Chapter 15 #2
You are special. That’s why I would’ve chosen you, if I could.
And then he was gone.
The tether cut clean.
Kaelith said nothing, but I could feel her still.
Not angry. Not even smug.
Just… quiet.
The strange part wasn’t that a dragon had argued over me.
It was that Kaelith, the great Sentinel, the oldest flame on the isle, had taken the brunt of Siergen’s anger… and didn’t fight back.
And that silence… felt more like guilt than pride.
We landed in the valley just past midday, the winds calmer here, the air damp with the scent of moss and wildflower.
Elmwell Falls poured down the carved cliffs in staggered layers, veils of silver mist catching the light like lace.
The roar of the water echoed off the surrounding stone, a deep, rhythmic thunder that made the bones hum.
Kaelith’s talons struck rock first, followed closely by Katama’s stout frame, the two dragons settling along the cliff’s edge with a quiet grace. I dismounted, the rope rough in my hands, and took a moment to steady myself on the uneven stone.
Remy landed beside me and gave a low whistle. “At least the view’s nice.”
We walked along the stream-fed trail that curved beneath the falls. Mist dampened my braid and chilled my cheeks, but it was oddly calming. I could almost pretend we weren’t there because Theron demanded it. Almost.
“There’s nothing here,” I said, after several minutes of silence. “No outposts. No strange magic. No threat.”
Remy kicked a loose pebble into the stream. “I know. Theron sent us on a fool’s mission.” He met my gaze. “It was a power play. Just to prove he could.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m the pawn.”
He didn’t argue. Just nodded. “Yes.”
We stopped at a break in the rocks where we could see the full stretch of the falls. They rushed down like silver blades, unrelenting.
“If it weren’t for Kaelith,” Remy said slowly, “he would’ve removed you already.”
“Had me killed you mean,” I finished. “He wouldn’t be the first.”
Remy’s jaw tightened. “It won’t happen again.”
“Yes, it will,” I said, quieter now. “The next time Kaelith finally rejects me. She all but said it. That I’m hers to kill. That she doesn’t want me.”
“She’s scared,” Remy said.
“She’s Kaelith. She doesn’t get scared.”
He faced me fully then, arms crossed, expression firm. “You think dragons can’t fear? You think you’re the only one questioning your power? I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you’re not watching, like she’s waiting for you to prove her wrong.”
I laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t matter. I’m tired of fighting her. Tired of trying to be what she wants. What anyone wants.”
“Then don’t do it for her,” he said. “Do it for you.”
I didn’t answer. Just turned toward the dragons.
After a beat, I spoke again. “Can we go back?”
Remy gave a nod. “Yeah.”
We mounted our dragons in silence, tying our ropes, hands moving from habit rather than thought.
I didn’t reach for Kaelith once on the ride back.
We touched down just as the sun dipped beneath the Warriath cliffs, staining the sky in molten hues of crimson and gold. But there was no warmth waiting. No peace in the return.
Kaelith landed hard, claws grinding against the stone, and I barely had time to slide down her side before she launched back into the air, wings slicing through the dying light like she couldn’t get away fast enough.
Katama landed a little softer. Remy dismounted beside me with a hand steadying my arm, but I barely noticed.
Because Zander was already there.
Waiting.
His arms were crossed, boots planted wide, the lines in his jaw like carved stone. His eyes locked on mine the moment I looked up, and I felt the heat radiating off him.
“You should’ve waited for me to fix this,” he said, his voice low, coiled with fury.
I blinked. “Fix what?”
“Theron sent you to Elmwell. Alone. With him.” His eyes flicked to Remy, who was walking toward Warborn’s area of the battlements. Close to the healers’ quadrant.
I stiffened. “He gave the order. You had no way to counteract it. Not in front of the guild.”
“You think I wouldn’t have stopped it?”
“I don’t know what you would’ve done, Zander,” I snapped. “Seems like Inderia’s making a lot of your decisions these days.”
His nostrils flared. “That’s not fair.”
“No,” I said, stepping closer, feeling the static rising in my chest. “What’s not fair is being paraded in front of Fourth Guild like some toy you’re too ashamed to name. What’s not fair is watching your brother escort your fiancée to the ascension while you stay silent.”
A crack of thunder exploded overhead.
Zander’s eyes snapped to the sky. “Ashe…”
The wind picked up around us, snapping through the courtyard like it had teeth.
“You don’t get to be angry,” I hissed, fists clenched at my sides. “You don’t get to demand loyalty from me when you’ve shown none in return.”
“Kaelith isn’t anchoring you—”
“I know!”
Lightning burst above us, forked and violent, and heat poured across my skin like the sun itself had come too close.
Zander took a step forward, hand half-raised. “You’re going to lose control.”
“I am already lost,” I snarled.
The sky screamed with another bolt. The ground beneath us trembled, and the dragons called out from the isle.
I couldn’t stop it.
I didn’t want to.
Because for the first time since Kaelith turned her back on me…
I wanted the storm.