There were quite a few things in life that no sensible person would ever want to see.
Say, for example, a wounded innocent child, or any child for that matter.
It honestly didn't matter if they'd been naughty, nice, or the reason behind someone's rising blood pressure. None of that mattered. The point was simple.
Children weren't supposed to be hurt.
Period.
And yet… someone who had spent enough time around children—long enough to ideally know better—still dared to do something like this.
In broad daylight, no less.
And so, to the utter shock of Riley and the rest of the Dravaryns, when they arrived after leaving Thyrran behind to monitor the Nest, what greeted them… was a bloodied Orien.
__
The air inside the dragon lord's office hadn't even settled from Kael's arrival.
They had just forced their way back through a port he'd ripped open without hesitation, and Riley's heart dropped the moment he saw his parents on the floor.
For a split second, nothing else mattered.
