Page 83 of Dragon Blood
Next, Keone encased his hand in the thick layer of shadow magic before removing the barrier to the hidden cavity in the dais. He glanced at Kai from the corner of his eye as his hand slid over the dragon and tiger carving.
Something about that glance sent a tingle of foreboding up Kai’s nape. When he looked at the others in the room, their eyes were glued to him.
Shadows continued to swirl over the cavity, buffering the space as Keone reached inside.
Dark, glittering shadows writhed around his father’s hand as he withdrew it from the dais.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath,
The instant Keone released the shadows, revealing a shining object nestled within his palm, power, pure and fierce, trilled through Kai, making his body go as rigid as a drawn bowstring.
His muscles strained against the vibration charging the particles in his blood, usually dormant, infusing and waking his sleeping dragon deep within. Breathless, he fought for control as his body sought to expand in the restricted space of the temple. Power, like nothing he’d ever experienced before, surged, enticing his scales to erupt from his skin, sending his dragon senses into overload, coiling him with the need to allow his dragon instincts free rein.
Free rein to dominate this place, these other beings, to rise and crush, tear with deadly tooth and claw.
Keone’s rising song filled the temple, his shadows growing, reminding some small part of Kai of his training. His control.
But both aspects wanted control, and a dragon was so much stronger than a tiger when awakened, tasting freedom from its suppression, released by the song of the star stone revealed to him.
It sang to him, louder and clearer than his father’s shadow song.
Kai’s gaze locked on the stone in Keone’s hand and the Aeleftherian seal in Astred’s.
His heart jack hammered against his chest as the roaring rush of blood through his system filled his ears.
I can take both. Right now. And no one could stop me. I would be king of all dragons, with direct control of the Dragon Mother.
He was acutely aware of the intensity of the others beside him. Watchful, ready to spring into action. His senses told him everything they felt.
No one else seemed affected by the amulet in his father’s hand.
Just Kai.
Astred’s scent, her unique fragrance, broke through everything else, overloading his senses.
As his body shook with strain, his eyes met hers.
Astred stood so still, she barely breathed. Unshed tears gleamed in her beautiful eyes as she waited for him to find the thread that linked their hearts buried under the overwhelming power urging him to claim everything around him.
Holding her gaze, that gold thread hummed through the shadows and through the blinding power, incrementally granting him relief.
Kai gasped, gaze swinging to Dai Zen, then to Bayn. His king, his family.
He met his father’s worried eyes; despite his controlled expression, his shamanic shadow magic swirled through the room, providing a layer of protection.
He’s protecting them from me. From what I might do.
His magic would draw their corporeal forms into the shadow realm should Kai lose control and attack them physically.
Holding Astred’s gaze, Kai fought through the stone’s power for his own shadow essence. Once he had enough control over the dragon, he extended his hand as he formed his own swirling cloud of glittering shadow.
This washistest.
Placing his palm over his father’s, he muted the stone’s power, shaking and gasping.
Keone turned their palms so that the cold star stone fell into Kai’s palm.
He gripped it tight, clinging to the shadow magic flowing from his tiger soul to his fist.
