Chapter 19
MAGICS AND FIRE
NINETEEN
There is still so much about Dragons that remains unknown.
They are reticent with their histories, guarded with their truths.
What we do know is their power is immense, and their eggs are intrinsically tied to the Elements, forming a bond that links our fates.
Without their hatchlings, we risk not only the loss of our Elemental magics, but the release of the Shadow Forces—and the unspeakable power behind them.
—VALEN’S JOURNAL
AMARA
The air between us thrums—tight, breathless, crackling with tension that’s been simmering far too long. His fingers dig into my waist, pulling me flush against him. And suddenly—I don’t know where I end and he begins.
Something stirs deep in my belly. A slow, twisting heat.
I forget everything. The cliffs. Lyra. Valen. The war. Everything except the feeling of his lips, his hands, his body against mine.
“I was informed that the Fire Warlord was training you, not claiming you.” Calryx’s voice hums into my mind—dry, unimpressed, and absolutely untimely.
My breath stutters. My eyes fly wide. I gasp and yank back, stumbling out of Thane’s arms.
Thane looks down at me, lips slightly parted, chest rising and falling in those steady, annoyingly controlled breaths of his. Then his mouth quirks—just barely.
Smug. Smooth. Amused.
Shit.
“Should I leave so you and your Fire Warlord can finish what you started? Because I was under the impression today was about me.”
I choke. Literally choke on air.
I whirl toward Calryx, face burning.
“Excuse me?!” I say out loud, voice strangled.
Thane’s brow lifts. “What?”
Lyra howls.
“OH, OH, THAT WAS AMAZING!” she howls. “PLEASE do that again—I need to memorize your face. What did your dragon say?!”
Calryx hums, utterly unfazed. “I only ask because you seemed quite . . . enthusiastic.”
I want to die. Right here. Just drop to the ground and dissolve into mist.
Valen chuckles softly, shaking his head. “Ah, to be young.”
I groan, pressing both palms to my flaming face. “We are not talking about this.”
Thane inclines his head, that godsdamned smirk still curling his lips. “I disagree. I think we should talk about it . . . often.”
Lyra snorts. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
I throw my hands in the air. “I just jumped off a cliff to bond with a dragon, and this is what we’re talking about?”
There’s a collective snicker.
I whirl away from them, dramatically stomping toward Calryx.
“This is your fault,” I snap, mind to mind.
A deep rumble rolls through her chest—a sound like thunder softening into laughter. A dragon’s version of a chuckle. “I fail to see how.”
I groan, dragging my hands down my face—only to hear Thane laugh behind me. I inhale sharply, trying to shake off the heat still clinging to my skin. The ghost of his lips still tingles on mine.
“ANYWAY,” I announce, shoving down the absolute mess of feelings twisting in my gut. “Let’s focus on the important part—like the dragon I just bonded with.”
Calryx lowers her massive head as I approach, her emerald eyes gleaming with quiet mischief. I rest my palm against her snout, fingers gliding over smooth, pearlescent scales. They’re warm beneath my touch—alive with magics.
I draw a breath, grounding myself.
“Everyone,” I say, my voice steady again, my heart still racing for too many reasons. “This is Calryx.”
She blinks slowly, tilting her head to study the three humans like she’s already found them lacking.
Valen inclines his head, reverent. “She’s magnificent.”
Lyra just stares at me, slack-jawed. Like she still can’t process what just happened—between the dragon bonding and kissing Thane.
Honestly? Same.
And Thane—godsdamn him—Thane is watching me. Something shifted between us just now—something we can’t take back. And gods help me, he looks like he’s already planning the next time.
Why did I do that?!
And he’s still smirking.
Every time I catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye, he looks entirely too pleased with himself. Smug. Infuriating. Impossible.
The second we start making camp for the night, Lyra sidles up beside me, arms crossed, eyes gleaming with pure, unfiltered mischief.
“So.” She draws the word out like a blade across my already raw nerves. “You and Thane.”
I glare at her. “No.”
She grins. “Yes.”
“There is nothing to talk about.”
“Sure, sure,” she says, all innocence. “If I had thrown myself at a man and kissed him like my soul was on fire—only for him to kiss me back like he’d been waiting months—I’d pretend it didn’t happen too.”
My face goes hot. “It was the adrenaline.”
Lyra proceeded to tease me until I fell asleep—admittedly with a smile on my face.
I wake up the next morning with one goal: avoid Thane Caelum like the godsdamned plague. Which is ridiculous, because there are only four of us on this little adventure, and avoiding him is physically impossible.
Still, I try.
The moment I step out of my tent, stretching out the stiffness in my limbs, I feel it. A presence. I don’t have to turn to know it’s him.
Thane.
Standing just a few feet away, arms crossed, looking entirely too composed for someone who should be just as affected by that godsdamned kiss as I am. His eyes catch mine.
And that. Fucking. Smirk.
I whirl around and stalk toward the others like I have somewhere extremely important to be. Somewhere far, far away from him.
Lyra, already chewing on a piece of dried fruit, hums. “You’re so obvious.”
“Shut up.”
She raises a brow. “Wow. That was almost convincing.”
I snatch the fruit from her hand and walk faster, focusing instead on the fact I’m now dragon-bonded.
By the time we return to the outpost, the sun is sinking low, stretching long shadows across the stone walls. The air is cooler now, the heat of the day fading into something more welcoming.
I swing down from my horse, my boots hitting solid ground—and the rush of everything that’s happened in the last day slams into me all over again.
The leap. The bond. The kiss.
“There she is! Still alive like I knew she would be!”
I barely have time to turn before Kieran is right in front of me, grinning like he never doubted me for a second.
“Knew you’d pull it off.” His blue-silver eyes flick over me, sharp, amused. “Not that I ever doubted you. You’ve got steel in your spine, Thalor. Always have.”
I laugh, breathless, shaking my head. “Nice to know someone has faith in me.”
“Always.”
That smirk deepens. Easy. Charming. But there’s something else now—something calculated. Intentional. Like he’s not just playing anymore.
And that’s when I notice how close he’s standing. Not too close. Not inappropriate. Just close enough that I feel it—the space between us narrowing, heat skimming my skin like a warning. Kieran takes my hand. It’s effortless, natural, like it’s just part of the conversation.
His fingers curl around mine, warm, steady.
I should be paying attention to that. I should be reacting to that.
But my mind is still on Thane.
The way he kissed me. The way his hands gripped me like he couldn’t hold back anymore. The way I kissed him first—but he made damn sure to finish it.
And now, here’s Kieran, standing in front of me, smiling down at me like I’m the only thing in his world right now. I can see the want in his blue-silver eyes.
But all I can think about is a pair of smoke-gray ones.
And burning hands. The way my stomach flipped when Thane pulled me in like he’d been waiting his whole godsdamn life.
But he hasn’t said anything since. Maybe it was just a one time thing?
What the hell is wrong with me?
Kieran tilts his head, his smirk slow, just shy of knowing. “You good, Thalor? You look like you have something on your mind.”
Yeah. Just the war. The dragon bond. The man I kissed like my life depended on it. The man who kissed me back like he was drowning.
I blink, trying to focus.
“I’m fine.” I force a smile on my face.
His gaze sharpens, searching my face, reading something I don’t want him to. But before he can call me on it—Thane moves.
I don’t see him at first, but like always, I feel him.
The shift in the air, the weight of a gaze burning into me, the presence that has never once gone unnoticed. All those hours training together has made me extra aware of him.
One second, I’m standing beside Kieran—
The next, I’m consumed.
Thane grabs me, turns me, and kisses me.
Hard.
It’s not careful or slow. It’s not a question, but a godsdamn declaration.
His hands frame my face, fingers digging in like he’s been waiting too long. His lips move against mine with heat, purpose, and something raw underneath. Something unrestrained.
A low, deep contented sound rumbles from his chest as he pulls me closer—like this was inevitable. Like I’ve always been his to take.
And the world falls away—Kieran, the outpost, even Lyra’s inevitable cackle. Gone.
Because all that exists is Thane—and the way he’s kissing me like he’s making up for every second we didn’t have like this. And I don’t hold back kissing him in return.
When he finally pulls back, I’m breathless, my heart slamming against my ribs. I stare up at him, stunned, unable to form a single thought.
Thane watches me, breath steady, eyes burning. Like he can’t believe he waited this long. Like he’s already decided he’s not waiting anymore.
I finally manage to choke out, “What the hell was that?”
He shrugs, completely unapologetic. “Figured I’d make myself clear.”
A beat.
“Just in case there were any questions.”
Clear. Right. As if clarity is possible when I can’t think straight.
I stumble back, breath ragged, heart pounding like it’s trying to punch through my ribs.
And Thane—he turns away.
Just like that.
Strides back toward Garrick, Jarek, and Rian.
His face resets—calm, composed. His voice smooth, measured, in control.
As if the last thirty seconds never happened.
But I see it—the ease in his jaw, the way his shoulders have finally relaxed.
And my stomach flips again.