The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156: First Strike

EIRLYS’ POV

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I hardly recognized the girl staring back at me in the mirror. The braids Emma wove kept my hair neatly bound, but it was the battle suit that made me pause-leathers reinforced with dragon scales. His scales. Shimmering blue and silver in the candlelight.

They were heavier than the gowns I’d been forced into, tighter even than the silks I’d worn since Kierygan made me his queen. And yet, they felt… right.

Emma’s hands lingered on my shoulders for a moment. I caught one and gave it a gentle

squeeze.

“You should get ready yourself,” I said, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “You and Grace should get to safety.”

She nodded and smiled before stepping away. But just as she reached the door, I called after her. “Emma… thank you. For everything.”

She paused, turning back with a mock frown. “Don’t talk like we’re not going to see each other again,” she said, though her voice was already breaking.

I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say-because I didn’t know if we’d ever see each other

again.

When she slipped out of the chamber and closed the door behind her, I heard the weight of familiar footsteps. I didn’t need to look to know it was Kierygan.

He stopped behind me, his reflection appearing beside mine in the mirror. He wore a battle suit identical to mine.

Silently, he lifted a piece of armor etched with star metal, settled it over my shoulders, and fastened it.

Now we matched.

And in every other way, we matched.

Finally, he pressed something into my hand-my sword. The star-metal shimmered along its length, forged for me and me alone.

I slid it across my back, the weight settling like a promise.

Only hours remained until the full moon. Just a few hours until everything would change… or

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<Chapter 156: First Strike

end.

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Kierygan’s finger lifted my chin, drawing my gaze into his. Then he dipped down and claimed my mouth. The kiss was deep, fierce-one that stole my breath and left me trembling, as though it might be the last we’d ever share. When he pulled away, his forehead lingered against mine for a single heartbeat.

“It’s time, my love,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard and nodded. On the bed, Nibbles waited as if he somehow understood. I gathered him into my arms, his small warmth pressed into my chest, and together we stepped out. The palace halls stretched long and silent, emptier than I’d ever seen them, the stillness heavy with the knowledge that everyone else had already been sent to safety.

Outside, night had only just begun, the breeze sharp and cold against my skin. Above us, the vast sky loomed cloudless, as though it had been swept clean to bear witness to what was

coming.

The battlefield spread before us when we reached it, torches lining the ridges, shadows of warriors shifting in the half-light. At the center, the council stood waiting-Orryx, Ulyanna, Callum, Evander, Scylla, and Solara-all armored, all ready. Their faces were set in grim resolve. Even Callum, whose mouth was usually quick with a quip, found no words tonight.

Orryx’s voice was the first to cut through the silence. “Everyone is in position.”

Callum inclined his head, his eyes dark. “The orcs have set traps along every likely entry point. Anyone who charges will bleed… or burn for it.” His mouth twisted faintly. “Depends whether their army’s living or dead.”

Kierygan and I listened as each of them reported where their forces held the line.

Beside us, Evander’s hand found Scylla’s, their fingers interlacing. His voice was calm as ever, but edged with steel. “We should take our positions as well,” he said. “The moon is nearly

risen.”

They were about to turn when I called out. “Wait.” My voice made them freeze mid-step.

My glow flared, bright enough to sweep across the entire battlefield. For a moment, I felt weightless, as if something other than the breeze lifted my hair. When the light dimmed, every eye turned toward me, wide with disbelief.

“Did you… just open a mind link?” Orryx asked. “For all of us?”

I nodded, a small smile tugging at my lips. “I always wanted to do that,” I said. “Now it’s not just a werewolf thing.”

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<Chapter 156: First Strike

Claim

Callum gave a single clap. “Alright,” he said. “Now that we have eyes in the sky, let’s move.”

Kierygan gave a single nod, his gaze lifting to the cloudless sky. “Then may the gods stand

with us.”

One by one, they split away. Evander and Scylla turned together, Solara’s hand brushed against Orryx’s arm as she passed him, and Callum and Ulyanna offered quick bows before disappearing into the dark.

That left only us.

Kierygan shifted in a heartbeat. Clutching Nibbles tighter to my chest, I unfurled my wings and rose, then swung onto his back.

The moment my body settled against him, Kierygan launched upward, wind tearing at us as the ground fell away. Higher and higher until the world below was a patchwork of shadows and flame.

Then, as his wings beat steady against the night, he bent the light around us. His scales shimmered, flickered-then vanished.

We were invisible, hidden above the battlefield. Waiting.

Below us, the camp held its breath. No clang of steel, no murmur of voices-only a silence so dense it pressed against my ears. My lungs felt tight, as though even breathing too loudly might betray us.

Then the moon began to climb. The air thickened at once, charged and humming with something ancient, foreboding. The wait stretched, an eternity suspended in the space of a

heartbeat.

At last, movement stirred at the far edge of the battlefield. My pulse lurched. But it wasn’t the dead. Rogues.

Dark witches cloaked in shadow. Vampires gliding too swiftly, their eyes burning with hunger. Wolves slinking low, teeth bared. And at their forefront, unmistakable even across the distance-Amon, flanked by the other two Alphas.

Rage sparked hot through my veins. “I knew it,” I hissed through the bond.

Kierygan’s reply rumbled back, cold and sharp. “Burn him.”

“Gladly.”

The rogues pressed closer, steps confident, thinking our forces would break rank. But Kierygan’s army did not move. Not a blade was raised, not a spear shifted. They waited, still

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as statues.

Closer.

Closer.

Claim

The moment they crossed the threshold, my power surged. Light cracked from me like lightning torn from the sky, arcing downward in a blinding strike. It ripped into the earth where the rogues marched.

And the ground erupted.

Flame leapt high, feeding hungrily as fire swallowed the flammable oil the orcs had poured earlier. The blaze roared across the field, a wall of light and heat that devoured everything in its path. Screams tore the silence as wolves writhed, witches shrieked, and vampires scattered, their bodies kindling under the searing glow.

The wave of rogues burned, their advance shattered in an instant.

The valley seemed to hold its breath again, waiting for the next surge. From the cliffs above, another wave of rogues poured down, thinking the first inferno had broken our forces.

The battlefield seemed to hold its breath once more, bracing for the next surge. From the cliffs above, another wave of rogues poured down, convinced the first inferno had shattered our lines.

But they met swift retaliation. Vampires lunged from the shadows, fangs bared, ripping into the front ranks. Massive boulders thundered down the slopes, crushing anyone foolish enough to advance.

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