POV Casimir
I snatched the book from Master Aldric's hands before he finished speaking. The pages were brittle with age, threatening to crumble beneath my fingers. The text was written in old script that predated modern conventions, but I could read it well enough.
I read aloud, voice rough with exhaustion and desperate hope. "'In the age before crowns, when dragons walked among men, their blood held the essence of life itself. One drop could mend broken flesh, cure poisoned blood, restore that which was thought lost forever.'"
I looked up at Master Aldric. "Dragon's blood cures blood disorders?"
"According to this text and three others I discovered in the deepest archives, yes." He pointed to relevant passages with trembling fingers. "Dragons were said to have perfect blood. It never clotted improperly, never thinned, never failed. The legends claim their blood could transfer that perfection to humans through ingestion or transfusion."
"But dragons are extinct," Selene said from beside me. "They disappeared years ago."
"Ten years ago," I corrected, mind already racing through possibilities. "After the War of Succession. The last confirmed sighting was in the Cloudmount Range."
"The mountains belong to Lysara," Selene said slowly, understanding dawning. "My family's territory."
I looked at her sharply. "Your family controls the mountains where dragons were last seen?"
"Yes. The Cloudmount Range has been Ardent land for generations. My father used to tell stories of dragon sightings in the highest peaks when I was a child." Her eyes widened. "Casimir, you're not seriously considering—"
"I'm considering anything that might save our son." I turned back to Master Aldric. "How much dragon's blood would we need?"
"The texts aren't specific. A vial, perhaps. Enough for a single treatment administered quickly before the blood loses potency."
"And the risks of using it on a child?"
"Unknown. The texts are legends, not medical journals. It could work as described, or..." He trailed off uncomfortably.
"Or it could kill him," Selene finished, voice flat.
Silence fell heavy in the library. Then I spoke, voice hard with determination I had learned from commanding armies. "It's better than waiting for certain death. If there's even a chance this legend has truth—"
"You would chase a legend into deadly mountains on a chance?" Selene demanded.
"Yes." I met her eyes without flinching. "Wouldn't you?"
She would. We both knew it.
By dawn I had assembled a plan, calling in advisors and studying maps until the candles burned to stubs. Twenty men. My best soldiers and most experienced trackers. Supplies for three weeks in harsh mountain conditions. Climbing equipment. Everything needed to scale Cloudmount's treacherous peaks.
I spread maps across my desk, marking routes with a steady hand despite the fear churning in my gut. "We'll enter through the eastern pass, ascend via the old pilgrimage trail. According to your father's records, dragon sightings clustered near the highest peak."
Selene studied the map with practiced eyes. "That peak is treacherous. Sheer cliffs, unstable rock faces. Only the most experienced climbers attempt it, and many die trying."
"Then we'll bring experienced climbers among our men."
"Casimir, this is insane. You're chasing a legend based on ancient stories and texts that might be pure fiction."
"What else do I have?" My voice broke despite my efforts to control it. "Sit here in comfort and watch him slowly die? I can't do that. I won't."
She understood. I saw it in her eyes. She felt the same desperate need to act, to fight, to do something rather than accept the inevitable.
"When do you leave?" she asked quietly.
"Tomorrow at dawn. Every day we delay is a day closer to—" I could not finish.
"I'm coming with you."
I went very still. "No."
"Yes." She stood tall, spine straight as steel. "Those are my family's lands. My mountains. I know them better than any map or report."
"You'll slow us down. It's too dangerous for someone without military training—"
"I survived six years in exile with a dying child and no resources. I think I can handle a mountain." Her eyes flashed with the fire I had first seen in Council. "Besides, you'll need my help negotiating with my uncle."
"Your uncle?"
"King Aldous Ardent. My father's brother. He rules Lysara now and controls access to Cloudmount through border treaties." Her voice hardened with old bitterness. "He won't help you without significant incentive or pressure."
I studied her. "You never mentioned an uncle."
"Because I hate him. He was one of the voices demanding my exile." She turned away. "But if he can help us reach the dragons, I'll swallow my pride and beg if necessary."
We argued for hours. I insisted it was too dangerous for her. She insisted she was coming regardless of my permission. We raised voices in ways we never had before.
"You need to stay with Ari!" I finally shouted.
"Ari needs both his parents alive and together!" she shouted back. "If you die on that mountain, what then? I lose you and watch him die anyway?"
"I won't die—"
"You don't know that! This is insane, Casimir. Chasing legends through deadly terrain. Climbing peaks that kill experienced mountaineers." Her voice cracked. "I can't lose you too."
I crossed to her and pulled her close, feeling her shake against me. "And I cannot lose him. Or you. But if there's even the smallest chance the legends hold truth, I have to try. He's my son."
"Then let me help." She looked up at me with eyes wet but fierce. "Please. Don't leave me behind to sit and wonder if you're dead or alive."
I wanted to refuse. Every instinct screamed to keep her safe within palace walls. But I saw the determination in her face, the same desperation that drove me.
"You stay close to me at all times," I said finally. "You follow orders without question. If I say we turn back—"
"We turn back," she agreed immediately.
We told Ari we were going on a journey. He was upset at first, clinging to Selene with tears in his eyes. But we promised it was to help him feel better, to find medicine that would make him strong.
"Will you bring me back a dragon scale?" he asked, eyes wide with the wonder only children could summon.
"If we find one," I promised, though the words felt like lies.
We spent the evening with him, last precious hours before departure. After Ari fell asleep clutching his wooden raven, Selene and I returned to my chambers.
We should have slept. Rested for the journey ahead. But neither of us could. I stood by the window staring at the dark mountains in the distance, trying to calculate routes and risks. Selene joined me, slipped her hand into mine.
"We might die on this mountain," she said quietly.
"I know."
"And if we do, Ari will be alone."
"I've made arrangements. Anya will care for him. Lysara has agreed to take him as royal ward if needed." My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears. "But we won't die. We'll find the dragon, obtain the blood, and come home to him."
She wanted to believe me. I wanted to believe myself.
We turned to each other at the same moment. The kiss was desperate, fear and love tangled together until I could not separate them. I pulled her close; she pressed against me with equal urgency. We shed clothes with fumbling hands, making our way to the bed.
We made love with urgent intensity, as if it might be the last time our bodies met this way. Every touch meant more than pleasure. Every whispered word carried the weight of possible farewell. I mapped her body with reverent hands, memorizing curves and sounds. She arched into me, gasping my name like prayer.
"I love you," I said against her skin, tasting salt and heat.
"I love you," she gasped, fingers digging into my shoulders. "Come back to me. Promise me we both come back."
"I promise." I kissed her deeply, pouring everything I felt into the connection. "We both come back. Together."
Afterward we lay tangled together, neither willing to let go or sleep. Dawn came too soon, gray light creeping through windows.
We dressed in traveling clothes, practical garments meant for riding and climbing. I strapped on my sword, the weight familiar and reassuring. Selene pinned the silver ribbon—tattered from stopping Kestrel's poisoned blade—to her cloak as a talisman.
We kissed Ari goodbye as he slept, both of us lingering at his bedside. He looked so small, so fragile. I memorized his face in case I never saw it again.
The expedition assembled in the courtyard at dawn. Twenty men I trusted with my life. Horses loaded with supplies, climbing ropes coiled and ready. I helped Selene mount, ensuring her saddle was secure.
As we rode through the palace gates, she looked back once at the tower where our son slept. I saw her lips move in what might have been prayer.
I did not look back. I could not afford doubt now.
We rode toward the mountains, toward legend and dragons and the slim chance of salvation.