Chapter 139: Twisted Reasoning
The decision came after hearing their discussions about him.
After years of being blocked from choosing his own path, words like "binding" felt like the cruelest insult.
He could, in some way, understand his ancestor. He was still furious, but he could understand.
The weight of an entire bloodline resting on one decision was not something to dismiss easily. Additionally, the implicated individuals would be the same ones who ideally benefited from the contract.
As for the rumors about his so-called romantic ties with the dragon lord, he could even admit he was partly to blame for that. So yes, he could accept having to face the consequences of his own actions.
But this? Their answer to a kidnapping was another kidnapping?
If they wanted to resort to extreme measures, they should have risked themselves first. Why drag in people who had nothing to do with it? Why force others instead of asking for proper help?
He sympathized with a mother who had lost her child. He truly did. But how could he hold sympathy when the price of saving one child was being paid with his own life?
Luring them into a trap by creating a continental crisis.
Illegal detention.
Espionage.
Attempted theft.
Now kidnapping and cursing.
And still nothing to show for it?
Had they forgotten what dragon blood meant? Did they really believe that whoever wanted it would only use it as a glorified display?
They should’ve at least known that much, because if not, how utterly disappointing?
If it was dragon blood they wanted, there were many dragons they could target. But to demand Kael’s blood specifically?
Definitely up to no good.
Worse, these villains could not even trust each other.
"Mother, we have to return him!" Rowan was pleading now, voice tight with urgency.
"No! We cannot do that! What if the dragon lord just leaves with the human? Knowing his temperament, he’d try to find a remedy for the curse. It likely won’t work, but that’d mean he would still leave!"
"We will just keep him here while negotiating with Lord Kael." Queen Rhiannon was biting her finger in visible distress, her words sharp and frantic.
"Mother, I seriously advise against this! You said it yourself, you have already cursed him to be dependent on you, right? You’re the Elven Queen, surely he’d understand it won’t be as easy to break your curse!"
Rowan was certain his mother only spoke like this because she had absolutely no idea what Kael looked like as he scoured the palace for his missing aide.
But he did.
Even now, the prince was dead sure the dragon lord was still roaming the halls, relentless in his search for Riley.
If not for the ancient runes protecting this place, Kael would have already found it and torn it open with fire and claw.
Rowan had seen madness before, but nothing compared to the murderous weight Kael carried as he pressed down on everything and everyone he passed. It was not a display of power; it was pure rage, and Rowan could not waste time on anything else but rushing to find Riley himself.
He had to insist on this. If not, they would all end up dead.
And it was not just speculation. Kael had only restrained himself from razing the palace to the ground because Riley was still vulnerable to being crushed in the wreckage. He would not burn, but being buried in the rubble was different.
But because the livid dragon lord felt Riley’s pain earlier, he couldn’t be quelled by half-hearted promises of looking for the aide in his stead.
No. Kael was going to look for the twig himself.
Meanwhile, said twig was busy listening in on what sounded to him like the most pointless argument of his short, cursed life.
"Mother, I swear, the dragon lord is up there going crazy looking for Riley! So he could not possibly throw him away as you are imagining."
For someone who initially kept on wanting to use him as leverage, Riley couldn’t understand her thought process as she randomly blurted out, "You think that way because you don’t know people’s hearts!"
"???"
"They seem possessive and obsessed because they do not like the idea of anything being taken away from them! But it is usually not a two-way street!"
Her eyes burned, her voice shrill. "When the dragon lord sees him broken and defective, he will not value him anymore! He will not help him!"
Was that her actual reason for not wanting to let him out earlier? Riley thought as he listened to this absurdity.
"That cannot possibly be true, Mother!" Rowan protested, his voice caught between shock and disbelief.
"Try telling me that after you have reflected on all the actions of this family!" she screeched.
Riley clenched his jaw hard. The sound pierced his ears, and if not for Kael’s earlier lessons about grounding himself through sound, he might have crumbled then and there.
Rowan was reeling. Clearly, this was personal. Where was his mother getting such twisted thoughts?
"Rowan! If we keep the human here, Kael will desire him more. He will think about him, obsess over him, and he will be too rattled to focus on anything else. But if we return him, then Kael will see him as a problem and discard him."
"You know how busy the dragon lord is, do you not? And he has never liked burdens."
She gripped Rowan’s arms tightly, too tightly for someone of her delicate frame. Her eyes shone with manic conviction. "So if you think about it, the human should thank me! Because if it is like this, the dragon lord will still desire him!"
Rowan’s breath caught.
"But Mother, what about the palace? What about the servants? The dragon lord has been tearing through everything as we speak!"
"Let him! He is only venting!"
"Once he realizes the losses already outweigh the human’s value, he will stop! As for the palace, we can build a new one. And the servants? If they are not smart enough to avoid the dragon lord’s wrath, then they do not deserve to live, do they?"
Silence fell.
Unbeknownst to them, Riley and Rowan wore the exact same expression.
What on Eryndra was she even saying?