powerful tool.”

  I didn’t say anything as I listened to the two women, one human and one dragon, discuss the details of the bond. Cami shared a bit about how far ours had grown, but Vox didn’t press her for details. She did, however, listen attentively and seemed about to say something a few times—only to stop herself each time.

  “You should take Cami to Lisella before the Princess leaves the capital,” Nagafen said.

  “I think you two should come with us. I’d like you to return with me to my lair. You don’t have to stay there, but we have some planning to do about this mysterious master, as well as deciding where to go next.”

  Vox and Nagafen exchanged glances before she began, “I fear that might cause more problems for you.”

  I didn’t understand, and Vox must have realized this as she simply continued, “When I swore fealty to you, it ended my oath of fealty to King Forlay. I doubt he’ll be happy to see me. In fact, we’ve been packing since you left. I was only waiting for you to return so that I could sort out where we would go.”

  “There will be plenty of room in the south for you. Will the desert bother you?”

  Vox scoffed. “I am a dragon. We have our preferences, but I can live in any climate.”

  “Then I think it best if you do come, except in your true form. That way, we can deal with King Forlay. I am not a minion thief, nor in this case a thief of followers, so we had best sort it out with him. If he desires some…” I nearly choked on the word as I said, “…some compensation…”

  I shook my head, wincing in pain. “Well, I’m sure we can figure something out.”

  When we flew back, Vox insisted that she go in human form and then transform before the King. “I owe him that much,” she said.

  “How do you owe any human leader?” I asked. “You’ve seen what they did to our kind.”

  She sighed on my back as we flew back to the capital of Forlay. The magic she used to augment her voice amplified even that. “The ones who created the problem are long gone.”

  “But that doesn’t excuse these humans. They still benefited from it.”

  “Yes, and once the present threat is past, we will have to sort all that out. I will work hard to find a way for our races to live together again. I owe you that, too. If you are to be a true King and not just a tyrant, you will have to find a place for all sapient beings in your kingdom.”

  I swallowed the reply I would have given a few short months ago. None of this sat well with me. I was fine with the idea that humans were necessary allies against the horrors. I could also accept that there were many humans who had nothing to do with enslaving dragons. But those who did were dead men walking, even if they didn’t yet understand the threat hanging over them. As for those who acted in ignorance… well, that was complicated.

  I didn’t like thinking about it.

  When I approached the capital, I flew overhead, still holding Cami in my front paws. Vox and Nagafen leaped from my back, descending on the wings of a spell which made them as light as feathers. I suppose having Cami learn something like that would be beneficial. As we’d already seen, her wings were not strong enough.

  Of course, that assumed Cami could be healed, but I’d accept no other outcome.

  I landed in a parade area inside the castle, but had to admit it felt rather odd. I knew they had mages and archers and assembled forces ready and able to fight, yet they waved me down and ensured the area was clear for me to land. Vox and Nagafen landed shortly after I touched down. Vox headed for the King, while Nagafen went to find Lisella.

  As for me, I sat there in the open area.

  It was easily large enough for even my massive natural form, but knowing that each window likely held a human who was prepared to attack me if I turned hostile was nearly enough to push my temper over the edge. Only the fact that Cami needed Lisella’s help held me back from at least scaring them a bit.

  Exactly how short were human memories? It had only been a few days since they’d seen me save their city. I supposed I could take it as a sign of respect, but this type of fear wouldn’t end in a good place.

  Soon, my keen ears heard the King and his large entourage coming down to the parade deck. I heard other orders being shouted. Some officers were yelling at the men positioned to attack me. Perhaps there was a division within the humans, and an uncertainty about how to deal with me? But that only made them that much more dangerous, in my eyes.