I swallow hard, the weight of his words settling in my chest like a stone.
“You’ve already merged the four elements on your own. That alone is unprecedented. And now a dragon has called to youafterthat point.”
There’s something razor-edged in his stare now—focused, assessing.
“We don’t know if that means the bond will function the same way it always has. It could be more powerful. Or something entirely new. The Prophecies don’t say anything about the Spiritborn being dragon-bonded.”
I stare at him. “You think this changes the way the bond works?”
Valen hesitates. “I think we would be fools to assume otherwise.”
The pull in my chest remains steady—anchoring. But his words chip at the edges of that certainty. The more he speaks, the more I realize how unprepared I truly am.
Valen sees it too.
“Amara,” he says carefully. “Do you feel any different?”
I considered the question. Do I?
No. Not different. But . . .more.
“I feel . . . clearer,” I admit. “Like I’m standing at the edge of something, and I know I’m supposed to step forward. I feelready.”
Valen studies me, his expression unreadable. Controlled. But not calm.
“You think you’re ready,” he says. “But this isn’t just about answering a call. Once the bond is complete . . . there’s no undoing it.”
Something in his voice coils tight in my chest.
“Tell me.”
Valen leans back slightly, tension in every line of him.
“The bond is not just about communication, Amara. It’s a merging. Of powers. Of wills. Of life itself. When a dragon bonds with their rider, it strengthens what’s already there. The rider’s Elemental magics sharpen. The dragon, in turn, draws from those magics. Together, they become something more.”
I nod. But it feels . . . insufficient.
“I’ve read that,” I say. “But that’s not the same as living it.”
Valen exhales. Runs a hand through his hair—then lets it fall against the desk like even holding it up is too much.
“You’re different,” he says quietly. “You channeled without a dragon. No one has ever done that. Not in any known record. You shouldn’t have been able to.”
He pauses. Thoughtful. Troubled.
“You have to be ready for the Trust Fall,” he says quietly. “Because once you leap—there’s no climbing back. The bond doesn’t just connect you. Itchangesyou. And I don’t know what that means for someone like you.”
A breath escapes me, slow and heavy. “You think it could . . . change me.”
Valen doesn’t answer right away. His jaw clenches. His eyesflick away.
When he speaks again, it’s soft. Steady. Final.
“Amara . . . if your magics are already beyond what should be possible, then when this bond completes—” He stops himself, then meets my gaze. “You may not come back the same person.”
I swallow, the words sitting like stone in my gut. “Then how do we prepare for something we don’t understand?”
He rises from his chair slowly, as if the act itself costs something.
