Well, if anything, Riley distinctly remembered finding it interesting that Orryn immediately jumped to that conclusion rather than suspecting any sort of cheating.

For humans, after encountering something that bizarre, cheating would probably be among the first assumptions many would arrive at.

But perhaps it had a lot to do with the fact that draconic relationships simply didn’t work that way.

Once bound to a fated mate and with an active bond in place, engaging in that sort of illicit affair was apparently close to impossible unless someone was eager enough to subject themselves to unimaginable pain, as well as intense physical and mental rejection.

But after hearing those words back then, Riley clearly remembered glancing toward his extremely golden mate.

Which immediately earned him a deeply questioning look in return.

The black dragon honestly found that reaction rather amusing because while Kael couldn’t exactly read his mind, the dragon lord could probably tell that Riley had suddenly found something very entertaining.

At the same time, however, Kael also looked like he was wondering what any of that had to do with him when he’d been sitting there quietly and obediently the entire time.

Pfft!

Sure enough, like nephew, like uncle.

Both of them were cute.

Though hopefully, both of them would also turn out as loyal as this currently confused patient was.

Still, there really wasn’t much room for teasing.

The red dragon had only just regained consciousness, and judging by his condition, even the gentlest attempt at lightening the mood might actually kill him.

So in the end, they decided to simply explain what had happened to the children instead.

Orryn, who still lay weakly on the hospital bed, looked deeply confused and sore most of the time. However, that didn’t stop him from finally having the long-overdue conversation about something as important as his family.

But who would’ve thought that after hearing the explanation, he would only blink at them in disbelief, looking even more baffled than before?

Interestingly, even amidst all that confusion, the red dragon couldn’t keep his eyes off the sleeping golden-haired child.

After so many years, he was finally right there beside him.

But had he really missed that much while he was gone?

"Wait," Orryn said slowly, sounding like he was trying to force his fractured thoughts into order. "Let me see if I understood this correctly."

"So my memories were right. There’s really only one son."

"But you’re saying that my child with Ilyss developed Aspect Saturation?"

"And because of that, he had to be left behind while my mate searched for me..."

Just mentioning Ilyss made his chest throb.

Riley saw the way Orryn’s posture tightened afterward. But at the same time, there was also this desperate relief hidden beneath it all.

Because the fact that he still hadn’t lost his mind or been completely consumed by grief could only mean one thing.

Ilyss was most definitely alive, too.

She had spent all this time searching for him.

And now...

It was finally his turn to search for her.

The red dragon took a slow breath before shifting his attention toward the extremely unusual being who had introduced himself earlier as Riley Hale Dravaryn.

Honestly, Orryn looked thoroughly baffled by everything regarding Riley.

But considering how deeply indebted he currently was to this man, alongside the fact that he carried the surname of the Dravaryns, Orryn seemingly decided to shove all his questions aside for now.

Riley, seated beside the hospital bed, nodded calmly.

"Yes. That’s correct," he confirmed. "And as you probably already realized, what ended up left behind was the fragment associated with the golden dragon instead of the red dragon."

"No. That’s fine," Orryn replied almost immediately. "Actually, that’s good."

"If there’d been a choice regarding which clan the child would belong to, even I would’ve chosen the golden dragons. Honestly, any clan but the red dragon clan."

"With what those people are capable of doing..."

His expression twisted into visible disgust.

"I wouldn’t want any child associated with that bunch."

The red dragon fell silent afterward, his gaze drifting back toward the children.

Then his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"But this child..." Orryn muttered slowly, looking specifically toward Liam. "I can distinctly feel the familiar mana of a red dragon from him."

"You’re saying he became like this because he absorbed the red dragon aspect of Orien’s dragon heart?"

He sounded genuinely hesitant while saying it aloud. Confused too.

And that was actually understandable.

Because even with fragmented memories, inherited instincts, and incomplete recollections returning to him, Orryn still knew enough to realize that such a thing was absolutely abnormal.

Before recovering his memories, perhaps he would’ve simply accepted the explanation at face value.

But now?

Now he understood enough to know this wasn’t something that should’ve been possible.

"Just like you, we’re baffled by it," Riley admitted honestly. "Though to be fair, a lot of it happened because the children had absolutely no idea what they were literally playing with. And for that, we adults were to blame."

"Orien didn’t even know it was a fragment of his heart when he gave it to my baby brother as a gift."

Orryn actually pursed his lips at that.

Because somehow, the situation sounded both horrifying and absurdly funny at the same time.

Clearly, their child was so much like his mother.

Eventually, the red dragon looked back toward the children again before asking quietly,

"But are they alright?"

"With him absorbing something like that...what’s supposed to happen now?"

His expression grew increasingly complicated.

"Would he actually grow up as a red dragon?"

The moment those questions left his mouth, Orryn immediately noticed the way both Riley and the others stared at him.

As though he were somehow supposed to know the answer himself.

Then realization slowly dawned on him.

"...If he managed to unseal me," Orryn muttered carefully, "then is it because he’s already becoming one?"

Silence followed.

A heavy kind of silence that no one seemed eager to break.

Well, no one except Kael.

The golden dragon lord, who had been seated quietly beside Riley all this time, finally spoke.

"You’ve been gone for a long while," Kael stated evenly. "You can probably already tell, but regardless, I’m the dragon lord now."

Orryn straightened slightly at that revelation.

Then Kael continued.

"And I’m telling you this because if this child eventually turns into a red dragon..."

The dragon lord’s voice remained calm. Firm. Absolute.

"...then I’m going to have to clean out the problematic red dragon clan."

The room instantly turned still.

"So if you still have lingering attachments to them," Kael finished coldly, "I advise you to get rid of it."

"!!!"

__

Now that was news even to Riley.

Of course, they’d discussed cleaning out the likely backstabbers before eventually dealing with the much bigger problems lurking behind everything.

But the black dragon genuinely hadn’t realized that his mate had already been considering Liam’s future while thinking about all of this.

Because honestly, Riley’s own plan had been much simpler.

Fight tooth and nail to keep Liam with him.

And if they had to hide identities, fake records, disappear into obscurity, or outright commit all sorts of fraud for the sake of survival, then so be it.

But who would’ve thought that his extremely golden mate had already considered something like this instead?

Kael had probably been born handsome in a way that surpassed all logic and fairness, but after hearing those words, Riley genuinely felt the man ascend to another level entirely.

Honestly, if Kael suddenly asked him for descendants right now, Riley wasn’t entirely sure he’d possess enough self-control to refuse.

Because seriously.

Who wouldn’t be touched by that?!

Ahem.

Thankfully, Orryn was not someone suffering from a terminal attraction toward the dragon lord and therefore remained capable of rational thought.

The red dragon could only stare in awe at the way Kael delivered those words.

Not like a threat.

Not like a warning.

But like an inevitable fact.

"I don’t," Orryn finally said quietly.

"Unless vengeance counts as attachment."

His expression darkened slightly afterward.

"If anything, I’d be grateful if I could help with exactly that."

"They went after my parents. Then my mate. Then my child."

His voice tightened with restrained fury.

"I could’ve accepted it if they stopped at targeting me."

"But even now...they still won’t stop."

Orryn looked directly toward Kael and Riley afterward, sincerity and determination clear in his exhausted eyes.

"If there’s anything I can do," he said firmly, "please just let me know."

For a brief moment, the atmosphere in the room turned serious.

Then Kael completely destroyed it.

"Say that once you can actually walk," the dragon lord replied flatly. "Until then, focus on staying alive."

"As for your account regarding what truly happened before you were taken, save it for tomorrow."

Kael’s golden eyes briefly shifted toward the sleeping children nearby.

"These two probably wouldn’t appreciate the patient they worked so hard on dying from stress immediately afterward."

Next to him, Riley quietly covered his face with one hand.

Still very much the Kael he’d always known.

But in reality, to Orryn, who still remembered the things Ilyss once said about Kael Dravaryn, the future dragon lord...

Those words honestly sounded rather kind.

And even in his current condition, he had surely begun to hope for a better tomorrow.