I didn't remain in the air long enough to be found. In fact, the second I cleared those meadows, I returned to the ground and cried out when my wings cracked and crawled back beneath my skin. I knelt on all fours and gripped the grass, letting out sobs as my back arched outward.

When it was done, I forced myself up and wiped the tears away. I climbed up the hill that led to the castle, eyes drifting to the city south of this place. I hoped nobody saw my winged body soaring in the air... saw myself trembling, quaking, and sobbing on the ground like a weak wretch. I reached back to rub my shoulder, and when I drew those shaky fingers into my line of sight, they were coated in blood.

When I was back in the entry hall of the castle, I didn't respond to the worried whispers of passing servants. I ignored the confused questions from the guards. I simply shoved the doors open to the war room and stared at King Terren, working to keep my dress upright as a draft brushed against my back. He did not lift his gaze from the map, and instead, simply hummed a greeting.

"He's dead," I said with a blank face. With each breath came a wince, and with every move, my bones cracked.

This earned his attention. When his eyes drifted across my tattered dress, he furrowed his brow and simply nodded. "I had my concerns."

That was it. No questions... no concerned utterances that pled to know why I was so torn and ruined. He simply did not care. I was already backing to the door when his gaze drifted back to the map.

"That is it?" I said before leaving.

When he didn't respond, I finally turned to grasp the handle. "Venysa," he finally said. I looked back at him. "See the seer. He can tend to your wounds."

I lifted my chin and smiled. He didn't have to tell me twice.

━━━━━━༻♔༺━━━━━━

The cellars were my favorite place in the castle. Perhaps it was the gloom that crawled across each nook, cranny, and shadow, but I found solace in this quiet. My feet clacked against the slippery stone stairwell, and as my hands grasped onto the railing during the descent, I shut my eyes and tried to focus on anything but the pain.

Before I could make it to the very bottom, a shuffling approached from the left, and out came Orios. He had narrow eyes, the left vibrantly golden and the right darker than night, and two marks on his face. The first was an intricate rune that rested on his forehead, and the other dragged in a line beneath his radiant eye. They both glistened wildly. He took one look at me before meeting me and wrapping a supportive arm around my waist.

"What happened to you?" he asked. When his eyes met the state of my exposed back, his face fell and he shot me a knowing look. When I didn't respond, he repeated, "What happened to you?"

I collapsed into a wooden chair the second he pulled it out for me and hid my face in my hands. Orios wasted little time collecting herbs and bandages, hastily smashing them in a mortar. Once the concoction was done, he returned to my side and rubbed it into my aching skin. His fingers were calloused, but each touch was so gentle and kind that it made my heart flutter.

"A job," I finally whispered. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Orios grunted in disapproval. "Venysa... a job that required your wings?"

I held a glower on the table, wincing when his fingers grazed over the wounds again. One hundred years ago, I could use my wings and detract them as needed, and it caused me little pain, but now... now, it was paralyzing.

"No, it did not require my wings. Not until I found Zhanzinite."

He dropped the mortar on the table loudly and looked back at me with wide eyes. "What? Where?"

I grinned up at my dear friend and shook my head. Orios was quite possibly the only one who knew about my origins, and although I knew his heart was good, I'd do anything to revoke that knowledge. But, seers were clever—they saw all. And, whatever he saw that involved me included a lot of incriminating information. If I were any uglier, I doubt he'd have much reason to keep it secret.

"What do you mean Zhanzinite?" he asked in a commanding tone after pulling a chair and sitting in front of me.

I recoiled and lowered my stare. At first, I shrugged, but after a further moment of thought, I sighed and gripped my skirt. "I thought it was gone, too. When I rid the world of my kind, I did so with the sort of magic that should have left nothing but humankind behind."

Orios titled his head with wide eyes. "You had to have known you weren't successful, though—after all, mages still existed. If you rid the world of all Dragon Blood, then you would have rid it of mages, too."

I gulped. "The key with that is if I were successful."

Orios hummed. "And the Dragonborne?"

I stilled, blood pulsating beneath my skin and cheeks flushing of all color. "Gone, of course. There are not many places they could hide," I whispered after pulling strands of hair to cover my ears.

Orios watched quietly before raising a brow. A gentle hand rested over my own, which were still squeezing my kneecaps, and he tapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "No use in fretting, Ven. I am just glad you're okay."

"Better than the poor sap I was set to find," I mumbled and stood to my feet. After rolling my shoulders, I let out a sigh of relief and approached one of his many bookshelves. He had so many books that spanned topics like magic, dragons, and alchemy. I slid my fingers over the book titled Encyclopedia of Dragons and reminisced on the past. When I turned my head, I caught Orios staring at me with a mischievous smile.

"What were they like, Ven?" he asked. When I made a look of confusion, he cleared his throat and nodded his head at the book. "Dragons. What were the dragons like."

I frowned, though it wasn't entirely of sadness. In fact, I'd go as far to say that my heart swelled with happiness at the thought of my past. "They were docile," I responded quietly, "and kind. They protected our lands and people. But, when the... others... got greedy, the dragons lost their way."

Orios leaned back in his chair. "The dragons did, or the Dragonborne?"

I gulped. "Does it matter?"

He held his hands up in defeat and stood, approaching me carefully with hands still held up. "You know I don't blame you for what you did."

Facing him, I took a few daring steps and shook my head. "You shouldn't even know who I am."

He stood at my approach and leaned in, his voice barely a whisper. There was a special sort of twinkle in his golden eye. He got so close that his breath tickled my ear. "Oh, but I do... Nessira Elkyn, Queen of Dragons."

I held my breath and closed my eyes. The way my birth name rolled off his tongue as if it were divine... In order to level myself, I had to back against the bookshelf. "I am no queen."

When I glanced back at him, he simply nodded and moved to stroke a strand of silver hair behind my ear. His skin rubbed against the uneven bumps on the edge of it, his face contorting to a frown. "Did you really have to do that to yourself?"

Once, I had ears that looked like dragon wings—pointed, and curved where the internal bones ended at different points, but as beautiful as the beasts they imitated. Nobody had winged ears like that, and it was the one and only reason I was certain the Dragonborne remained dead.

I blinked at him. "How else would I hide my identity?"

Orios turned his gaze back to my own and shook his head. There was lingering silence between us, and for a while, I wondered if he would say anything else at all. "What do you say we go get rid of that zhanzinite problem?"

I pursed my lips before nodding, offering the subtlest smile to my friend. "I thought you'd never ask."