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00:02The day we were supposed to complete our blood bonding ceremony, my mate Rylan had the clan
00:08sentinels drag me out of the sacred hall. He walked in with his childhood sweetheart instead.
00:14Lila's baby needs a father on paper. Once we divorce, I'll marry you.
00:19Everyone thought I'd swallow my pride and wait another month. After all, I'd already
00:24waited seven years. But that night, I accepted my family's arranged alliance and left the
00:29abyssal reach entirely. I disappeared from Rylan's world completely. Three years later,
00:35I returned to abyss reach with my mate for a clan ancestral rite. My mate had a work emergency,
00:41so he had his people to collect me. At the border crossing, I walked out and froze. That person
00:47was Rylan, my ex. The arrival clearing, I spotted a scout holding a marker carved with my name,
00:54my formal alliance name, Hela, and walked over. Rylan was holding it. He had Lyra with him,
01:01plus a few of his clansmen, all craning their necks toward the tree line.
01:05Hey, isn't that Rylan's obsessed ex? Isn't that Evara?
01:09Rylan looked surprised to see me. He covered it fast.
01:12Told you she'd come crawling back.
01:16Evara vanished without a trace. Now she sees Rylan is in a higher rank.
01:19She probably cries herself to sleep every night. Evara, if you're gonna fake a random run-in,
01:27why show up like this? Couldn't you at least put on some makeup?
01:31Without Rylan, you can't even buy a nice outfit. Look pathetic.
01:36It 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. No point.
01:48Because 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.
02:05Evara, hey, it's good you're back. Rylan's been asking after me for years.
02:08Yeah, our son is entering the young training cohort soon, now I'm in charge of the drop-off.
02:12He was still so incredibly arrogant, but I wasn't that naive girl anymore.
02:17I didn't want to waste another second on them. I 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.
02:26You disappeared for three years. Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive.
02:30Don't worry. Caring for my son is a respectable role. No one will look down at you.
02:36Rylan caught my expression and thought I was jealous. Something flickered in his eyes.
02:41All right, Evara, drop the attitude. You clearly can't survive out there, so stop throwing tantrums, take care of the
02:48kid, and learn your place.
02:51Damn, Evara, look how good Rylan is to you. He'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. If my son acts up, I'll handle him myself. You won't be mistreated.
03:07Why would she be mistreated? She ran away over a tiny little misunderstanding. If she hit rock bottom out in
03:13the wilds, a little humility is good for her.
03:16My heart actually skipped a beat. Three years had passed, and he still thought it was a small matter to
03:22dump me and marry Lyra?
03:23The Rylan who used to love me was truly gone. He wasn't the young warrior who'd carried me, wounded, across
03:30three territory borders in the dead of a moonless night.
03:33But whatever. It was all in the past. None 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? Let's go.
03:45Silence fell over the clearing. Then someone left.
03:49Pick you up? Please. Read it carefully. We are here for Hela. Do you even know who that is?
03:58Hela is the mate-bonded consort of the Frostridge line. She is blood-bonded to Lord Kale.
04:04Kale is a living legend. Coldest 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. If you want Kale's favor, go through Hela. She 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. Kale'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 a legendary artifact.
04:43The Eternal Fang Bracelet. Just to give to Hela.
04:47She's the most envied female in every territory.
04:55That bracelet! That's it!
04:58It's a pretty good fake.
05:00Which a lowborn Klansman bought you that?
05:03Buying you a cheap imitation. Absolute trash.
05:08Wow! It really is high quality for a fake. Way better than the replica I had made.
05:13But, I'd never actually wear mine in public.
05:16These outer territory emulcations though?
05:18The craftsmanship is something else.
05:20The weight 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.
05:42And three years ago, I was just the girl Rylan had left standing outside the sacred hall.
05:49There 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 back.
06:06Shut your mouth!
06:07Rylan looked furious.
06:09Evora, 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?
06:31I wiped the blood from my lip, slowly 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.
06:52Hearing her say that, it felt exactly like three years ago.
06:57No matter what I did, Lyra would twist it, feed her poisonous version of the story to Rylan.
07:03In the early days, he used to defend me.
07:06By the end, he always took her side, just like now.
07:10Jealous Shrik.
07:12For old times' sake, I'll let this go.
07:16Take these, get yourself proper clothes.
07:19If you really don't want to tend Lyra's hatchling, I'll find you something tolerable next season.
07:23Don't worry.
07:24Ever since Kale absorbed us, this kind of thing cost me nothing.
07:27No thank you.
07:28I don't take things from strangers.
07:37Not three steps out, Rylan 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,
07:50We 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, who had a very particular dislike of misunderstandings.
08:04My faction is hosting a tribute feast for Kale in three days.
08:06I was going to bring you, show you something real.
08:09But you'd need to present yourself properly.
08:12Can't embarrass me.
08:13I'm fine, but thank you.
08:16Fine, I'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.
08:23Fresh air.
08:24I stood there for a moment, breathing 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, it 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.
09:09Now I was carrying it again.
09:10And the only reason I was even back in the reach was to attend a clan ancestral rite with Kale.
09:16Honestly, if it wasn't for the rite, I never would have set foot back here.
09:20And I definitely wouldn't have run into Rylan.
09:23Three days later, I painted on a light adornment, threw on comfortable traveling leathers, and made my way to the
09:30feast grounds alone.
09:31The second Rylan saw me enter the clearing, his eyes lit up.
09:35A smug smirk spread across his face.
09:38You said you weren't coming, but here you are.
09:41Listen, if you want me back, you need to at least present yourself properly to 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, the raised dais reserved for lords and 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?
10:13Of all nights, tonight 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.
10:28Rylan?
10:29Is 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.
10:53Someone 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.
11:02My wrist was bleeding, but I just sat there, staring 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 that your Lord Kale's kept female?
11:27You wish.
11:30She struck me again.
11:32When I came back to the reach, I hadn't planned to make a scene.
11:36It had felt beneath me, but now she had made it worth it.
11:40Rylan crouched down in front of me, reached for my wrist.
11:44I pulled back instinctively.
11:46Are you done throwing your fit?
11:48Huh?
11:49You show up wearing the bracelet, dressed down on purpose.
11:53You wanted me jealous.
11:55Just say it, and I'll give you what you want.
11:58I laughed.
11:59Short.
12:00Sharp.
12:00Rylan.
12:02You're finished.
12:04He frowned, opened his mouth, and then the clearing went dead silent.
12:09Guests began to straighten themselves, drifting toward the entrance path.
12:13Kale is here.
12:16Behave yourself.
12:21Lyra and I have dissolved our bond, by the way.
12:23I stared at him.
12:25I was cradling my nearly broken rest, looking at the mail in front of me, thinking, how did I spend
12:31seven years on this person?
12:33What did his dissolution have to do with me?
12:36At that exact moment, Kale walked in with our son in his arms.
12:41Once they reached the feast grounds, our son squirmed and climbed down.
12:45He hit the stone path, all 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, I'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, trying to catch Kale's and our son's eyes.
13:21Then it happened.
13:22Kale followed the cub's small, clumsy steps, straight to where I was.
13:27The second my son saw me, something 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, cupped his cheek.
14:01He took my hand at the house.
14:03They see something hurting someone they love, and they just fall apart.
14:09Who did this to you?
14:12Protecting you is mom's job, too.
14:16Before I could say anything more, the air in the clearing changed.
14:19A heavy, suffocating stillness washed over the crowd.
14:23Kale was walking toward us.
14:24That quiet, controlled 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.
14:35The blood on my wrist looked stark against his white wrap.
14:37Our 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, but his voice was quiet.
14:53Levara, what happened?
14:57I'm right here, but you're already hurt.
14:59I can't take my eyes off you.
15:01Whoever did this?
15:13Looking at this cold, absolute lord turn into a fiercely protective mate made 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, he'd be beside himself with worry.
15:28The feast hall's ambient light was low and dim, but our son felt something hard beneath his boot.
15:35Father, isn't this the bracelet you gave mother?
15:38Kale took it from him, turned it over, saw the engraving.
15:41Then I looked at the shards scattered across the ground and at my wrist.
15:45The nearest stone pillar cracked in his grip.
15:47He drew me gently into the light.
15:49Bring every torch to the ground over here.
15:52When our eyes met, his 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.
16:07You never have to swallow this kind of treatment alone.
16:11Our son pressed close.
16:13No one gets to hurt mother!
16:15Honestly, I could have handled Rylan and Lyra myself.
16:18But perhaps it was pregnancy.
16:21Or perhaps it was just finally feeling safe.
16:24My voice cracked.
16:26All 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 were somewhere in that clearing, shaking hard enough
16:41that they needed the standing stones to hold themselves up.
16:44They didn't expect it either.
16:46The female they'd spent three days calling Rylan's lovesick cast-off was Lord Kale's bonded
16:52mate.
16:52Every single one of them was now looking for a way to disappear into the tree line.
16:57But then Lyra's companion, a female named Vesa who had arrived late, strutted out from
17:03the crowd.
17:05Ivera, where did you find these two?
17:07Their performance is impressive.
17:09Do you want Lyra to get them placed with a traveling troop?
17:12Not that you could afford the placement fee.
17:14Vesa threw her head back and laughed at her own words.
17:17Usually half the clearing would laugh with her, but this time, the entire grounds just
17:23stared at her like she had lost her mind.
17:26Vesa 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, I wouldn't mind taking care of you.
17:39My mouth twitched.
17:40She was propositioning my mate in front of me.
17:44Vesa finally registered the clearing's energy.
17:47She drifted toward Lyra for backup.
17:49Lyra wanted nothing to do with her.
17:52Before Vesa could even speak, Lyra spun around and struck her viciously across the face.
17:58Vesta, are you insane?
18:00You just insulted Lord Kale and his bonded mate.
18:03Do you not be banished?
18:05Do you want to be banished?
18:11Ivera's hero.
18:15I just told her mate I'd take care of him.
18:20Oh no!
18:21Then someone near the back of the clearing made a sound.
18:24Heads turned.
18:26Vesa had lost control of herself entirely.
18:29Her shift reflex had misfired in the most primal, humiliating way a dragon can in public.
18:35Scales broke out down one side of her neck and arm in a panicked, involuntary half-shift.
18:42The kind that happened to hatchlings who couldn't control their fear responses.
18:47Kale's jaw tightened slightly.
18:49A sentinel materialized and quietly escorted her from the grounds.
18:53Lyra and Rylan went scarlet.
18:55The guests looked at them the way you look at those who have shamed themselves past the point of recovery.
19:01Meanwhile, a healer Kale had summoned was tending to my wrist nearby.
19:05I hissed.
19:06Kale and our son both turned with the same expression.
19:09Can you perhaps be 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 identical wounded expressions on me.
19:22Father and son.
19:23Same face.
19:24Same pout.
19:26Okay.
19:27I know.
19:29I'm sorry.
19:30Keep going.
19:31I told the healer.
19:32He visibly relaxed.
19:34When he finished, he turned to Kale.
19:37My lord, your 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 and do everything possible to ensure no scarring.
19:49Kale said nothing.
19:50I knew exactly what that silence meant.
19:53It was the one that came before something irreversible.
19:57Standing in the crowd, Rylan looked terrified.
20:00But underneath the panic, he 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 was on the line, so he had to bite it down.
20:15Kale stood beside me and surveyed the clearing with the kind of stillness that made everyone in it feel like
20:21they'd already been found guilty of something.
20:23He looked almost cold, almost lethal.
20:27I actually found it a little endearing, especially with our son standing right beside him like a tiny, furious mirror
20:35image.
20:35I want to know exactly what happened.
20:38Everything.
20:40If you speak now, perhaps you survive this.
20:44If I have to find it out myself, every single one of you goes down with it.
20:49It was a naked threat.
20:51These dragons had clawed for the chance to attend this feast.
20:55None of them wanted to burn for Rylan's sake.
20:57Rylan panicked.
20:59He stepped forward.
21:00Lord Kale, there's been a misunderstanding.
21:04As Evara's, as her former bonded partner, I was simply reconnecting with her.
21:11Things got out of hand.
21:12He unexpectedly said former bonded partner with a particular emphasis.
21:18God blessed him.
21:19Such an idiot.
21:20The worst possible moment for it.
21:23He actually thought I had spent three years keeping myself for him.
21:27Waiting for him to snap his fingers so I could come running back?
21:31He completely missed the murderous stillness crossing Kale's face.
21:35I heard the stone goblet in Kale's hand crack.
21:39Rylan kept going.
21:40You likely know she was quite devoted to me before the disavolition.
21:45Reconnecting after years apart, it's natural that emotions would...
21:49The goblet shattered in Kale's grip.
21:52Stone fragments fell.
21:54Blood ran down his fingers.
21:55I pushed Rylan out of my focus and reached for Kale's hand.
22:02Stop!
22:03Stop trying to put yourself between us!
22:05You had your chance and you threw it away!
22:07Don't flatter yourself.
22:09I have loved exactly one person my entire life.
22:12And it is you.
22:14Everyone here can hear me say it.
22:16I grabbed a clean wrap and frantically began binding Kale's bleeding hand.
22:21Rylan looked genuinely hurt.
22:23Evora, I know you're bitter.
22:25But Lyra and I have dissolved our bond.
22:28Her hatchling is ready to call you mother.
22:32You only bonded with Kale to wound me.
22:35I understand.
22:35I'm not angry.
22:36Just come back.
22:38Whatever he can give you, I'll work twice as hard to match it.
22:41Just return and tend to my son!
22:44If you don't want Leia, I'll make her disappear.
22:48I honestly could not believe what I was hearing.
22:51Kale's blood was smearing onto my wraps, but as I urgently pressed the binding to his palm,
22:56he suddenly let out a low, genuine laugh.
22:59I looked up at him, furious.
23:02Why are you laughing?
23:03Kale reached over with his uninjured hand and quietly rested it on top of my head.
23:08Evora, you just said I'm the one you love most.
23:12Our son made a face and looked away.
23:14His cold, fearsome father was currently acting like a lovesick hatchling, all because I'd
23:21defended him.
23:22The entire feast grounds went still.
23:24Half the guests were in shock.
23:25The other half were dying of quiet envy.
23:28The whispers spread through the crowd like fire through dry grass.
23:31The rumors are real.
23:33He is completely devoted to his mate.
23:37Rylan stood there, his knuckles white with humiliation.
23:39But our son wasn't finished.
23:41He looked Rylan up and down with open disdain.
23:44Cub tender?
23:45My mother is the most protected one in our den.
23:48You think you deserve her?
23:50Mother only carries two cubs.
23:52Me and my sister.
23:56You really think your unacknowledged hatchie gets to call her mother?
24:01I know all about you.
24:05You're the one who broke my mother's heart.
24:07You're not as impressive as my father, not as strong, not as well-formed.
24:13He tilted his head, studying Rylan with the kind of cold disdain that was entirely too
24:18familiar on that small face.
24:21And you smell like someone who peaked too early and never recovered.
24:24It's making my eyes water.
24:26Is your hatchling gonna grow up leeching off others, just like you?
24:29The guests surrounding us erupted.
24:32They couldn't help it.
24:34Rylan bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, shaking with shame.
24:38Everyone in that clearing knew the truth.
24:40He had coasted for years on Lyra's family resources.
24:44It was not a secret.
24:46Hearing all of this, Lyra had completely lost her grip on rational thought.
24:50Her hatchling was the most important thing in the world to her.
24:55The most exceptional cub alive.
24:58And this female was going to replace her.
25:00Rylan had essentially said so himself.
25:03Lyra grabbed a bone-handled knife from the nearest table.
25:07You little wretch!
25:08I'll kill you!
25:09I didn't think.
25:10I let go of Kale's hand and threw myself entirely over our son.
25:15A blinding, searing pain ripped through my back.
25:18The color drained from 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 before I lost consciousness was our son's face, white with panic.
25:31I wanted to tell him not to cry.
25:33I didn't get the chance.
25:35I woke to the sharp smell of healer's den.
25:38Dried herbs, warm stone walls.
25:40I stared at the ceiling for a moment, disoriented.
25:43My best friend Sorin was in the chair beside me.
25:46The second she saw my eyes open, she grabbed my hands.
25:50Oh, thank the ancient fires!
25:52You're awake!
25:53If you had stayed under any longer, your mate and your son were going to tear this entire territory apart.
26:00What?
26:01She was definitely exaggerating.
26:05Sorin caught the look immediately.
26:06I reached for my stomach on instinct.
26:09You're both fine.
26:10The healer said it was shock and pain, that's why you went under.
26:13The unborn is completely safe.
26:16That Lyra is something else.
26:18Going after a cub with a blade.
26:21My chest tightened.
26:23My son!
26:24Kale!
26:25Are they-
26:25Both fine.
26:26Physically, completely fine.
26:28Slow down.
26:29Drink.
26:30Sorin handed me a cup of broth.
26:35I drank.
26:36The tightness eased a little.
26:40You didn't need to throw yourself in front of him.
26:42There were six sentinels in that clearing.
26:44Dre was never going to get touched.
26:47That's Dre.
26:48I know, I know.
26:49He's your whole heart.
26:50That terrifying little creature.
26:52He doesn't need protecting.
26:53He's more dangerous than most full-grown warriors.
26:56I smiled despite myself.
26:58Where are they?
27:00Sorin's eyes lit up.
27:01Getting revenge.
27:03I wanted to come along.
27:04But your mate and your son are genuinely terrifying when they operate together, so I volunteered
27:09to stay with you instead.
27:11She settled in and began.
27:12When I arrived, you were already under.
27:15From what I pieced together from the witnesses still standing, your son watched you collapse
27:20and went completely still for about two seconds.
27:22Then he picked up the knife Lyra had dropped and drove it straight through her hand.
27:25Into the stone beneath.
27:28A cub.
27:30I don't know where he gets that guy's strength.
27:33Kale found out about the strike at the border crossing three days ago, and the bracelet,
27:37and everything they said to you.
27:39He had his sentinels hold Rylan down, and they dealt with the hand he used to hit you.
27:43I closed my eyes briefly.
27:45Lyra's face received the same treatment.
27:47And then Kale had a chest of gemstones brought into the clearing, all the shards from your broken
27:52bracelet, and he told Lyra that since she loved taking things that belonged to you so much,
27:56she had to swallow them.
28:02You know what Kale said?
28:09You love taking what is hers.
28:11So here, I am giving you everything you wanted.
28:14The stones, and the mail.
28:16She refused at first.
28:18So Kale had her hatchling brought in.
28:20Then she did it.
28:22She swallowed a great many shards.
28:24They worked her over until she was barely conscious.
28:26Then Kale had her drop beyond the outer borders.
28:28Swallowed shards.
28:30Face first.
28:31Every dragon who stood around watching you get hurt, every single one of them carries a
28:34mark on their wrists now, just for doing nothing.
28:37If you weren't my closest companion, I'd probably have one too.
28:40I gave her a flat look.
28:41The clan records were updated, but the only news that spread was about Rylan's faction
28:44being absorbed and dissolved.
28:46Every allied group in that clearing with border exposure, Kale absorbed it.
28:49Some were disbanded entirely.
28:51Some are still bleeding out.
28:54Raelynn was supposed to go the same way as Lyra.
28:56But Lyra stopped it.
28:58Threw herself in front of the sentinels, bought him time to run.
29:03I think she made a deal with him.
29:05It wasn't hard to figure out.
29:06The hatchling.
29:07When a mother is running out of time, the one thing she'll trade everything for is her
29:12child's safety.
29:13Rylan must have promised her something about the boy.
29:15Lyra had swallowed shards and stones for the chance that her son would be alright.
29:19Kale was precise, and he was cold.
29:21But every time I so much as bruised my arm, he acted like he personally failed.
29:26He was brutal because he was afraid.
29:28Not of losing power.
29:29Of losing me.
29:30And Dre, my sweet, sharp, slightly terrifying cub, had been shaped by that same love.
29:36I had been trying to counterbalance it.
29:38Clearly still working on it.
29:44Kale, can you grab my...
29:45Evara.
29:47It's me.
29:48His face was still swollen.
29:50He'd managed to find a decent cloak.
29:52The one I'd given him years ago.
29:54The one he'd told me was plain and unworthy of his rank.
29:58I stayed where I was.
29:59Last time I'd moved too fast, it'd cost me.
30:02He seemed to read that.
30:03I'm not going to hurt you.
30:05I just needed to...
30:08What?
30:11I still love you.
30:13His voice broke on it.
30:14Every time I think about you, 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, you were with another female while we were still bonded.
30:26You let me humiliate myself.
30:28You abandoned me and destroyed me.
30:31And then tonight, when you had the chance to do literally anything else,
30:35you stood in front of my mate and told him I was devoted to you?
30:38You've had seven years and three more to figure out what you want.
30:41What you want keeps shifting based on what you can reach.
30:44That's not love.
30:46Raelynn's jaw worked.
30:47He wanted to argue.
30:48I was always your contingency.
30:51And you were never mine.
30:52Not really.
30:53He looked at me for a long time.
30:55Then he looked at the cloak.
30:56You gave me this for the winter solstice.
30:58I told you it was plain.
31:02I know.
31:05I kept it.
31:06I didn't say anything.
31:08He left quietly.
31:10Kale came in with his hand newly wrapped.
31:12Dre right behind him.
31:13They both stopped when they saw I was awake.
31:15Then they were both in front of me at the same time.
31:17Ivara.
31:18Kale's voice was unsteady.
31:19You're up.
31:20Are you...
31:21Does anything hurt?
31:22Do you need...
31:23Father, she was fine two minutes before you got here.
31:27She was talking and 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 under my arm.
31:38Spoke very quietly.
31:39Mom.
31:40Are you upset that father raised his voice at me?
31:43Did he raise his 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 of his head.
32:04Protecting you is also my job.
32:06I'm not sorry.
32:09I know.
32:10I know, Mom.
32:16Soren eventually took Dre to find food, and it was just the two of us.
32:20Kale sat by the bedside, not quite touching, like he was still afraid something would break
32:25if he moved too fast.
32:27He wanted to look at my wrist.
32:29I let him.
32:29I'll do better.
32:30He said.
32:32You won't be alone like that again.
32:35Kale.
32:36This wasn't your fault.
32:38You were alone, and you got hurt.
32:40I was in a clearing full of dragons, and I got hurt.
32:43That's not the same thing as being alone.
32:45He looked up.
32:46I'm not made of glass.
32:48I'm also not leaving.
32:50You understand that?
32:51I'm here.
32:52I chose this.
32:54You chose it because your family arranged the alliance.
32:56I chose to stay.
32:59Every single day for three years, I chose to stay.
33:02That's not an arrangement.
33:04That's me.
33:05He didn't answer, but something in his face shifted.
33:08I thought about the hidden chamber behind the clan tapestry, his quiet, years-long devotion
33:14that he'd never once spoken aloud.
33:16The young, unblooded dragon eating alone at the edge of the training grounds every day.
33:21The young, unblooded dragon eating alone at the edge of the training grounds every day.
33:25While I stuffed a pouch of resource tokens into his pack and told him he was my honorary younger
33:31clansman.
33:32He'd loved me before he knew what to do with it.
33:35Before I even knew his name.
33:37I reached over and took his uninjured hand.
33:40You want to know what I was thinking?
33:42Every time things got hard and someone told me I'd bonded with the wrong dragon?
33:47He waited.
33:48But they'd never seen you bring me warm stones when the cold fever took me.
33:51Or stay awake beside me through three full nights because I was homesick and couldn't
33:57sleep.
33:58Or look at me the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching.
34:01They were comparing you to whoever they assumed you were.
34:05I know who you actually are.
34:07Kale didn't show weakness easily.
34:09He was showing it now.
34:11I don't need you to be fearless.
34:13I just need you to stop assuming I'll leave.
34:18I'm not going anywhere.
34:19He brought my hand up and held it against his face.
34:22Didn't speak.
34:23Didn't need to.
34:24They kept me in the healer's den two extra days.
34:27The morning they finally let me return to our den.
34:30I walked back through the entrance and stopped in front of the bonding tapestry.
34:35We were both so young in it.
34:37I lifted the tapestry.
34:39And I found the wall behind it.
34:42Image after image after image.
34:45Etched in the old way.
34:47Dragon memory stone.
34:52Me at nineteen.
34:55Me at sixteen.
34:57Me at fourteen in a clan corridor.
35:00He'd loved me across a decade before I'd ever said his name.
35:04I heard the den entrance behind me.
35:07Kale froze in the corridor.
35:14Evira, I can explain.
35:15You noticed me first.
35:19I gave you resource tokens at the training grounds because I thought you couldn't afford to eat.
35:24I told you that you were my honorary younger clansman and I never even asked your name.
35:31I didn't know it was you until I found these.
35:34I'm a little upset it took us this long.
35:39I think about all the time we 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 in four strides and pulled me in before I could say anything else.
35:53I never thought you'd say that.
35:55I know.
35:56That's the problem.
35:58You've been waiting for me to leave since the day I arrived.
36:01I'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 for you to actually believe me.
36:12Drey appeared in the den entrance, took one look at us and silently backed away.
36:18Kale held on a little tighter.
36:20Outside, the ancient forests of the abyssal reach kept moving.
36:24Wind through the canopy.
36:25The distant sound of wings.
36:28The slow pulse of a territory that had stood for 10,000 years.
36:33And I stayed exactly where I was.
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