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