The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Chief of the Cragtooth

EIRLYS’ POV

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Kierygan and I both stared at the sack, neither of us speaking for a moment, until he finally broke the silence. “What’s inside?”

Ashteryn grunted, crouched, and tugged at the knot securing the sack. With one sharp pull, the cord came loose. He tipped the sack forward, and something heavy tumbled out, rolling

across the snow with a muted thud.

I blinked. The sight stole my breath.

“That’s… that’s a star fragment,” I whispered, my voice trembling with awe. Recognition struck at once: the faint shimmer of silver light, the soft, otherworldly hum I knew too well.

Kierygan’s head snapped toward Ashteryn. “Does this mean you went into Val’Thirael again?”

Ashteryn only grunted. “Where else would I get it?”

Then he straightened, crossing his arms as if bracing himself beneath Kierygan’s stare. When we traveled through Vallea Illura,” he said, his voice flat as hammered iron, “I remembered the roots, the way they recoiled when they touched Eirlys’ blade.”

”

His gaze shifted to me, and the hardness eased into a faint smile. “I thought… maybe the star metal would do the same against the Light Reaper’s dead army.”

Ashteryn lifted a fist. A simple gesture-yet the line of orcs behind him moved at once. Massive arms swung heavy sacks from their backs, dropping them into the snow with a chorus of metallic thuds that seemed to reverberate in my chest.

Then they shifted, parting in near-perfect unison.

From their ranks stepped the largest orc I had ever seen.

He was colossal, towering over the rest like a mountain among hills. His skin was a deeper green, marked with scars that spoke of wars long past. A thick ring pierced his nose, gleaming cold in the winter light. Around his neck hung bones, strung into a necklace that rattled faintly with each step he took. His broad shoulders were draped in hides and furs, and strapped across his back rested a hammer and axe so massive I could scarcely imagine lifting one, let alone both.

He advanced with heavy, deliberate strides.

His gaze locked on me-so unyielding it made my knees weaken. Before I could think, I edged

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<Chapter 154: Chief of the Cragtooth

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closer behind Kierygan, as though his presence alone could shield me from the giant’s stare.

Then the orc stopped. The snow groaned beneath his massive weight as he sank to one knee. I couldn’t tell if it was a gesture of respect. Or if he was simply so tall that kneeling was the only way to meet my eye.

“So it’s true,” he muttered. “A Stellar fae lives. I didn’t believe it at first when Ashteryn told me about you. I thought he was spinning one of his usual tall tales.”

He shrugged, a wry twist to his lips. “Ashteryn’s always been a strange one. Probably because I dropped a hammer on his head when he was just a wee lad.”

Though his voice rumbled like distant thunder, I felt a flicker of relief at the humor in his words about Ashteryn.

Ashteryn cleared his throat, clearly unimpressed by the man. His tone was gruff as ever, yet beneath it lingered a faint thread of pride. “This,” he said, gesturing toward the towering figure, “is my father, Chief Rhaanzel of the Cragtooth tribe.”

I blinked, my gaze darting between Ashteryn and the orc kneeling before me. There was only the faintest resemblance between them. If not for Ashteryn’s tusks and the gray tint of his skin, he might have passed for a human.

Chief Rhaanzel’s hand moved, reaching over his massive shoulder. Kierygan’s grip on his sword tightened, ready to strike, but the orc did not raise his weapon. Instead, he drew both the hammer and the axe that looked large enough to crush stone. He lowered them to the ground at my feet. The snow hissed beneath their weight.

“I stand ready to serve, Your Grace,” he said, his deep voice vibrating through the marrow of my bones. “My axe and loyalty are yours.”

For a heartbeat, I stood frozen. Then I found my voice. “Please… rise,” I said softly. “You may call me Eirlys. Ashteryn is my friend, and that makes you my friend too.”

The chief straightened, towering once more. There was no menace in his posture, yet his sheer presence remained daunting. His gaze gentled as he inclined his head.

“Orcs and fae have always shared good ties,” Chief Rhaanzel said, his voice carrying the resonance of memory. “Our lands bordered Val’Thirael. But when the blight came, we were

driven out.”

I had read of it-or perhaps Ashteryn bad mentioned it in passing. Once, the orcs dwelled in vast, green lands pressed against Val’Thirael’s radiant borders. But when the plague spread, corrupting their waters and blackening their fields, they fled into the deepest forests of the earth, seeking survival where the blight could not reach them.

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< Chapter 154: Chief of the Cragtooth

Ashteryn cleared his throat, his usually gruff voice carrying an edge of barely-contained excitement. “There’s… someone else I brought with me.”

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He lifted his hand, thumb and finger joined, and placed them in his mouth. A sharp whistle split the air. From behind the wall of hulking orcs, a figure stepped forward.

Smaller than the rest, though still tall and strong. Tusks shorter, build more lithe. Light brown hair was pulled high, catching the pale gleam of winter light. Every step carried a quiet, assured confidence that seemed to part the crowd without effort.

Only when the figure drew close did I realize, this wasn’t just another orc warrior. It was a

woman.

She stopped at Ashteryn’s side.

“This is Drea,” Ashteryn said, his tone softened by something I rarely heard from him, “my

alchemist friend from Lireia.”

Drea inclined her head first to me, then to Kierygan. “Your Majesty. Your Grace.”

“You’ve been of great help to Ashteryn. And to us,” Kierygan said, inclining his head as his hand settled at the small of my back, drawing me subtly closer. “It’s an honor to finally meet

you.”

I studied her, a strange pull of curiosity stirring within me. Hesitantly, I asked, “Are you… like Ashteryn? Half-human?”

Her lips quirked as though amused by my choice of words. “Half-orc,” she corrected gently.”

Half-witch.”

Ashteryn’s tusks caught the light as he spoke again. “Drea’s here to help me forge something that could counter the Light Reaper’s relics.”

Kierygan inclined his head, approval glinting faintly in his eyes.

Then Chief Rhaanzel bent, lifting his weapons from the snow with a low rumble that seemed to roll through the earth itself. “Then we will need space large enough for my men to work.”

“Ashteryn can lead you,” Kierygan said. “My men will show you where to work… and where your people can settle.”

Ashteryn gave his father a short nod. The chief turned, raising his fist in silent command. At once, the orcs bent as one, heaving their sacks onto their shoulders. The air shuddered with the chorus of clashing iron and steel as they fell into step behind Ashteryn and Chief

Rhaanzel.

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Chapter 154: Chief of the Cragtooth

I watched them go, awe and unease knotting in my chest. Orcs, vampires, witches,

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werewolves, humans, a fae, and a dragon-we were all gathering now, scattered stars drawn into the shape of one constellation.

I only prayed the light we forged together would be enough.

KIERYGAN’S POV

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