59. The Lunar Eclipse
Fenris had been tied to the back of a horse-drawn carriage. His body ached from sitting on the hard, wooden panels but was incapable of doing anything about it. Ulric’s corpse lay right beside him and had already started to emit a rotten smell.
Normally, a werewolf’s corpse wouldn’t decay so quickly, just within an hour. But tonight was a special exception. A cold shiver suddenly washed over Fenris. Utter darkness had befallen the dragon land. He felt in his bones that the power of the moon had vanished. As far as he knew, the lunar eclipse wouldn’t be long—one or two hours at the most. He needed to survive it, then find a chance to escape.
With quiet neighing, the horses stopped. The carriage pulled over on an empty alleyway. Fenris stayed put and tried to catch every sound passing through his ears. Someone was coming for him.
“How was the trip?” Hugo flashed a grin at Fenris and pulled him out of the carriage. He then dragged him all the way into a dark house. Fenris was surprised by how strong the dragon descendant was; perhaps it was due to the absence of the moon. According to the plan, Olcan should have already taken over the palace by now.
Remus’s corpse was well-preserved. The werewolves had cleaned his clothes and placed him up at the head of the army. It was a trick to fool the dragons, making them think that they were in the city under formal permission from the royal prince. The citizens wouldn’t doubt them if a royal dragon was present, and they wouldn’t notice that Remus was actually dead on a night void of moonlight. The wolves would take over the palace without a fight.
“Put him in that circle. He won’t be able to go anywhere, not trapped within my dragon fire.” Dagen said in the darkness, sitting on a chair.
Hugo nodded and dragged Fenris forward.
“How did you get out of your rancid cage, dragon spawn? It was a mistake to keep you alive. I should have killed you all when I had the chance,” Fenris muttered, while he was shoved into the fiery enclosure, “Let me guess… my sweetheart, Rina, is also here with you. Was she saved by that disgusting crossbreed whore? And perhaps you were saved by her or this beast over here.”
Dagen simply ordered, “Slap him.” Hugo slapped Fenris’s face with a considerable amount of force.
“Don’t ever call Rina that. She’s not your sweetheart. You’ll never be together,” Dagen said with a chilling tone.
“Over my dead body,” Fenris tasted blood. He spat it out and said defiantly, “We have a special connection, and you can’t do anything to destroy it.”
“Let’s see about that,” Dagen said, “Now get him to the yard.”
“You don’t stand a chance, you stupid brute!” he yelled at Dagen, feeling the heat grow as the fire raged around him, “Give up already! You’re outnumbered.”
“If I were you,” Hugo smiled, “I’d save my strength. We won’t be giving you any water until we’re back at the castle.”
“Bullshit! My brother should have taken over your palace by now,” Fenris said, “The new moon will emerge soon. You’re running out of time.”
Dagen chuckled and stepped out of the darkness. “I’m afraid you’re terribly mistaken.”
Fenris finally him clearly. It had been too dark outside to observe his obvious changes. His whole body was glistening, his short, silver hair illuminated with a fine emerald sheen, and his irises had turned an alarming bright orange, like a serpent’s. There was an air of power about him, as if a real god of war was standing right infant of Fenris.
“You were betrayed by your own brother. You should thank me for killing that beta wolf for you, instead of complaining like a whiny little dog.” Dagen took out the golden badge and turned it over in his hands. “And you should be aware of a few things. First off, my golden knights would never listen to you, even if you had this badge. They were standing by, under my orders, before I went to the marshland. They let your army of werewolves into the city on purpose.”
Fenris’s eyes darted up to Dagen.
“Second, there is incredible strength coursing through all dragon descendants right now. Even thought the lunar eclipse is brief, we’re still are capable of using it to our advantage in time,” Dagen stated as he motioned for Hugo to leave the room with him. “And one last thing—Thorn isn’t dead.”
“What?!” Fenris exclaimed, immediately realizing that he’d been played. He suddenly felt helpless, like a balloon leaking air.
“And don’t even try to escape,” Dagen warned him, “That’s dragon fire around you. You know what will happen if a werewolf touches it.”
Then, Dagen left the room with Hugo. A couple of golden knights locked the door behind them.
“We’re ready,” Hugo said, “The Dark Wings have already secured the castle. The whole battalion is at your disposal.”
“Good,” Dagen said, “Serlon should be ready by now. We’ll attack as soon as he’s in the castle.”
As if he was summoned, Serlon arrived in front of them, and the three walked together to find the horses waiting at the back of the house. “I just drank those herbs mixed with Ulric’s blood. Fucking disgusting,” Serlon said unpleasantly.
Hugo chuckled, “But I have to pay my compliments to you. You were quick to gather his blood before he totally went cold.”
Serlon shrugged, “Well, I learned from experience. Thorn’s poisoning got me thinking… A werewolf’s blood could be used as a disguise, just as a dragon’s could.” He turned to Ulric as quick as he finished speaking.
“You don’t say!” Hugo exclaimed with amazement.
“The lunar eclipse has invigorated everything in this land, and it’s done wonders for my herbs,” Serlon said, “But we need to hurry. I’ll open the palace gate from the inside for you. Let’s hope the werewolf king won’t sniff me out.”
They mounted the horses and set off for the castle. The entire royal garrison was on the move.
--
On the sickbed of a bedroom, Lily was lying there resting. Tuya was taking care her. She put her right hand over heart and prayed to the dragon divinity to grant them with a smooth success.
Rina knocked gently on the door and let herself in.
The absence of the moon had the same effect on her body as it did to Dagen. Her gorgeous silver hair draped like a silken galaxy over her shoulder, and her skin glistened. She really was gorgeous beyond belief.
“My princess,” Tuya bowed her head slightly.
“How is she?” Rina fixed her eyes on Lily. The girl had lost a considerable amount of blood after Ferris’s brutal attack.
“Serlon said she’ll pull through,” Tuya answered as she pulled the covers up a little, “But her body was severely wounded. She’ll need a considerable amount of time to recover.”
Rina sat beside Lily, observing the unique mixture of color on her skin. “Do you think I was cruel?”
Tuya glared at Rina, choosing her words carefully. “Crossbreeds are the same as golden and silver dragons. Having two bloodlines flowing through their veins doesn’t make them a lesser race.”
“I never expected her to save me,” Rina said, full of emotion, “She could have run away. But she saved me. I owe her.”
Rina got up and left the room. She had discovered a secret in Tora’s diary. She had taken it out of the drawer before they left for the cabin, throwing it carelessly beside her own bed. But when Rina returned and the moon had disappeared from the dark sky, the diary shone. The lock on the diary was opened automatically, and a hidden page was revealed.
That’s when Rina decided to fly west once again. Thorn would need it as soon as possible.
In addition, Rina had been doing some self-reflection since she had been caught by Fenris, hating herself for everything she had done in the past. If it weren’t for Lily, she could have been raped or even killed by her own mate.
Hugo told her that they had captured him. She needed to pay him a visit.
Rina approached the room where Fenris was confined. When she once again laid eyes on him, her heart couldn’t help but flutter. But instead of being controlled by the enchanting lust, she was now disgusted by it. A wave of shame crashed over her.
“My darling princess,” Fenris pleaded as he caught sight of her, “please believe me. I never wanted to hurt you! Please let me go! I won’t return to the dragon realm without your consent!’
Rina stood beside the circle of fire, staring at Fenris’s beautiful, pale eyes. She tried to think of something, *anything* to say to him, just for the sake of their fated connection. But she found it impossible. She had nothing to say to him.
She shifted into a dragon and showered a flood of dragon fire onto the trapped prince.