The Dragon Kings' Forbidden Witch
Chapter 29: They’re Circling You. Faster Than I Expected

Chapter 29: They’re Circling You. Faster Than I Expected

When she finally reached the entrance, she pushed through the vines and stumbled inside.

"Atheris," she gasped, her voice echoing in the darkness.

The cave was silent.

Then....

A rumble.

Deep. Resonant.

"Little spark."

His voice rolled through the cavern like distant thunder, and Morgana nearly sobbed with relief.

She moved deeper into the cave, and the familiar glow of his golden eyes appeared in the darkness.

Atheris lay coiled in the center of the cavern, his massive form still and watchful. But there was something different in his gaze tonight.

Something sharper.

"You should not be here," he said quietly.

Morgana stopped. "What?"

"It is not safe for you to come here anymore."

Her chest tightened. "Why? What’s wrong?"

Atheris’s eyes gleamed in the darkness. "You tell me."

Morgana sank onto her usual stone, her hands trembling. "I don’t know where to start."

"Start at the beginning."

So she did.

She told him everything.

About the banquet. About Draeven staring at her. About Lady Isolde’s threat. About Kaelen summoning her to his chambers, about the way he’d touched her, about Draeven interrupting.

About the conversation she’d overheard.

The curse. The prophecy. The Mother of Dragons.

By the time she finished, her voice was shaking.

Atheris was silent for a long moment.

Then he spoke, his voice low and grave.

"They’re circling you, little spark."

Morgana looked up. "What?"

"The kings." His golden eyes burned in the darkness. "They’re circling you. Faster than I expected."

"I don’t understand. Why? I’m just a servant. I’m nobody."

"Are you?"

The question hung in the air between them.

Morgana’s throat tightened. "What does that mean?"

Atheris shifted, his chains clinking softly. "It means you are drawing their attention in ways you do not yet understand. And that makes you dangerous."

"To who?"

"To yourself." His voice was firm. "And to them."

Morgana stood, frustration and fear warring in her chest. "Then what do I do? How do I make them stop looking at me?"

"You can’t." Atheris’s gaze was steady. "The die is already cast, little spark. You cannot undo what has been set in motion."

"That’s not helpful."

"No. But it is the truth."

Morgana wrapped her arms around herself, fighting the urge to scream. "The guard saw me. The one outside the council chamber. He knows I was listening. What if he tells someone? What if they come for me?"

"Then you run."

"Where? I have nowhere to go."

"You come here." Atheris’s voice was firm. "If you are ever in true danger, you come to me. Do you understand?"

Morgana nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

Atheris lowered his massive head until it was level with hers. "But you must be more careful, child. You are playing a game you do not yet understand, and the stakes are higher than you know."

"I’m not playing anything," Morgana whispered. "I’m just trying to survive."

"I know." His voice softened. "But survival is not always enough."

Morgana sank back onto the stone, her hands covering her face. "I’m so tired, Atheris. I’m tired of being afraid. Tired of hiding. Tired of not understanding what’s happening to me."

"Then let me teach you."

She looked up. "What?"

"Your magic." Atheris’s eyes gleamed. "You said you barely have control. That it slips when you are afraid, when you are angry. That will not do. Not where you are now."

"You’ve already taught me...."

"I taught you the basics. How to call it. How to release it." He shifted, his body uncoiling slightly. "But I have not taught you how to hide it. Not truly. Not in a way that will protect you."

Morgana’s pulse quickened. "Can you do that?"

"I can try."

He gestured with one massive claw toward the center of the cavern. "Stand."

Morgana obeyed, moving into the open space.

"Close your eyes," Atheris said. "Feel the fire inside you. Not the flame itself, but the heat. The warmth. The ember that never goes out."

Morgana closed her eyes and focused.

She could feel it, the constant burn in her chest, the thing that had been with her since birth.

"Good," Atheris rumbled. "Now imagine it shrinking. Not extinguishing....never that. But condensing. Pulling inward. Becoming smaller, tighter, denser."

Morgana focused, willing the heat to compress.

It fought her.

The fire didn’t want to be contained. It wanted to burn.

"Do not fight it," Atheris said quietly. "Coax it. Persuade it. Tell it that this is not suppression. This is protection."

Morgana tried again.

Slowly....so slowly, the heat began to pull inward.

Smaller.

Tighter.

Until it was a single point of warmth in her chest, barely noticeable.

"Good," Atheris said. "Now hold it there. No matter what happens. No matter what you feel. Hold it."

Morgana nodded, her eyes still closed.

And then....

Heat.

Sudden and overwhelming, flooding through her body.

Her eyes snapped open.

Atheris had released a wave of his own fire....not flames, but heat, rolling through the cavern like a physical force.

Morgana gasped, her instinct screaming at her to release her magic, to fight back, to....

"Hold it," Atheris commanded.

She gritted her teeth and focused.

The ember stayed small.

Compressed.

Hidden.

Even as the heat washed over her, even as her body screamed to react, the fire inside her stayed contained.

The wave passed.

Morgana collapsed to her knees, gasping.

"Well done," Atheris said quietly. "That is how you survive. Not by extinguishing your fire, but by keeping it hidden until you need it."

Morgana looked up at him, her chest heaving. "How long do I have to practice this?"

"Every day. Every moment." His gaze was steady. "Until it becomes as natural as breathing."

She nodded, exhaustion settling into her bones.

Atheris lowered his head again, his voice softer now. "You are stronger than you know, little spark. But strength alone will not save you."

"Then what will?"

He was silent for a long moment.

Then he spoke, his voice heavy with something Morgana couldn’t name.

"When the time comes," he said quietly, "you will have to choose."

Morgana frowned. "Choose what?"

"Between what you want and what you are meant to be." His golden eyes burned in the darkness. "And the choice will break you."