A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 5696

The third level remained bright, perfumed by Cyanna's faint, cool scent.

One glance told Jared she was in ruinous shape.

Pale as winter milk, breath ragged, she knelt in meditation while ribbons of black energy crawled over her once-emerald gown, chewing at her dragon essence and mind. She looked up. Joy flared in her eyes, then drowned in frantic worry.

"Jared, go!" Cyanna gasped, voice a trembling thread. "The heart of the tower's seal woke up—it's lashing out at every Draconian!"

"What happened? And where's Coall?" Jared demanded.

He lunged forward, pressing a palm blazing with pure Golden Dragon Aura against Cyanna's back, letting it chase the black energy from her veins.

"Coall is trapped on the fourth floor. Whatever you witnessed down here, it's even worse up there."

Cyanna's breath came ragged, yet she pressed on, desperate to make Jared understand. "Moments after you left, an ancient will—furious, resentful—echoed through the Beast-Subduing Tower. It accused us of luring outsiders inside, of disturbing its slumber. The seals on every level swelled with power and began hunting the very prisoners they were meant to pacify. This black energy is that power made flesh. It devours our strength, Jared—minute by minute."

Jared's jaw clenched. "An ancient will?"

Could it be the tower's own spirit... or something far more terrifying watching from the upper floors?

Space rippled at the stairwell to the fourth level, and a voice as thin as a razor scraped along the walls. "Heh-heh... The little Azure Dragon speaks true. Golden Dragon whelp, you should never have returned. Since you have, leave that luscious bloodline behind."

A jet of pitch-black dragon breath—dense enough to seem solid—erupted from the stairs. It carried the rot of corrosion and the chill of soul-freezing frost, hurtling straight toward Jared's unprotected back.

The strike was viciously timed, launched while Jared's focus lay on healing Cyanna—when his heart and mind were split in two.

Cyanna's cry ripped free before she could think. "Jared—behind you!"

Jared reacted on instinct. He shoved Cyanna toward the only patch of clear floor, spun, and brought the Dragonslayer Sword across his chest. The Five-Element Shield blazed to life a heartbeat later.

Boom!

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