I’m fine. Eat. You need it. I cannot wait any longer, and Amaranth is willing to take me.

I will hurry and eat what I can. This will be here for at least another day.

Like I said, don’t worry about me. I need to go meet Aldric. I can only imagine how Ava and the kingdom are doing.

I am not sure how long it will take to heal you of that disease you have, but it is different and yet the same as the one Elies had. When we return to the cave, I will do what I can.

Thank you, Amaranth. Thank you even more for going back to tell Ava I am ok.

Something like this happens whenever I think I have figured you out, and you surprise me.

Kaen sat against Amaranth’s neck as she flew them toward the castle. Both of them worried about the state of the city. Her statement caught him off guard, taking his mind off the train of thoughts that had been plaguing him since Juthom told him what had happened to his father.

What do you mean by that?

The stories we have heard about dragon riders were not kind. Seeing what that man did tonight, how he tried to kill all of us, and how he even discarded the dragon that had lowered itself to work with him…

Amaranth turned and stared at him, her green eyes shining in the morning light.

I know you would never discard Pammon, Glynnis, or myself as he did. Each time I meet more people, I realize how different and noble you are. The things Pammon says about you make more sense.

Kaen started to laugh and gave a slight nod to Amaranth as she turned and looked toward the walls of Ebonmount.

I am honored by your words and look forward to hearing what Pammon says behind my back.

As they flew, a slight thrum came from her, and when it stopped, Kaen realized she wasn’t going to reply to his statement.

Every wall is manned, and all of the siege weapons are loaded. It would appear they anticipate something other than our return.

Well, go slow and let them see me on your back. I would rather not risk you getting shot today.

Nor would I.

“Kaen!”

Aldric was rushing to where Amaranth had landed, running in his golden armor, followed by a small group of defenders.

Giving a small wave, Kaen slid off Amaranth’s side and rubbed her scales.

Tell Ava I am sorry it took so long to get to her.

I already have. She is… well, I will not try to convey human emotions. Just know that when you get home, she is going to do many different things to you, she said.

Kaen chuckled and gave Amaranth one more gentle tap on her scales before moving to join Aldric, who was running faster than a King should have to.

“What is the news! Pammon? Stioks?!”

Kaen frowned as Aldric asked those questions, and they drew close in the open courtyard.

Amaranth turned and departed, leaving the two men and the half dozen guards watching her fly away.

“All of our dragons are ok. Hurt but ok. Stioks is alive…” Kaen paused, shaking his head as he continued to frown. “He has a dragon. It is you–”

“A dragon?! When? How old?!” Aldric asked, firing off questions before realizing he had cut Kaen off. He finally noticed how Kaen looked, covered in blood, sweat, and grime and missing every part of his clothes except his damaged chest and leg piece. His shield was still on his arm, his sword clasped in his hand. “Sorry… forgive me. It has been a long night, and I am sure it doesn’t compare to what you have endured. Continue.”

“I can only imagine what you have had to deal with, Aldric. Do not worry about me. I will be fine in time.” Kaen’s statement caused Aldric's eyebrows to raise, but he kept quiet, waiting to hear what else there was to learn. “Stioks has a young brown dragon. I’m not sure how old he is, but it would appear he is at least old enough to fly with Stioks. Juthom is dead, as is the yellow dragon Upi. I… I lost in a fight against Stioks, and to say things are going to get worse would be a poor way to describe it.”

Kaen glanced past the King and looked around the courtyard. “Is there a place we could sit, and perhaps I could get a drink and something to eat?”

Before Aldric had turned, one of the guards was off running toward a doorway, shouting and giving orders.

“It would appear that it will happen sooner rather than later. Would you like to get cleaned up, and I can bring Herb here in the meantime?”

Nodding, Kaen glanced at his outfit and grimaced. “I will accept that offer. I'd like a pair of shoes and perhaps a shirt of some kind.”

Two guards took off running, not waiting for Aldric to give instructions.

“If you will follow me, let us get you fed and cared for. It appears my people are taking care of what you need as we speak.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Kaen slipped out of his dragon-scale armor, looked in the polished metal mirror, and grimaced at the sight he saw.

His skin was discolored, and some sores were beginning to form. On his chest was a handprint, discolored and filled with puss sores, matching the place Stioks had put his hand.

“Elies… I can only imagine what this had been like for you…”

Kaen moved to the steaming tub of water and put his foot in, moaning slightly as it felt amazing. He watched as the brown dirt that was caked to his feet and between his toes loosened and started to float.

“Better than nothing,” he muttered, climbing in and sinking completely under the water.

After rising to the surface, Kaen picked up the bar of soap and started scrubbing his hair, beard, and skin with fervor. There was no time to enjoy this. He needed to get out there and plan what the kingdom and he would do.

Kaen pulled the shirt off, showing Aldric and Herb the mark on his chest and the sores on his body.

“By the spirits,” Herb muttered as he leaned closer, looking at the puss pockets already appearing ready to burst. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” Kaen replied, shaking his head. “I feel them but not like a pain or anything more than a simple discomfort. I have a diseased ailment as well as a weakness, but I’m not sure if both are from his spell or if one is due to something else.”

Aldric snapped his fingers, and a servant came forward. He whispered something into the man’s ear and then turned back to Kaen, who saw the servant run off.

“I know the elves did not seem able to help Elies, but I will still offer all the aid I can with whatever healing or other readily available options. Does your dragon really think she can heal you?”

Kaen chuckled and shrugged. “First, she isn’t my dragon. I know it doesn’t sound like an important detail, but after hearing how Stioks treated all the dragons he commanded, I want everyone to understand that. Glynnis and Amaranth are here because they choose to be here. They are a part of Pammon, and if we do not respect them and treat them right, they could choose to leave.”

Aldric winced slightly and nodded.

“As far as healing me, Amaranth believes she can,” Kaen said. “She will do everything in her power, and I have faith in her. She has never been one for false hope. Beyond that, we must consider a few things, and these next words will sound difficult.”

Kaen paused, putting his shirt back on and moving to the chair he hadn’t wanted to get out of a minute ago. Picking up his drink, he swallowed and looked at both men before setting the goblet down.

“Stioks is far more powerful than anything I have ever imagined. The older his dragon gets, the stronger he will get. I now understand what Herb and Hess meant when they talk about adamantine-ranked adventurers. The power he possesses, and commands was difficult to imagine before he bonded with a dragon. Now…”

Kaen sighed. He knew the worst part was yet to be told.

“He also has a lifestone like mine.”

“Surely not!” Aldric declared, standing up and almost knocking over the chair he had been in. “How would that be possible?”

Aldric stumbled back a step, found his chair with his hand, and dropped into it. The look of shock and horror on his face as the king’s mouth hung open and his eyes widened told Kaen volumes.

“Are you… certain?” Herb asked, his voice failing for a moment.

“There is no doubt in my mind it must be true…” Kaen shuddered as the fight from last night replayed in his mind. “He tortured and killed my father. He was going to do the same to me if Pammon hadn’t done what he did.”

Both men nodded slowly, and Aldric grabbed his goblet and drained it in a single go.

“So now what?”

Kaen looked at Herb and saw the question written all over the aging man’s face. The role of leadership had taken its toll, and today, it appeared to be adding more lines and gray hair to Herb’s head.

“Juthom shared that Stioks has mastered death magic but that it also consumes him. He drains life from others, using it to keep his sickness at bay. He did it with the dragons he controlled, and he… he did it to Hoste for two years…”

“Two years,” Aldric muttered quietly, his voice sounding like he didn’t believe that was possible.

“It gets worse… Many things will make what we must choose to do even more difficult,” Kaen said. “If we do not win this soon enough, we will find ourselves facing a horde of dragons. Juthom is right, Stioks will have no problem enslaving the race of dragons. I however still do.” Kaen shifted in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment as he laced his fingers together and rested his hands on his chest.

He felt his eyes twitching behind his eyelids as he considered what he was going to say. The quiet of the room sounded so loud as he thought.

When he opened his eyes and looked at the other two, Kaen saw them both waiting, anxious to hear what he would say.

“I’m not sure we could win even if Pammon and I attacked Stioks right now. Even with his dragon wounded, the man is powerful. Worse yet, my bow…” Kaen took a deep breath and let it out. The pain of having lost it while fighting at night hurt more than he wanted to admit. “My bow was lost during the fight. I’m not sure if it survived the fall or not. I plan on having Hess send some students out looking for it.”

Herb started to open his mouth, and Kaen shook his head. Nodding, Herb leaned back in his chair and waited.

“The arrows we have wanted to make are gone as well. They fell to the ground, and I hope they survived the fall, but again, I do not know. They could be in trees or buried in the dirt. I hope that the students may be able to find some, and I am going to ask Glynnis if she will aid in searching from the sky. Her eyes are very good at picking out small details.

“With all those problems come the next ones. If this weakened status does not leave for a while, I would be crippled even more. There is no way I could hope to match Stioks now. Until Amaranth can figure out how to heal me, there is no real way for us to take the fight to him.

“Even if I was desperate enough to enslave a race of dragons, I couldn’t undertake that journey for a while. If word got out Pammon and I were gone, this kingdom would burn.

“Which leads me to our next thing to discuss. Soon, it will be time for both the eggs to hatch, and Phillip and Frederick are the two who will bond with them. This means a lot of other problems. I’ll need to dig and build a few more caves for them as they will need their own place.

“We will need to build their rooms lower and with steps so that they and their dragons can climb them until both dragons can fly. The other problem is going to come in the food area. For the first few months, they are going to consume a lot of food and be limited to where they can travel. Pammon and the others will assist them, but we must focus on them.”

When Kaen leaned over to get his drink, Aldric took that chance to interrupt. “So what you are telling us is that for at least half a year, we are going to be focused on raising a pair of dragons and getting you healthy?”

“And finding him a new bow and searching for ore to make new arrows,” added Herb.

“Basically,” Kaen replied, setting his cup down.

“I’m not sure how hard this will be,” Aldric said with a slight chuckle. “Raising a kid is hard enough.”

Kaen laughed and began to shake his head from side to side as he smiled.

“There is one perk of having more dragons thought.”

Aldric and Herb both raised an eyebrow at the same time.

“Our farmers are going to be getting a massive increase in dragon crap.”

All three started laughing, a much-needed sound filling the room where they were sitting.