You passed, she said softly, her voice curling through my mind like smoke and thunder.
And then?—
Darkness.
My eyes fluttered open, lashes heavy with grit and dried sweat. The sun was higher now, pouring golden light across the scorched stone. Heat pressed against my skin, and my body ached as if I’d been flung through time itself.
I shifted, groaning, my muscles protesting every breath. Everything hurt.
“How long was I out?” I rasped.
Kaelith’s voice flowed into my mind, velvet over embers.Just over an hour. But Hein’s rider is most displeased. He’s been circling like a storm that won’t break.
I tried to sit up, and Kaelith extended her wing, shielding me from the sun as I dragged myself into a seated position.
She continued, her tone wry.Katama’s rider is also irritated, though I care little for his moods.
I was not surprised she didn’t favor Remy. But I felt a change in our bond.
As I looked at her something shifted in my chest. In the space where her magic had always pressed against mine, there was now… more. Like the bond had deepened, rooted itself further. No longer just connection, but completion.
“Something’s changed,” I whispered.
It has,she said, eyes glowing softly.
I reached out, pressing my palm to her warm scales. And this time, her magic didn’t just stir in response—it rose to meet me.
We were no longer just bonded.
We were chosen.
Not by the crown.
Not through the trials.
By each other.
Kaelith’s head snapped toward the distant silhouette of Warriath, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled deeply, wings twitching in agitation.
Something was wrong.
Her voice cut through my mind.We must return. There has been an incident.
My heart clenched. “What kind of incident?” I asked, pushing myself to my feet, muscles still trembling from the trial.
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she crouched low, wing unfurling in a sweeping arc as if to shield me from the question I’d asked.
I didn’t push. I knew that silence.
I grabbed the rope still tied around her neck, hoisting myself onto her back with practiced ease, settling into the familiar cradle between her shoulders.
The moment I was secure, her wings beat once—twice—before we surged into the sky like a bolt loosed from a storm.
Wind tore at my clothes, my hair, but I didn’t care.
We were already climbing fast, the Dragon Isle shrinking beneath us, Warriath rising on the horizon like a storm-scarred crown.
