The sudden stop came as a shock.

But for many, it was a welcome surprise.

Aside from buying them a few more seconds to breathe, the momentary reprieve had become particularly helpful for the likes of Lawrence and Renee Hale.

From the moment the children ran off to the entrance, they hadn’t stopped trying to get the magical orb in their son-in-law’s office to work.

Their worry for the children had already gone past reason and straight into desperation. Renee, in particular, had pushed herself further than she should have. Her fingers dug into her own arm, knuckles turning white as she used the sharp sting of pain to keep her mind from freezing under the pressure of dragon fear.

It was the only thing keeping her moving.

It shouldn’t have been necessary to begin with.

But the entire Ministry of Balance and Enforcement had been thrown into chaos. The mana in the vicinity had become unstable, distorted by the clash of two dragons. The barriers were still holding, but anything connected to the ministry’s internal mana network refused to work as they should.

Artifacts were being activated unnecessarily, while connections couldn’t be made because the leylines beneath the ministry were heavily disturbed.

And in that moment, Lawrence found himself wishing he wasn’t just human.

He had never been one to feel particularly slighted or less than for being born a human, but now, standing in a much safer place while the children fought outside, he felt it.

If he had any power, he could have been of more use. He could have stabilized the orb himself, forced a connection through the interference—done anything other than stand there, repeating the same thing over and over while hoping for a different outcome.

But he couldn’t.

And just as that helplessness reached its peak, just as the thought settled in that Young Lord Orien wouldn’t be able to last much longer—

The pressure suddenly disappeared.

"!!!"

Renee nearly stumbled forward. She had been pushing against the invisible force for so long that when it vanished, her body lurched from its own momentum.

She caught herself on the desk and moved immediately.

No hesitation.

She poured her mana into the orb, wrapping it around the unstable surface and forcing it to steady despite the interference.

Please.

Please work.

Beside her, Lawrence held his breath. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them looked away.

They watched the cloudy surface of the orb, waiting with bated breath.

The silence stretched.

It felt endless.

Then—

A voice crackled through.

"Hello?"

"...Dad?"

"!!!"

__

Back at the Nest, Riley had been this close to simply blowing up the entire place.

Normally, he was the voice of reason for their group, but right now?

Right now, all he could see was red. Black. And honestly, blue.

Because how was he supposed to stay calm when faced with all this?

Multiple pieces of evidence. Clear. Undeniable. All pointing to someone’s sheer selfishness and stupidity.

Yes.

Riley was angry.

But more than that, he was offended.

Because how could someone who was supposed to be clever be this oh so stupid?

For someone who managed to orchestrate all of this right in the middle of dragon territory, shouldn’t he have known better?

Did Chancellor Malrik—that idiot—honestly believe he would benefit from helping the Wyverns by trafficking dragonlings?

Granted, the sheer amount of dragon blood he had stored away made it obvious he’d planned to double-cross them from the start. While that realization eased Riley a little—knowing Malrik was scum no matter who he dealt with—it also made him furious.

Had he not learned anything after all those years?!

What was the point of being an educator if he couldn’t even use an iota of his brain to realize that he’d sooner end up dead than succeed against beings bold enough to fuck around with the primordial dragon’s body!

Phew!

Riley dragged in a breath.

Then another.

The black dragon had to keep breathing in and out while being calmed down by Kael, who was surprisingly the calmer one of the two.

Of course, the dragon lord was livid.

But after listening to Riley’s ongoing complaints and the very creative insults aimed at the Chancellor’s apparently nonexistent brain, Kael chose silence.

With his lips sealed, he simply reached out, keeping his twig from charging straight into the barrier.

But just as Kael was about to remind him why they hadn’t broken it down yet—

Riley, who had been extremely jumpy, suddenly stopped.

"Huh?"

He tilted his head, expression shifting from fury to confusion.

"What’s wrong?" Kael asked, already alert from how abruptly his mate had paused.

"...That’s odd," Riley muttered. "I think someone’s trying to reach me through the orb."

Kael raised a brow as the black dragon pulled out the magical orb he had spoken about earlier.

"Hello?"

The connection crackled.

"...Dad?"

The response came through unevenly, filled with static, but the panic in the voice was unmistakable.

"Son!"

Riley stiffened.

Behind him, the other members of the Dravaryn clan moved closer without being told, drawn in by the urgency alone.

None of them expected good news.

But they didn’t expect this either.

"Son! There’s a red dragon attacking the MBE!"

The image flickered, distorted, but Riley could still make out his parents’ expressions. Pale. Alarmed.

But as if that hadn’t been shocking enough, his father then followed up his report with, "Orien and Liam have gone to hold off the dragon!"

"!!!"

"WHAT?!"

It was basically a chorus of shock and disbelief, but it did more than enough to call upon the power of the Dravaryns before his dad could even utter the word "help."

The newly delivered news was the most absurd thing they’d heard since discovering the Chancellor’s misdeeds, but who would’ve known that their day was just getting started?

For when they arrived at the scene—

Riley Hale Dravaryn, the last remaining member of the Iltheran clan, just stopped giving a fuck about appearances.

Because at that point, there was only one clear thought left in his mind.

Someone was going to die today.