But I can’t move. I have no strength left to fight.
I can only surrender to the silence and exhaustion.
When darkness narrows my vision, I don’t know if it’s sleep or death that claims me.
3
RONYN
We take to the sky only minutes after the pulse of magic tears through the world, diving off the top of our building into the cool dark sky. The dragon inside me surges forward, unchained, and ravenous, and I let him have the reins. Flesh gives way to scale in a rush of heat and pressure. Bones break and lengthen, claws sprout in place of fingers, and red wings tear free of my shoulders, propelling me upwards.
Dragon magic wraps around us like a second skin. To human eyes, we don’t exist. No shadow crosses the ground when we pass overhead. No form is visible if they glance upward. Only the sound of wings beating against the air might draw curious attention as we tear through the night sky.
Below us, the land spreads wide and dark, the magic now subdued and almost undetectable. As agreed, we fly separately to cover as much ground as possible. Kelan takes the city, Darial, the empty plains below. I’m heading North over Blackwood Forest, drawn by its ancient whispers thatare older than the lies humans tell themselves about owning the earth. Its canopy is thick, its roots deep, and its connections stubborn. It recognizes us even if the world does not.
Kelan banks east, his massive black wings barely disturbing the air. His obsidian scales drink in moonlight without reflecting it, and every movement is precise as he scans the land with sharp, focused eyes.
Darial arcs south, his gold fire muted beneath the cloak, faster than either of us. He is light, speed, and instinct, covering ground with effortless grace.
Our connection weakens as we separate, the absence unfamiliar and unsettling.
Cold air presses against my scarlet scales, a welcome contrast to my natural heat. My senses extend outward, searching for any sign of disturbance and listening for the echo of the wild magic that shattered centuries of peace.
The scream of it still sounds in my ears.
I descend, detecting the movement of humans and animals below, but not our target. Life generates warmth, but magic is unmistakable, like an inferno.
I scan beyond the trees, sensing an alteration in the landscape. Rocks jut like jagged teeth into the sky, the ripple of magic clinging to their crags. My wings tilt instinctively, carrying me lower. The forest rushes beneath me, treetops coming into focus as I descend, circling wide. Whatever burned so brightly moments ago is collapsing inward now, power bleeding away fast.
Too fast.
That kind of burnout kills mortals.
It should killher.
There’s no mistaking it now. The magic carries asignature, and it’s female.
Kelan, I send through the mind-link, edged with a frustrated snarl I don’t bother to soften.I’ve got something.
His response is immediate, a weight settling into my skull.Location?
I relay the location without slowing. Darial briefly acknowledges my message.
I spiral lower, breaching the upper canopy. Branches part beneath my wings. The diminishing magical embers pull me harder now, like a leash drawn tight. I fold my wings and dive, shifting partially midair. Bones compress, and wings recede so that I can land at the mouth of a cave without bringing rock down around me. Still, I remain more dragon than man.
Fire hums beneath my skin. My eyes glow, casting light where there should be none. The darkness retreats from me instinctively, shadows curling back as if afraid.
This cave shouldn’t be here. I know this forest from its ley lines and streams to its oldest trees and highest hills. This cave was never part of the landscape. I step forward, feet crunching softly on frost-laced stone as my dragonfire lights my path in low, controlled pulses. The air smells damp, but new power lingers here.
Before me, the cave yawns open into a wider chamber. I scan in an arc, my heart stopping when the crumpled form of a woman comes into focus. She lies sprawled on the stone floor, limbs slack, red hair fanned around her head in a wild halo. Even at first glance, it’s obvious she’s too thin and too still. I approach, finding her skin bruised, scratched, and bleeding, and her clothes little more than rags.
She’s powerless and immobile and yet magic still clings to her.
My dragon rears back inside me, stunned as the word I thought was lost to me surges through my consciousness, recognition immediate.
Mate.
The truth is undeniable, filling me with awe. My chest tightens and heat flares along my spine. We have found our mate. We have found the female who will bond us in contentment.
