The sound split the sky as his wings carved down through clouds like judgment. He landed in the center of the Ascension Grounds with a weight that shook the stones beneath our feet, blue flame curling from his jaws in spirals. The ground groaned under his claws as he stepped forward, wings folding slowly, deliberately.
The major spun, face flushing with fury. “You were not tocall him!”
Zander’s voice was as calm as winter frost. He crossed his arms. “I didn’t.”
The major blinked.
“Kaelith did,” Zander continued, chin lifting. “They’re bonded. And she’s indisposed at the moment.”
A dangerous smile pulled at his lips.
“You’re welcome to argue with Hein about it,” he added. “I’m sure that’ll go well for you.”
The major opened his mouth, then wisely closed it again as Hein advanced, his great head lowering until those ancient, silver-rimmed eyes were level with the major’s. The man took a single step back. Another.
Smart.
“Rebec,” the major snapped, voice tighter now. “That’s enough.”
Iwantedto stop.
But the storm didn’t.
My magic swelled again, swirling tighter around me, the wind rising into a howling spiral. It hummed beneath my skin, no longer listening, only demanding.
Kaelith, please—but she was gone. Distant. Dreaming.
And then Hein moved.
He didn’t roar this time. He simplybreathed.
His magic slipped around me like mist and shadow and raw, unrelenting sky. It wasn’t quite an anchor, not the same as Kaelith’s tether, but it was close. So close it made my breath hitch.
His aura pressed against mine, soothing the edges of the storm, coiling around my out-of-control magic with a will not his own, but somethingshared. Something older. I felt his link to Zander, steady and unbreakable. And through it, a whisper of Kaelith. Distant, but real.
Hein wasn’t just a beast of war.
He was a force of nature.
Stronger than anyone on these grounds realized.
And the storm inside me began to still.
The wind stirred the dust where Hein had landed, still thick in the air as the great silver dragon stood like a silent sentinel beside the ring. His eyes tracked every breath, every heartbeat. My magic had finally quieted, wrapped tightly in the echo of his presence, but the major didn’t look impressed.
He looked furious.
He turned to Zander, his glare sharp enough to peel skin.
“Ask your dragon to leave,” he barked. “We are training without them today.”
Hein let out a soft grunt, something between a warning and a sigh, before unfolding his wings in a languid, deliberate stretch. One last look passed between him and Zander, silent, resolute, and then he launched into the sky, the air rippling in his wake.
Silence settled in his absence.
The major took two steps toward Zander, boots snapping on the stone, and squared off with him like he was addressing a soldier half his rank.
“No dragons have mated while bonded to riders,” he said, his voice low but bitter. “Neither you nor the Rebec girl has any idea how this will affect you.”
