Chapter 120- Fire and Fury at the Moonglade
Chapter Eighteen - Fire and Fury at the Moonglade
Rhaen Velmira POV
The music was pounding, the lights were spinning, and I was drunk enough to forget my name but not drunk enough to ignore the way Lyrielle Drakenholt looked under the lanterns.
Stars, she was trouble. Her blue and silver hair like flowing starlight, golden eyes that could cut a man in half, and that laugh, the one that used to belong to me before she decided she was “too busy” for dating. Too busy, my ass. She just didn’t want the bond she already felt brewing between us.
"There she is," Vareth growled inside my skull, his voice like gravel and thunder. "Our mate. Ours. You can smell her fear and want. Go to her."
“She’s dancing,” I muttered into my drink. “And I’m not interrupting her again.”
"Liar," my wolf snapped. "You haven’t stopped watching her since we walked in. The bond is singing, Rhaen. It’s time."
“Time for what?” Lucen drawled, dropping into the seat beside me, a smirk plastered across his perfect face. He had lipstick on his neck and that smug glow he got when he thought he was untouchable.
“To stop pretending you’re enjoying that blonde,” I shot back.
He raised a brow. “Jealous?”
“Of that? No. Of your ability to fake interest in women who can’t spell their own names? Maybe.”
Lucen’s grin was sharp. “She’s fun. That’s all I need.”
"He’s lying too," Vareth snarled. "He smells of the lavender haired one. The dragon. The twins are ours."
I almost laughed. “You smell it too, don’t you?”
Lucen’s smirk faltered. “Don’t start.”
“I’m serious. You feel it. The bond.”
He looked away, his muscles tensing. “You’re drunk.”
“I’m drunk and right.”
His eyes flashed gold, his wolf Kaelth riling up behind his calm exterior. “Drop it.”
“Drop it? When my wolf is losing his mind and my chest feels like it’s going to explode every time I look at her?”
Lucen’s jaw tightened. “Don’t you dare say it.”
“Lyrielle,” I said anyway.
He slammed his drink down. “You’re an idiot.”
“Maybe,” I said, standing, the alcohol making me bold. “But at least I’m not a coward.”
"Go," Vareth urged, his voice becoming a rumble under my skin. "She’s watching you. Go claim her. Show her the truth."
“Stay out of this,” I muttered, but he only laughed.
Lucen called after me, but I ignored him, pushing through the dancers until the crowd swallowed me whole. The music thumped in time with my pulse. Every scent, sweet perfume, sweat, and alcohol, blurred into nothing except hers.
Lyrielle. She smelled of sea water and blueberries.
She was standing near the fountain now, her cheeks flushed from dancing, her silver and blue hair clinging to her neck. A half empty shot glass dangled from her fingers. Her laughter died the moment she saw me.
“Rhaen.”
Her voice hit me like lightning. I grinned, lazy and cocky to hide the way my heart was racing. “Hey, sunshine.”
“Don’t,” she warned.
“Don’t what? Talk to you? Look at you? Breathe the same air?”
She sighed. “You’re drunk.”
“So are you.” I took another step closer. “And apparently, we’re mates. So maybe that evens things out.”
Her golden eyes widened. “Who told you that?”
“Vareth told me,” I said simply, tapping my chest. “He’s been screaming it since the moment I walked in here.”
Her dragon stirred behind her gaze, ancient and wary. “You’re not supposed to know yet.”
“Well, surprise. I do.”
She shook her head. “Rhaen...”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I cut her off, the words coming out sharper than I meant.
She blinked. “What?”
“Why didn’t you tell me we were mates?”
“Because you weren’t ready,” she snapped. “Neither of you were. You and Lucen were just kids.”
I laughed bitterly. “Kids? Lyrielle, we’ll be eighteen in three days. You’re barely a year and a half older than us.”
“That’s enough.”
“It’s not.” I stepped closer, my voice dropping. “You’ve known for years, haven’t you?”
Her silence said everything.
“Stars, you have,” I breathed. “You knew and you didn’t say a damn thing.”
“Because I didn’t want to tie you down,” she said softly. “You’re popular, Rhaen. You have girls throwing themselves at you every week. I didn’t want you to feel trapped.”
My chest went tight. “Trapped?”
“Yes.”
“You think being yours would trap me?”
Her lips trembled. “I think it would change you.”
“Maybe I need to be changed,” I growled.
The bond pulsed between us, raw and electric. Her dragon stirred, and I felt my wolf snarl in response, heat rolling under my skin like a storm.
"She’s lying," Vareth hissed. "She wants you. She’s terrified."
Lyrielle shook her head, her voice trembling. “You don’t understand what this means, Rhaen. The bond...it’s dangerous. It’s binding.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
I reached out, catching her wrist before she could pull away. “You don’t get it. I’ve been in love with you since I was fifteen. Before I even understood what it meant. You broke things off to ‘focus on training,’ and I let you, but I never stopped....”
“Stop,” she whispered.
“No,” I said, louder. “You owe me an explanation.”
Her golden eyes filled with tears. “You’re too young...”
“I’m old enough to know what I want!”
The music started to fade as people turned toward us. I could feel the weight of eyes on my back, the crowd starting to whisper.
Then Lucen’s voice sliced through the noise. “Rhaen!”
I turned just as he appeared with Nyxaria right behind him, both of them looking like thunderclouds ready to explode.
Nyx’s eyes burned bright gold as she glared at Lucen. “You told him?”
“I didn’t have to,” Lucen snapped. “He figured it out.”
Lyrielle’s breath hitched. “You both knew?”
Lucen folded his arms, his gaze locked on Nyx. “Don’t look at me like that. You ended things too, remember?”
Her voice was sharp enough to draw blood. “Because you don’t believe in love, asshole.”
Lucen’s smirk was pure venom. “And yet here you are, still staring.”
The crowd started murmuring louder. Phones came out, runes flickered, recording crystals capturing every second.
I ignored all of it. I turned back to Lyrielle, desperation clawing through me.
“Please,” I said, softer now. “Just give me a chance. One chance to prove I can handle this.”
Her jaw trembled. “Rhaen…”
“Don’t shut me out again. Don’t do this. I feel like my heart will explode if you walk away Lyri."
Lucen snorted. “You sound pathetic.”
I spun on him. “And you sound terrified.”
He sneered. “Because I’m not ready to chain myself to a girl who’s going to burn the world down?”
Nyx’s dragon flared behind her eyes. “Say that again.”
“Gladly,” Lucen said, stepping forward, chest to chest with her. “You’re fire wrapped in chaos, Nyxaria. And I’ve already been burned once.”
“Then you should’ve stayed in the dark,” she shot back.
Lightning cracked above the courtyard, magic reacting to the tension.
The crowd gasped.
Lyrielle’s hand brushed my arm. “Rhaen, please. Not here.”
“Why not?” I said bitterly. “Everyone’s already watching.”
And they were. Dozens of students circled us now, their phones raised, eyes wide, and mouths whispering. The heirs of Aetheros unraveling in public.
Vareth snarled. "Protect her. Claim her before they laugh."
"Not like this," I told him, though my pulse screamed otherwise.
Lyrielle looked around, panic flashing in her gaze. “We need to leave.”
Lucen scoffed. “You think running fixes anything?”
Nyx’s magic flared hot. “You think this is a game?”
“Oh, it’s always a game with you,” he said, his voice cold. “And I’m done playing.”
Nyx’s hand twitched, her dragon’s power flickering around her. “Keep talking and I’ll make sure you regret that.”
“Try me.”
I snapped. “Enough!”
The sound of my voice echoed off the marble walls. For a moment, everything stopped, the music, the laughter, even the air.
Lyrielle’s eyes met mine, wide and shining.
“I meant what I said,” I told her quietly. “Three days, Lyri. That’s all. When I turn eighteen, I’m coming for you. And I don’t care who’s watching.”
She swallowed hard, her lips parting as if to protest, but nothing came out.
Vareth purred in satisfaction. "Good. She needed to hear it."
Lucen scoffed. “You’re out of your damn mind.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But at least I’m not pretending I don’t care.”
Then I turned and walked away, leaving the whispers, the cameras, and the chaos behind me, my heart pounding, wolf howling, and Lyrielle’s scent burning like wildfire in my lungs.