Her head tilts far above.You’re smaller than I expected.
Lucien stops ten feet away. He has to crane upwards to meet her eyes. “Sorry to disappoint. Your expectations might be too high.”
I don’t think so. Your soul is just so bright. It illuminates more of the sky than I would expect from such a puny person.
Lucien hasn’t been called puny since—well, ever. He grins. “Is that what drew you to me? My shininess?”
Yes. You are shiny.
“Not as shiny as you are,” Lucien says.
Her mental voice sounds pleased.Of course. I am the most glorious.
Tezurit’s presence echoes through Lucien. It’s like no magic he’s ever felt before. Not a sharing or taking. Just a connection. Rakos says that bonding with a dragon can intensify a mage’s power, and the dragon’s power, too. He explained why dragons bond—stability. Companionship. But it’s hard to imagine a creature like Tezurit needing a human.
Except there are forces greater than either of them that need to be stopped. Everyone needs help sometimes.
“If you don’t want to be bonded, you should probably take off,” Lucien says.
He wonders if Marek will try to stop this. But there’s no sound behind him, and Lucien can’t look away from Tezurit.
A warm sigh gusts through Lucien’s head. Like smoke, but perfectly clear.Will you stop the fighting?
Lucien has spent the past ten years figuring out how to win a war. Now all he wants is to end it, no matter which side he’s on. “Or die trying.”
Approval echoes between them.Then I will help and bet my life on it too. Besides, I am curious if a bond will help you answer me from afar. Carrying the entire conversation is tiresome.
Lucien always imagined dragons as an abstraction. He was obsessed with how he could use them. Weapon and strategy against a dangerous foe. Ask him five years ago, five months ago, what sort of dragon he would want for himself, and he would have answered, any dragon.
But Tezurit isn’t just any dragon. She’s her own person. Now that Lucien has met her, she’s the only dragon he wants.
Lucien reaches out, and Tezurit’s head lowers. Her sleek snout presses hot against his palm.
The world shivers, a rainbow of lights shimmering behind the elements of existence. Lucien’s soul twists upside down, then settles into place.
Can you hear me?Lucien asks.
A rush of glee. Sunlight on clouds. Joy brighter than the rainbow waters, without any poison in it.
Everything seems possible.
?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kazia
Sitting at the dinner table with his parents is surreal. Four more days, and Kazia will never have to do this again. At this very moment, the other conspirators are finalizing the plan in Kazia’s chambers. Lucien, Marek, Sei, and Salarin. Salarin wasn’t thrilled with Lucien’s inclusion, but Marek’s involvement put her at ease.
The conspiracy extends beyond the borders, too. Last week, Kazia swallowed his pride and wrote to Vana. He didn’t mention the grail powers or the abuse. Committing those details to writing is too risky. But Vana was more than happy to help, especially with Marek’s reassurance that the conspiracy was legitimate.
Luring Vana into a fake coup attempt does sound like something Kazia would do.
Now, a small fleet of ships from Tavoc and Kaiskara are on their way to Draskoran waters. Not to attack—just to draw attention southwards. With most of the army already focused onthe western and northern borders, Ostomar will be minimally defended.
Four more days. Until then, Kazia still has to sit obediently at Father’s table, like everything is normal.
Aliza picks at her dinner, most of her concentration devoted to her shabby leather-bound book. Her good mood isn’t subtle. Every so often, she makes a small, pleased hum.
