The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46: What We Hide

EIRLYS POV

train

The doors had long since closed behind the departing vampire visitors, but the silence they left behind clung to the air like fog. Neither Kierygan nor Evander made a move to leave-so I didn’t

either.

I turned to Evander. “What did you mean when you said they learned more than we realized?”

He leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming lightly on the armrest. “Lucius doesn’t speak to pass the time,” he said after a beat. “He speaks to see how others react. He listens more than he talks.”

I frowned. “So… he reads minds?”

“Not exactly,” he replied. “But he’s lived long enough to read people.”

I glanced at Kierygan, hoping for something-confirmation, reassurance-but his gaze was distant. Fixed on nothing. So I turned back to Evander.

“Did I say too much?” I asked quietly.

Evander’s expression softened, just slightly. “No,” he said. “You did well, Snowdrop.”

The nickname made me smile, even if only for a second. “So…” I tilted my head at him. “You never

told me you’re a prince.”

Evander let out a forced chuckle, then sighed. “Not anymore,” he said. “I gave up that title a long

time ago.”

I was about to ask more when Kierygan’s voice cut through the quiet. “Who is Isabella?”

His tone was steady, but the edge in it was unmistakable.

Evander rose from his seat. “I’d rather not talk about it,” he said, dryly-curtly.

Kierygan didn’t let it go. His gaze locked on Evander, voice low but firm. “I asked you a question. Who was she? And why does she remind you of Eirlys?”

Evander turned halfway toward him, his expression darkening. “It’s in the past.”

“Then it shouldn’t be so difficult to answer,” Kierygan said.

The silence between them thickened. Even the air felt still-charged. Evander’s jaw tensed. For a moment, I thought he might walk out. But then he exhaled slowly and turned to face us both.

“Isabella,” he said at last, “was my sister.”

“Your sister?” I asked, my jaw dropping slightly.

Chapter Ab What We Hide

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Kierygan’s brows drew together. “She’s a Moren. A princess,” he said slowly. “How come I’ve never heard of her?”

“Because she died,” Evander answered, his voice flat-hollow, almost. “Long before you were born.”

A chill traced the length of my spine. I swallowed. “How did she die?” I asked, the words barely more than a whisper.

“She was killed,” he said quietly.

Then, after a long, aching pause, he added, “By me

I shook my head, unwilling to believe it. “You couldn’t have,” I said. “You would never.”

Evander leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table, his expression stripped of its usual charm. “It’s true, Eirlys,” he said quietly. “And I’ve killed before. Many times.”

He let out a bitter breath, eyes darkening. “They used to call me the Butcher… probably still do.”

I turned to Kierygan, hoping for some sign of disbelief. But he didn’t look shocked. Not at all.

He met my gaze steadily. “He slaughtered an entire village once.”

The words struck like a blow. I stared at Evander, struggling to reconcile the warm, smiling man I’d come to know with what he was saying.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “A witch-someone I rejected more than once-placed

a curse on me. A bloodlust spell. Subtle, insidious. I didn’t even know it had taken hold until… until I

passed through a human village and lost control.”

He paused, jaw tightening. “And Isabella… she tried to stop me from killing them.”

My heart was pounding.

Evander’s voice cracked slightly as he added, “By the time I came to my senses… it was too late. I’d already fatally wounded her.”

Kierygan folded his arms across his chest. “Is that why you left Morvanya?”

Evander was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. I couldn’t bear the guilt-or the way they

looked at me afterward.” A shadow passed through his expression. “I spent years tracking down

the witch who cursed me. Burned her myself when found her.”

He lifted his gaze to mine. “Isabella was just about your age when it happened,” he said quietly. “I

see her in you sometimes.”

A lump formed in my throat, heavy and tight. That’s why I reminded him of her. That’s why he’d

always been so gentle with me. Patient. Protective

Before I could stop myself, my feet moved. I crossed the space between us and wrapped my arms

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Chapter 45 What We Hide

around him-a quiet, wordless embrace.

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A small gesture, but I hoped it might ease even a sliver of the weight he carried. The pain he hides behind his sunny disposition and effortless smile.

He stiffened for just a moment, then exhaled slowly and rested a hand-lightly, almost hesitantly- on my back.

I held Evander for a moment longer, until the sound of Kierygan’s chair scraping back broke the

silence. I heard his boots echo across the floor-steady, deliberate.

But then he paused. “You should not have kept this from me, Evander,” he said, his voice low,

edged with quiet reproach.

I stepped back, letting my arms fall to my sides just as Kierygan’s gaze met mine.

“Come on, Eirlys,” he said, his tone softer now. “You should rest before supper.”

I gave Evander a small nod before stepping away and following Kierygan.

Neither of us spoke as we moved through the corridors, climbed the stairs, and entered our wing. The silence between us wasn’t tense. It was just… full.

When we finally reached our doors his just across from mine-I reached for the handle. But before my fingers could touch the latch, his hand caught mine.

I froze.

The breath hitched in my lungs..

Slowly, I turned to look up at him.

His eyes-usually guarded and distant-were soft. Unusually so. As if something had slipped through the cracks in his armor without him meaning to let it.

“You did well today,” he said, his voice quiet. Steady. Almost… warm.

The sound of it settled deep in my chest, and before I could find the words to respond, he leaned down. His lips brushed my forehead.

A kiss-light, fleeting. But I felt it everywhere. It lingered in my skin, in the stillness, in the air

between us.

Then he stepped back, the space between us returning like a curtain drawn shut.

“I’ll see you later,” he said, already turning toward his chambers.

And just like that, he was gone.

And I couldn’t help but wonder… Maybe he’s just like Evander.

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Chapter 46 What We Hide

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Only instead of hiding behind smiles, Kierygan hides behind coldness, distance, and a silence so carefully constructed, no one dares to look beneath it.

MIRAEL

Mirael materialized at the center of her chamber, her form coalescing from a shimmer of illusion-

like smoke curling into shape.

The room-dim, silent, and thick with the scent of charred herbs-welcomed her without surprise.

She’d been slipping in and out for days, leaving no trace-ensuring her presence couldn’t be sensed, smelled, or tracked. Not by wolves, not by witches, not even by vampires. Especially not by

a dragon.

And it worked.

Well-except for that one time. Eirlys had sensed her. Mirael still didn’t know how. Or why.

Her boots made no sound against the stone floor as she crossed to the bed. Without hesitation,

she reached beneath the pillow and drew out the enchanted collar.

It gleamed in the candlelight-delicate in form, cruel in purpose.

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