The cold wind stirred. The elder stood motionless, his robes fluttering slightly. His icy-blue eyes locked onto Dracos and Nox with an unreadable calm that was almost unsettling.
Nox exhaled sharply, struggling to keep his expression from twisting in frustration. Was his luck that terrible? Or could it be that the universe didn't want him to succeed in his plan?
They had gone through all that effort—risking luring a Scourge Champion away from the city, nearly getting themselves killed—only for this stubborn old frost dragon to catch up anyway.
It was quite infuriating.
Beside him, Dracos remained perfectly still, but Nox could feel it—the tightness in the monarch's stance, the faint shift in his fingers.
Frustration. Real, simmering frustration.
"How persistent," Dracos muttered under his breath, the words meant for Nox alone.
Nox didn't respond. His mind was already working through possible plans, and at that moment, the elder stepped forward, his boots crunching softly against the snow.
"You two seem awfully busy for people who are just 'assessing the situation,'" the elder said, voice calm, even strangely pleasant.
Neither Nox nor Dracos answered immediately.
The ravine behind them still steamed faintly from the collapse. Down below, faint roars echoed from the depths, but the Scourge beast was too far to be a threat for now.
Still, the elder's timing couldn't have been worse.
And his words made it clear—
The chase. The trap. The collapse.
If the elder reported this back to the Court, it would raise too many questions. About the Scourge beast. About why Dracos and Nox were working together so closely. About why Nox had spirit summons in the first place.
Nothing good could come from it.
"Explain," the elder said simply, folding his hands behind his back. His eyes gleamed with quiet pressure.
Nox kept his expression neutral. It was Dracos who spoke first.
"We assessed," he said bluntly. "We saw an opportunity. We acted."
"A dangerous risk," the elder said, raising a brow. "What if you had failed? What if the Alpha itself appeared?"
Dracos tilted his head slightly. "We would have handled it."
Nox almost smiled. Arrogant. Cold. Pure Dracos.
The elder didn't seem impressed. He stepped closer again, closing the distance between them.
"And what of your companion?" he asked, looking at Nox now. "Does he also share your recklessness?"
Nox met the elder's gaze without flinching. "Something like that."
Nox didn't need to be told how reckless he was. After all, he had constantly heard it from someone who was very far from this continent.
The three stood there, the frozen forest around them eerily quiet except for the distant echoes of the trapped Scourge beast. The mist from the freezing ground curled lazily through the air.
The elder's gaze sharpened.
"I must admit," he said, "I am curious about the magic you wielded earlier in the Kingdom competition."
The real reason he was still standing here.
Nox said nothing. Dracos, too, remained silent.
The elder studied them both, then shook his head faintly.
"You may not realize it," he said slowly, "but the Court already has eyes on you, Kawl Frostpire." He then turned to Dracos.
Dracos raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"
"A fact," the elder replied simply.
"So why are you here?" Nox asked. "What do you want?"
The elder smiled faintly. "Me? Nothing much. I'm just keeping an eye on you so that you won't run away after everything settles down."
Nox said nothing. Then he exhaled softly and muttered under his breath loud enough for the elder dragon to hear.
Nox stared at the elder.
He thought about the Supreme Court. About their plans to bargain with the Scourge. About how they wanted to leash the realm with fear.
He thought about the Monarchs.
And he thought about himself.
That was the title he wanted.
And to be honest, for a while now Nox knew that he might go against the Supreme Court after hearing their role in the dragon realm.
Even the other Monarchs, and their army of dragons.
He knew if the other monarchs found out about this, they might gang up against him, as dragons were known to be extremely prideful creatures.
But he never knew things would escalate this early.
"I guess this was inevitable from the start. How unfortunate."
The elder frowned, confused at Nox's words.
Dracos's eyes flashed coldly, but he said nothing. Still, it was clear enough that he understood what was about to happen.
It took a while, but even the elder dragon came to understand Nox's intention.
His ice-blue eyes were sharper now, no longer hiding behind a neutral smile.
"You thought it would be that easy to take down a Legendary Tier dragon?" he said, voice calm, almost amused.
"The truth is clear," he said. "The Court suspected it the moment the reports came in. But now I've seen it with my own eyes."
He already knew where this was going.
The elder's next words came cold and deliberate:
The words cut through the cold air sharper than any blade.
Nox narrowed his eyes but didn't respond. He didn't need to.
The elder continued, stepping closer now, his breath misting in the cold.
"That overwhelming ice control. Unnatural growth speed. Hiding behind the Frostpire name won't protect you anymore."
His gaze flicked briefly to Dracos.
"And you," the elder added with a slight tilt of his head, "you knew. You've known from the beginning."
Dracos remained still, arms folded, expression unreadable.
The elder looked back to Nox.
"I should kill you now," the elder said softly. "It would be easier."
The words weren't a threat but a cold statement of fact.
"But," the elder added after a short pause, "I still serve the Court. And the Court demands answers. It demands control. You'll come back with me—quietly. No resistance."
He said it like an order. A simple command, as if Nox's choice no longer mattered.
Nox's fingers twitched slightly at his side.
Dracos still hadn't spoken.
The elder stepped closer again, now standing only a few feet away.
"You come with me," the elder said, his voice calm but firm. "You'll be judged properly. Interrogated. Studied. If you cooperate, perhaps... you'll be allowed to live."
He smiled slightly, as if it was a generous offer.
He felt the building tension in the air like a loaded crossbow.
It made Nox uneasy, as Dracos had clearly said he would protect him.
Nox shifted his weight slightly, ready to take matters into his own hands. He wasn't the type to depend on anyone.
"Don't make this difficult," he said. "You may be strong, Kawl Frostpire, but you're not strong enough. I'm a Legendary Tier dragon, if you forgot."
His gaze shifted briefly to Dracos again.
"And if you think your patron can shield you from the Court's will... you are mistaken."
The frozen trees seemed to lean inward.
The mist curled heavier at their feet.
Still, Dracos remained silent.
Dracos, the frost Mornach, finally moved.