“The claiming bond.” Zyphon’s voice emerges from the shadows, low and rough. “If a dragon claims you—fully, permanently—their fire would supersede Valdris’s mark. Burn through it. Replace her hold with theirs.”
The air in the room shifts. I feel Rurik go rigid at my shoulder.
“Permanence.” I finish for him. “A mate bond. Forever.” It’s been mentioned before.
“Yes.”
I let the information settle. Process it with the clinical detachment I’ve spent years cultivating—the same detachment that got me through veterinary school, through building a practice from nothing, through three weeks of captivity and draining.
“Right.” I lean back in my chair. “So my options are find a powerful witch willing to risk Valdris’s wrath, let someone cut my arm open and hope for the best, or get claimed by a dragon.”
No one responds.
“I appreciate the honesty.” I mean it. They could have softened this, presented the options through layers of diplomatic vagueness. Instead they’ve given me the truth, blunt and ugly as it is. “Now I have a question.”
Drayke inclines his head. “Ask.”
“What happens if we do nothing? If I just—live with the mark. Learn to tune her out. Wait for another opportunity.”
“The mark weakens your fire over time.” Auren’s voice carries no judgment, just facts. “Valdris designed it to drain slowly. Subtly. You might not notice for weeks. Months. But eventually?—“
“I become a liability.” The word tastes bitter. “My power fades, she gains more access, and everything I’ve built since arriving here unravels.”
“That’s the worst-case scenario.”
“What’s the best case?”
“That we find another solution before any of that happens.” Drayke leans forward, his amber gaze intent. “The ritual removal is difficult but not impossible. We have contacts—neutral parties who might be persuaded to help if the price is right. Auren will pursue those channels. Meanwhile, Selene has been researching Fire-Bringer techniques that might strengthen your resistance to the mark’s influence.”
Selene nods, eyes warm. “The journals my grandmother kept—there are references to Fire-Bringers who survived similar violations. Mental disciplines. Ways to wall off parts of your consciousness.”
“It’s not nothing,” I acknowledge. “But it’s not a solution either.”
“No.” Drayke doesn’t insult me by pretending otherwise. “It’s buying time. Time for Auren to find allies. Time for you to grow stronger. Time for us to prepare for whatever Valdris is planning.”
I consider this. Consider the mark on my wrist, the whisper at the edge of my thoughts, the ancient queen’s attention pressing against my skull.
Three weeks ago, I would have demanded immediate action. Would have pushed for the riskiest option just to feel like I was doing something. But three weeks of training with dragons hastaught me something about patience. About strategy. About the difference between bravery and recklessness.
“How long?” I ask. “How long do we have before the mark starts seriously affecting my fire?”
Auren hesitates. “Weeks. Perhaps a month or two. We can’t know precisely until?—“
“Then we use that time.” I straighten in my chair, decision crystallizing. “Pursue the ritual removal contacts. Teach me the mental disciplines. Let me train—really train—so my fire is as strong as possible before she starts draining it. And if none of that works—“ I glance at Rurik, still standing rigid at my shoulder. “Then we revisit the other option.”
The silence that follows is different. Less tense. More considering.
“That’s a solid approach.” Drayke’s voice carries approval. “Strategic. Patient.”
“I’ve been learning from you lot.” The words come out drier than intended. “Apparently some of it stuck.”
Selene’s laugh breaks the remaining tension. “I told you she was smarter than you gave her credit for.”
“I gave her full credit.” Drayke’s mouth curves. “Auren was the skeptic.”
“I prefer thorough assessment to premature judgment,” Auren says stiffly, but there’s something less cold in his expression when he looks at me. “The Fire-Bringer’s analysis is sound. We proceed on multiple fronts.”
The council continues—logistics, timelines, the endless details of preparing for a war we can’t yet see the shape of. I participate. Ask questions. Offer observations about Valdris’s behavior through the mark, her patterns, her weaknesses.
