Chapter 4
Serena's POV
Good. Let them suffer. Nothing makes me happier.
Austin spoils me to a ridiculous degree. He handles every meal, every little thing I need, and even hates seeing me walk, so inside the keep, he's carrying me everywhere he goes.
This afternoon, he carries me down to the Ancestral Spring, buried deep in black dragon territory. It's forbidden ground, the one place in black dragon territory no one's allowed to touch. The water glows a deep, dark gold, and I can feel the raw power radiating off it, huge and pure.
"Serena, get in and soak for a while. This water strengthens your core, makes your power more stable." Austin sets me down gently at the edge and carefully helps me out of my heavy robe.
I step into the water and warm, powerful energy wraps around me instantly. My nine tails spread out across the surface. I can feel my power climbing, fast, in a way that doesn't even feel real.
I lean against the edge of the spring, watching Austin sit on the bank, focused, grilling a steak for me, and I can't help but feel it, this quiet kind of amazement.
Back in my last life, I nearly died a dozen times in that cursed forest just hunting down a single drop of some potion that might strengthen Rein. Now, in this life, I don't have to lift a finger. The best of everything just finds its way to me.
"Austin, you're letting me use something this sacred. Won't the elders have something to say about it?" I take a bite of the steak he's holding out for me, talking around the food.
Austin brushes the sauce off the corner of my mouth with his thumb. "This is my territory. I make the calls here. Anyone's got a problem with it, I'll rip their tongue out. Eat more, you're too thin."
While I'm out here enjoying myself, things aren't going nearly as well for Lilith. Word has it Rein's power still won't budge, and he's threatening to break the bond with her over it. Desperate, she sneaks off to the black market and pays a fortune for a vial of the Forbidden Serum from some goblin dealer.
That drug has a nasty reputation across the whole continent. It rips through the user's life force in a short burst, faking a massive surge in power. But once it wears off, the damage to the core is permanent. Sometimes the core just gives out completely, and the person goes with it.
Forcing something that violent into his system, I wonder if Rein's pathetic body can even handle it.
I can't wait for tomorrow's hunt.
"What are you smiling about?" Austin catches the shift in my mood, sets down the skewer, leans in, and presses a soft kiss to my nose.
I reach up with my wet arms, loop them around his neck, and pull him closer. "Austin, tomorrow's the hunting festival in the Wildwood. Want to go check it out with everyone else?"
Austin's gaze drops to my collarbone, still dripping, and his throat works hard.
"Sure. Whatever you want." His voice comes out rough, and he scoops me straight out of the water, wrapping me tight in a thick, dry towel. "But right now, you owe me something first."
He leans down and kisses me, swallowing whatever sound I was about to make.
The Wildwood sits at the heart of the continent, ancient trees so tall they block out the sky.
Today's the Golden Lions' royal hunting festival, and nobles from every clan show up on their enchanted mounts, gathering at the edge of camp outside the forest.
Austin and I arrive by carriage, and every head turns the second we step out. He's wearing light armor in a dark gold today, his face carved and expressionless, radiating enough menace that no one dares come near. He keeps me pulled tight against him, shielding me from even the wind.
"Look, it's Prince Rein and Lady Lilith!"
Not far off, Rein rides in on a massive golden gryphon, making sure everyone notices. Lilith sits behind him, cheeks flushed.
Something's off about Rein today.
His power keeps spiking wildly, and there's this faint, violent edge to it, almost like the smell of blood. His gold eyes are shot through with red, and he looks wound way too tight.
I know exactly what that means. Lilith gave him the serum.
Rein sweeps his gaze over the crowd, and when it lands on me and Austin, he lets out a cold snort.
"Everyone!" Rein draws his sword and points it into the trees. "Today, I'm taking down the two-headed venom dragon hiding in there myself. I want the whole continent to know, with Lilith's blessing behind me, I'm the true Beast King!"
The crowd cheers, though most of them just want to watch the show. A two-headed venom dragon is no joke, dangerous enough that even sacred-tier mages tend to steer clear.
The hunt kicks off. Rein takes the lead, driving his gryphon straight into the trees. Lilith calls after him, "You've got this, Rein!"
Austin doesn't seem worried at all. He pulls a folding chair out of his storage ring, unhurried, sets me up in the shade, then hands me a plate of peeled grapes.
"Aren't we hunting too?" I ask.
"Not worth you laying eyes on it." Austin says it flatly, eyes on the trees. "Besides, our idiot's about to get exactly what's coming to him."
Sure enough, less than an hour later, a deafening roar tears out of the forest, followed by the sound of magic exploding, wild and violent.
"Help! Someone help me!"
Screaming, panicked, Rein comes stumbling out of the trees in a full-blown mess.
