The cavern stirred.
An elder dragon growled low.
K. ROSÉ
You are the only one of your kind, you would risk your life for a Fae war?
I felt Zephyros’ life force surged brightly with commanding, unwavering energy.
Zephyros: I would risk my life for my friend.
That word echoed louder than any prophecy. Friend.
I shook my head, panic clawing at my ribs. My heart beat surged, fracturing it with every pulse.
“No. Not you.”
If she died because of me—
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
She lowered her massive head until her snout nearly brushed my shoulder.
Zephyros: You asked for a volunteer.
“I didn’t mean you.” My voice cracked with suffocating guilt.
A ripple of faint amusement moved through the bond.
Zephyros: You did not specify.
The other dragons watched in silence.
I pressed my forehead to her scales, my palm flattening against her cheek where the sensation of the bond ebbed and flowed between us.
“I can’t lose you.”
The admission fractured something inside me.
Her life force surged gently against mine—not dominance.
Not a command, but comfort.
Zephyros: You will not lose me.
“That’s not a promise you can make.”
Zephyros: No,she agreed calmly.It is not.
Her honesty hurt worse than reassurance.
Zephyros: I hatched alone;she reminded me quietly.But I do not fly alone, I have a…friend.
Tears burned behind my eyes.
“This isn’t your burden,” I cried.
Zephyros: It is our burden, Delilah.
