The big room at the Valerius house looked like it was once great but was now falling apart. Three huge glass lights hung high up. They shone a cold, blue light over the rich people of Oakhaven. The air was thick. It smelled strongly of jasmine and very costly spirit wine. Each glass of the wine cost more than a worker made in ten years of hard work in the spirit stone mines.
Under the fake smiles and the quiet sound of silver hitting plates, there was a feeling of trouble. In this city, your power came from how strong your own energy was. Tonight, the heavy feeling could have made a weak person faint.
Caspian stood in the darkest part of the room. His back was against a cold stone pillar. He was twenty five, but the tired lines on his face made him look much older. In his left hand, he held a silver tray with empty glasses. To the guests dressed in fine silks, he was unseen, like a part of the wall. People stepped around him. He was the "Dead Pulse," the man who married the best of the Valerius family, but only brought shame to their name.
Inside his chest, the Nine Dragon Lock hurt. It felt like a real weight. Nine energy chains wrapped around his heart and energy paths. They burned with a slow, painful heat. For one thousand days, the curse had been going away, one painful drop at a time.
Every insult, every hour he spent cleaning the floors while his relatives made fun of him, was a choice to give up his pride to live. He needed to be quiet. He needed to be unseen. Most of all, he needed to be near the Heavenly Frost Jade. It was the only thing cold enough to keep his insides from burning up as the chains slowly vanished. The jade was in a necklace worn by his wife.
He looked towards the middle of the room. His inner clock told him the exact time.
(Fifty two minutes remaining.)
After three years of staying silent, his patience was turning into rage.
"The food is late, you useless dog."
The voice was Silas Valerius, Lyra's older brother. He walked over with the pride of a man who had just reached the Bronze Tier of power. His chest was puffed out, showing the silver family pin. Silas did not wait for an answer. He grabbed a half full glass of wine from a passing server. Then he poured the wine right onto Caspian's shoes.
The dark red liquid soaked into the cheap, worn leather. Caspian did not move. He did not look down. He just held the silver tray tighter. The metal bent slightly under the hidden strength of his fingers. He felt the silent roar of the First Dragon deep in his soul, a beast wanting to break free. But he forced it back into the darkness.
"I asked you a question," Silas said with a mean smile. He leaned in close. Caspian could smell the wine and the pride on his breath. "The guests are hungry. The Storm Sect people are here to talk about my sister's future. You are standing in the corner looking like a grave worker. If it were up to me, I would have tossed you into the canal years ago. You are a dirty mark on our floor, Caspian. A bug eating up the money that should be used for my power."
"The kitchen ran out of the blue fin tuna," Caspian answered. His voice was a low, steady sound. It had no hint of the obedience Silas wanted, which only made Silas more angry. "I already told them to serve the main table first. If you are hungry, Silas, I am sure there are some leftover scraps in the servant's kitchen. They usually eat better than the guests anyway."
Silas's face turned a deep, angry purple. He lifted a hand. His palm had a weak, moving orange light from his fire power source. It was a weak show of strength compared to what Caspian knew. But in this room, it was enough to make people look. "You talk back to me? You, a man who could not even light a match with his soul power? I should break your jaw now and tell my sister you fell because you are clumsy."
"Silas! Stop it."
The crowd quickly moved apart. Lyra Valerius walked into the light. Even the blue glow from the lights seemed softer near her. She wore a dark blue dress that fit her perfectly. Her silver white hair was held back with a pin made of special iron. At her neck, the Frost Jade necklace pulsed with a steady, cold light.
She looked at her brother with a stare that could have instantly frozen a river. Then she turned her eyes to Caspian. There was a quick look of something in her face. Maybe pity, or a deep sadness that matched his own. She was the only one who had stood up for him, even when everyone else called her a fool for keeping him.
"The guests are watching," Lyra said. Her voice was strong but smooth. "We are already the joke of Oakhaven because of this marriage. Do not make it worse by fighting with a servant in the middle of the room."
"A servant?" Silas laughed, though he put his glowing hand down. "I wish he were a servant. At least we could fire him. No, sister, this is your husband. The man you decided to marry because of some old promise. The Storm Sect Master is here to give us a seat on the High Council. He expects you to be free from this... trash. How can you hope to lead this family when you are tied to a dead person?"
Lyra's jaw became tight. A small muscle jumped in her cheek. She did not look at Silas. She stepped closer to Caspian. The cold energy of her Silver Tier power washed over him like a cool wave. It calmed the burning heat of the lock in his chest. He took a full breath for the first time in hours.
"Go to the back, Caspian," she whispered. Her eyes searched his. "Change your shoes. Stay in the kitchen until the dinner is over. Please. Just for tonight. I cannot save you if you are standing here."
Caspian looked at her, truly looked at her. He saw the dark circles under her eyes she had tried to hide with makeup. He saw how her hand shook a little as she reached for the necklace at her neck. She was protecting him, just as she had for three years. She did not know that the man she was protecting was the only reason the Valerius family had not been wiped out by their enemies long ago. He had killed people who tried to hurt them in the dark of night while she slept. He buried them in the garden so she would never have to see the blood.
"I cannot do that, Lyra," Caspian said softly.
"Why not?" she spoke quickly. A spark of real anger finally showed through her calm face. "Is your pride so big that you have to stand here and let them shame you? Is it not enough that I have to listen to their gossip every single day? I have given you everything. My good name, my money, my future, just to keep you off the street."
Caspian leaned in. His voice dropped to a level only she could hear. "Because the moon is almost at its highest point. And because tonight, the debt is paid. I will not let you carry this heavy load for another hour."
Before she could ask what he meant, a loud horn sounded through the hall. It meant the main person had arrived. The heavy wooden doors at the end of the room opened. Cyrus Storm walked in. Six armed guards were with him. Their inner energy was so strong it made the nearby wine glasses break.
Cyrus was very proud. He was born rich and had a Silver Tier core that was made larger with costly medicines. He walked straight to the main table, ignoring the bowing guests. His eyes were fixed on Lyra with the hunger of an animal looking at its dinner. He stopped just inches from Caspian. He did not even look at him until he purposely pushed him aside. This almost made Caspian drop the tray of glasses.
"Lyra," Cyrus said. His voice was smooth and scary. "You look like you have been waiting for someone to save you from this dull small party. A woman with your gift should not be trapped in a house that smells of old clothes and failure."
He turned to the head of the Valerius family, Lyra's father. The father was already standing with a look of wanting to obey. Cyrus reached into his robe and pulled out a heavy, gold sealed paper.
"The Storm Sect is ready to put ten million spirit stones into the Valerius mines," Cyrus announced. His voice reached every part of the room. "We will provide our army's protection and a seat on the High Council. But the Storm Sect does not invest in families that keep bugs. The marriage between Lyra and this commoner ends tonight. I have brought the divorce papers, signed by the Council of Elders."
The room became silent. Lyra's father stepped forward. His eyes shone with a sickening greed. "Caspian! Come here. Sign the papers. Now. Think yourself lucky we are letting you leave Oakhaven alive. You have had three years of free food. Be thankful for that."
Caspian did not move. He stood in the middle of the floor. The red wine was still drying on his shoes. The silver tray was perfectly balanced in his hand. He looked at the moon through the glass roof. Then he closed his eyes to see the numbers burning in his mind.
(Ten minutes remaining.)
"Sign it! you fool," Silas shouted. He stepped next to Cyrus to show his loyalty. "Do you think you have a choice? One word from Master Cyrus, and you will be dead before you reach the front gate. Even your wife will not be able to save you then."
Caspian ignored them both. He looked at Lyra. "Do you want me to sign this, Lyra? After three years, is this what you want? Tell me to my face that you want me gone, and I will walk out that door."
Lyra looked at her father. Then at the dangerous guards of the Storm Sect. Finally, at Caspian. Her eyes were full of tears she would not let fall in front of these bad people. She knew that if she said no, her family would be ruined by debt. If she said yes, she would lose the only man who had never looked at her like a prize to be won.
"I... I want you to live, Caspian," she struggled to say. Her voice broke.
Caspian nodded slowly. A calm, strong feeling settled over him. "Then you have nothing to worry about. If your wish is for my life, then no one in this room has the power to take it."
He walked towards the main table. His steps were slow and heavy. The guests laughed quietly. They expected him to fall to his knees in a final act of losing. Cyrus Storm smiled, already thinking about the victory celebration. But as Caspian reached for the gold sealed paper, the air in the room suddenly changed. It did not just get cold. It became heavy, as if the air had been changed to liquid metal.
The lights began to swing. The wine in the glasses began to move in perfect circles. It shook with a speed that made everyone's teeth hurt.
"What is this?" Cyrus demanded. His smile stopped as he felt a sudden, sharp pressure in his chest. He tried to light up his Silver Tier power, but it went out quickly like a candle in a strong wind.
Caspian's hand was above the divorce papers. He was not looking at them. He was looking at his own palm. Nine faint, glowing dragon shaped marks were starting to push up through his skin, like hot fire brands.
Five minutes.
Four minutes.
"Sign it!" Lyra's father screamed. Panic finally touched his voice. "Sign it and get out! What is wrong with the air? Silas, get the guards!"
"The three years are over," Caspian said. For the first time, his voice did not just carry. It shook the bones of everyone in the room. It was the sound of a mountain beginning to move. "The quiet time is finished. The debt is paid."
He looked at Cyrus Storm. The young master of the Storm Sect took a step back without meaning to. His hand flew to the handle of his sword. He saw something in Caspian's eyes that should not have been there. It was not the look of a servant or a loser. It was the look of a god who had just woken up and found a bug crawling on his seat of power.
"Who are you?" Cyrus asked. His voice shook as he realized his legs were trembling.
Caspian did not answer. He looked at the moon. The highest point was here. The silver light filled the room. It hit the Frost Jade around Lyra's neck and shone into Caspian's eyes.
Ten seconds.
Nine.
Eight.
The floor under their feet began to crack. Lines went out from where Caspian stood. A low, deep roar echoed from far below the ground. A sound Oakhaven had not heard in a thousand years. The dragons were shouting.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
The first chain of the Nine Dragon Lock around Caspian's heart shattered with a sound like thunder inside a church. Then the second. Then the third.
Four.
Three.
Two.
"Welcome home, Commander," Caspian whispered to the empty space inside.
One.
The room windows broke outwards in a shower of sharp glass. A bright, golden light shot from Caspian's chest. It tore through the roof of the house and went up through the clouds. The pressure was complete. Every guest, every guard, even the proud Cyrus Storm, was thrown to the floor by a force no one could see.
Only Lyra remained standing. She was protected by a sudden, spinning funnel of wind that kept the falling things away from her. She stared at the man she had called her husband. Her mouth was wide open as his worn suit disappeared into the light.
Caspian stood in the center of the storm. His eyes glowed with the power of a giant star.