“I’ll consider it.”I force a laugh because this is far too surreal.
Dragons are supposed to be extinct. Over one hundred years ago, the species died out. But here she is, standing before me after saving our lives.
“I’ve waited a very long time to meet you, Serafina,”she says, and my fingers glide over her scales again.“Longer than you know.”
I tilt my head, unable to grasp what it is she’s trying to say.
“You could feel me even before my flames emerged?”
She huffs.“Long before that.”
I shake my hands becausenoneof this seems possible,feelspossible, but it is.
“You are the first of your kind in over a century,”she says, and my mouth falls open.
The first Pyroflame in over a century…how is that possible? How is that something Ididn’tknow?
“Since the Pyro King?”
She huffs again, but this time, there’s an edge to it, an undeniable anger.
“He was no true Fire Wielder. Not like you or I.”
Impure.
That’s what the king had written over and over and over again in his journal. The dragons said he was impure, and Nyxa seems to know why.
But wait…if I’m the first Pyroflame in over a hundred years…then why did Nyxa insist on teaching me how to shield my mind? What would be the point if no others like me exist?
“There is much I know, and much you do not. Much I must teach you, but right now, I think you need to get answers from someone else.”Her gaze falls behind me, to where I’m sure Ryjax stands.
I nod at her, and then I turn to face him.
His onyx hair sticks to his forehead, clinging to his skin and mixing with blood that I know is not his. I want so badly to push the strands from his face, but my fingers remain at my sides.
He’s a beautiful, glorious mess.
“You owe me a truth,” I say, and Theo moves to the stream a few feet away, almost out of earshot, but not quite. He crouches down, grabbing rocks before skipping them across the water’s surface.
Char, on the other hand, doesn’t move a muscle, locked in a staring contest with Nyxa. His skin is paler than I’ve ever seen, and I don’t think he’s breathing.
Nyxa, however, looks like she’ssmiling. She bares her teeth, releasing a low growl, and I won’t be surprised if he pisses himself.
“I do,” Ryjax says, stepping toward me with a look on his face that makes me want to ask himnotto tell me.
But whatever it is, I know I need to hear it. So many died today. A number far higher than necessary, and I need to knowwhy.
“I’m listening.”
His jaw tightens, and he inhales a deep breath through his nose.
“The world is not dying.”
The world is not—What? My chest squeezes. No…that doesn’t make any sense…
“Eleclestial is not dying,” he says again, his words even slower this time. “One hundred and twenty-one years ago, there was arebellion.” He steps closer, but I take a step away, needing space, needing distance, otherwise I’ll never be able to process his words. His brows crease, but he doesn’t take another step. “The trials only exist so the Elite can keep the population in each village at manageable levels, to ensure another rebellion can never again occur. They blocked the rivers. Drained most of the reservoirs. Poisoned the fields. Every sign of a dying world was manufactured bythemnearly a century ago.”
My eyes fall to the ground, my breathing damn near uncontrollable.
