Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
“We have to get to the Ascension Grounds,” Remy said sharply, already moving toward the door. “Now.”
“Kaelith is…” I started, but her thoughts were a maelstrom in my mind—half-formed words, images of fire and sky, roars layered over whispered names I didn’t recognize. It was like trying to hold on to a storm with bare hands.
I reached for her—Kaelith, what’s wrong?—but there was no answer, only the chaotic echo of her voice tumbling over itself.
Zander was already at my side, his hand at my back as we raced through the castle halls. Torches blurred past, and every step closer made my chest tighten further. Something was wrong. Deeply, anciently wrong.
We burst onto the Ascension Grounds, the air heavy with heat and energy. The other riders were already there—Riven, Naia, Jax, Ferrula, even Tae and members of Warborn and Crownwatch—all standing in silence, staring.
At her.
Kaelith.
She was on the far side of the field, wings spread wide, claws sunk into the stone as if anchoring herself to the earth. Her head was thrown back, her throat rumbling with a low, guttural hum that vibrated through the ground itself.
Her scales shimmered wildly, shifting between purple, obsidian, and silver-gold—changing too quickly, too violently, like she couldn’t hold her shape. Magic crackled around her like heat lightning, arcs of it leaping from her tail to her wings, striking the air.
And her eyes…
Her eyes were rolled back, showing only burning gold.
“She’s in a trance,” I whispered, heart pounding. “Or—something’s taken hold of her.”
No one moved.
No one dared.
Even the other dragons kept their distance—watching, waiting.
Because whatever this was, whatever was happening…
It wasn’t just a vision.
It was a summons.
Hein moved before anyone else could even breathe.
The moment Major Ledor took a hesitant step forward, Hein dropped from the low sky like a shadow falling over the sun. His great wings slammed into the earth beside Kaelith, shaking the stone with the impact as dust spiraled around them both.
Ledor froze.
Hein’s silver scales caught the dying light, and his eyes—Stormlight and fury—locked on the major. The deep, growling rumble that left his throat was not a warning.
It was a promise.
Ledor lifted his hands slowly. “Easy,” he said, voice steady despite the sweat beading at his temple. “I just wanted to get a closer look.”
But he backed away.
Everyone did.
Because Kaelith’s throat began to glow.
It wasn’t the soft shimmer of her usual fire. It was molten, burning up through her chest with a pulse of raw elemental energy. The sound that came from her was ancient, not a roar, but a resonance, the kind that made your bones remember everything you had experienced.
We scattered, giving her space as her chest heaved—
And she released it.
A stream of pure orange fire tore through the sky—
—only for the flames to shift mid-air, twisting, until white-blue ice snapped into place. The stream of heat froze, suspended in the air like jagged glass, shards of crystal fire raining down in a slow, impossible snowfall.
Gasps echoed across the grounds. No one moved.
No one dared.
And Hein…
He stood beside her. His massive frame curled slightly around hers, not touching, but close and protective. His wings rose in a partial arch, shielding her from view, his eyes never leaving her.
Not once.
But this wasn’t just watchfulness.
It was desire.
Not lust, not hunger, but the kind of devotion born of something deeper. Recognition. Kinship. Their Bond.
Hein looked at her as if the storm in his blood had finally found a place to rest.
Kaelith was still trembling, her magic crackling around her like lightning caught in a cage.
And I realized—
She wasn’t just summoning something.
She was becoming something else.
The whispering began slowly, like wind catching the edge of a flame, before it spread, flickering across the Ascension Grounds like wildfire.
Soft voices behind armored hands. Uneasy glances exchanged between guilds. No one dared speak loudly, not when Kaelith’s magic still shimmered in the air like a live wire, but it was clear—
The ground beneath us was shifting. Sides were being chosen.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Remy standing to one side, Katama crouched behind him in a low, tense coil. His arms were crossed, but his gaze flicked across the field, assessing, calculating.
And then I saw it.
Crownwatch.
Three of their riders—highborns—peeled away from the others and moved subtly, almost casually, to stand at Remy’s side. Not in challenge.
In alliance.
I turned slightly, just enough to see Naia move closer to Zander, followed by Tae and Riven, Ferrula stalking over with her usual silent fury. Jax fell into step just behind me, his broad presence grounding me with every movement.
They weren’t doing it for show.
They were doing it for protection.
For trust.
What the hell was happening?
I looked across the grounds to Iron Fang, expecting them to hold firm in their usual united, arrogant silence. And they did.
Mostly.
They stood slightly apart, unsure for the first time, shuffling, glancing between Theron’s absence and Kaelith’s raw, impossible display of power.
All of them looked uncertain—
Except one.
Perin.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t whisper.
Didn’t blink.
He stared at me, his face carved in pure, boiling hatred.
As if Kaelith’s magic had confirmed something he already feared.
That I wasn’t just a commoner bonded to a rare dragon.
That I was something else entirely.
And in his eyes—I saw it.
He wanted me dead more now than ever.
Kaelith’s head lowered slowly, the eerie glow fading from her eyes. Her wings dropped with a heavy thud, as if her magic had drained from her bones all at once.
The trance had ended.
But she wasn’t calm.
As Hein took a single step closer, Kaelith bared her teeth and let out a low, guttural growl, deep enough to rattle the ground beneath our feet. A warning, not of danger, but of distance. Not even Hein was allowed too close right now.
“Remy is right,” a voice called out.
A Warborn rider, standing to the right of their commander, sneered as he crossed his arms.
“They’re unstable,” he said, just loud enough for the whole field to hear. “Both of them.”
My hands clenched at my sides, but my eyes went straight to Remy—who didn’t say a word.
He just watched.
And that was enough.
I glared at him, my hands already moving. I guess I should get used to you betraying me. The sharp motions of sign were fast, vicious.
Remy’s expression barely shifted as he signed back, I only want what’s best for you.
My jaw clenched. That isn’t you.
His nostrils flared. It isn’t Zander either. Your… alliance could get us all killed.
I let out a slow, cold laugh. One that tasted like venom.
Then I smiled at him.
A sharp, wicked, frozen smile.
“I had no idea you were such a pussy, Remy,” I said, my voice calm and cutting.
A few heads turned. Even Katama’s tail twitched.
Remy’s jaw worked, but he said nothing. Just stared at me as if he were looking at a stranger.
Maybe he was.
Because whatever we were before—
We weren’t anymore.