The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Bloodlust and Broken Hearts

EIRLYS’ POV

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I was still half-dazed by everything that had happened-and everything still unfolding tonight. So I simply let his hand on my back guide me, pulling me closer until there was no distance left

between us.

Since we entered the ballroom, I hadn’t left his side. Not that he would have let me.

But then I felt arms wrap around me from the side.

“Look at you,” Solara said, her voice bright with pride.

I turned, my breath catching in relief and happiness at the sight of her. She pulled back just enough to look me up and down, her eyes dancing with approval.

“You’re doing so well tonight,” she said warmly.

A smile broke across my lips before I could stop it. “Thank you. Truly. I… I couldn’t have done this

without you.”

She waved a hand dismissively, though her grin softened. “You caught on quick,” she said, then glanced past me with a knowing tilt of her head. “Now, go back to the king. He’s already looked this way three times.”

She squeezed my hands once more before waving me off again. I turned to head back to Kierygan’s side, but something at the edge of my vision caught my attention.

I blinked.

No… that couldn’t be right.

But there he was, weaving between the hems of dresses and polished boots.

“Nibbles?” I whispered. “What are you doing here?”

My heart stumbled over itself as I watched him hop determinedly through the crowd, ears twitching, nose quivering with each step.

Did he escape and follow me here?

But no… I had locked his cage securely. Emma and Grace promised they would check on him and

feed him tonight.

I glanced quickly at Kierygan, who was deep in conversation with a cluster of guests, his broad

back turned.

Without thinking, I slipped away from the ballroom and followed Nibbles as he hopped through an

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open door and disappeared into the shadows beyond.

My bare feet touched the ground as I hurried after him, calling his name in a hushed, trembling

voice.

“Nibbles… wait. Where are you going?”

But he didn’t stop.

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Which was strange-because Nibbles was lazy. Clingy and soft and spoiled. He never ran from me. Never moved this fast. And he certainly never ventured this far.

Confusion twisted tight in my chest, followed by a thin thread of unease as I trailed him through the palace gardens, past manicured hedges and fountains glowing pale under the moonlight.

He crossed the boundary where the lantern lights ended, slipping into the shifting darkness beyond-into the forest’s waiting shadows.

“Nibbles!” I called, louder now, panic clawing at my throat.

I gathered up my skirts and stepped after him, branches scraping against gold silk, snagging at the

embroidered threads as I pushed deeper into the trees.

It was only when I stumbled into a small clearing that I realized he was gone.

I spun slowly, breath trembling. The moonlight spilled silver onto moss and roots around me, but

Nibbles was nowhere to be seen.

He… disappeared.

My heart began to pound. I didn’t recognize this part of the woods. Thick trunks rose around me like silent watchers, and the shadows between them felt too dark, too deep. Wrong.

Then, I heard footsteps.

Fast. Darting in and out of the silence. Too many for me to count, circling, weaving between trees so swiftly the movement blurred at the edges of my vision.

I turned in a slow panic, trying to keep up with the flickers of movement until, one by one, they emerged from the darkness. Five of them. All vampires.

I had seen them earlier tonight in the ballroom, standing near Prince Draven. Their fine clothes were torn in places, their hair unbound. But it was their eyes that made my blood chill.

Bloodshot. Wide and feral. Ravenous.

One of them inhaled sharply, a wicked smile curling his lips. “Do you smell that delicious scent?” he

rasped. “So sweet.”

Another stepped forward, gaze fixed hungrily on my throat. “I can’t wait to sink my teeth into those

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Chapter 50 Bloodlust and Broken Hearts

veins.”

Fear slammed into my chest. I stumbled back a step, Evander’s voice echoing in my mind-his

story of the bloodlust spell. Of how he lost control,

Are they cursed too?

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Light crackled across my skin in wild, sparking bursts. I raised my hands toward them, fighting to keep them steady. “Don’t come near me,” I warned, though my voice trembled despite my best efforts to sound strong. The glow pulsed brighter, illuminating their hungry, twisted faces.

“I… I’ll hurt you if I have to.”

They only laughed. Low, dark, mocking. Their fangs glinted in the moonlight as their movements

shifted-growing sharper, faster, predatory-as they began to close in around me.

One of them lunged forward. His cold fingers wrapped around my wrist before I could react.

A scream tore from my throat as light erupted from my skin, searing him with a blinding flash. He recoiled instantly, his hand smoking where my glow had burned him, and let out a shriek of pain.

But the others only laughed, a low, guttural sound that made my stomach twist.

“Feisty,” one of them drawled, baring his fangs. “But you’ll tire eventually. We’re patient.”

Another cocked his head, smiling darkly. “Don’t bother screaming for help. It’s pointless out here…

and it’ll just drain you faster.”

My chest heaved, the air growing cold and thin in my lungs. He was right-I could feel exhaustion dragging at my very bones. And they were patient. They could wait me out.

But I wasn’t going to give them that chance.

I swallowed down my fear and forced my glow to retreat beneath my skin. The darkness

swallowed me whole. The vampires paused, confused, their crimson eyes narrowing as the light disappeared from their prey.

“Giving up already?” one sneered. “So easily tired.”

Another chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry, little girl. We’ll make it quick.”

They moved in unison, their forms blurring with unnatural speed as they closed in around me. I closed my eyes, bracing myself. Waiting for their strike.

And when they did, I would burn them all.

I felt heat coiling beneath my skin, ready to crackle out in a violent burst. I hated this. Hated that I might hurt them. But I didn’t want to die tonight. Not here. Not like this.

They lunged.

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Chapter 50 Bloodlust and Broken Hearts

But the attack never came.

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Instead, the night exploded with snarls and the heavy thud of bodies slamming into trees. Grunts of pain cut through the dark, followed by the sharp, sickening crack of bone against earth.

“Eirlys,” Kierygan growled, his voice so deep it vibrated through my bones.

I opened my eyes and found his locked onto mine, blazing with such fierce intensity that something inside me nearly broke. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, tears spilling silently down my cheeks as my knees finally gave way beneath me.

Beside him stood Callum, Evander, Orryx, and Solara, all poised and ready, their faces set in grim focus.

“I need to let my father know about this,” Evander said tightly. “And get Ulyanna out here.”

He vanished in a blur. Within moments, he reappeared with King Lucius and Prince Draven at his side. Ulyanna apparated a heartbeat later, her robes billowing in the sudden rush of displaced air.

The vampires began to stir again, their eyes locked on me like feral animals. They lunged forward.

But Ulyanna’s hands flicked out with a sharp snap. Light exploded at her fingertips, and an invisible force slammed into them, pinning each vampire against a tree. Thick bands of violet magic wrapped around their torsos and wrists like iron chains.

They thrashed and hissed, fangs bared, but not one of them could move an inch.

King Lucius stepped closer, studying them with narrowed eyes. “Desmund,” he said sharply,

addressing the tallest vampire, whose fangs dripped with venom.

But Desmund only snarled in response, bloodshot eyes unfocused and wild. There was no recognition in his gaze-no hint of the polished advisor I remembered from the ballroom.

Lucius’ jaw tightened. “These are my advisors,” he murmured, almost to himself. “This… this isn’t

them. They would never act this way.”

“They’re under a bloodlust spell,” Evander said grimly. “I would know. I’ve been under it before.”

“Can you undo it?” Kierygan asked Ulyanna, his voice low as he helped me to my feet.

Ulyanna nodded, her expression darkening. “I can,” she said. “But it’s going to take time. Dark magic like this… it’s never simple to unravel.”

Ulyanna gestured for everyone to move aside. She stepped forward, lifting her hands, her sleeves

falling back to reveal the runic tattoos curling up her forearms. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her lips

parted to recite the incantation.

But before the first word could leave her mouth, a sound broke through the hush of the clearing-a

stumbling set of footsteps, heavy and dragging, crashing through undergrowth with clumsy force.

III

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Chapter 50 Blondlust and Broken Hearts

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