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