Chapter 4 Waking Fury
KAELTHAR POV
Pain.
A thousand years of it, compressed into a single moment of awareness. The chains had cut into my essence for so long I'd forgotten what it felt like to exist without them.
Then—freedom.
The bindings shattered. My consciousness exploded outward after centuries of compression. Every nerve I possessed screamed as sensation returned. I was awake. I was alive. And someone had dared disturb my prison.
Someone would pay for that in blood and fire.
I forced my form to materialize, pulling myself together piece by piece. Wings first—I needed to feel the air again. Then claws, scales, the shape I'd worn before the betrayal. Power flooded back into me, wild and hungry after its long sleep.
But something was wrong.
I was weaker than I should be. Semi-corporeal at best, not fully real. The prison hadn't just held me—it had drained me. I'd need time to recover my true form. Time and...
My eyes snapped open.
A human stood before my altar. A girl-child, barely grown, holding a pathetic torch that couldn't even light the chamber properly. She was thin as a starved cat, covered in dirt and bruises, wearing rags that had been mended too many times.
This? This insignificant creature had freed me?
"Come here, child," I commanded, letting my voice shake the stones. "Let me see the face of the weapon who will burn civilization to ash."
She didn't move. Just stood there, torch trembling in her hand, gray eyes huge in her pale face. Terrified but not running. Interesting.
I stepped fully into her light and watched her reaction.
Humans always reacted to my true form—usually with worship or screaming. This girl did neither. She just stared, her mouth slightly open, like she'd forgotten how to breathe.
"Well?" I moved closer, enjoying how she flinched. "You woke me. Speak."
"You're..." Her voice came out as a whisper. "You're the World-End Dragon. The one from the carvings."
"Kaelthar," I corrected. "And yes, I ended their world once. I'll do it again with pleasure." I circled her, studying. She smelled like blood and desperation and something else—something that made me stop. "But first, explain why a human child would be foolish enough to break a seal placed by the most powerful mage who ever lived."
"I need power." The words came out stronger now. "My brother is dying. The Council marked him for execution. I'll do anything to save him."
"Anything?" I laughed—a sound like breaking glass. "How convenient. Because I need something too."
I bent down until my face was level with hers. This close, I could see she was shaking so hard her torch nearly dropped. But she held her ground. Brave little rat.
Then I inhaled.
The scent hit me like a physical blow.
Covenant blood. Dormant. Ancient. This child carried the bloodline of the original dragon-human partnerships, the bonds formed before the betrayal. She should have been blazing with power, commanding magic like breathing.
Instead, she was nothing. Empty. Suppressed.
My rage, which had been a constant simmer for a millennium, exploded into inferno.
"They did this to you," I snarled. The chamber shook with my fury. "The Council. They locked away your magic, just like they locked away mine. Made you think you were powerless when you should have been magnificent."
The girl stumbled backward. "I don't understand—"
"Of course you don't! That's the point!" I wanted to destroy something. The Council had stolen everything—my freedom, my people, the very partnership that magic was built on. And now I saw the proof of their continued crime standing before me. "They suppress everyone's natural magic to keep power for themselves. Your brother isn't contaminated—he's awakening. His magic is trying to be what it should be. And they'll kill him for it, just like they killed my kind."
Tears ran down the girl's face. "Then help him. Please. I don't care what it costs me."
"What it costs?" I laughed again, darker this time. "Oh, child. You have no idea what you're offering."
I could see it now—the perfect revenge. The Council feared a dragon's return more than anything. But what if I didn't return as dragon? What if I became something they'd never see coming?
I moved closer, letting her feel the weight of my power. "I'll make you a contract. But not the one you're expecting."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't leave this shrine in my current state. The prison weakened me too much." The admission tasted like ash, but it was true. "But I can bond with you. Merge my essence with yours. You'll become my vessel—my way into the world. In exchange, you'll have access to all my power. Enough to save your brother. Enough to burn every Council mage who threatens him."
Hope flared in her eyes. "Really? You can do that?"
"Yes. But understand—once we bond, I'll be part of you. In your mind, sharing your thoughts, seeing through your eyes. You'll never be alone again. Never be free of me." I smiled, showing too many teeth. "And eventually, when the bond completes, I'll consume what's left of you and take my true form back. You'll cease to exist."
I expected her to refuse. To run. To realize she was trading one death sentence for another.
Instead, she stepped forward.
"How long do I have?" she asked. "Before you consume me?"
"Depends on how much power you use. Weeks. Maybe months if you're careful."
"That's enough time to save Tym. To make sure he's safe." She set down her torch and held out her hand. "I accept."
Foolish. Brave. Perfect.
I reached out and took her hand. The moment our skin touched, I felt it—not just her determination, but her absolute certainty that her life mattered less than her brother's. She genuinely believed she was nothing.
Good. I could work with that.
"What's your name, little nothing?" I asked.
"Serina. Serina Ashwell."
"Well, Serina Ashwell, prepare yourself." I pulled her closer. "This is going to hurt."
I flooded her with my essence.
She screamed.
Her body convulsed as dragon magic poured into her fragile human form. Crimson scales erupted across her skin—my mark, claiming her as mine. Power burned through her veins, more than a mortal body should hold.
She collapsed to her knees, still screaming. I felt everything through our forming bond—her agony, her terror, her absolute refusal to let go even as the power threatened to tear her apart.
Strong. She was stronger than I expected.
The bond snapped into place.
Suddenly I could see through her eyes, feel through her skin, hear her thoughts like they were my own. Her mind was a jumble of fear and determination and fierce protective love for someone named Tym.
"Get out of my head!" she gasped, clutching her skull.
"Too late." I spoke directly into her mind now, our bond allowing instant communication. "We're connected forever, little vessel. Where you go, I go. What you feel, I feel. And what I want..." I let my intentions flow through our link—the Council destroyed, civilization burning, revenge complete. "You'll help me achieve."
She looked up at me with eyes that now held flecks of gold—my gold. "I just wanted to save my brother."
"And you will. But first, you're going to help me destroy the world that tried to kill him."
Before she could respond, footsteps echoed from the stairs. Multiple sets. Heavy boots.
Enforcers.
They'd tracked her here.
Serina's panic flooded our bond. "No. No, they can't—"
"Peace, vessel." I smiled. "Let's test your new power, shall we? Time to show the Council what happens when they wake a sleeping dragon."
The first enforcer appeared at the chamber entrance, magic already glowing in his hands.
He never got the chance to use it.