When. When I survive. She’s waiting for me. That’s not something I’m willing to lose.
Zyphon hits Ulrik from behind—curse-cracked claws raking across void-black scales, finding the seams where shadow magic is weakest. The Shadow King roars, twisting to face this new threat, and I use the distraction to disengage.
To return to Tamsin’s side. Where I belong.
She’s still holding the Crown open. Sweat beads on her forehead despite the cold, her hands trembling with the effort of containing power that wants to consume her. But her eyes are clear. Focused. Victorious.
“The inner wards are down.” Her voice strains but holds steady. “We can reach the throne room. End this.”
I shift back to human form, staggering slightly as my injuries translate from dragon to man. The wounds from Ulrik’s void-fire throb with absence rather than pain—places where I simply don’t exist anymore.
Tamsin catches me. Her free hand grips my arm, steadying me, her fire warming the void-touched places without quite filling them. Her touch grounds me in ways I can’t explain.
“You’re hurt.” Not a question. Her amber eyes sweep over my wounds with the assessment of someone who has seen too much damage in too short a time.
“I’ll heal.” I cover her hand with mine, press her palm flat against my chest. Let her feel my heart beating beneath her fingers. “Don’t leave me.”
She looks up at me, Crown blazing above her head, power rolling off her in waves. And she smiles—soft, real, just for me.
Behind us, Zyphon and Ulrik tear at each other with renewed fury. Drayke and Rurik have broken through the remaining Shadow Clan forces, bronze and red-gold dragons driving enemies back toward the fortress. The Fire-Bringers advance in their wake, combined flames providing cover.
The tide has turned. We’re winning.
And watching Tamsin wield power that should have destroyed her, power that bent to her will instead of breaking her—I feel something crack open in my chest. Something I’ve kept locked away since Lyric died. Since I decided that feeling anything was too dangerous to risk.
It’s not just desire. Not just attraction. Not even the protective instinct that’s driven me since she arrived at our gates, half-dead and burning with determination.
It’s something fiercer. Deeper. Something that terrifies me in ways Ulrik’s power never could.
I love her.
The realization hits with the force of a physical blow. I love her. This witch princess who should be my enemy, who carries the bloodline of the woman who killed my sister, who has become so essential to me that I can’t imagine existing without her.
I love her. And I will burn the world to keep her safe.
“Auren.” Her voice brings me back to the present. She’s looking at me with those amber eyes, fire and exhaustion mixing in her gaze. The Crown still blazes above her head, its geometric patterns pulsing with each beat of her heart. “We need to move. Before Ulrik breaks free.”
I take her hand again. Her fingers are burning hot against my cold palm, her fire leaking through skin that can’t contain all the power coursing through her. It should hurt. It doesn’t. Nothing about touching her has ever hurt.
“Stay with me,” I say. It’s a command. A plea. A promise.
She squeezes my hand, and her smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”
We move toward the fortress. Side by side. Toward the Shadow King’s throne room and the final confrontation that will decide everything.
Behind us, Ulrik roars in fury, swings his massive tail around, and sends Zyphon tumbling across the sky. Then the shadow king vaporizes into black mist. I can barely track the dark cloud as it dives into the center of the fortress.
Great. So much for sneaking in.
Ahead, the fortress gates gape open—massive stone sized for shifted dragons, carved with faces that seem to scream if you look too long. An invitation to death that we accept without hesitation.
The battle isn’t over.
But we’re going to win.
I know it with the same certainty that I know I love her. Know it the way I know my own name, my own magic, the ice that has defined me for six centuries.
