Page 55

His words pour out in a heated tirade, and suddenly, it clicks.

I’ve heard this tone before, this exact sanctimonious nonsense.

A shiver runs down my spine as I realize—it’s just like my mother lecturing me.

Even Dracoth looks like a sullen kid getting scolded, his eyes downcast, avoiding the burning glare of a disappointed parent.

I’ve been on the receiving end hundreds of times—someone projecting their insecurities and dreams onto you.

It’s total bullshit, and it makes my blood boil.

“What are you? His dad?” I cut in, rounding on Ignixis with a scowl since I already know he isn’t. That’s like comparing a moldy raisin to a fresh, juicy apple.

Ignixis doesn’t break his piercing, glowing green gaze from Dracoth. “Would that I were, child. Then perhaps he’d listen to reason,” he replies, his tone unusually calm.

“The words of a coward are worthless,” Dracoth sneers, seeming to shake himself from whatever trance he was in.

“Damn it, boy! ” Ignixis snaps back, his sneer venomous beneath the shadows of his robes, making both Sandra and me gasp. “You must look beyond my personal choices; they are irrelevant. The truth is the truth. The words are the words,” he adds, forcing his tone back to a controlled calm.

I shake my head in annoyance, even though I’m just a bystander to his cult-like nonsense.

“What words? The ones only you and your Elders know? How convenient.” I roll my eyes, unable to hide my irritation.

His manipulations are so obvious and stupid, hardly surprising for the hole-in-the-ground clan.

“Your ignorance would fill every nanometer of space, child,” Ignixis replies, his hooded visage swiveling toward me. The way his piercing green gaze locks onto mine makes my breath catch in my throat. “Even your eyes betray the emptiness of your mind.”

Such a rude prick! His voice drips with disdain. Then, slowly, he lowers the hood of his black robes.

His face is a withered, blackened mask, illuminated by the flickering firelight. His glowing green eyes seem to bore straight through me, and I have to fight back a shudder. This serious side of Ignixis is somehow more unsettling than his usual mocking jabs or sneering anger.

Scrutinizing his face deeper, I find myself drawn into the almost indistinguishable runes and symbols tattooed in a chaotic sea of black against a canvas of red flesh.

I try to decipher them, following their flowing spiral or sharp angles.

They draw me in like a puzzle I need to complete, but I can’t quite piece together, a riddle missing too many clues.

The runes on Ignixis’s skin shift and pulse, their colors brightening from yellow to red, finally becoming almost white, glowing with an intensity that feels impossible to look at.

Sweat trickles down my back as the temperature becomes uncomfortable.

But there’s something else, a presence—one I’ve felt before—molten and immense.

I can almost see it. It beckons me, filling me with the warmth of life.

My heart surges with adoration, knowing it wants to consume my flesh, to free my soul in a blazing torrent of unquenchable, furious thirst.

I tear my eyes away, blinking hard, as if I’d been staring directly into the sun. My mind still reels from what I just experienced. What the hell is happening to me? I struggle to keep my breathing steady, aware that everyone’s eyes are on me, waiting for a reaction.

“Oh, maybe those runes should be in a larger font, you know, so people can actually read them,” I mock with a shaky laugh, but my words ring as hollow as my father’s heart.

My forced smile dies under Ignixis’ gaze, which leaks shocking green wisps from a wide-eyed expression.

“Did it hurt? Getting all those tattoos done?” Sandra chimes in, and I could kiss her for breaking this unbearable tension.

“Tattoos?” Ignixis echoes, shaking his head slightly as if waking from a dream—my nightmare. “The sacred words were scorched into my flesh, child,” he replies, pulling his hood back over his bald head.

“Scorched? That sounds horrible!” Sandra exclaims, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.

“Yes,” Ignixis murmurs, his gaze distant, eyes fixed on the roaring fire.

“Every rune, every meaning seared into my flesh and mind, never to be forgotten.” The flames leap and flicker wildly, their light casting frantic shadows across his scarred face.

“The words are part of me, each symbol fortified by agony. I nearly unraveled under the torment,” Ignixis admits, and for a moment, his voice trembles.

“Every second stretched into eternity... until I saw him. Arawnoth. He came to me, his molten soul enveloping me like a great conflagration, rewarded me by melting away my pain, like ice touched by fire. He filled my heart with his strength.”

My heart hammers against my ribs, and I struggle to catch my breath, unable to comprehend what the actual fuck is going on!

How could he have seen the same thing I’ve glimpsed twice now?

Is this some kind of alien trick? Some hallucinogenic effect of the Dark Matter Stout?

But that doesn’t make sense—I hadn’t tasted it until now. ..

“I’m sorry...” Sandra mutters, her voice small, her eyes cast downward.

“Don’t be, child!” Ignixis exclaims, suddenly almost gleeful.

“It was a great gift, one that some would do well to avail themselves of.” His gaze shifts pointedly to Dracoth, who scoffs in reply.

Ignixis stands up abruptly, groaning as he stretches, his limbs creaking like old wood.

“And now I’m reminded of my purpose. I must take my leave. ”

The announcement is like a balm to my frazzled nerves. I feel my shoulders relax, my breathing return to normal.

“Aw, you’re not leaving already?” I ask, my tone dripping with sarcasm. “I was really enjoying your company, too.” My fake smile could sweeten honey.

Ignixis chuckles, his hooded face turning back toward me, his mouth stretching into a predatory grin filled with yellowed fangs and eyes glowing like emerald flames. “Oh, have no fear, my little snowdrop. We’ll be spending a lot more time together soon.”

Huh?