We bank hard, the forest tilting wildly, and then the cave rushes back into view.
The dragon descends, size reducing, its body shifting into its smaller human form, landing with force that jangles my frame and snaps my teeth shut. The shift from dragon to man happens in a blur of heat and muscle and breath that steals all coherent thought except one word.
Kelan.
And he’s furious.
“How could you run?” he roars, the sound thundering against the cave walls. “How could you put yourself in danger like that?”
I recoil, heart beating fast. “You’re the ones who took my power! You’re the ones who made me weak.”
“We did it to keep you alive!” Ronyn snaps back.
Darial is already kneeling, gently checking my arms, legs, and face. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head numbly.
“No cuts?” Ronyn mutters, relief bleeding through his anger.
Kelan exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his dark hair. The rage drains from him in uneven breaths, leaving only raw fear behind. “Do you have any idea what it would do to us to lose you?”
His words of misery land heavily. He seems genuinely desperate at the thought.
“I’m not yours to lose.”
His huge shoulders slump. “But we are yours.”
He glances at Darial, his eyes practically pleading, like he has no idea what to do or say to make this better. Whatever they say to each other, it isn’t for my ears.
“I need to pee,” I blurt, needing to escape the pressure of their claims. “Don’t worry… I’m going to find somewhere deeper in this damned cave for some privacy.
Rather than continuing to try to convince me of their good intentions, they let me go. When I return, they’ve prepared food which they hand to me. Warm bread, eggs, fruit. I stare at it, hollow and still shaking, but ravenous enough to take it. We eat in silence.
Their anger hangs thick in the air, braided tightly with concern. No one touches me or raises their voice. But the undeniable truth is clear now. They claim to be my saviors and protectors, but they are also my jailers.
They are dragons, and they have decided I'm worth protecting… whether I want it or not.
13
RONYN
Aura sits rigid on the edge of the bed, her shoulders tense, and fingers clenched so tightly in the cloth of the blanket that her knuckles have turned the color of bone. She hasn’t spoken since the flight back to the cave. She hasn’t looked at us either. Her silence is louder than her anger has been.
I would rather she screamed at us. I understand anger, and fury I can meet head on, but this quiet withdrawal is worse. It’s like standing near the edge of a cliff while the ground below my feet erodes grain by grain.
Kelan stands near the fire, arms crossed, jaw locked so tightly, his teeth grind. Darial hovers a few steps away from Aura, uncertain, wary of pushing her further.
She stares at nothing.
And I know in the depths of my bones that we are losing her.
I move before I can overthink it, crossing the space between us and lowering myself to one knee in front of her. The stone is frigid beneath me, but I welcome it.
“Aura,” I say quietly.
Her eyes flick to me, guarded, and wounded.
“I know you think we broke your trust. I know you’re vulnerable, and I know we’re failing to make you believe that we’re nothing like the shifters you were running from . I won’t touch you unless you agree,” I continue. “But I need you to see something. Something I can’t explain with words. Will you allow me to show you?”
