The Crown's Fire - Chapter 167

Chapter 167: The Most Aggressive
Meanwhile, back in the kingdom of Zion, Katelina finally felt able to breathe easily after being on her toes in the presence of King Ezekiel.

“I don’t like him,” Luis grumbled beside her. She was having dinner with Luis, Asura, and Leviticus.

“Why not? He’s handsome,” Asura casually commented.

“He’s domineering and arrogant just because he’s powerful!” Luis grunted.

“Who are you talking about?” Levi innocently asked.

“Levi, focus on your meal,” Katelina instructed her brother. Then she looked at Asura and said, “We should tell Luis about the dragons.”

“What happened to the eggs? Did they hatch already?” Luis asked excitedly. He was aware of the eggs since he had arranged for their discreet transport and storage in Katelina’s bedchamber.

“Four eggs already hatched and Levi is taking care of them. Two females, the silver one and the green one. Two males, the gold and the black,” Asura informed, then continued munching on her meat.

“That’s good news!” Luis remarked. “Other kingdoms will not take us lightly now!”

“That’s true. They will either fear us or wage war on us, since we all know the history of the dragons and how bad things ended having them,” Asura nonchalantly commented.

“But Ebodia has a dragon king,” Luis pointed out.

“That’s different, Luis, because the king is the dragon himself and he has full control over the dragon’s power within him. Haven’t you heard?” Katelina explained. The details about how the king was the dragon had already spread everywhere. It was said that the dragon soul, Vulcan, was destroyed and the dragon spirit that held its power chose to remain inside Ezekiel’s body as one. A dragon spirit is divine, unlike a dragon soul which could be corrupted based on its own free will.

There was a terse silence, so Katelina continued, “We must keep this a secret and train and tame those dragons well. If the news about them spreads, we’ll be a target to dark witches and warlocks who would definitely love a dragon they can control. With how spells and magics are progressing nowadays, anything is possible, so we must ensure that these dragons have a strong bond with us dragon riders.”

“But there’s only you and Levi…” Luis addressed. “There are twelve eggs, Your Majesty. We all know that a dragon rider can only ride one dragon and focus on that dragon alone to keep it tame.” It was true. She and Levi seemed to be the only ones left with the dragon rider’s blood, and she was not confident that she would be able to manage those twelve dragons alone. Levi was still a kid, too young to shoulder such a huge responsibility. For now, she was simply allowing him to enjoy playing with and teaching the dragons, but he was still too young to act as a true dragonrider, right?

Katelina sighed, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on her. “You’re right, Luis. Twelve dragons are too many for just me and Levi to manage. And Levi is still so young. He should be able to enjoy his childhood without such a burden.”

“Then what do we do?” Asura asked curiously.

“We need to find others who can become dragonriders,” Katelina replied. “But they need to be people we can trust completely, people who will be loyal to our cause and capable of forming a strong bond with a dragon.”

“But where will we find such people?” Luis asked.

“We’ll have to start with those closest to us,” Katelina said thoughtfully. “People we’ve known for a long time, who have proven their loyalty. We can begin by training them, testing their abilities and their compatibility with the dragons.”

Asura nodded. “That makes sense. We can start with a few and see how it goes. But we’ll need to be careful. If word gets out, it could attract the wrong kind of attention.”

“Exactly,” Katelina agreed. “This must remain a closely guarded secret. We can’t afford to let our enemies know about the dragons, or they may stop at nothing to take them from us.”

Luis leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. “It’s a huge risk, but it’s also a great opportunity. If we can build a group of loyal dragonriders, we could become a formidable force.”

“And we will,” Katelina said, her voice firm with determination. “We have to. For the safety of our kingdom and the future of our people. We will find a way to train and bond special people with these dragons, and we will protect them from those who seek to misuse their power.”

After dinner, Katelina took her brother to his chamber and smiled upon seeing the three dragons already asleep on their makeshift foam beds.

Levi gently stroked the back of the green dragon and said, “Jade chooses Luis… He’ll be Jade’s dragon rider.”

Katelina creased her forehead and asked, “Did you see it in a dream?”

Levi smiled at her. “I saw it during dinner, in a vision. Luis is riding Jade. And you… you ride Onyx.”

Onyx was the black dragon, currently in her bedchamber. This dragon was so clingy that it would always sneak inside her bedroom to sleep there instead of in Levi’s chamber. She had finally given in and let Onyx stay with her. Surprisingly, Onyx was well-behaved whenever with her. Among the four dragons, Onyx was the most aggressive, always wanting to fight with Aurum, the gold dragon.

Katelina sat on the edge of Levi’s bed, processing this information. “So, you think we should trust your visions?” she asked, looking at her brother.

Levi nodded confidently. “Yes, my visions have always been right, haven’t they?”

Katelina sighed, considering his words. “Alright. If Jade has chosen Luis, then we’ll make sure he’s prepared. I just wonder how Luis will react to this.”

“Also, sister, I forgot to mention that I dreamed of us attending the Global Summit at Haven Forest. Your marriage with the dragon king will be announced there,” Levi informed with a teasing smile.

Levi already told her before that she would marry the king of Ebodia, and she still felt utterly confused about how things were going on without her memories. Katelina unknowingly touched her covered neck, where Ezekiel had kissed her just a while ago. Surprisingly, she felt excited and even anticipated how that marriage would come into discussion. It was a mix of confusion and curiosity swirling inside her mind.