LOGINRebecca had not let go of Oscar's arm since they left the hospital. She kept asking the entire ride home, "Bro, are you really okay?" What she did not know was that a tiny dragon, hidden beneath the sleeve on his other arm, was making one deeply unimpressed face after another.'Oh, brother, this is so sweet it hurts,' Freya thought. 'So this is what Oscar likes. Disgusting. A scheming little thing like her is never setting foot in our family home.'Freya simmered in silence. Not that it mattered. Even if she opened her mouth, all that came out was a series of bright little yips.And Celeste was sitting right there.To keep things simple, she settled for lightly dragging a claw along the side of Oscar's neck whenever Rebecca said something especially sugary.'Don't fall for it.'Celeste watched him closely. "Mr. Stone, are you certain your body can handle this? Some of the people coming to see you may be polite on the surface, but not all of them are straightforward."Oscar had
Amara did not knock. She pushed Lucius' door open and walked inside.Lucius stood by the window with both hands gripping the security grille, straining against it like a man who had seriously considered climbing out to escape.He had been at it for quite some time. The grille had not budged.He released it, turned around, and immediately tensed when he realized someone had entered the room.Amara raised a hand. "Don't stop on my account."He looked past her and saw Hugh and another bodyguard standing behind her.'Who is she?' Lucius wondered.Hugh was his personal guard. The man did not show deference to just anyone.Lucius spread his arms and laughed, masking his embarrassment as best he could. "Just getting some exercise. Staying cooped up in a room this long gets boring."Amara flicked her wrist. Hugh and his colleague withdrew without a word and quietly shut the door behind them.She crossed the room, sat on the sofa without waiting for an invitation, and crossed her legs
While Oscar was still in the hospital, Amara walked into a hotel.The entire building had been bought out by Lucius.Hugh frowned at the hotel staff standing before him. "Amara? She wants to see the Archon?"What could she possibly want with him?"Yes. Miss Amara says she can arrange an introduction to Mr. Oscar."Hugh let out a laugh. "She'll arrange an introduction? Does she think I don't know who she is? She's one of the people who threw Oscar out of the Chamberlain family."Their purpose in Silverton was simple. The Observer was preparing to return. Once that happened, the Archon's role would be complete. Lucius' body would become the vessel for the Observer's homecoming.But he was not ready yet. To bear the weight of the Observer's accumulated consciousness, the vessel required the body of a grandmaster.Lucius trained with unwavering discipline, but reaching the grandmaster level was not something hard work alone could achieve. It demanded time, a particular kind of unde
Oscar hesitated before he finally asked, "Do you know me?"Freya started to nod, then caught herself and shook her head instead. If she were still Freya, she would have nodded. But looking like this?"Where did you come from?" Oscar pressed.She stared back at him with wide, unblinking eyes and said nothing.After all, what could anyone read from a dragon's eyes? If Oscar could figure it out, she would let him.Oscar studied her for a moment, then let the question drop and fell into thought. He needed to keep this dragon close. Whatever she was doing was suppressing the transformation in his arm.The explanation made sense. Among dragons, the hierarchy was absolute.A lower-ranking dragon instinctively submitted in the presence of a higher-ranking one. It had no choice.The corrupted dragon force inside him belonged to the lowest tier. Obsidian Dragons ranked beneath every true dragon bloodline. Only the original progenitor of their kind stood on equal footing with the pure blo
When Oscar realized he was on the verge of becoming something monstrous, he did not hesitate.His palm shot toward his own forehead. The Draconox Order existed to destroy the darkness and evil in the world. He refused to become the very thing it was meant to eradicate.Before his hand could strike, something dropped from the ceiling with a heavy thud. It moved fast and urgently, as though it could not wait another second.It landed on his arm. Pain flared where it struck. Then the corruption inside him simply stopped.The force tearing through his body retreated the way ice yields to heat. Not gradually, but all at once.The transformation reversed. His arm returned to normal."What..."He looked down. A small yellow dragon sat on his forearm.Freya stood on his arm, letting out a high-pitched, distressed cry as her eyes shimmered with worry.Oscar frowned. "A little dragon?" He had been to the Dragon Abyss. He had seen dragons. Every one of them was enormous enough to blot
It was the kind of disappointment that came from watching someone throw away a promising future for something insignificant.However, Oscar had never regretted it. He had gone to that place for the Chamberlain family's sake. Everything he had done had been for them.And then they threw him out.Every good memory he treasured revolved around that family. They had reached in and shattered every one of them with their own hands.'I'm sorry, Father. I never wanted to treat them the way I did.'He did not notice when the tears began to fall. There was still so much left undone. His father's body had never been recovered.He still did not know whether Arthur was alive or dead. And he had no idea how the sisters were getting by.He had stopped himself from looking because he was afraid of what he might discover. Afraid that if he learned they were suffering, he would not be able to hold the line.He had never wanted to do what he did to them. But people did not always have a choice. W
"Shouldn't you be showing Amara some respect?" Clara said.Oscar smiled.Clara couldn't tell what the smile meant."Miss Amara, do you feel the same way?" he asked.Amara swept her gaze over the people standing behind Oscar. She recognized several faces among them. They weren't people she could
Joshua had never seen Stanley before. He had no idea who he was. But a man who stepped forward at a moment like this was either a fool or someone backed by enough power to make him untouchable.Joshua couldn't afford to make the wrong guess. "And you are? We're handling a matter between students an
Rain streamed down Oscar's face and soaked through his clothes, but he felt none of it.For years, he had given the Chamberlain family everything.Amara's Chamberlain Group would never have risen to the top of Silverton without him supplying her with intelligence day after day, placing winning str
"Mr. Chamberlain, I'm sorry." The doctor slid the lab report across the desk. "Brain cancer. Late stage."Oscar Chamberlain stared at the doctor for several seconds, then lowered his gaze to the two words on the page. The paper was still warm from the printer. The sharp, chemical smell of ink hit h