Page 159 of The Bond That Burns

For years I’d lived with the knowledge my father had intentionally left us. The truth had been covered over to protect our family name. No one could know that the great Peacebringer, as some had called him, had despised his highblood life so much that he’d chosen to end it.

“He didn’t kill himself, did he? That’s not what happened.”

Viktor’s smirk widened. “And what exactly do you think happened, boy?”

I leaned forward, resting my hands on the desk, not bothering to hide the scales. “He was like me, wasn’t he? He started to...change.”

More and more pieces fell into place as the words tumbled from my mouth.

“He killed himself because the strain of his monstrousness was too much for him to bear. Weakness runs in bloodlines, it seems,” my uncle drawled.

Weakness? No. If I knew one thing, it was that whatever was happening to me was strength. If I could only learn how to control it.

“No,” I growled. “That’s not what happened. My father was strong. Strong enough to try to fight you. He didn’t want to become your weapon. Did he kill himself to escape you, you evil old bastard? Or did you kill him?”

Viktor’s smile faltered for the briefest moment.

I clenched my fists, the itching in my skin intensifying as if the scales longed to burst free in response to my rage. “How did this happen to him? Why the hell is it happening to menow?”

He leaned back, his expression becoming remote. “You’re so clever. You tell me.”

I thought back, combing my mind over every detail, every possibility. Then it hit me. My throat went dry. “Rider blood.”

Viktor gave a barking laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous. Your mother wasn’t a dragon rider.”

“She’s a halfborn,” I said slowly, piecing it together. Which was why my father’s family had been against the union in the firstplace. I could remember overhearing my parents talking about it when I was a child. “Rider blood seeped into blightborn bloodlines. You couldn’t extinguish it altogether, could you?” I didn’t even bother to hide the fact that I’d been in the archives. I watched his gaze sharpen. “My father must have fed from her. That’s what triggered his transformation.”

What Aenia had done–taking blood from another highblood without consent–was a crime. But highbloods feeding from one another was not strictly against the law. What happened in private, generally stayed in private. No one wanted to think about what their parents did in the bedroom. But feeding between highblood mates was said to be the height of, well, pleasure.

My chest heaved. “You wanted this. You gave me the rider because you hoped this would happen. You wanted to awaken this... thisthinginside me.”

Viktor’s laugh was genuine. The warmest I’d ever heard it. “There’s a reason I didn’t feed from the girl myself when I had the chance. Though believe me, I was tempted. Very tempted.”

He moved around the desk towards me, shaking his head. “Look at you. You’re becoming something extraordinary.” For a moment, he seemed truly admiring. Then he lifted his shoulders and let them fall. “Or perhaps not. Perhaps you’ll die like your father did. Weak and pathetic. Writhing and screaming until the power consumes you. Experimentation has its price. But you already knew I’d be willing to pay any price for the sake of the greatness of our house, Nephew.”

My hands trembled. I could feel the scales creeping up the back of my neck, along the edge of my jaw, across my cheeks.

“There’s no escaping what’s in your blood,” my uncle murmured. If you’re changing, then you’re becoming exactly what you’re meant to be. And if you survive the transformation, you’ll be the greatest weapon our house has ever possessed.”

The fire in my blood erupted. Like nothing I’d ever felt before. And as the pain and rage started to spread, all I could think of was that I was going to make my uncle regret every moment he’d spent on this earth if it was the last thing I ever did. I staggered back, clutching at my chest as if I could hold my body together through sheer force of will.

But there was no stopping it. Whatever was happening, it was bigger than me.

And it was ripping me apart.

I fell to my knees, my hands clawing at the stone. Scales surged, spreading up my arms, curling around my neck. My skin burned, as if molten metal had replaced my blood. My muscles twisted and stretched, bones grinding with sickening cracks.

“Fascinating,” my uncle murmured. “To witness it firsthand...”

I could hardly hear him. The pain. It was too much. It felt as if I were being torn apart from the inside out.

I writhed and screamed on the ground, just like he’d predicted. My vision blurred, everything fracturing into disjointed shapes, shards of light and shadow.

As if from a distance, I heard guards rush in. Heard the sound of steel swords drawn.

A guard rushed towards me, his face tight with fear.

“A monster,” he shouted, his voice cracking. “My lord, we must get you out of here. We must destroy it...”

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