Prophecies,she corrected gently.I know.
I exhaled slowly.There’s more than one. And few of them end well.
She was quiet again, flying her slow arc above the castle towers.
I’m scared, I admitted, the words torn from somewhere deeper than I expected.If there’s even a chance I will become what they fear... I’d rather die than destroy everything.
Her voice slipped back into my mind, warm and resolute.You are the destroyer, Ashlyn.
The words gutted me.
But then she added,What you destroy… and what rises from it… that is up to you.
I leaned against the stone wall, chest tight.How do I know what path I’m on? How do I choose when everything feels like it’s set in motion already?
There was a pause, then the rustle of wings and the deep thrum of her presence filling my mind fully for the first time in days.
There is one way to narrow the prophecy. To eliminate a few, Kaelith said.
My pulse jumped.How?
We must go to the Hatchling Isle.
A chill spread through me, but not from fear. From knowing.
That whatever came next would shape everything.
When?I asked.
Kaelith’s growl echoed softly in my chest.
Now.
Kaelith soared across the pale ocean sky, her wings carving through clouds like blades. The air shifted as we descended, the salt gritty in my throat, the mist from the sea rising to meet us.
The Hatchling Isle came into view below—a crescent of land blanketed in silver-leaved trees and rocky cliffs that cradled ancient nesting grounds. It was part of the greater Dragon Isle chain, but just far enough from the mainland that no casual rider—or curious eye—would ever catch sight of the younglings learning to breathe fire above the treetops.
Kaelith’s wings beat once more, and we dropped lower.
Below, a rise of sun-warmed stone held a clutch of eggs nestled in the moss-lined basin. Glossy shells shimmered in shades of pearl and smoke, hints of color swirling beneath the surface like sleeping storms.
As we landed, a red Swift dragon stirred nearby. And I dismounted in an swift hurried motion.
The red dragon rose from the shade of a low-hanging cliff, her narrow form curling around the nest protectively. Her scales caught the light like fresh blood. Her eyes locked on me immediately—wary, intense. A flicker of flame danced deep in her throat, just behind her serrated teeth.
I stepped back instinctively.
She will not hesitate, Kaelith warned, her voice cold steel.If you try to touch a hatchling, she will kill you.
“Noted,” I murmured aloud, keeping my hands at my sides.
Kaelith moved beside me, lowering her head until her golden eyes were level with mine.
You’re not here to claim. You’re here to listen, she said.Reach out with your power. Not to touch. Not to hinder. Simply to feel what has not yet awoken.
I nodded and knelt slowly on the stone, the heat of the sun still clinging to its surface.
I closed my eyes and reached inward, searching for that quiet place where my magic lived—storm-wrapped and coiled, a tempest that always waited at the edge of control.
