Naia moved so she could sit in a patch of grass cross-legged near the Yarrow Gardens, her face flushed with excitement.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said, her voice glowing like her eyes. “It was like… all the noise in my head went quiet. Everything I hated about myself, every doubt, it just didn’t matter in there.”
She placed a hand over her chest. “It wasn’t just magic. It waspeace. Like he saw all of me and didn’t flinch. Hechoseme.”
Jax nodded, seated beside Ferrula with one arm draped over his bent knee. “Same for me. When Koddos touched my mind, it was like standing in the eye of a storm. All the chaos around me, the yelling, the pressure… gone. Just calm. Andpurpose.”
Riven leaned back on her elbows, her dragon Lola resting behind her with her eyes half-lidded. “It’s addicting,” she admitted. “Like you never knew how much you needed someone until you feel theminsideyour soul. No walls.”
Cordelle, sitting just a few feet away, didn’t speak—but the content expression on his face said it all. He had bonded Kass the first day he touched his pendant and their bond seemed stronger than any of ours.
They all lookedlightersomehow. Changed.
Better.
Ferrula smirked. “I just can’t wait for the next phase. The training. The new missions. We’ve earned this.”
Jax grinned. “Now wehoneit. Battle formations, aerial combat, magic fusion?—”
“Espionage,” Riven added, grinning slyly.
Their excitement was contagious.
But I said nothing.
Because inside, I felt hollow. Kaelith hadn’t spoken a word to me since the bond was sealed. Not a whisper. Not even a flicker.
And I knew deep down that she hadn’t chosen me.
Not truly.
She had saved me becauseSiergen told her to.
And that knowledge pressed against my ribs like a weight no healing could touch.
So I smiled when they laughed. Nodded when they celebrated.
But I didn’t speak.
Because I couldn’t bear to say the words theyallexpected to hear.
I was not complete.
Zander approached us from across the grounds, his steps purposeful, his expression carved with that familiar mix of concern and control. His presence made our circle shift—no one said anything, but the air tightened, like it always did when a prince crossed into another’s territory.
His eyes found mine.
“Ashe,” he said quietly, “may I have a word?”
I hesitated only a second before nodding. “Sure.”
I rose from where I sat and followed him a few paces away, away from the others’ ears, though I could feel their eyes trailing me.
He stopped near one of the stone pillars flanking the grounds, arms folded briefly before dropping them.
“I know things didn’t go as you hoped.”
“Hein told you Siergen intervened,” I said flatly.
