Chapter 169: Desperate Measures

"Aria—!"

The scream was already on Rhydian’s lips when he jerked upright in bed. He was on his feet almost immediately, his frantic gaze sweeping the room for Aria’s petrified form, only to find nothing.

There was no Caelis, stone or Aria. Just an empty bedroom with morning sunlight filtering through the windows as if nothing had happened.

"It was a dream..." Rhydian muttered to himself, pressing a hand against his chest as he tried to calm his heart, which was pounding like the hooves of galloping horses.

But no matter how many times he reminded himself that none of it had been real, the horror refused to leave him. If anything, the nightmare had forced him to confront a possibility he had been too distracted by the mate bond itself to properly consider. If Caelis ever discovered what Aria meant to him, there was no telling what he would do with that knowledge.

"Caelis..." Rhydian muttered the name with an intensity of hatred he had never felt before.

For the first time, he realized just how dangerous the snake prince could become to him. Of course Rhydian loved his parents, but they were powerful, heavily protected and far beyond Caelis’s easy reach. He had never gone to sleep wondering whether either of them would still be alive when he woke.

Aria was different. She was human, surrounded by beasts, living within the same academy as Caelis, and there were far too many ways the bastard could get to her if he ever decided she was the easiest way to hurt him.

Rhydian shouldn’t have allowed the thought to form because Sargon surged violently to the surface.

"Protect Treasure."

He wanted to go to Aria.

"That cannot happen," Rhydian protested immediately.

Going to Aria now would only draw attention to the very thing they needed to conceal. If anyone saw the Dragon Heir rushing across the academy at this hour simply to assure himself that one particular human was safe, questions would follow, and that would accomplish the exact opposite of protecting his mate.

But Sargon was beyond reason. The dragon didn’t care about the politics, secrecy or what anyone might suspect. He wanted his mate where he could see her, smell her and hold her safely within his arms.

That was when Tamara’s words from the night before returned to Rhydian with uncomfortable clarity. He couldn’t hide a mate bond forever. Not when Sargon could barely tolerate being separated from Aria without fighting him for control. Sooner or later, his dragon’s reckless devotion would expose exactly how important she was to them.

Rhydian couldn’t allow that to happen yet. He needed time to understand what this bond meant and, more importantly, how to keep Aria from becoming a weapon his enemies could use against him. Tamara had been right about one thing, though. Sargon was his beast, and no matter how powerful the dragon was, he would answer to him.

Rhydian crossed the room toward the wardrobe and pressed his thumb against one of the carvings worked into the stone beside it. There was a click before a narrow section of the wall shifted outward, revealing the concealed compartment behind it. He reached inside and pulled out a small glass vial containing pieces of a strange dried, twisted root.

Peridexion root.

Never in his life had Rhydian imagined he would willingly use it on himself. He had only kept a small supply because one could never be too prepared when surrounded by other dragons, especially ones who might someday become his enemies. Unfortunately, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Back in their world, dragons had possessed very few weaknesses. Their soft underbellies were the only vulnerable part of their otherwise impenetrable bodies, and even reaching one during battle was nearly impossible.

Then the barriers fell and they entered the human world, where they discovered Peridexion. No one understood exactly why the plant affected dragons the way it did, but exposure to a concentrated amount suppressed the beast within. Thankfully, the effects weren’t permanent. Depending on the dosage, they could last anywhere from several hours to several days.

Rhydian could already feel Sargon’s outrage building inside his head as he carried the vial toward the table, but there would be no changing his mind. His dragon needed to learn some restraint, and since reasoning with him had accomplished nothing, Rhydian was going to enforce it himself.

"Need Treasure!"

Rhydian ignored him and carefully measured the crushed root into a cup, calculating precisely how much he would need. Too little and Sargon could break through its effects before Rhydian was ready. Too much and he could still be weakened when the fight began tonight.

By evening, he needed the Peridexion out of his system and his dragon at full strength again. Once satisfied with the amount, Rhydian poured water over the root and watched the liquid cloud as he stirred it.

"NO!"

Sargon’s roar exploded through his head with enough force to make Rhydian stagger. His dragon surged toward the surface, fighting for control before Rhydian could bring the cup anywhere near his mouth. Heat rushed beneath his skin as his veins bulged against his temples, his fingers tightening around the cup until he heard the faint protest of glass beneath his grip.

"I said enough!" Rhydian snarled, forcing Sargon back through sheer will. "This is your own doing. If you had listened to me, it wouldn’t have come to this."

"TREASURE!"

"I am trying to protect her!"

Sargon fought him harder at that, but Rhydian refused to surrender control. He raised the cup and drank the entire concoction before his dragon could stop him, swallowing against its bitter taste until there wasn’t a drop left.

For one terrible moment, Sargon nearly overwhelmed him. Rage unlike anything Rhydian had ever experienced rippled through their connection, accompanied by a roar so violent that he grabbed the edge of the table to keep himself upright. His vision blurred. Heat scorched the back of his throat, and Sargon’s presence seemed to swell until there was no room left inside Rhydian’s head for anything else.

Then there was absolute silence.

Rhydian remained hunched over the table, breathing heavily as he waited for the next furious demand for their mate. Nothing came. For the first time in longer than he could remember, there was no second presence moving alongside his consciousness.

The silence should have pleased him. It was exactly what he had wanted, yet an unsettling emptiness opened inside him where Sargon had always been, so profound that Rhydian found himself reaching instinctively for his dragon before catching himself.

This was necessary. Sargon would understand that eventually, even if he hated him for it now. By tonight, the effects of the Peridexion would have worn off, and Rhydian could only hope his dragon had forgiven him by the time they stepped into that fight together.

Otherwise he was doomed.