His golden eyes found Elara immediately, and something rare passed over his features—wonder. And reverence.
Zander slowed his steps and lowered Elara to her feet, steadying her with an arm around her shoulders.
Siergen took a step forward, his voice low and threaded with awe.She is universal to dragons. It allowed her to assist the pool.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
His gaze never left Elara.It means she is of the Dragon-born, not simply touched by dragon magic but born of it. Her soul resonates with all of us, not just one. She is not bound by the laws that govern bonds. She is kin to every clutch and every flame.
Elara blinked slowly, confused. “I didn’t mean to be.”
Siergen gave her the faintest of smiles.You didn’t choose it. You simply are. That is why the pool accepted you. It remembered what it was made for. And so did you.
I stepped closer to Siergen, the wind catching my hair as the scent of magic, raw and ancient, still lingered on Elara’s skin.
“What will it mean for her?” I asked, my voice quieter than before. “Being Dragon-born?”
Siergen’s eyes slid to me, solemn and steady.It means she is not merely a rider, or a royal, or even a child of prophecy. She is living memory. A bridge between bloodlines. A song the dragons remember even if they’ve never heard it before. They will follow her… and so will those who seek to control her.
Zander’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Siergen turned his gaze back to Elara.She has awakened something that cannot be put back to sleep, but the pool,heglanced toward the tower,must be left alone now. Its time has come to an end. When its light fades again, it will be its last. The magic within it will collapse, and its protection will vanish with it.
Zander nodded. “That was the last time. She won’t return.”
Elara gave a soft noise, barely coherent as she blinked up at him. “Did I mess up?”
“No,” Zander murmured, stepping toward her. “You did all you could. But now it’s time to rest.”
She swayed where she stood, too tired to pretend she could hold herself up any longer. Zander didn’t hesitate—he scooped her into his arms with a gentleness that tugged at my heart.
Elara let out a soft sigh and pressed her face to his chest. She was asleep before he even took the first step toward the castle.
We moved in quiet, the weight of what we’d just learned pressing in around us.
Dragon-born.
And when the pool’s light flickered again… we had run out of time.
Zander pressed a kiss to Elara’s cheek, cradling her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. And maybe she was. His expression softened into something raw and reverent, all the sharpness I’d seen on the battlefield or in council stripped away. In this moment, he wasn’t a prince. He was just a brother.
The way he looked at her… my heart clenched.
Maybe Dorian was the rightful heir,I thought,but Zander… Zander would be a great king.His compassion, his strength, his loyalty, they weren’t for show. They lived in his blood, thrummed in his bond with Hein, echoed in the dragons who’d chosen him.
He already had the support of the horde.
And if he ascended the throne…
Could I let him go?
The thought knocked the air from my lungs. My chest tightened with something I couldn’t name—grief and pride and fear all crashing together in an unbearable tide. I had fought so hard to keep him, to stand beside him. But what if standing beside him meant watching him walk into a world where I didn’t belong?
A world where he would need to take a queen with noble blood. A bride with a crown. Not a girl from the village with scarred hands and dragon fire in her veins.
The ache curled sharp inside me.
Could I survive letting him go—for the good of Warriath?
