- 5 hours ago
[DUBBED ENG] Don't Mess With My Dragon Mommy!
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Short filmTranscript
00:02¡SuscrÃbete al canal!
00:34¡SuscrÃbete al canal!
01:00He had Lyra with him, plus a few of his clansmen, all craning their necks toward the treeline.
01:05Hey, isn't that Ryan's obsessed ex? Isn't that Ivara?
01:09Rylan looks surprised to see me. He covered it fast.
01:12Told you she'd come crawling back.
01:16Ivara vanished without a trace. Now she sees Rylan is in a higher rank.
01:20She probably cries herself to sleep every night.
01:24Ivara, if you're gonna fake a random run-in, why show up like this?
01:29Couldn't you at least put on some makeup?
01:31Without Rylan, you can't even buy a nice outfit.
01:34Look pathetic.
01:35It was true. I used to make myself perfect every time I knew I'd be near Rylan.
01:41Sharpest claws, finest scales on display. Best version of me. Not anymore.
01:47No point. Because I'm carrying, and my mate refused to let me be uncomfortable.
01:52He had this soft, traveling wrap, custom-tailored for me.
01:56Listening to them mock me, it suddenly clicked.
01:59They only knew my alliance name.
02:01They had no idea the one they were here to collect was me.
02:05Ivara, hey, it's good you're back.
02:07Rylan's been asking after me for years.
02:08Yeah, our son is entering the young training cohort, so now I'm in charge of the drama.
02:12He was still so incredibly arrogant.
02:14But I wasn't that naive girl anymore.
02:16I didn't want to waste another second on them.
02:19I was just about to tell them exactly who I was.
02:22I am-
02:22Please don't blame Rylan. He's just trying to take care of you.
02:25You disappeared for three years.
02:27Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive.
02:30Don't worry.
02:31Caring for my son is a respectable role.
02:34No one will look down at you.
02:36Rylan caught my expression and thought I was jealous.
02:39Something flickered in his eyes.
02:41All right, Ivara, drop the attitude.
02:42You clearly can't survive out there, so stop throwing tantrums, take care of the kid, and learn your place.
02:51Damn, Ivara, look how good Rylan is to you.
02:53He's given you free room and board.
02:55Isn't babysitting better than whatever trashy life you're living now?
02:59Hurry up and say thank you.
03:01Don't worry, dear.
03:02If my son acts up, I'll handle him myself.
03:05You won't be mistreated.
03:07Why would she be mistreated?
03:09She ran away over a tiny little misunderstanding.
03:12If she hit rock bottom out in the wilds, a little humility is good for her.
03:16My heart actually skipped a beat.
03:18Three years had passed, and he still thought it was a small matter to dump me and married Lyra?
03:23The Rylan who used to love me was truly gone.
03:26He wasn't the young warrior who'd carried me, wounded, across three territory borders in the dead of a moonless night.
03:33But whatever.
03:34It was all in the past.
03:36None of it mattered anymore.
03:37Besides, I was about to carry my second patchling anyway.
03:41I looked at Rylan calmly and said,
03:43Aren't you here to pick me up?
03:44Let's go.
03:45Silence fell over the clearing.
03:47Then someone left.
03:49Pick you up?
03:50Please.
03:52Read it carefully.
03:54We are here for Hela.
03:56Do you even know who that is?
03:58Hela is the mate-bonded consort of the Frostridge line.
04:01She is blood-bonded to Lord Kale.
04:04Kale is a living legend.
04:07Coldest dragon alive in the field, but completely devoted to his wife.
04:12Rumor has it he refused all alliances for years.
04:16Just waiting for Hela.
04:17Everyone knows the rule.
04:18If you want Kale's favor, go through Hela.
04:22She is his entire world.
04:24Listening to them gossip about my marriage, I couldn't help it.
04:28A genuine happy smile spread across my face.
04:31We had been married for three years.
04:34Kale's reputation as a fiercely devoted husband had spread everywhere.
04:38To claim Hela as his, Kale went to the ancient exchange and paid down on a legendary artifact.
04:43The Eternal Fang Bracelet.
04:45Just to give to Hela.
04:47She's the most envied female in every territory.
04:55That bracelet!
04:56That's it!
04:58It's a pretty good fake.
05:00Which a lowborn Klansman bought you that?
05:03Buying you a cheap imitation.
05:05Absolute trash.
05:08Wow!
05:09It really is high quality for a fake.
05:11Way better than the replica I had made.
05:13But I'd never actually wear mine in public.
05:16These outer territory emmucations, though?
05:18The craftsmanship is something else.
05:19Because the wait actually feels real.
05:24Or what, Evora?
05:26Are you gonna tell us you're Hela?
05:28Are you Lord Kale's bonded mate?
05:32Of course they did.
05:34It was absurd to them.
05:36Kale was a living legend across all territories.
05:40Cold.
05:41Absolute.
05:42Untouchable.
05:43And three years ago,
05:44I was just the girl Rylan had left standing outside the Sacred Hall.
05:48There was no version of reality where those two things connected.
05:55Just give it to me, Evora.
05:57I'll pay double whatever you traded for.
06:00Give it back.
06:02Kale gave me that.
06:06Shut your mouth.
06:07Rylan looked furious.
06:10Evora, do you have any idea what you're saying?
06:12You think you can just casually invoke Lord Kiel's name?
06:16Are you trying to get me killed?
06:18His clansmen piled on immediately.
06:21Do you know how hard we fought for this pickup assignment?
06:23Get on a trine for this pickup of season.
06:24Kale absorbed Rylan's clan faction last season.
06:26Our entire livelihood depends on him now.
06:28Are you two trying to ruin Rylan entirely?
06:32I wiped the blood from my lip,
06:33slowly turned back to Rylan.
06:35Whatever he saw in my eyes made him flinch.
06:38Lyra caught it.
06:39She stepped forward and pointed a claw at my face.
06:43You ungrateful snake.
06:45Rylan offered you a place and you throw it back at him?
06:47I know you're still bitter about the past,
06:49trying to sabotage his standing out of petty spite.
06:52That's sick.
06:53Hearing her say that,
06:54it felt exactly like three years ago.
06:57No matter what I did,
06:59Lyra would twist it,
07:00feed her poisonous version of the story to Rylan.
07:03In the early days,
07:04he used to defend me.
07:06By the end,
07:07he always took her side.
07:08Just like now.
07:10Jealous shrick.
07:12For old times' sake,
07:13I'll let this go.
07:16Take these,
07:17get yourself proper clothes.
07:19If you really don't want to tend Lyra's hatchling,
07:21I'll find you something tolerable next season.
07:23Don't worry.
07:23Ever since Kale absorbed us,
07:25this kind of thing cost me nothing.
07:27No, thank you.
07:28I don't take things from strangers.
07:37Not three steps out,
07:39Rylan grabbed my arm.
07:41You won't take what I'm offering?
07:44What does that mean I'm a stranger to you?
07:47I kept walking and said evenly,
07:49We dissolved our bond.
07:53Better not to stay tangled in each other's lives.
07:56Others might get the wrong impression.
07:58I was thinking of Kale,
08:00who had a very particular dislike of misunderstandings.
08:04My faction is hosting a tribute feast for Kale in three days.
08:07I was going to bring you,
08:08show you something real.
08:09But you'd need to present yourself properly.
08:12You can't embarrass me.
08:13I'm fine.
08:14I'm fine.
08:14But thank you.
08:15Fine.
08:16I'll take Lyra.
08:17I won't let you down.
08:19I didn't look back.
08:20Hope you're still this confident in three days.
08:22Fresh air.
08:25I stood there for a moment,
08:26breathing it in.
08:27The nausea faded.
08:29My mind flashed back to three years ago.
08:32My family had arranged an alliance overseas.
08:35I'd gone to Rylan for the first seven years together.
08:39I wanted to seal our bond before the journey.
08:42Force the decision.
08:43He agreed.
08:44But at the Sacred Hall,
08:46it wasn't just Rylan waiting.
08:48Her hatchling needs to be registered under my bloodline.
08:52I'll dissolve her bond claim in a month.
08:54Then I'll bond with you.
08:56This is just about hatchling.
08:58I watched him take her inside.
09:00That was the last thing I needed to see.
09:02I crossed the border that night.
09:04Met Kale.
09:05Bonded with him a month later.
09:07Had our son the year after.
09:08Now I was carrying it again.
09:10And the only reason I was even back in the reach
09:13was to attend a clan ancestral rite with Kale.
09:17Honestly, if it wasn't for the rite,
09:18I never would have set foot back here.
09:20And I definitely wouldn't have run into Rylan.
09:23Three days later,
09:24I painted on a light adornment,
09:26threw on comfortable traveling leathers,
09:28and made my way to the feast grounds alone.
09:31The second Rylan saw me enter the clearing,
09:33his eyes lit up.
09:35A smug smirk spread across his face.
09:37You said you weren't coming, but here you are.
09:40Listen.
09:41If you want me back,
09:42you need to at least present yourself properly
09:45to match my standing.
09:46I walked past him without a word.
09:48Evara, I'm talking to you.
09:50Our circle is here.
09:51Where do you think you're going?
09:52I pulled free and said simply,
09:55That's your circle.
09:56Mine is up there.
09:57He followed my gaze to the head circle,
10:00the raised dais reserved for lords
10:02and their bonded mates.
10:03His face went pale.
10:05Lyra spotted my bracelet from across the ground.
10:08Evara, how did she get in here?
10:09She's here to cause chaos.
10:11How dare she wear that pendant tonight?
10:14Of all nights,
10:16tonight is the first time Kale is bringing his bonded mate out publicly.
10:20Is she trying to humiliate Hela?
10:22She slipped past the sentinels.
10:25She's trying to make us look disloyal in front of Lord Kale.
10:27Rylan, is this female with you?
10:31Rylan straightened.
10:32No.
10:33Take that bracelet off and get out.
10:35I looked at her with a faint smile.
10:37You sure you want me to leave?
10:39Lyra realized others were watching.
10:41Her eyes went vicious.
10:43Stop acting like you're something.
10:45Take it off now!
10:47She lunged forward to rip it from my wrist.
10:50I swatted her claw away and stepped back.
10:52Someone behind me tripped me.
10:54I hit the ground hard.
10:56Lyra stepped on my arm and ripped the bracelet off my wrist.
10:59Treating this like it's something sacred?
11:02Trash.
11:03My wrist was bleeding,
11:04but I just sat there,
11:06staring at the bracelet lying broken on the ground.
11:09Pick her up and throw her out.
11:11A few sentinels moved toward me.
11:14They reached for my arms.
11:15Stop!
11:16I struggled.
11:17I am Kale's...
11:18Lyra struck me across the face before I could finish.
11:21Are you going to start spreading rumors
11:23that your Lord Kale's kept female?
11:27You wish.
11:30She struck me again.
11:32When I came back to the Reach,
11:34I hadn't planned to make a scene.
11:35It had felt beneath me,
11:37but now she had made it worth it.
11:39Rylan crouched down in front of me,
11:42reached for my wrist.
11:44I pulled back instinctively.
11:46Are you done throwing your fit?
11:48Huh?
11:49You show up wearing the bracelet,
11:52dressed down on purpose.
11:53You wanted me jealous.
11:55Just say it,
11:56and I'll give you what you want.
11:58I laughed.
11:59Short.
12:00Sharp.
12:01Rylan,
12:02you're finished.
12:04He frowned,
12:05opened his mouth,
12:06and then the clearing went dead silent.
12:09Guests began to straighten themselves,
12:12drifting toward the entrance path.
12:14Kale is here.
12:16Behave yourself.
12:21Lyra and I have dissolved our bond,
12:23by the way.
12:24I stared at him.
12:25I was cradling my nearly broken wrist,
12:27looking at the male in front of me,
12:30thinking,
12:30how did I spend seven years on this person?
12:33What did his dissolution have to do with me?
12:36At that exact moment,
12:38Kale walked in with our son in his arms.
12:41Once they reached the feast grounds,
12:43our son squirmed and climbed down.
12:45He hit the stone path,
12:47all soft cheeks and small clawed boots.
12:50And every eye in the clearing went straight to him.
12:54His guardian scrambled after him.
12:56Rylan hadn't noticed who the cub was yet.
12:59If you stop being jealous of Lyra,
13:01I'll forgive you for disappearing three years.
13:03I'll give you another chance.
13:05Carry my hatchling,
13:07a real one,
13:08ours.
13:09Just come back and tend to my son.
13:11I'll get rid of Lyra.
13:13I didn't say a single word to him.
13:15I just looked past him into the crowd,
13:17trying to catch Kale's and our son's eyes.
13:20Then it happened.
13:22Kale followed the cub's small, clumsy steps,
13:25straight to where I was.
13:27The second my son saw me,
13:29something broke open in his face.
13:32He threw himself into my arms.
13:38Why is there so much blood?
13:41One word.
13:42Mom.
13:44Every dragon in that clearing turned from the cub to me.
13:47The ones who have watched me get knocked around without doing a thing.
13:51All of them staring.
13:53My son's warmth in my arms washed away everything that had been pressing down on me.
13:57I crouched down to his level,
13:59cupped his cheek.
14:01He took my hand.
14:02Cubs.
14:03They see something hurting someone they love,
14:05and they just fall apart.
14:09Who did this to you?
14:11Protecting you is mom's job, too.
14:16Before I could say anything more,
14:17the air in the clearing changed.
14:19A heavy,
14:20suffocating stillness washed over the crowd.
14:23Kale was walking toward us.
14:24That quiet,
14:25controlled walk that made the air around him feel different.
14:28Dragons moved aside without knowing why.
14:31I felt him before I saw him.
14:33I picked up our son and turned around.
14:34The blood on my wrist looked stark against his white wrap.
14:38Our son looked up at Kale immediately.
14:41Father,
14:43someone hurt mother.
14:44We have to make them pay.
14:47Kale stepped forward and very carefully lifted my arm.
14:50His face was unreadable,
14:52but his voice was quiet.
14:53Levara,
14:55what happened?
14:57I'm right here.
14:58You're already hurt.
14:59I can't take my eyes off you.
15:01Whoever did this?
15:13Looking at this cold,
15:14absolute lord turn into a fiercely protective mate
15:18made my heart ache.
15:19He was always like this.
15:20A mosquito bite.
15:22A bruise from sleep.
15:23Even just eating half a portion,
15:25he'd be beside himself with worry.
15:28The feast hall's ambient light was low and dim,
15:31but our son felt something hard beneath his boot.
15:34Father,
15:35isn't this the bracelet you gave mother?
15:38Kale took it from him,
15:39turned it over,
15:40saw the engraving.
15:41Then I looked at the shards scattered across the ground
15:44and at my wrist.
15:45The nearest stone pillar cracked in his grip.
15:47He drew me gently into the light.
15:48Bring every torch to the ground over here.
15:52When our eyes met,
15:53his pupils narrowed slightly.
15:55What happened to your face?
15:57They actually dared to do this to you?
16:01I softened my voice.
16:03I'm fine, Kale.
16:05Ivera, I am your mate.
16:06You never have to swallow this kind of treatment alone.
16:11Our son pressed close.
16:13No one gets to hurt mother!
16:15Honestly,
16:15I could have handled Rylan and Lyra myself,
16:18but perhaps it was pregnancy.
16:20Or perhaps it was just finally feeling safe.
16:24My voice cracked.
16:25All the weight I'd been holding for three days broke open.
16:29You weren't here.
16:31And they all came at me.
16:33The feast grounds had gone dead silent.
16:36Rylan's scouts from the border crossing
16:38were somewhere in that clearing,
16:40shaking hard enough that they needed the standing stones
16:42to hold themselves up.
16:44They didn't expect it either.
16:46The female they'd spent three days
16:48calling Rylan's lovesick cast off
16:50was Lord Kale's bonded mate.
16:53Every single one of them
16:54was now looking for a way
16:55to disappear into the tree line.
16:57But then Lyra's companion,
16:59a female named Vessa
17:00who had arrived late,
17:02strutted out from the crowd.
17:14Vessa threw her head back
17:16and laughed at her own words.
17:18Usually half the clearing would laugh with her.
17:20But this time,
17:21the entire grounds just stared at her
17:24like she had lost her mind.
17:26Vessa noticed the dead silence.
17:28She doubled down.
17:29She turned to Kale and smirked.
17:32You're actually quite striking.
17:34If you ever want to leave her,
17:37I wouldn't mind taking care of you.
17:39My mouth twitched.
17:40She was propositioning my mate
17:42in front of me.
17:44Vessa finally registered
17:45the clearing's energy.
17:47She drifted toward Lyra for backup.
17:49Lyra wanted nothing to do with her.
17:52Before Vessa could even speak,
17:53Lyra spun around
17:55and struck her viciously across the face.
17:58Vessa?
17:58Are you insane?
18:00You just insulted Lord Kale
18:02and his bonded mate.
18:03Do you want to be banished?
18:14I just told her mate
18:16I'd take care of him.
18:20Oh no!
18:21Then someone near the back of the clearing
18:23made a sound.
18:24Heads turned.
18:26Vessa had lost control of herself entirely.
18:29Her shift reflex had misfired
18:31in the most primal,
18:33humiliating way a dragon can in public.
18:36Scales broke out down one side of her neck
18:38and arm in a panicked,
18:41involuntary half-shift,
18:42the kind that happened to hatchlings
18:44who couldn't control their fear responses.
18:47Kale's jaw tightened slightly.
18:49A sentinel materialized
18:51and quietly escorted her from the grounds.
18:53Lyra and Rylan went scarlet.
18:56The guests looked at them
18:57the way you look at those
18:58who have shamed themselves
18:59past the point of recovery.
19:01Meanwhile,
19:02a healer Kale had summoned
19:03was tending to my wrist nearby.
19:05I hissed.
19:06Kale and our son
19:07both turned with the same expression.
19:09Can you perhaps
19:10be a little more careful?
19:12The healer's hands started trembling.
19:14I shot them both a look.
19:15He's helping me.
19:17Stop.
19:18They immediately turned
19:19identical wounded expressions on me.
19:22Father and son.
19:23Same face, same pout.
19:26Okay.
19:27I know.
19:29I'm sorry, keep going.
19:31I told the healer.
19:32He visibly relaxed.
19:34When he finished,
19:35he turned to Kale.
19:37My lord,
19:38your mate is perfectly fine.
19:40The unborn is safe.
19:42The wrist is the worst of it.
19:44I will source the best remedies available
19:46and do everything possible
19:47to ensure no scarring.
19:49Kale said nothing.
19:50I knew exactly
19:51what that silence meant.
19:53It was the one that came
19:54before something irreversible.
19:57Standing in the crowd,
19:58Rylan looked terrified.
20:00But underneath the panic,
20:02he burned with something else.
20:04Jealousy.
20:05Watching how close Kale stayed beside me.
20:08His old possessiveness was peaking.
20:10But the survival of his faction
20:12was on the line,
20:13so he had to bite it down.
20:15Kale stood beside me
20:16and surveyed the clearing
20:17with the kind of stillness
20:19that made everyone in it
20:20feel like they'd already been found
20:22guilty of something.
20:24He looked almost cold,
20:25almost lethal.
20:26I actually found it
20:28a little endearing,
20:29especially with our son
20:31standing right beside him
20:32like a tiny,
20:33furious mirror image.
20:35I want to know exactly
20:37what happened.
20:38Everything.
20:40If you speak now,
20:42perhaps you survive this.
20:43If I have to find it out myself,
20:46every single one of you
20:48goes down with it.
20:49It was a naked threat.
20:51These dragons had clawed
20:52for the chance
20:53to attend this feast.
20:55None of them wanted to burn
20:56for Rylan's sake.
20:57Rylan panicked.
20:59He stepped forward.
21:00Lord Kale,
21:01There's been a misunderstanding.
21:04As Ivara's,
21:06as her former bonded partner,
21:08I was simply reconnecting with her.
21:11Things got out of hand.
21:12He unexpectedly said
21:14former bonded partner
21:16with a particular emphasis.
21:18God blessed him.
21:19Such an idiot.
21:20The worst possible moment for it.
21:23He actually thought
21:24I had spent three years
21:25keeping myself for him,
21:27waiting for him to snap his fingers
21:29so I could come running back.
21:31He completely missed
21:32the murderous stillness
21:33crossing Kale's face.
21:35I heard the stone goblet
21:36in Kale's hand crack.
21:39Rylan kept going.
21:40You likely know
21:41she was quite devoted to me
21:42before the disavolition.
21:45Reconnecting after years apart,
21:47it's natural that emotions
21:49would...
21:49The goblet shattered
21:50in Kale's grip.
21:52Stone fragments fell.
21:53Blood ran down his fingers.
21:55I pushed Rylan out of my focus
21:57and reached for Kale's hand.
22:15I grabbed a clean wrap
22:18and frantically began
22:19binding Kale's bleeding hand.
22:20Rylan looked genuinely hurt.
22:23Evora,
22:24I know you're bitter,
22:25but Lyra and I
22:26have dissolved our bond.
22:28Her hatchling is ready
22:29to call you mother.
22:32You only bonded with Kale
22:34to wound me.
22:34I understand.
22:35I'm not angry.
22:36Just come back.
22:38Whatever he can give you,
22:39I'll work twice as hard
22:40to match it.
22:41Just return
22:42and tend to my son!
22:44If you don't want Leia,
22:46I'll make her disappear.
22:48I honestly could not believe
22:50what I was hearing.
22:51Kale's blood was smearing
22:52onto my wraps,
22:53but as I urgently pressed
22:55the binding to his palm,
22:56he suddenly let out
22:58a low, genuine laugh.
23:00I looked up at him,
23:01furious.
23:02Why are you laughing?
23:03Kale reached over
23:04with his uninjured hand
23:05and quietly rested it
23:07on top of my head.
23:08Evora,
23:09you just said
23:10I'm the one you love most.
23:12Our son made a face
23:13and looked away.
23:14His cold,
23:15fearsome father
23:16was currently acting
23:18like a lovesick hatchling,
23:19all because
23:20I'd defended him.
23:22The entire feast grounds
23:23went still.
23:24Half the guests
23:24were in shock.
23:25The other half
23:26were dying of quiet
23:27and envy.
23:28The whispers spread
23:29through the crowd
23:29like fire
23:30through dry grass.
23:31The rumors are real.
23:33He is completely
23:35devoted to his mate.
23:37Ryland stood there,
23:38his knuckles white
23:39with humiliation.
23:40But our son
23:40wasn't finished.
23:41He looked Ryland
23:42up and down
23:42with open disdain.
23:44Cub tender?
23:45My mother is the
23:46most protected one
23:47in our den.
23:48You think you deserve her?
23:50Mother only carries
23:51two cubs.
23:52Me and my sister.
23:56You really think
23:57your unacknowledged
23:58Hatchie gets to
23:59call her mother?
24:01I know all about you.
24:05You're the one
24:06who broke my mother's
24:07heart.
24:08You're not as
24:08impressive as my father.
24:10Not as strong.
24:11Not as well formed.
24:13He tilted his head,
24:14studying Ryland
24:15with the kind of
24:16cold disdain
24:17that was entirely
24:18too familiar
24:19on that small face.
24:21And you smell like
24:22someone who peaked
24:22too early
24:23and never recovered.
24:24It's making my eyes
24:25water.
24:26Is your hatchling
24:27gonna grow up
24:27bleaching off others
24:28just like you?
24:30The guests
24:30surrounding us
24:31erupted.
24:32They couldn't help it.
24:33Ryland bit his lip
24:35hard enough to draw blood,
24:37shaking with shame.
24:38Everyone in that clearing
24:39knew the truth.
24:40He had coasted for years
24:42on Lyra's family resources.
24:44It was not a secret.
24:46Hearing all of this,
24:47Lyra had completely
24:48lost her grip
24:49on rational thought.
24:50Her hatchling
24:51was the most important
24:52thing in the world
24:53to her.
24:55The most exceptional
24:56cub alive.
24:58And this female
24:59was going to replace her.
25:00Ryland had essentially
25:01said so himself.
25:03Lyra grabbed a bone-handled
25:05knife from the nearest table.
25:06You little wretch!
25:08I'll kill you!
25:09I didn't think.
25:10I let go of Kale's hand
25:12and threw myself
25:13entirely over our son.
25:15A blinding, searing pain
25:17ripped through my back.
25:18The color drained
25:19from my face.
25:20Dre, are you?
25:22I didn't finish the sentence.
25:23Everything went black.
25:24I collapsed to the stone.
25:26The last thing I saw
25:27before I lost consciousness
25:28was our son's face,
25:30white with panic.
25:31I wanted to tell him
25:32not to cry.
25:33I didn't get the chance.
25:35I woke to the sharp smell
25:36of Healer's Den.
25:37Dried herbs.
25:39Warm stone walls.
25:40I stared at the ceiling
25:41for a moment.
25:43Disoriented.
25:43My best friend Sorin
25:45was in the chair beside me.
25:46The second she saw
25:47my eyes open
25:48she grabbed my hands.
25:50Oh, thank the ancient fires!
25:52You're awake!
25:53If you had stayed
25:54under any longer
25:55your mate and your son
25:56were going to tear
25:57this entire territory apart.
26:00What?
26:01She was definitely
26:02exaggerating.
26:05Sorin caught the look
26:06immediately.
26:07I reached for my stomach
26:08on instinct.
26:09You're both fine.
26:10The healer said
26:11it was shock and pain.
26:12That's why you went under.
26:13The unborn is completely safe.
26:16That Lyra is something else.
26:18Going after a cub
26:19with a blade.
26:20My chest tightened.
26:23My son!
26:24Kale!
26:24Are they-
26:25Both fine.
26:26Physically,
26:26completely fine.
26:28Slow down.
26:29Drink.
26:30Sorin handed me
26:31a cup of broth.
26:35I drank.
26:36The tightness
26:37eased a little.
26:40You didn't need
26:41to throw yourself
26:41in front of him.
26:42There were six sentinels
26:43in that clearing.
26:44Dre was never
26:44going to get touched.
26:47That's Dre.
26:48I know, I know.
26:49He's your whole heart.
26:50That terrifying
26:51little creature.
26:52He doesn't need protecting.
26:53He's more dangerous
26:54than most full-grown warriors.
26:56I smiled despite myself.
26:58Where are they?
27:00Sorin's eyes lit up.
27:02Getting revenge?
27:03I wanted to come along,
27:04but your mate
27:05and your son
27:05are genuinely terrifying
27:07when they operate together,
27:08so I volunteered
27:09to stay with you instead.
27:10She settled in
27:11and began.
27:12When I arrived,
27:13you were already under.
27:15From what I pieced together
27:16from the witnesses
27:17still standing,
27:18your son watched you collapse
27:19and went completely still
27:21for about two seconds.
27:22Then he picked up
27:22the knife Lyra had dropped
27:23and drove it straight
27:24through her hand
27:25into the stone beneath.
27:28A cub.
27:30I don't know where
27:30he gets that guy's strength.
27:33Kale found out
27:33about the strike
27:34at the border crossing
27:35three days ago
27:36and the bracelet
27:37and everything they said to you.
27:39He had his sentinels
27:40hold Rylan down
27:41and they dealt with the hand
27:42he used to hit you.
27:43I closed my eyes briefly.
27:45Lyra's face received
27:46the same treatment
27:47and then Kale had
27:48a chest of gemstones
27:49brought into the clearing,
27:50all the shards
27:51from your broken bracelet
27:52and he told Lyra
27:53that since she loved
27:54taking things
27:55that belonged to you
27:55so much,
27:56she had to swallow them.
28:02You know what Kale said?
28:08You love taking what is hers.
28:11So here,
28:12I am giving you
28:13everything you wanted.
28:14The stones
28:14and the mail.
28:16She refused at first.
28:18So Kale had her hatchling
28:19brought in.
28:20Then she did it.
28:22She swallowed
28:22a great many shards.
28:23They worked her over
28:24until she was barely conscious.
28:26Then Kale had her drop
28:27beyond the outer borders.
28:28Swallowed shards.
28:30Face first.
28:31Every dragon
28:32who stood around
28:32watching you get hurt,
28:33every single one of them
28:34carries a mark
28:35on their wrists now
28:35just for doing nothing.
28:37If you weren't
28:37my closest companion,
28:38I'd probably have one too.
28:40I gave her a flat look.
28:41The clan records
28:42were updated
28:42but the only news
28:43that spread
28:43was about Ryland's faction
28:44being absorbed
28:45and dissolved.
28:46Every allied group
28:47in that clearing
28:47with border exposure,
28:48Kale absorbed it.
28:49Some were disbanded entirely.
28:51Some are still bleeding out.
28:54Raelynn was supposed
28:54to go the same way
28:55as Lyra.
28:56But Lyra stopped it.
28:58Threw herself in front
28:59of the sentinel's
29:00bought him time to run.
29:03I think she made
29:04a deal with him.
29:05It wasn't hard
29:06to figure out.
29:06The hatchling.
29:07When a mother
29:08is running out of time,
29:09the one thing
29:09she'll trade everything for
29:11is her child's safety.
29:12Ryland must have promised
29:13her something about the boy.
29:15Lyra had swallowed shards
29:16and stones
29:17for the chance
29:17that her son
29:18would be alright.
29:19Kale was precise
29:20and he was cold.
29:21But every time
29:22I so much as bruised
29:23my arm,
29:24he acted like
29:25he personally failed.
29:26He was brutal
29:27because he was afraid.
29:28Not of losing power,
29:29of losing me.
29:30And Dre,
29:31my sweet,
29:32sharp,
29:33slightly terrifying cub,
29:34had been shaped
29:35by that same love.
29:36I'd been trying
29:37to counterbalance it,
29:38clearly still working on it.
29:44Kale,
29:44can you grab my...
29:45Evara,
29:47it's me.
29:48His face
29:48was still swollen.
29:50He'd managed
29:50to find a decent cloak,
29:52the one I'd given him
29:53years ago.
29:54The one he'd told me
29:55was plain
29:55and unworthy
29:56of his rank.
29:57I stayed where I was.
29:59Last time
30:00I'd moved too fast,
30:01it'd cost me.
30:02He seemed to read that.
30:04I'm not going
30:04to hurt you.
30:05I just needed to...
30:08What?
30:11I still love you.
30:13His voice
30:13broke on it.
30:14Every time
30:14I think about you
30:15and I can't breathe.
30:18I know it's too late.
30:19I know what I did.
30:21But I can't just...
30:22Raelynn,
30:23you were with another female
30:24while we were still bonded.
30:26You let me humiliate myself.
30:28You abandoned me
30:29and destroy me.
30:31And then tonight,
30:33when you had the chance
30:33to do literally anything else,
30:35you stood in front of my mate
30:36and told him
30:37I was devoted to you?
30:38You've had seven years
30:40and three more
30:40to figure out what you want.
30:41What you want
30:42keeps shifting
30:43based on what you can reach.
30:44That's not love.
30:46Raelynn's jaw worked.
30:47He wanted to argue.
30:48I was always
30:49your contingency.
30:51And you were never mine.
30:52Not really.
30:53He looked at me
30:54for a long time.
30:55Then he looked at the cloak.
30:56You gave me this
30:56for the winter solstice.
30:58I told you
30:59it was plain.
31:02I know.
31:05I kept it.
31:06I didn't say anything.
31:08He left quietly.
31:10Kale came in
31:10with his hand
31:11newly wrapped.
31:12Dre right behind him.
31:13They both stopped
31:13when they saw I was awake.
31:15Then they were both
31:15in front of me
31:16at the same time.
31:17Ivara.
31:17Kale's voice was unsteady.
31:19You're up.
31:20Are you
31:21Does anything hurt?
31:22Do you need
31:23Father
31:23She was fine
31:25two minutes
31:25before you got here.
31:27She was talking
31:28and everything.
31:28Kale ignored him.
31:29Are you okay?
31:31Tell me you're okay.
31:32I'm okay.
31:33You say that every time.
31:35Because it keeps being true.
31:36Dre tucked himself
31:37under my arm.
31:38Boke very quietly.
31:39Mom
31:40Are you upset
31:41that father
31:42raised his voice at me?
31:43Did he raise
31:44his voice at you?
31:46I am fine.
31:47He didn't yell.
31:48Dre said very firmly.
31:50Kale
31:53He was scared.
31:55We both were.
31:56He wasn't really yelling.
31:58He was just
31:59loud.
32:01I kissed the top
32:02of his head.
32:04Protecting you
32:05is also my job.
32:06I'm not sorry.
32:09I know.
32:10I know mom.
32:16Sorin eventually
32:17took Dre to find food
32:18and it was just
32:19the two of us.
32:20Kale sat by the bedside
32:22not quite touching
32:23like he was still afraid
32:24something would break
32:25if he moved
32:26too fast.
32:27He wanted to look
32:28at my wrist.
32:29I let him.
32:29I'll do better.
32:30He said.
32:32You won't be alone
32:33like that again.
32:35Kale
32:36this wasn't your fault.
32:38You were alone
32:39and you got hurt.
32:40I was in a clearing
32:41full of dragons
32:42and I got hurt.
32:43That's not the same thing
32:44as being alone.
32:45He looked up.
32:45I'm not made of glass.
32:48I'm also not leaving.
32:49You understand that?
32:51I'm here.
32:52I chose this.
32:54You chose it
32:55because your family
32:55arranged the alliance.
32:56I chose to stay.
32:59Every single day
33:00for three years
33:01I chose to stay.
33:02That's not an arrangement.
33:04That's me.
33:05He didn't answer
33:06but something
33:07in his face shifted.
33:08I thought about
33:09the hidden chamber
33:10behind the clan tapestry.
33:12His quiet
33:12years long devotion
33:14that he'd never once
33:15spoken aloud.
33:16The young
33:16unblooded dragon
33:18eating alone
33:19at the edge
33:19of the training grounds
33:20every day.
33:21The young
33:21unblooded dragon
33:22eating alone
33:23at the edge
33:24of the training grounds
33:25every day
33:25while I stuffed
33:26a pouch of resource
33:28tokens into his pack
33:29and told him
33:30he was my honorary
33:31younger clansman.
33:32He'd loved me
33:33before he knew
33:34what to do with it.
33:35Before I even
33:36knew his name.
33:37I reached over
33:38and took his
33:38uninjured hand.
33:40You want to know
33:41what I was thinking?
33:42Every time
33:43things got hard
33:44and someone told me
33:45I'd bonded
33:46with the wrong dragon.
33:47He waited
33:47that they'd never
33:48seen you bring me
33:49warp stones
33:50when the cold fever
33:51took me.
33:52Or stay awake
33:53beside me
33:54through three full nights
33:55because I was homesick
33:57and couldn't sleep.
33:58Or look at me
33:59the way you look at me
33:59when you think
34:00I'm not watching.
34:01They were comparing you
34:03to whoever they
34:03assumed you were.
34:05I know who you
34:06actually are.
34:07Kale didn't show
34:08weakness easily.
34:09He was showing it now.
34:11I don't need you
34:12to be fearless.
34:13I just need you
34:14to stop assuming
34:15I'll leave.
34:18I'm not going anywhere.
34:19He brought my hand up
34:21and held it
34:21against his face.
34:22Didn't speak.
34:23Didn't need to.
34:24They kept me
34:25in the healer's den
34:26two extra days.
34:27The morning
34:28they finally let me
34:29return to our den.
34:30I walked back
34:31through the entrance
34:32and stopped in front
34:33of the bonding tapestry.
34:35We were both
34:36so young in it.
34:37I lifted the tapestry
34:39and I found
34:40the wall behind it.
34:42Image after image
34:43after image
34:44etched in the old way.
34:47Dragon memory stone.
34:52Me at nineteen.
34:54Me at sixteen.
34:57Me at fourteen
34:58in a clan corridor.
35:00He'd loved me
35:01across a decade
35:02before I'd ever
35:03said his name.
35:04I heard the den
35:06entrance behind me.
35:07Kale froze
35:08in the corridor.
35:14Evira,
35:14I can explain.
35:15You noticed me first.
35:19I gave you
35:19resource tokens
35:20at the training grounds
35:21because I thought
35:21you couldn't afford
35:22to eat.
35:24I told you
35:25that you were
35:26my honorary
35:26younger clansman
35:27and I never even
35:28asked your name.
35:31I didn't know
35:32it was you
35:32until I found these.
35:34I'm a little upset
35:34it took us this long.
35:39I think about
35:40all the time
35:40you wasted.
35:42You're not
35:43upset about the stones?
35:44No.
35:46I'm glad.
35:47I'm glad you kept looking.
35:48Kale crossed the den
35:49in four strides
35:50and pulled me in
35:51before I could say
35:52anything else.
35:53I never thought
35:53you'd say that.
35:55I know.
35:56That's the problem.
35:57You've been waiting
35:58for me to leave
35:59since the day I arrived.
36:00I'm not leaving.
36:02I've told you.
36:03I'll keep telling you.
36:04For how long?
36:07I thought about it.
36:09As long as it takes
36:10for you to actually
36:11believe me.
36:12Dre appeared
36:13in the den entrance,
36:14took one look at us
36:15and silently backed away.
36:17Kale held on
36:18a little tighter.
36:20Outside,
36:21the ancient forests
36:22of the abyssal reach
36:23kept moving.
36:24Wind through the canopy.
36:26The distant sound
36:27of wings.
36:28The slow pulse
36:29of a territory
36:30that had stood
36:31for 10,000 years
36:33and I stayed
36:34exactly where I was.
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