Twenty-four years ago in a small mountain village

  Areum had a bad feeling about this. It was just a visit to the temple where her friend was. The Seok clan made visits to the various temples regularly. None of the previous trips she’d taken with Korain had made her feel like this.

  Was it because they had brought Tae with them this time? Ree looked at her little boy playing quietly on the floor. He was so well behaved for a child of five. He’d been so confused when they’d placed a lock on his abilities. It had only worked because he was so young. When he got older, and his power grew, he’d have to consciously seal his abilities on his own.

  His powers, strength, and intelligence would have scared a normal mother. Ree hadn’t ever been more than surprised when her little angel did something. He held the most dragon blood of any descendant recorded. Beom had once confided that to her. Ree smiled at the memory, the fact that the great divine white tiger who had guarded the Seok since the beginning had let a then two year old Tae name him, and insisted others call him by that name… it was clear how much of a soft spot he had for the boy. For all of them really.

  Tae was so well behaved that she wouldn’t have even bothered to seal his power if it weren’t for the fact that he had a hard time keeping his form fully human. Even when Tae did shift into his human form, he couldn’t seem to manage his eyes.

  He’d first changed into his dragon form the day he’d named Beom. It had surprised them all. Though, after his birth they really shouldn’t have been surprised. Ree smiled and shook her head at the memory. He had been so adorable with his little horns and tail as an infant. The first child of the Seok clan to be born this way since their first half-dragon ancestor had been born. All members had been born human since then. Beom had warned Ree that Tae would have a harder time being human. She’d assumed he’d meant that behaviourally, she hadn’t realized he’d meant it literally too.

  Ree felt the knot in her stomach again. This was not just being an overprotective mother. No. They needed to leave. Ree stood up, motioning for Tae to stay where he was. The cute boy had stood to follow her. He looked at her with clear blue eyes, nodding before sitting back down with his toys. Ree opened the door to the hut they were staying in, looking for Korain.

  “Ree, get back inside!” Korain yelled.

  Ree looked at him shocked. His sword was out, men of the village stood beside him, facing the road that led into the little mountain village. She grabbed her dagger but Korain shook his head.

  “You were right Ree.” He said, his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  Ree looked to the road, using her lesser dragon Qi to see what would be veiled from mortal eyes. Fear filled her. She looked to Korain again. He couldn’t beat that, not alone.

  “I can fight.” Ree told him. Together they might just stand a chance.

  “No, Ree.” Korain shook his head.

  “Why not!” Ree had crossed the dirt path and gripped her husband's arm.

  “Too risky.” Korain said stubbornly.

  “I can fight as well as you.” Ree hissed.

  “I know you can Ree.” Korain covered her hand on his arm with his own. “He can’t lose us both Ree.”

  “What makes you think they’d spare us?” Ree asked.

  “The bandits.” Korain said simply.

  Ree’s eyes widened. The bandits they’d sent their servants to deal with. They hadn’t been real, but the traces had all been real. She glanced at the sickly dark Qi that was approaching. They were posing as bandits to conceal themselves. If they simply slaughtered everyone the righteous faction would figure it out. They had to take hostages, at least temporarily. It was the only way to appear like a normal bandit group causing trouble. She and Tae could buy themselves time with that. That’s what Korain was banking on.

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  “They’ll kill you.” Ree whispered, her voice breaking.

  “If you don’t hide what you are, they'll kill you too.” Korain replied. “Then what, our boy lives as an orphan?”

  Ree then realized Korain had sealed part of his Qi. He knew he was going to die here. They were surrounded then. Otherwise he’d have told her to take Tae and run while he bought them time before following. Ree kissed him, pouring her whole heart into it. Tears streamed down her face as she knew it was the last time she’d see him alive.

  Ree turned and ran back into the hut. She had to hurry. Korain would buy them as much time as he could, but what she was about to do was complex Qi sorcery. It was their only chance, Tae’s only chance. Ree grabbed Tae and moved him to the center of the room.

  “Mommy needs you to stay still.” Ree told him. Tae looked confused but nodded. Ree knew that Tae would be able to read her anxiety, but she couldn’t afford the energy to hide it right now. “Don’t move, mommy is going to do something and it’s going to feel strange, but I need you to stay as still as you possibly can okay?”

  “Yes, mommy.” Tae said. His eyes were full of nothing but love and trust.

  Ree began her spell. Reinforcing the previous seal on Tae before adding a second more powerful spell on top of it. She locked away everything he knew other than his name and who she and Korain were to him. She then began the process to seal her own abilities away. Unlike her son Ree didn’t have the ability to shift shapes. None of the rest of the Seok clan had that ability other than her little boy. But she still carried the blood of the dragon in her. Not as strongly as Tae or Korain did, she was from a branch family after all. Ree sealed her dragon heritage away. It’d be impossible for anyone not of their blood to break the seal on either of them.

  Spells finished, Ree picked up Tae and hid in the wardrobe. She knew it was an impossible hope, but anything that could increase their chances of not getting caught was worth it now.

  “Tae, I need you to promise Mommy something.” Ree whispered. “Can you do that for me?”

  Tae nodded.

  “Some bad men are going to come.” Ree told him. “I need you to be a good boy, be quiet and don’t give them any reason to be upset with you. Do you think you can do that for mommy?”

  “Yes.” Tae replied.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise, mommy.” Tae told her. “I’ll be good and quiet.”

  Ree hugged him close. She bit her lip trying to keep quiet as she heard the sound of fighting outside. Hearing Korian yell, the familiar sound of his sword in the air. The rush of his Qi in the air. Ree clung to all of it even as her heart shattered into pieces.

  She stilled and held her breath when the door to the hut burst open. Korain had lost then. She wasn’t surprised when the closet opened and she was dragged out.

  “Don’t touch her!” Tae screamed.

  “Tae, no!” Ree yelled. He’d been about to launch himself at the man who held her. Tae froze and looked at her with wide eyes. She’d never yelled at him before. “Don’t fight them Tae. Mommy will be okay.”

  She didn’t have time to say more before another man grabbed Tae and the two of them were dragged outside. As they passed the threshold Ree saw him. Laying at an awkward angle, white hair spilling out on the ground, stained with dirt and blood. Korain. His once bright silvery-grey eyes, now lifeless. Tears she hadn’t known she had left threatened to spill again, but Ree held them back by force of will. She couldn’t break, not now. Tae needed her.

  Areum watched as her boy was thrown into a wooden box of a wagon. She was thrown into another. There were no windows and the top was covered. It really was a box on wheels. She closed her eyes and focused on the tracking spell she’d placed on Tae. It was one that only worked on bloodline. It, like her seals, would be impossible to detect or break unless someone of their bloodline looked for it. He was okay. Ree steeled herself. She wanted to grieve and sob like the other women in the wagon with her. She couldn’t let herself though. If she let go now she’d be in no shape to be of any help to her boy later. She had to hold it together, at least for now.

  Ree prayed to the ancestors, the great celestial dragons, that there would be a chance for them to escape. That Tae would be okay. The sickening dark Qi surrounded the wagons. She’d have to wait for a weakening of the Qi to make their escape. Areum knew she was a skilled fighter, one of the strongest of the Seok clan, it was why she’d taken on some matriarch duties to aid her mother-in-law. Even with her full powers, even if she hadn’t needed to worry about Tae, this force was stronger than she was. She just hoped it left enough traces for the clan to find. There was no way to get a message to them if they couldn’t escape. The clan needed to know what it was up against. That it was time. They’d all suspected it when Tae was born, but hoped they had more time. Ree closed her eyes, resting her head against the wooden planks behind her. The demons had awoken, and she and Tae were headed right into their midst.

  If Tae had been older things would have been okay. She could have fought by Korain’s side and bought Tae time to fly away. He wasn’t old enough to fly well, wasn’t old enough to use Qi to fly. Most importantly, he wasn’t old enough to not be impressionable. She had to stay with him. Anger surged from her core, from her grief and pain, they’d taken her husband, she would not let them take her boy too. It was why she’d sealed their powers off. If they didn’t know what they were there was a chance even if they didn’t escape for years. She would not let them turn her sweet little boy into a monster. He would not become a fallen dragon, she would use her own life to be sure she kept that from happening.