The way he says it—flat, factual, resigned—tightens something in my chest.
I hold his gaze a moment longer, searching beneath the Warlord calm. But there’s nothing. Just Thane—assessing, weighing, always focused on the bigger picture.
Because that’s what I am to him. The key. The Spiritborn. The weapon to save the realm.
I turn back toward the ledge. And the moment I close my eyes—Ifeelher.
Valen steps closer, his voice measured. “Wielding the Elements is control, Amara. Bonding with a dragon is surrender. It’s not about power. It’s about trust. If you hesitate,” Valen continues, his expression serious, “she won’t catch you.”
“I won’t hesitate.”
“If you second-guess the bond—”
“I won’t hesitate.”
Valen studies me—measuring something deeper than readiness.
Then he nods. “You’re ready.”
Behind me, I hear the faint rustle of fabric. The shift of weighton a rocky trail. Thane’s arms tighten across his chest. His jaw ticks. Still, he says nothing. But I feel it—that pull from him.
Like gravity.
Lyra throws her hands up and covers her face. “Gods, I hate this! I can’t watch!”
I step to the very edge of the cliff, the air shifting around me—the pull, the promise of what’s waiting.
The wind isn’t just wind anymore.
It’s her.
She’s here. She’s waiting. And I won’t make her wait any longer.
I grin one last time, eyes locking with Thane’s. His expression doesn’t change—but something flickers there. Something sharp. Something breaking open.
Then—I dive.
A swan dive into the sky, arms open, heart open. Into the unknown.
Towardher.
The wind snaps around me, roaring in my ears, lifting my hair as I plummet. And behind me—
“Godsdamned reckless woman!” Thane’s voice—sharp, furious,panicked. “You just—”
I hear his footsteps—like he’s trying to stop me—and then a curse, low and bitten off, almost to himself.
I laugh as I fall.
Truly laugh.
Because he’s right. I never hesitate. Not when I know what’s waiting for me. Not when I knowshe’sthere.
For a breath, there’s only silence. The wind tears through me, my stomach lurching. The cliffs vanish above as the earth rushes to meet me. Air burns my skin. My heart hammers so violently I think it might break me open.
But I don’t reach for my magics.
Because unlike anything else Valen and Thane have put me through these past few months, this isn’t a test ofpower.
