He didn’t even blink.
I looked at him. Really looked. “You knew.”
He said nothing, but the truth sat plain on his face. Not shock. Not denial.
Just silence.
He had learned more than he’d ever shared, probably because he didn’t want to hurt me. Or maybe because he feared telling me the truth would fracture the fragile thread between Kaelith and me.
Zander took a slow step forward, his voice controlled, but tight beneath the surface.
“We can’t take a Blood Fae at her word,” he said. “You know that.”
I met his eyes, unsure if I wanted to argue.
“She wants you,” he continued. “You’re a symbol. A weapon. Aprize.And the Blood Fae will sayanythingto get you to their side. Seraveth isn’t here to help you. She’s here to twist you. To isolate you. If you believe anything she says, shewins, and you lose everything else.”
His voice lowered, more personal now. “You loseyourself.”
My breath caught.
And I knew he wasn’t just speaking as a prince.
He was speaking as someone who hadalmostlost me once already.
I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, like it might hold everything inside me from cracking wide open. My voice came quieter now, less controlled.
“Kaelith believes it too.”
Their expressions shifted, every one of them.
“She won’t talk to me. Won’t anchor me. I can feel the bond… fading.”
It hurt to say it aloud.
My heart clenched, raw and hollow. I wasn’t just losing a dragon.
I was losingher.
Riven stepped forward first, her voice soft but firm. “That doesn’t mean she’s gone.”
“She’s scared,” Naia added. “We all are. But the Sentinel choseyou.”
I shook my head. “She didn’t really choose me. Not completely. If she had, Seraveth wouldn’t have been able to touch me.”
Zander moved to my side, close but not overwhelming, his presence solid like a shield in the storm.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said quietly. “I promise. You’re not alone in this.”
“We asked them,” Jax said, nodding toward the skies above.
“The dragons,” Ferrula clarified. “Each of ours. They said Kaelith needs you. That she’s not gone. Just… struggling.”
“They all feel it,” Tae said, more serious than usual. “Kaelith is still holding on. She just needs time.”
Riven leaned forward. “Zola said there’s something else, something none of us know yet. That’s what’s stopping her. But it’s not you, Ashe. It’s never beenyou.”
Their words settled in like warmth through my cracked skin. I didn’t know if I could believe them fully yet… but they believed it enough for all of us.
