Chapter 25
Tess
The salamander moved like living fire, its molten body slithering across the scorched earth with terrifying ease. The heat it radiated was suffocating, pressing against my skin like an open furnace. My breath hitched. My limbs froze.
It locked eyes with me, and in that instant, I knew—I was prey.
A deep, primal fear coiled around my ribs, squeezing tight. Every logical part of me screamed to move, to run, to let someone stronger handle this. I wasn’t a warrior. I wasn’t even a real Dragon Rider yet. I was just a librarian who had stumbled into something far bigger than herself.
I don’t belong here.
The creature surged forward.
A blur of movement—then Mason was there, shoving me aside. We hit the ground hard, his massive body shielding mine as a wave of fire exploded where I had stood. The air crackled, the heat pressing in, stealing the breath from my lungs.
“Tess!” His voice was rough, urgent. “Get up!”
I gasped, forcing air into my burning throat as I scrambled to my feet. The salamander reared back, its molten eyes narrowing. It was hunting me specifically.
Why?
A sick realization twisted in my gut. Because I used magic. The Golden Shield. It must sense the magic inside me, the same way a predator senses weakness.
“You must act, little one.” Thalon’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts, steady and unshakable.
“I—I can’t,” I stammered, my hands trembling. My pulse thundered in my ears. My heart was a hammer, pounding against my ribs, demanding I flee.
“You can.” His tone did not waver. “But you must choose to.”
The salamander lunged again.
A powerful gust of wind slammed into it, forcing it back. Kane stood rigid, his violet-blue eyes sharp with expectation. “Tess, move! ”
The world felt distant, like I was watching from behind a thick sheet of glass. My body refused to cooperate. Fear was a living beast inside me, wrapping its claws around my ribs, whispering all the ways I could fail—
Mason’s hand closed around my wrist, grounding me. His grip was steady, unshakable. “You’re not alone,” he murmured, his voice low and certain. “We’ve got you.”
Not alone.
The words pierced through the fog of fear, settling deep in my chest. I had Thalon. I had Mason. Kane. The others.
I wasn’t alone.
I clenched my fists, forcing air into my lungs. “Okay,” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. Then, louder: “Okay. Let’s end this.”
The salamander lunged a third time, faster than before, its body a streak of molten fury. I didn’t hesitate.
“ Golden Shield! ”
The barrier erupted around me just as the creature’s claws slashed forward. Sparks exploded as its molten talons scraped against the shimmering surface, but the shield held.
Mason was already in motion, leaping forward with impossible speed. He slammed his stone-enhanced fist into the salamander’s side, sending a crack spiderwebbing through its molten form. The creature screeched in fury.
Kane took advantage of the opening, summoning a blast of water from the air itself. The liquid hissed and steamed as it struck the salamander, forcing its body to harden and slow.
It was working.
But it wasn’t enough.
The salamander roared, its molten form expanding as it drew heat from the surrounding flames. It was feeding off the fire.
I braced myself, heart pounding. We needed to stop it now , before it grew any stronger.
I turned to Thalon, his massive form coiled and ready. Through our bond, I felt his unwavering confidence in me.
“We fight together,” he said simply.
The salamander’s molten body pulsed, swelling with raw heat as it absorbed the flames around us. The inferno bent to its will, growing brighter, hotter—unstoppable.
Unless we stopped it first.
Mason moved first, his massive frame a blur of motion. His gargoyle-enhanced strength met the salamander head-on, his stone-infused fists slamming into its molten hide. The impact sent cracks rippling across its body, but the creature shrieked and retaliated, swiping a clawed limb at him.
I barely had time to react.
"Golden Shield!"
The barrier flared between them just in time, deflecting the salamander’s molten claws before they could rake across Mason’s chest. He grunted in acknowledgment, nodding at me before twisting away to launch another strike.
Kane followed up with a calculated counterattack. He swept his hand through the air, summoning a spiraling wave of water that crashed against the salamander’s side. Steam hissed violently as the creature recoiled, its molten form hardening in places where the water struck.
But it wasn’t enough.
The salamander let out a piercing shriek, cracks splitting open across its body—only for fresh, glowing magma to seep through the fractures, reforming its molten flesh in mere seconds.
I clenched my teeth. Damn it. It’s adapting too fast.
Thalon’s voice resonated through our bond, steady and unwavering.
"Then we must strike with finality, little one."
A surge of warmth spread through me, coiling in my chest like a steady flame. It wasn’t burning—it was beckoning . Thalon’s presence pressed against my mind, an invitation rather than a demand.
"You are connected to me," he said. "To my fire. Let it flow through you."
My breath hitched. Purifying Fire. The legendary power that defined Thalon’s existence—the very essence of his divine flame.
Was that even possible?
"Trust in our bond."
The salamander shrieked again, its molten body expanding as it fed off the surrounding fire. We were running out of time.
I swallowed hard. Then, I closed my eyes and reached—
—Not with my hands, not with force, but with intent.
With belief .
Heat flared in my chest, different from the suffocating fire around me. This was something pure . Something alive .
My eyes snapped open.
Golden flames flickered along my fingertips.
The salamander hesitated.
It recognized this power.
Good.
I thrust my hands forward.
"Purifying Fire!"
The golden flames erupted from my palms, not as a blast, but as a wave of radiant energy. The fire didn’t burn—it cleansed, unraveling the salamander’s molten form from the inside out.
Thalon roared above, his own Purifying Fire merging with mine in a dazzling display of light. The salamander let out a final, echoing screech as the divine flames consumed it—breaking it down, dissolving the corrupted magic at its core.
The fire inside it flickered.
Then died.
The salamander collapsed inward, its body hardening into cooled obsidian. The glow faded from its molten veins, leaving only a lifeless, blackened husk behind.
Silence.
For a moment, I just stood there, my breath coming in short gasps. My entire body trembled, the adrenaline still coursing through me.
Then, my knees buckled.
Mason was there in an instant, catching me before I could hit the ground. His arms wrapped around me, solid and warm, grounding me in the aftermath of the battle.
"You did it," he murmured, his voice rough with something like pride.
I let out a shaky laugh. "We did it."
???
The battle shifted after that.
Seeing the first salamander fall, the other dragons and Dragon Riders fought with renewed ferocity. With Thalon leading the charge, we pushed the remaining fire elementals back, extinguishing them one by one.
Hours later, the fire was finally— finally —under control.
Smoke still lingered in the air, the scent of scorched earth thick around us. The landscape was blackened, the once-lush forest reduced to smoldering embers.
But we had won.
I stood beside Thalon, my fingers resting against his warm scales. My entire body ached—but beneath the exhaustion, something else simmered.
Pride.
I had fought. I had won .