The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Grumpy Dragon, Gentle Vampire

GIRL’S POV

Everything felt heavy. My limbs, my eyelids, even the breath caught in my chest.

Was I still sinking?

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There was darkness, velvety and endless. But far above, I remembered a light. A ball of fire in the

sky.

Then I felt hands–strong ones–pulling me from the cold. Moments later, warmth enveloped me. It was strange, yet somehow familiar.

It didn’t make sense–none of it did. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe I was still drowning. Or maybe I’d crossed into some place where people go when they die. I couldn’t tell anymore. So I let the darkness, the warmth, wash over me completely.

I stirred after what felt like an eternity. My throat burned. My chest ached. My skin tingled with

cold. But I wasn’t dead.

I was wrapped in something dry, thick, and warm. Blankets.

Slowly, I cracked my eyes open.

My vision was blurred at first, but when it cleared, a familiar face hovered above me, framed by wet strands of black hair and a jaw clenched with something I couldn’t name. I blinked, half–convinced I was hallucinating. But he was there. Kierygan.

I looked away, avoiding his eyes, and shifted to my side. That’s when I noticed Evander, kneeling

beside the bed.

I heard a low rumble first, then his voice. “Glad you’re awake,” Kierygan said.

But he didn’t look glad at all. His brows were drawn, his jaw tight. And those eyes–always hard to read–still managed to cut right through me. So I stayed quiet.

Kierygan crossed his arms. “Do you have a death wish, girl?” he asked, “You’re free to roam the palace grounds, but I didn’t expect you to wander that far. What were you thinking?”

His voice never rose, but it didn’t have to. It frightened me all the same.

I swallowed hard, summoning what little courage I had. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to,” I began, already stumbling over the words. “I just… I was…”

I didn’t get to finish. Evander’s voice broke in, to my relief. Because the truth was, I didn’t know how

to explain it. Not without sounding foolish. Not without making Kierygan even angrier than he already seemed.

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Chapter 11 Grumpy Dragon Gentle Vampire

“It’s alright, girl,” Evander said gently.

“Alright?” Kierygan snapped, making me flinch. “If I hadn’t come back a day early, she’d be a corpse. under the ice, and you wouldn’t even know.”

Evander stood, his expression tightening. “I’m just saying, maybe don’t scold the girl who nearly drowned. She’s already frightened enough.”

Kierygan scoffed. “You’re right,” he said coldly, pacing a few steps before turning on him. “I shouldn’t fault her. Because it’s your fault! You were supposed to watch her!”

Kierygan and Evander continued shouting at each other. I stopped listening to what they said. Their voices blurred into noise: sharp, angry sounds that scraped against something raw inside

1. me. One blamed the other. The other argued back. Neither backing down.

And it was all because of me.

They were fighting over something / did. Something foolish.

Somehow, it bothered me more than the Mistress punishments. More than Master’s belt. This was worse. This shame, this gnawing guilt twisting inside me. I couldn’t take it.

I wished they would just punish me already, just get it over with.

I curled in on myself, pressing my hands over my ears, squeezing my eyes shut as if I could will it

all away.

Stop. Stop. Stop. I kept repeating in my head, because I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

“Will you two stop it!” A voice that wasn’t mine cut through, speaking the words I couldn’t. “You’re

scaring the poor girl.”

Just like that, the shouting stopped.

I opened my eyes slowly.

The first thing I saw was a flicker of light–crackling threads of energy dancing across my skin, vanishing as the bracelet drank them in. Then, the soft sound of approaching footsteps.

A woman appeared beside me. Her black hair was swept into a neat bun, and her warm brown eyes held a steady, quiet kindness. She crouched down in front of me, her voice gentle when she

spoke.

“It’s alright,” she said with a calm, practiced smile. Im Danaiah. I’m a healer.”

Danaiah’s hand reached out slowly, her fingers aglow with a soft, pearly shimmer. The light pulsed gently as she hovered her palm above my chest, then my forehead, then down the length of my arms. It didn’t burn, it soothed.

“Hm,” she murmured, her brow knitting slightly as she worked. “No signs of hypothermia.

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Chapter 11 Gran Dagisis Geitle Vampire

surprising, considering she’s little more than skin and bones.”

I dared a glance at her face. I didn’t understand whist she meant, but there was no judgment in her expression. Just quiet puzzlement, like someone stumbling across something unexpected, but not

alarming.

“She seems stable,” Danalah said at last, glancing over her shoulder at the others. “Just exhausted.

No fever, no broken bones. Honestly… it’s remarkable.”

Then her gaze returned to me, softer now. “How old are you, child?”

I hesitated, my lips parting but no words came. I gave a small shake of my head.

Danaiah’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t know?”

“No,” I whispered, lowering my gaze.

She gave my shoulder a gentle tap. “It’s alright.”

With a quiet exhale, she tucked a loose strand of har behind her ear, her eyes still studying me.” You look around fourteen or fifteen,” she said thoughtfully, then frowned. “But I can’t be certain. You’re far too thin… clearly malnourished.”

Her gaze shifted toward Kierygan, and her voice took on a firmer edge. “She needs proper care. Years without proper food, sunlight, or movement must have stunted her growth.”

Kierygan didn’t respond right away. I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

After a moment, Danaiah stood and gave a small nod. “I’ll check on you again later,” she said, then

turned and walked out, her footsteps fading down the hall.

Silence settled once more.

Then Kierygan walked to the window and pulled the chair from my table. He dragged it to the other

side of the bed, opposite Evander, and sat down.

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I braced myself.

“Tell me again how you ended up on the lake,” he said. “I want a clearer account this time.”

I swallowed hard, trying to gather my thoughts, to give him the kind of explanation he wanted.

“I was waiting for him,” I said softly, glancing at Evander. “He was supposed to take me to Ashteryn. But when he didn’t come… I thought I’d go on my own.”

Kierygan shot Evander a look that could’ve turned him to stone. Evander just lifted a shoulder in a silent shrug.

“Continue,” Kierygan said, eyes fixed on me again.

I looked down at my hands, unable to meet his gaze. “Then… Mirael called out to me. She said she

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Chapter 11 Grumps Dragon Gentle Vameure:

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wanted to spend time together. She took me somewhere quiet.” I hesitated, remembering the secret she offered me. The butterfly. Did that need to stay hidden, too?

“I followed a butterfly.” I admitted. “I didn’t realize I’d wandered onto a frozen lake… I didn’t know.

I’m sorry.

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