Chapter 61: _ Her Protective Shadow

I steered the fear illusion, forcing the horde of invisible horrors to snap at her heels, driving her like a panicked animal away from the main courtyard and down a narrow, dead-end stone alleyway.

When she was trapped against the cold stone wall, sobbing and thrashing at thin air, I signaled Vaelor.

My dragon dropped silently from the sky, his enormous claws slamming onto the flagstones at the entrance of the alley with a bone-rattling thud.

I slid off the saddle and strode into the shadows of the corridor.

When Lyra heard the heavy footfalls, she whipped her head around. Through her hallucination of devouring insects, she saw a towering figure framed by silver dragon scales, my hair loose, and my pupils glowing like two blinding, merciless furnace fires.

She didn’t care if it was the Crown Prince. Right now, what she saw was a savior.

"Your Highness!" she sobbed, dropping to her knees and scrambling across the stones on all fours toward me. She reached out with trembling, filthy hands to grab my boots. "Please! Help me! They’re eating me alive! Save me–"

CLACK.

I lifted my booted foot and kicked her chest, hard enough to send her skidding backward across the rough gravel. She let out a choked breath, clutching her ribs as she stared up at me in horrified disbelief.

I stepped forward, towering over her, my shadow swallowing her completely. I slowly bent down, resting my forearms on my knees as I looked into her tear-streaked face.

"Do you want it to stop?" I asked calmly.

"Yes! Gods, yes! Please, Crown Prince, I’ll do anything!" she wept, shuddering violently as invisible scarabs ripped at her mind. "Anything!"

"Then remember this feeling. Because I am the one doing this to you." I whispered, tilting my head.

Lyra’s terrified eyes blinked at me. "W-what...? You? But... why?!" Tears spilled over her lashes as her voice cracked. "My Lord, I’ve loved you since I was six years old! I saw you at the Royal Gala in the Capital... I’ve spent my whole life wanting to prove myself to you–"

"I don’t care," I cut her off and the temperature in the alley plummeted. Flashes of real dragon-fire flickered deep within my eyes, reflecting in her terrified pupils.

"You used your telekinesis to trip a girl during the Procession last night," I said, leaning closer until she could smell the smoke on my breath. "A girl named Elira."

Lyra gasped, her face draining of what little color remained. "The... the trench girl? The markless trash? I just—it was just a joke! She didn’t belong near you–"

"If you ever speak her name again," I interrupted, cracking my neck slowly, "I won’t just weave illusions into your pathetic mind. I will burn your magical core out through your ribs, slowly, while your father watches."

A violent tremor shook her entire body. She slammed her forehead against the dirt at my feet, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I swear on my blood, I will never look at her again! I swear it!" she begged.

"You’ll do more than that," I commanded, my tone leaving zero room for negotiation. "From this second onward, if anyone in the Academy attempts to touch her, humiliate her, or corner her... you will step in and destroy them for me. You will make sure everyone knows that anyone who messes with Elira No-One has a shadow watching over her. Do you understand me?"

"Yes! Yes! I’ll protect her! I’ll fight anyone who looks at her wrong!" she gasped out, choking on her own tears. "Just make it stop... please!"

I stared down at her shivering form for a long second, letting her steep in the horror. Then, with a simple flick of my wrist, I severed the illusion. The swarming scarabs, the dark sky, and the biting agony vanished instantly, leaving only the quiet, sunlit alleyway.

Lyra collapsed flat onto her stomach, gasping for air like a drowning woman, weeping softly into the dirt.

I didn’t offer a hand or a word of comfort. I simply turned around and walked back toward the mouth of the alley where Vaelor waited.

’Cruel,’ Vaelor rumbled, his head dipping low so I could vault onto his neck.

A vibrating purr echoed in his chest as I secured my grip on the reins. ’But I approve. You sound more like a Dragon King every day.’

"Let’s go," I muttered, fearing how much I’d just genuinely enjoyed Lyra’s anguish just now.

It reminded me of my father. I hated this side of my father, but for a girl I’d waited eight years for, hell I’d become a demon if I had to.

Anything to keep her safe. At least, until I figured out what to do with her.

Vaelor launched us into the sky, the wind whipping past my face as we climbed above the cloud line. My mind immediately shifted to my next target. The Sylven boy who had dared to whip her with those filthy Sylven veins.

My knuckles turned white around the leather reins as dark impulses surged through my blood. I wanted to fly straight into the Fae Academy right now, rip the roof off his dormitory, and drag him into the sky.

No, I told myself, reining in the darkness surging beneath my skin.

Crossing into the Fae Academy during daylight without an official Warden pass was a direct violation of inter-Academy rules. While I rarely cared for minor rules, a royal dragon soaring over the Fae Quadrant in broad daylight would spark immediate gossip, drawing every warden and Maddox who is obsessed with her false sense of discipline, directly to my door.

I needed discretion. I needed darkness.

"Tonight," I growled to the open sky, my eyes narrowing as the sun gleamed off my loose silver hair.

I would wait until the sun set and until the guards grew lazy. Then, I would pay the Sylven boy a personal visit. And he wouldn’t be getting off with mere illusions.