Chapter 40
Chapter
Forty
Zander’s gaze drifted, his focus splintering as if something else had just seized hold of his mind. His shoulders stiffened, his mouth drawn into a thin line.
I stepped closer. “What is it?”
His voice came quiet, edged with something uncertain. “Hein… he wants us to come to Dragon Isle.”
That surprised me. “Does he take you there often?”
Zander shook his head once. “No. He’s never landed on the isle with me on his back. But he wishes to transport you as well.”
A strange chill threaded through me.
“Kaelith is waiting for you there,” he added.
Before I could answer, Alahathrial lifted the parchment from the table and handed it back to Zander, folding it carefully and pressing it into his palm.
“Repeat the words when you are ready to enter the sanctuary,” he said. “You’ll know when you’ve found it.”
His tone changed, sharpened. “But if you wish to remain undetected within the Blood King’s wards, you’ll need a rider with Wraith’s Caress. Preferably one who possesses Phantom Step, they’ll be able to slip past the veils.”
My mouth tightened. Remy.
“A Fire Warrior would be invaluable in dealing with the physical manifestations,” he continued, fingers lacing in front of him. “And someone with Dominion of the Mind would allow you to bypass any psychic barriers or enchantments tied to loyalty oaths.”
I let out a soft grunt. “Add Honed Reflexes, Kinetic Surge, Mirror Fate, and Flourish, and you’ve just described my entire squad.”
Alahathrial’s eyes lifted to meet mine, surprise flickering behind the gold. “You have access to individuals with those specific gifts?”
“Yes,” Zander said, voice firm. “All of them.”
A quiet moment passed. Then Alahathrial smiled, faint, distant, but real.
“Your birth was preordained. Both of you.” He looked between us. “You and Ashlyn were destined to be born when the time to fight for peace would arrive. But those gifts… they are rare in full-blooded fae. To have them all in one place, in the same era?”
He shook his head slowly. “That is more than destiny. That is divine orchestration.”
Zander touched my arm, grounding me as my thoughts scattered.
“We should go,” he said gently, then glanced back at the man who had fathered him in secret. “Thank you… for the information.”
Alahathrial bowed his head slightly. Not as a king. Not as a prisoner.
But as a man who understood what was coming.
We exited the castle into a sky washed gold with morning light, only to find Hein waiting just beyond the gates, massive and gleaming silver, his wings tucked in close like folded armor.
He stood perfectly still, the wind catching the edge of his scales and making them shimmer like stars.
Major Ledor glanced at us with a furrowed brow, clearly trying to piece together why Hein was calmly waiting outside the castle like a personal escort. His gaze lingered on Zander, questioning.
But Zander didn’t stop to explain.
He strode straight toward his dragon, one hand brushing Hein’s side with casual familiarity before swinging up onto his back. Then, without a word, he reached down and extended his hand to me.
I hesitated for half a breath, only because I wasn’t used to this. To Hein. But I took Zander’s hand, and he pulled me up behind him in a single, effortless motion.
“Should I be concerned your dragon likes me better than my own?” I asked dryly, settling in behind him, the heat of his body cutting through the wind already curling around us.
Zander twisted slightly, glancing back with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hein seems to like you better than me.”
“I doubt that,” I muttered as Hein let out a low rumble and launched into the sky, his wings slicing through the clouds with effortless grace.
“He never offered to take me to Dragon Isle before, Ashe,” Zander said quietly as the ground fell away beneath us. “We’re going because Kaelith wants you there.”
I blinked against the wind. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Silence stretched between us as we flew over the glimmering coastline, the cliffs of Warriath fading behind us. The air grew thicker; wilder as we entered ancient skies.
“We’ll have to lead a mission to the Fae Sanctuary,” Zander said at last. “You and I. Together.”
“And Remy,” I added, my voice edged with inevitability.
Zander’s tone darkened. “Unfortunately. But at least we know Thrall Squad will be an asset.”
I nodded. “Especially now that we have the lowborns.”
Hein began to descend then, circling slowly over the edge of a massive island, green with wild grass and edged in obsidian cliffs. He angled toward a large clearing carved in the center of the trees.
Two dragons waited there.
Siergen, smaller and coiled like a red statue.
And Kaelith.
Her wings were half-open, her violet scales catching the light like living amethyst. She didn’t roar, didn’t move.
She simply watched.
Waiting for me.
Hein touched down with the grace of a creature born from thunder and steel, his wings folding neatly to his sides as the massive silver dragon came to rest at the edge of the clearing.
Zander didn’t dismount.
Instead, he looked back at me and gave a single, silent nod—motioning toward the dragons ahead.
I slid off Hein’s back, my boots hitting the earth softly, the air thick with something… ancient. Charged.
I didn’t ask if Zander had permission to unmount. From the way Hein remained utterly still beneath him, I guessed permission hadn’t been granted yet.
Or hadn’t been needed.
As I stepped forward, Hein slowly backed away into the shadows of the surrounding trees, leaving the clearing for what it was meant to be.
I approached the two dragons waiting in the grass and sunlight, the one who had always come when I called, even if he didn’t belong to me, and the one who did.
Siergen stood like a sentry, all scarlet elegance, his tail curled at his side and his glowing gaze locked on me.
But Kaelith—
She was as still as stone, every ripple of violet scale gleaming with restrained power. Her wings were half-extended, her body tense, coiled like a question that hadn’t yet been asked.
I stopped a few feet from her, heart tight in my chest.
“May I ask why I’m here?” I said aloud, not sure if it was to either dragon or myself.
Her mind entered mine like a storm sliding through a still lake.
I have fought our bond long enough, Kaelith said. I have a question for you.
My breath caught. I swallowed hard. “What is it?” I asked aloud.
Her voice vibrated through my bones.
Do you agree to share your power with me, fully? No barriers. No hesitation. It is a lifetime commitment. Your lifetime, that is. I will grace the skies long after your bones turn to dust.
I snorted softly, unable to help it. “Don’t sound so happy about that.”
Then, quieter—
“But yes. I’ve never held anything back from you. Whatever you want from me… you may have. I just want to save the innocent people of this continent.”
Kaelith went still, her eyes narrowing, not with suspicion.
With understanding.
I accept your terms, she said.
Something shifted in the air, like wind and flame curling around one another. I didn’t feel it with my skin, I felt it with my soul.
I glanced at Siergen.
He hadn’t moved, but his crimson eyes glowed brighter now, like twin stars igniting.
He was waiting for something.
“Is that it?” I asked, breath catching.
But deep down, I knew—
No.
This was just the beginning.
Kaelith lowered her massive head until her glowing violet eyes were level with mine. Her breath, warm and sharp with the scent of scorched earth, brushed against my skin.
Ashlyn Rebec, by flame and storm, blood and bond, do you accept me as yours, not just in purpose but in soul? Will you bind what is eternal to what is fragile and walk beside me, though your footsteps end before mine?
I couldn’t breathe.
My heart pounded, and the air around us shimmered like heat over fire.
“Yes,” I whispered, and this time, I felt it in every part of me.
The moment the word left my mouth, Kaelith spoke again, but this time, the words weren’t in my language. They vibrated with ancient power, her voice low and guttural and filled with something older than the sky above us.
The Dragon Oath.
It was not a spell. It was a binding. The kind that echoed through the marrow of the world.
Magic latched onto me.
Not like before, not the raw, cracking magic of the anchor.
This was deeper, ancient and intricate. It pushed and pulled, wrapping around my ribs, pressing behind my eyes, threading into my spine. Kaelith’s power rose up like a storm caught in a bottle, and my magic responded, spiraling upward to meet hers.
But something changed.
Mine didn’t just merge with hers.
It fed hers.
Lightning snapped in my blood. I felt her inhale, and my magic surged into her. Not taken. Given. Freely. Fully.
Siergen moved forward, slow and reverent. His glowing red eyes locked on Kaelith as she lifted her head, the violet scales along her spine flickering with iridescent flame.
She’s evolving, Siergen said, his voice echoing inside my mind. Accepting who she was meant to be.
I turned instinctively, just as Hein reared, a low, guttural roar erupting from his chest. Zander scrambled, leaping from his back just before Hein nearly bucked him from his back. He hit the grass and rolled, breathless, before regaining his footing.
Hein didn’t look at him.
He only looked at her.
He stalked forward like a beast finally loosed from its chains, his silver hide gleaming, eyes blazing with something primal and undeniable—lust, awe, possession, reverence.
All of it.
Kaelith turned, their gazes meeting, lightning still dancing across her wings.
And I understood.
This wasn’t just about me anymore.
Kaelith had chosen.
And the world was about to feel it.
Zander sucked in a deep breath beside me, the sound loud against the stillness of the clearing.
“How is this possible?” he whispered, eyes wide, locked on Kaelith like he was seeing her for the first time.
I turned to follow his gaze.
Kaelith stood tall and fierce, her wings arched in full display, scales glinting like amethyst set to flame. But it wasn’t her wings that held our attention; it was her tail.
It lifted slowly, arching like a serpent poised to strike. At first, I recognized the shape—sleek, curved, bladed at the end like a scythe.
A Striker. Of course.
But then—
The air shimmered.
Magic pulsed around her like thunder pressed to skin.
Her tail began to split.
Not crack. Not twist.
Split.
Right down the center, the scythe-like blade cleaving apart into two curved appendages, each one elongating, reshaping, sharpening.
I felt it in my bones, the way the magic shifted, her evolution no longer just a metaphor, but a manifestation.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s impossible.”
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