I meet Calryx’s eyes.
“You knew?”I ask her.
Her eyes gleam—a thousand memories in that emerald-jewel stare.
“Not everything,”she says.“But the Guardians told Xaroth and I enough.”
She steps closer, wings folding tight to her sides, her voicebrushing through my thoughts like wind through old stone.
“They spoke of a bond that would not follow the old paths. A convergence born not of fate, but of choice. Elemental. Eternal. Equal. A bond that would reshape itself when both hearts chose freely, without fear, without force.”
My breath sticks.
“You knew it would be Thane,”I whisper.
Calryx’s voice softens.“I suspected. But I did not know if he would be brave enough to accept it.”
My throat tightens. “And me?”
“You were always brave enough,”she says gently.“You just didn’t believe you had the right.”
The words land like a stone in still water—deep, echoing.
I glance at Thane. He’s still staring at Xaroth, chest rising and falling like he’s barely holding himself together.
The dragons didn’t come to save us—they came to witness what we became.
Not fate or prophecy. But something remade—somethingchosen.
The air hums. The dragons stand motionless. But all I see is him.
Thane stands just a few feet away, breathing like he’s run for miles.
But his eyes—they’re clear.
When he looks at me, everything else goes still.
There’s no fire left, no defenses. Justquiet. And it’s louder than everything that came before.
I step forward.
He stands still as stone, watching me. Like he’s still trying to believe I’m real.
“Thane,” I say softly.
His name tastes like a vow.
He swallows hard. “I tried to protect you.”
“I know,” I whisper. “But you don’t have to protect me fromyou.”
His gaze sharpens. Focuses. And for the first time since the bond flared—I see only me in his eyes. The air still hums around us. The bond hasn’t settled. It’s waiting. Watching. Ready.
And then—
“What in the bloody hell is going on?!”
I jump, then whirl around.
