Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
It had been late by the time I dragged myself into bed, the confrontation with Theron and Remy still circling my thoughts like carrion birds. Sleep had come hard, and it left even harder. When Riven shook me awake at dawn, I felt like I hadn’t closed my eyes at all.
Now we stood on the Ascension Grounds, our boots damp with morning dew, the chill still clinging to the grass. The sun barely crested the horizon, casting long shadows behind our assembled ranks. Thrall Squad stood in our usual place, quiet and still. Even Ferrula wasn’t cracking jokes.
Major Ledor paced in front of the gathered squads, his voice ringing across the grounds. “Today, you will cross the River of Surrender. This trial is designed to complete the bond for those who have yet to.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. I straightened as a lieutenant from Stormforge lifted his hand. “Sir, will those who’ve already bonded have to complete the trial as well?”
“No,” Major Ledor said firmly. “This is a prospect trial only. But be warned…” His voice dropped. “Those who fail this test usually die.”
That sobered the crowd.
I touched the pendant resting against my chest, the cool metal grounding me. Kaelith had been different lately, receptive, more present. She’d even seemed to enjoy some of the recent trials. That made two of us, though I doubted either of us would enjoy this one.
Major Ledor clapped his hands once, sharp and commanding. “Prospects—call your dragons.”
Naia and I exchanged a look. This would be the first time the entire team wouldn’t run the trial together. Some of Thrall Squad had already completed their bonds, and that meant we were on our own now.
Cordelle caught my eye across the line and gave me a quick thumbs-up before moving to stand beside Tae, his expression steady but concerned. The two who would not compete in the trial.
Kaelith, I reached out, we’re headed to the river.
I am on my way, she replied.
Moments later, the ground trembled beneath the force of wings.
Kaelith landed beside Naia’s orange Swordtail, her violet scales glittering in the morning sun like molten amethyst. She dipped her head toward me, and I stepped forward to greet her, my hands already moving to fasten the saddle in place.
We mounted in silence, the usual rhythm of leather straps and tightened buckles grounding me. The sky above us filled with dragons, wings spreading wide as the last twenty prospects, only twenty left, gathered with their mounts.
The king was done waiting.
Major Ledor took to the skies on his massive green Catalan, leading the formation, and we followed, twenty riders strong, twenty dragons flying in formation above the kingdom.
It took time to fly over the forests of the Hallows and reach the mountains. But it was beautiful.
The River of Surrender came into view like a silver serpent through the forest. Wide. Fast. Ruthless. It cut through the land with the kind of power only nature or ancient magic could hold.
We landed on the stony bank, the roar of water thundering in our ears.
Kaelith shifted beneath me, quiet and calm, but her focus was absolute as I dismounted.
The river roared before us, wide and violent, a silver wall of thrashing water that seemed to stretch endlessly across the basin. Foam curled at the edges like snarling teeth, and the current pulled so hard the rocks beneath our boots shuddered.
Major Ledor sat tall on his dragon, voice booming over the thunder of water. “You are to cross the River of Surrender. Your dragons may use magic to aid you, but they may not physically touch you. If they do, your bond will be forfeit.”
The air crackled with tension as we stood lined along the riverbank, our dragons at a respectful distance, watching. Waiting. Twenty of us. Twenty trials.
Naia went first, her orange Swordtail’s magic surrounding her like a glowing halo as she stepped into the current. She vanished into the chaos of water and mist within seconds.
I was next.
I inhaled sharply, the reality of the moment pressing hard against my chest, and stepped forward.
That was when I saw him.
Perin.
Standing two bodies down in Iron Fang’s line, smirking like he’d already seen my corpse floating downstream.
I didn’t look at him again.
Instead, I walked straight into the river.
The cold slammed into me like a wall of knives.
The current seized my legs instantly, dragging me forward with terrifying force. I fought to keep upright, arms flailing against the sheer pull of the water. It was deeper than I expected, already at my waist, then chest, then neck in a blink.
Kaelith, I called.
I’m here, her voice echoed, calm and steady.
Power burst around me, harmless but warm, swirling with violet light. Her magic wrapped me like a second skin, strengthening my limbs, and calming my breath.
I swam, forced my body forward stroke by stroke, kicking hard as the current tried to yank me under. The water battered me from all sides, cold seeping into my bones, but I held on.
Minutes passed.
Then more. And more.
My strength began to falter.
I need more, I gasped in my mind. Kaelith, I need more magic.
The current pulled harder as the river narrowed, funneled between two jagged boulders, and dragged me beneath the surface. I surfaced again with a scream, coughing up water as I fought to stay above.
I’m giving all I can, Kaelith said, her voice strained now, distant. But I must pull back.
“No,” I whispered aloud, choking. “I’m going to die.”
Silence stretched between us like a breath before the end.
I know, she said finally.
And the river took me under.
The betrayal struck like a blade between my ribs.
She left me.
Kaelith, my dragon, my other half, left me.
The realization hit harder than the current. My limbs faltered, muscles screaming with exhaustion as the river spun me like a twig caught in a cyclone. Water battered me from every side, a relentless fist slamming me into stone and dragging me into darkness.
I twisted and tumbled, lungs burning, my pendant dragging against my chest like dead weight. I tried to kick, once, twice, but the river didn’t care. It owned me now.
Above me, the white water foamed like the mouth of a beast. Light fractured against the surface, but I couldn’t reach it.
Couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t fight anymore.
Black dots danced across my vision, bursting like stars behind my eyes. My chest heaved in reflex, the desperate instinct to suck in air—
But there was only water.
Only surrender.
And then—
Talons.
Massive and sudden, they pierced the river’s fury, slicing through the current and seizing me. Strong, unrelenting claws closed around my body, and with a violent surge, I was yanked from the depths like a corpse risen from the sea.
Water streamed from my mouth as I coughed, eyes barely open against the wind and sun, gasping for breath that came too late and too painful.
But when I looked up—
It wasn’t purple scales glinting in the sunlight.
It was silver.
Not Kaelith.
Hein.
And in that moment, the pain in my chest had nothing to do with the water—
And everything to do with what had broken.
Hein’s talons loosened as we touched down on the opposite riverbank, his massive silver wings folding in with a whisper of wind. I tumbled from his grip, landing hard on my knees in the mud, soaked to the bone, lungs still burning.
Zander dismounted a moment later, boots crunching the riverbank gravel. His expression was unreadable.
I surged to my feet, fury rising hotter than the Dark Flame I barely understood.
“You had no right to save me!”
He stopped, brows drawing together. “You’d rather I let you die?”
I pointed to my temple, jabbing a finger like the truth might burn through my skull if I didn’t force it out. “She wants me dead, Zander. Kaelith. She told me she decides when I die, and apparently, that day was today. You had no right to interfere. You’ve only stalled the inevitable.”
Zander folded his arms across his chest, eyes narrowed. “Really? And who do you think told me exactly where you were in that river?”
I froze, water dripping from my chin, hair clinging to my face. “You don’t talk to Kaelith.”
“No,” he said, voice low. “But all dragons are telepathically linked. Even if she won’t bond you, she still told Hein where to grab you.”
I shoved the wet hair out of my face, heart thudding painfully. “Why?” I whispered. “Why does she torment me? Is it because of the Order? Because of who my father is?”
The words cracked out of me, ragged.
“I had no control over who adopted me. It’s not like I was given a choice.”
Zander’s arms slowly dropped to his sides, and something in his gaze softened, though pain still edged his voice.
“You need to speak with her,” he said. “She’s landing any moment now.”
I turned, eyes scanning the skies. And I felt her before I saw her.
Kaelith.
Hein let out a quiet huff, and Zander stepped closer, voice barely a whisper now.
“No one knows about my intervention. Let’s keep it that way. The major will assume you completed the bond.”
He paused.
“Don’t say anything. One way or another.”
I nodded, throat tight.
Zander swung back onto Hein’s saddle in one graceful movement. The silver dragon launched skyward with a single sweep of his wings.
I didn’t watch them go.
Because the sky behind me split with the beat of familiar wings.
Kaelith was landing.
I turned to her as her massive violet form touched down, the earth trembling beneath her talons. The sound of her wings folding in was like the hush after a scream, but the ache in my chest was anything but quiet.
My voice cracked before I could cage it. “Why do you hate me?”
The air around her shimmered with irritation.
Is that any way to speak to your dragon? One who ensured you remained intact?
I stepped closer, fists clenched. “Skip the bullshit, Kaelith. You won’t let me die, but you won’t bond me either. We can’t go on like this forever. Just make a decision and do it.”
I held my hands out, bare, trembling. “I’m not impervious to dragon flame. My life is yours. Take it or leave it.”
She looked away.
For the first time since the day I met her, Kaelith, ancient, proud, untouchable, hesitated.
Not like she was calculating.
Not like she was testing.
Like she didn’t know.
Like she was unsure if she should end me or accept me.
Bonding with you is… concerning, her voice entered my mind like smoke curling around a blade. You have no concept of your power. There could come a day when you use it against me.
I blinked, stunned. “What? Kaelith, you could kill me in an instant.”
Now, yes. Her tone was quiet. But not once we are bonded. You can die, but not by me.
I sank down on a nearby rock, my limbs shaking harder now that the adrenaline had faded. My clothes were dry but my body ached.
And my soul… that hurt the worst.
“I would die before I did anything to hurt you,” I whispered.
The words spilled out too easily, and the truth of them settled around me like the river’s current, only heavier. The truth of it punched a hollow in my chest, because deep down, I knew…
Every relationship in my life had been one-sided.
I was always the one giving.
Always the one used.
I am not using you, Kaelith whispered in my mind, soft this time.
Not like a dragon.
Not like a soldier.
Like someone trying not to break me.
But she already had.
Take your seat, Ashlyn.
Kaelith’s voice echoed in my mind, quieter now. Not irritated. Not angry. But worn, like weathered stone that had held too many secrets for too long.
I stood, brushing mud from my palms, and approached her slowly. Her massive violet wings stretched wide to accommodate the wind curling off the river, her gleaming scales catching fractured sunlight.
She dipped her head as I reached her, and I rested my hand on the ridge of her neck.
Then I mounted.
No ceremony. No flare of magic.
Just the quiet acknowledgment that, for now, we would try.
Her wings unfurled fully with a gust of air that rattled the trees, and in the next heartbeat, we were airborne. The river vanished behind us, and the sky opened up like a second chance.
The ride back was long, the wind cool, the world quiet.
And her voice filled the silence between clouds.
I will tell you the story of my first rider.
I blinked against the wind. You had a rider?
Once. Her tone was thick with memory. A long time ago, before humans ruled the skies and before the guilds ever drew their first lines of power.
She was fae. Strong. Brilliant. Born of starlight and ambition.
I was drawn to her, not because she earned me, but because I wanted to believe someone could.
What happened to her? I asked.
She could not master what lived inside her, Kaelith said. Power like hers is meant to be balanced. Instead, she craved more. Demanded it. She pushed beyond the link and as a result I was unwilling to give it.
You broke the link before bonding was complete?
Kaelith let out a gust of air. Yes.
What happened to her?
She stole a dragon egg from the nesting grounds and forced the hatchling to bond before its time. She gained immortality and joined the ranks of the Blood Fae. In truth, she was one of the first and is second in power to the Blood King only.
The cold that swept through me had nothing to do with altitude.
That’s awful. I’m sorry.
She is his general. His blade. Her name is Seraveth.
I inhaled sharply.
You will meet her, Kaelith added. When the war begins.
My fingers gripped tighter around the saddle, breath stolen by more than just the wind.
Because this wasn’t just a story.
It was a warning.
And Kaelith wasn’t afraid for herself.
She was afraid… for me.
What is her power?
Like you, she is a Storm Reaper.