Chapter 55 Gold for a Child
Azerath
I did not want the moment to end.
Serafina was still cradled in my arms, her body pressed against mine as if she belonged there—as if she had always belonged there. Our lips were locked together, the world beyond the iron gate fading into nothing but distant shadows and quiet wind.
For a moment I did not know where I ended and where she began.
Her fingers clutched at my cloak. My hand tightened instinctively against the small of her back. Our breaths tangled together, warm and desperate, and the heat between us deepened as our tongues brushed and intertwined.
The embers in our chests pulsed. I could feel it.
The fire inside me—ancient, patient, and vast—responded to the flame inside her.
Each beat of that shared heat sent another surge through my body. The sensation was intoxicating, overwhelming in a way that even centuries of existence had not prepared me for.
The kiss was bliss.
And agony.
Because I wanted more.
The truth struck me with uncomfortable clarity. My body had responded long before my mind caught up with it. Desire coiled tight in my stomach, spreading downward in a way that felt embarrassingly human. My cock strained painfully against the fabric of my trousers, a physical reminder that I was no longer just a dragon soaring above the world.
I was a man holding a woman I desperately wanted.
And that realization was dangerous.
I forced myself to stop.
It took more effort than I cared to admit.
Reluctantly, I lifted my head and pulled away just enough for us both to breathe. Cool night air rushed between us, but the heat of her body still lingered against mine.
Serafina inhaled sharply, trying to steady herself.
“You said you’d wait until we bring my brother home,” she murmured between breaths.
Guilt tugged at the edges of my thoughts. “I know I promised,” I admitted with a sigh. “But I can’t seem to control myself.”
That was not entirely a joke.
Carefully, I lowered her onto the bottom step of the stone staircase that led to the iron gates behind us. My hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than necessary before I forced myself to release her.
“Let’s go find your brother and leave before anyone sees us,” I said.
Serafina nodded immediately, the determination in her eyes returning. She ran up the steps toward the iron gate where Blink perched patiently atop the rusted frame in the form of a Black-banded owl.
Serafina grabbed the heavy bars and pulled. They did not move.
“It’s locked.”
I walked up the steps after her. “Step aside and let me try,” I said.
Serafina raised an eyebrow but stepped aside with a dramatic little bow. “By all means,” she said. “If you can open the gates without a key, I’ll be impressed.”
I chuckled. “We don’t need a key.”
I placed my palm over the iron lock. Heat answered instantly.
Flame bloomed beneath my skin, spreading through my hand until the metal beneath it began to glow a dull orange. The iron softened under the steady burn of dragonfire, the lock slowly melting beneath my touch.
“Stop that,” Serafina warned sharply. “The Warden may see the glow of your flame.”
I lifted my gaze toward the tower looming over the district.
The windows were dark. Closed tight. No silhouette watched from above. It seemed the Warden had retreated for the night, but I knew better.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “Just one more moment and—”
The metal gave way with a soft crack. The gate swung open silently.
I stepped aside and gestured with exaggerated courtesy. “After you.”
Serafina glared at me but stepped through the opening anyway.
I followed her inside the Dust District. Behind us, Blink shifted on the iron bar.
“Blink,” I said quietly. “I need you to look for the Warden. But stay hidden. I think she’s looking for you… well, the owl you.”
Blink gave a soft hoot before launching into the air.
My eyes followed her flight across the rooftops. In the dim light, I watched the owl’s shadow ripple along the tiles. The shape shifted mid-glide, shrinking and reforming until the shadow of a small cat darted across the rooftop before disappearing into darkness.
Serafina glanced at me as we moved toward a narrow alley between two leaning stone houses. The houses around us sagged inward like tired old men. Chimneys coughed soot into the night air that drifted downward like black snow.
“Why do you think the Warden is looking for Blink?” she asked.
“Have you ever seen an owl here?” I asked.
Serafina shook her head. “No. I can’t say I have.”
“Precisely,” I replied quietly. “An animal rarely seen sends a clear message. Someone who isn’t supposed to be here… is.” I lowered my voice slightly. “I should warn you, Sera. This won’t be easy.”
She stopped beside a stack of wooden barrels at the edge of the alley and crouched low. A foul smell drifted upward—fish guts rotting in stagnant water.
I crouched beside her.
“I know it won’t be easy, but I’ve come prepared,” she said, tilting her head as she listened. “Do you hear that?”
I focused my hearing.
At first there was nothing but the distant crackle of fires and the drip of filthy water along stone.
Then I heard it. Faint. Muffled. Crying.
“It sounds like cries,” I murmured. “Coming from that factory.”
Across the street stood a large structure of blackened brick and broken windows. Several tall chimneys rose above the roof.
Serafina followed my gaze. “I've worked there,” she whispered. “They sometimes call me in to do ash-shifting. The owners are stingy, though. They never pay enough.” She looked toward the chimneys. “No smoke.” Her eyes narrowed. “Let’s see what’s going on inside.”
She darted from the alley, crossing the street quickly and pressing herself against the factory wall beneath one of the tall windows.
I followed.
The building looked half destroyed. Sections of the roof were blackened as if fire had once torn through the structure.
I lifted myself slightly and looked through the window.
Inside, several cages lined the factory floor. Teenage boys sat inside them. Chained. Their faces were thin and frightened.
Two Imperial Enforcers stood nearby with spears resting casually against their shoulders. One of them suddenly turned toward the window.
Serafina and I dropped instantly.
“They’re still children,” she whispered. “From the looks of it… around Lio’s age.”
My jaw tightened. “Boys bound for conscription wagons,” I murmured. “The Empire empties the poorest districts first. A cruel cycle.” I paused before adding quietly, “Gold for a child.”
Serafina glanced at me.
“But the Empire would argue these boys are already young men,” I finished bitterly. “And that their families were paid handsomely for them.”
Her eyes flickered back toward the window.
“Lio might be in there.”
She began to rise. I placed a hand gently on her arm.
“Let’s check your hut first,” I said softly. “If he isn’t there, we’ll come back here… with a plan.”
Serafina looked ready to argue. Then she sighed and nodded. “We go through there,” she said, pointing toward a narrow passage between crumbling buildings. “The side streets will lead us straight to the shack.”
We moved quickly through the twisting maze of alleys.
Dust was exactly as Serafina had described it earlier.
The air smelled like rot.
Filth coated the cobblestones. Murky water filled the cracks between stones, reflecting faint lantern light in oily puddles. Rats darted along the edges of the streets, disappearing into broken walls.
Occasionally we heard laughter echo through the alleys. Not joyful laughter. The broken kind.
The laughter of someone whose mind had already surrendered to despair.
After what felt like a long while, Serafina came to an abrupt halt. Her shoulders stiffened. “No,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “No… it can’t be. This can’t be our home.”
I stepped past her and saw it.
Where a small hut should have stood between two larger shacks, there was nothing.
Only a blackened void. Charred wood. Collapsed beams.
Ash.
The place where her home had stood was nothing but the remains of a fire.
My brow furrowed as I reached inward with senses older than the world around us.
The boy’s ember.
I searched for it.
And found it. Faint. But alive.
He was still alive. Just not here.
“Sera—”
“You said he was alive,” she snapped. She turned toward me slowly. Her eyes burned with fury.
“You lied to me.”