- 10 hours ago
My Dragon Lord Redeems Me HD 720p ASM
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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.
00:07He walked in with his childhood sweetheart instead.
00:10Lyra's baby needs a father on paper.
00:12Once we divorce, I'll marry you.
00:19Everyone thought I'd swallow my pride and wait another month.
00:22After all, I'd already waited seven years.
00:24But that night, I accepted my family's arranged alliance
00:27and left the abyssal reach entirely.
00:29I disappeared from Rylan's world completely.
00:34Three years later, I returned to abyssal reach with my mate for a clan ancestral rite.
00:41My mate had a work emergency, so he had his people to collect me at the border crossing.
00:50I walked out and froze.
00:53That person was Rylan, my ex, the arrival clearing.
00:56I spotted a scout holding a marker carved with my name, my formal alliance name,
01:02Hela, and walked over.
01:03Rylan was holding it.
01:05He had Lyra with him, plus a few of his clansmen, all craning their necks toward the tree.
01:09Hey, isn't that Rylan's obsessed ex?
01:12Isn't that Evara?
01:14Told you.
01:15She'd come crawling back.
01:17Evora vanished without a trace.
01:18Now she sees Rylan is in a higher rank.
01:19She probably cries herself to sleep every night.
01:21Evara, if you're going to fake a random run-in, why show up like this?
01:25Couldn't you at least put on some makeup?
01:27Without Rylan, you can't even buy a nice outfit.
01:28Look pathetic.
01:30It was true.
01:31I used to make myself perfect every time I knew I'd be near Rylan.
01:35Sharpest claws, finest scales on display, best version of me.
01:39Not anymore.
01:40No point.
01:41Because I'm carrying, and my mate refused to let me be uncomfortable.
01:44He had this soft-traveling wrap, custom-tailored for me.
01:48Listening to them mock me, it suddenly clicked.
01:50They only knew my alliance name.
01:52They had no idea the one they were here to collect was me.
01:55Evara.
01:56Hey.
01:57It's good you're back.
02:00Rylan's been asking after you for years.
02:02Yeah, our son is entering the young training k-hort soon.
02:05From now on, you're in charge of the drop-off.
02:08He was still so incredibly arrogant, but 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.
02:20I am-
02:21Please don't blame Rylan.
02:22He's just trying to take care of you.
02:25You disappeared for three years.
02:28Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive.
02:30Don't worry.
02:31Caring for my son is a respectable role.
02:34No one will look down of you.
02:36Rylan caught my expression and thought I was jealous.
02:39Something flickered in his eyes.
02:41Satisfaction.
02:42All right, Evara.
02:43Drop the attitude.
02:44You clearly can't survive out there, so stop throwing tantrums, take care of the kid, and
02:48learn your place.
02:49God damn, Evara.
02:50Look how good Rylan is to you.
02:51He's giving you free room and board.
02:53Isn't babysitting better than whatever trashy life you're living now?
02:56Hurry up and say thank you.
02:57Lyra touched the scales at her throat.
02:59Don't worry, dear.
03:00If my son acts up, I'll handle him myself.
03:02You won't be mistreated.
03:03Rylan smirked and glanced at me.
03:06Why would she be mistreated?
03:07She ran away over a tiny little misunderstanding.
03:09If she hit rock bottom out in the wilds, a little humility is good for her.
03:13The Rylan who used to love me was truly gone.
03:16He wasn't the young warrior who'd carried me, wounded, across three territory borders
03:21in the dead of a moonless night.
03:30But whatever.
03:31It was all in the past.
03:36None of it mattered anymore.
03:37Besides, I was about to carry my second hatchling anyway.
03:42Aren't you here to pick me up?
03:44Let's go.
03:44Silence fell over the clearing.
03:49Pick you up, please.
03:50Lyra held up the carved marker.
03:52Read it carefully.
03:53We are here for Hela.
03:54Do you even know who that is?
03:56Hela is the mate-bonded consort of the Frostridge line.
04:01She is blood-bonded to Lord Kale.
04:04Kale is a living legend.
04:06Coldest dragon alive in the field.
04:07But completely devoted to his wife.
04:09Rumor has it he refused all alliances for years just waiting for Hela.
04:13Everyone knows the rule.
04:14If you want Kale's favor, go through Hela.
04:17She is his entire world.
04:19To claim Hela as his, Kale went to the ancient exchange and paid down a legendary artifact.
04:24The Eternal Fane Bracelet.
04:26Just to give to Hela.
04:28Listening to them gossip about my marriage, I couldn't help it.
04:31A genuine happy smile spread across my face.
04:34She's the most envied female in every territory.
04:37Lyra stopped.
04:38Then she pointed at my wrist and shrieked.
04:39That bracelet!
04:41That's it!
04:42Everyone looked.
04:44It's a pretty good fake.
04:45Which a lowborn Klansman bought you that?
04:48Buying you a cheap imitation.
04:50Absolute trash!
04:52Rylan grabbed my arm, studied the bracelet, then laughed.
04:55Really is high quality for a fake.
04:57Way better than the replica I had made.
04:58But I'd never actually wear mine in public.
05:01These outer territory imitations though.
05:03The craftsmanship is something else.
05:04The weight actually feels real.
05:06Or what Ivara?
05:07Are you going to tell us you're Hela?
05:09Are you Lord Kale's bonded mate?
05:13And three years ago, I was just the girl Rylan had left standing outside the sacred hall.
05:18There was no version of reality where those two things connected.
05:23Lyra swung the bracelet around her claw.
05:25Just give it to me Ivara.
05:27I'll pay double whatever you traded for it.
05:31Give it back.
05:34Kale gave me that.
05:38Rylan struck me across the face before I could finish.
05:41My head snapped sideways.
05:43I tasted copper.
05:46Shut your mouth!
05:48Do you have any idea what you're saying?
05:50You think you can just casually invoke Lord Kale's name?
05:53Are you trying to get me killed?
05:57His plans then piled on immediately.
06:00Do you know how hard we fought for this pickup assignment?
06:04Kale absorbed Rylan's clan faction last season.
06:05Our entire livelihood depends on him now.
06:07The only way Rylan keeps his post is if Hela accepts us.
06:10And you're out here spreading wild rumors that you're connected to Lord Kale.
06:14Are you trying to ruin Rylan entirely?
06:18I wiped the blood from my lip.
06:20Slowly turned back to Rylan.
06:22Whatever he saw in my eyes made him flinch.
06:26Lyra caught it.
06:27She stepped forward and pointed a claw at my face.
06:32You ungrateful snake!
06:35Rylan offered you a place and you throw it back at him?
06:37Hearing her say that, it felt exactly like three years ago.
06:41No matter what I did, Lyra would twist it, feed her poisonous version of the story to Rylan.
06:46In the early days, he used to defend me.
06:49By the end, he always took her side, just like now.
06:51Jealous shrew.
06:53For old times' sake, I'll let this go.
06:55Take these, get yourself proper clothes.
06:59If you really don't want to tend Lyra's hatchling, I'll find you something tolerable next season.
07:04Don't worry.
07:05Ever since Kale absorbed us, this kind of thing cost me nothing.
07:09No, thank you.
07:11I don't take things from strangers.
07:12I ignore the gold coins scattered on the ground, take back the pendant from Laila, then turn and leave.
07:21Not three steps out, Rylan grabbed my arm.
07:24You won't take what I'm offering?
07:26What does that mean? I'm a stranger to you?
07:30We dissolved our bond.
07:32Better not to stay tangled in each other's lives.
07:35Others might get the wrong impression.
07:37I was thinking of Kale, who had a very particular dislike of misunderstandings.
07:43Rylan glanced at Lyra.
07:44He had a knowing look.
07:45My faction is hosting a tribute feast for Kale in three days.
07:49I was going to bring you, show you something real, but you'd need to present yourself properly.
07:55Can't embarrass me.
07:57I'm fine, but thank you.
08:00His hand froze mid-air.
08:02He bit down hard.
08:03Fine.
08:04I'll take Lyra.
08:06Lyra said, eyes bright.
08:08I won't let you down.
08:10Hope you're still this confident in three days.
08:12I didn't look back.
08:14Fresh air.
08:15The nausea faded, breathing it in.
08:18My mind flashed back to three years ago.
08:20My family had arranged an alliance overseas.
08:23But at the Sacred Hall, it wasn't just Rylan waiting.
08:26Lyra was there too.
08:27Her hatchling needs to be registered under my bloodline.
08:30I'll dissolve her bond claim in a month.
08:32Then I'll bond with you.
08:33This is just about hatchling.
08:35I watched him take her inside.
08:36That was the last thing I needed to see.
08:37I crossed the border that night, met Kale, bonded with him a month later, had our son the year after.
08:43Now I was carrying it again.
08:45And the only reason I was even back in the reach was to attend a clan ancestral rite with Kyle.
08:50Honestly, if it wasn't for the rite, I never would have set foot back here.
08:54And I definitely wouldn't have run into Rylan.
08:56Three days later, I painted on a light adornment and made my way to the feast grounds alone.
09:01You said you weren't coming, but here you are.
09:03Listen, if you want me back, you need to at least present yourself properly to match my standing.
09:07I walked past him without a word.
09:09Ivara, I'm talking to you.
09:11Our circle is here.
09:12Where do you think you're going?
09:13That's your circle.
09:14Mine is up there.
09:17Ivara, how did she get in here?
09:19She's here to cause chaos.
09:20How dare she wear that bracelet tonight of all nights?
09:23Tonight is the first time Kale is bringing his bonded maid out publicly.
09:27Is she trying to humiliate Havelim?
09:28She slipped past the sentinels.
09:30She's trying to make us look disloyal in front of Lord Kale.
09:33Ryan, is this female with you?
09:35No.
09:36Take that bracelet off and get out.
09:39I looked at her with a faint smile.
09:40You sure you want me to leave?
09:42Lyra realized others were watching.
09:43Stop acting like you're something!
09:45Take it off!
09:46Now!
09:48She lunged forward to rip it from my wrist.
09:50I swatted her claw away and stepped back.
09:52Someone behind me tripped me.
09:54I hit the ground hard.
09:56Lyra stepped on my arm and ripped the bracelet off my wrist.
10:00Treating this like it's something sacred.
10:02Trash.
10:03My wrist was bleeding.
10:04My arm screamed.
10:05But I just sat there, staring at the bracelet lying broken on the ground.
10:09Shards scattered across the stone.
10:11Pick her up and throw her out.
10:12A few sentinels moved toward me.
10:14They reached for my arms.
10:15I struggled.
10:18Stop.
10:19I am Kale.
10:20Lyra struck me across the face before I could finish.
10:23Are you going to start spreading rumors that your Lord Kale's kept female?
10:27You wish.
10:28She struck me again.
10:31When I came back to the Reach, I hadn't planned to make a scene.
10:35It had felt beneath me.
10:38But now, she had made it worth it.
10:41Rylan crouched down in front of me, reached for my wrist.
10:44I pulled back instinctively.
10:46Are you done throwing your fit?
10:49You show up wearing the bracelet, dressed down on purpose.
10:52You wanted me jealous.
10:54Just say it, and I'll give you what you want.
10:57I laughed.
10:58Short.
10:58Sharp.
11:00Rylan.
11:02You're finished.
11:04He frowned, opened his mouth, and then the clearing went dead silent.
11:08Guests began to straighten themselves, drifting toward the entrance path.
11:11Kale is here.
11:13Behave yourself.
11:14He paused.
11:15Lyra and I have dissolved our bond, by the way.
11:17I was cradling my nearly broken wrist, thinking,
11:21How did I spend seven years on this person?
11:24What did his dissolution have to do with me?
11:27At that exact moment, Kyle walked in with our son in his arms.
11:30Once they reached the feast grounds, our son squirmed and climbed down.
11:35Rylan hadn't noticed who the cub was yet.
11:37If you stop being jealous of Lyra, I'll forgive you for disappearing three years.
11:41I'll give you another chance.
11:42Carry my hatchling.
11:43A real one.
11:44Ours.
11:45Just come back and tend to my son.
11:46I'll get rid of Lyra.
11:47I didn't say a single word to him.
11:48I just looked past him into the crowd, trying to catch Kale's and our son's eyes.
11:52Then it happened.
11:53Kale followed the cub's small, clumsy steps, straight to where I was.
11:56The second my son saw me, something broke open in his face.
12:00He threw himself into my arms.
12:01He looked at my wrist.
12:03Why is there so much blood?
12:05One word.
12:06Mom.
12:06Every dragon in that clearing turned from the cub to me.
12:09The ones who have watched me get knocked around without doing a thing.
12:13All of them staring.
12:14My son's warmth in my arms washed away everything that had been pressing down on me.
12:18I crouched down to his level, cupped his cheek.
12:21I'm okay.
12:21He took my hand, bent his small head, and breathed very carefully on the wound.
12:26A dragon child's instinct.
12:28The faint warmth of an ember breath that couldn't yet burn but still tried to heal.
12:32His eyes were wet.
12:33Who did this to you?
12:34Cubs.
12:35They see something hurting someone they love and they just fall apart.
12:38Protecting you is mom's job too.
12:40Before I could say anything more, the air in the clearing changed.
12:44A heavy, suffocating stillness washed over the crowd.
12:48Kale was walking toward us.
12:50Dragons moved aside without knowing why.
12:53I felt him before I saw him.
12:54I picked up our son and turned around.
12:57The blood on my wrist looked stark against his white wrap.
13:00Our son looked up at Kale immediately.
13:02Father! Someone hurt mother! We have to make them pay!
13:06Kale stepped forward and very carefully lifted my arm.
13:10His face was unreadable, but his voice was quiet.
13:13Ivala.
13:14What happened?
13:16I'm right here, and you're already hurt.
13:19I can't take my eyes off you.
13:28Whoever did this!
13:33He didn't finish the sentence.
13:35He didn't need to.
13:37Looking at this cold, absolute lord turn into a fiercely protective mate made my heart ache.
13:43He was always like this, a mosquito bite, a bruise from sleep, even just eating half a portion.
13:49He'd be beside himself with worry, but I loved how intensely he cared about me.
13:54But our son felt something hard beneath his boot.
13:56He bent down and picked it up from the stone.
14:00It was the central gem from my broken bracelet, Kale's inscription visible on its face.
14:06Father, isn't this the bracelet you gave mother?
14:09Kale took it from him, turned it over, saw the engraving.
14:13Then I looked at the shards scattered across the ground, and at my wrist.
14:17The nearest stone pillar cracked in his grip.
14:21He drew me gently into the light.
14:23Bring every torch to the ground over here!
14:26Now!
14:28When our eyes met, his pupils narrowed slightly.
14:35What happened to your face?
14:36They actually dared to do this to you?
14:39I softened my voice.
14:41I'm fine, Kale.
14:46Ivera, I am your mate.
14:48You never have to swallow this kind of treatment alone.
14:51Our son pressed close.
14:52No one gets to hurt mother!
14:53Honestly, I could have handled Rylan and Lyra myself.
14:57But perhaps it was pregnancy.
14:59Or perhaps it was just finally feeling safe.
15:02My voice cracked.
15:03All the weight I'd been holding for three days broke open.
15:07You weren't here.
15:09And they all came at me.
15:14Rylan's scouts from the border crossing were somewhere in that clearing,
15:17shaking hard enough that they needed the standing stones to hold themselves up.
15:21They didn't expect it either.
15:22The female they'd spent three days calling Rylan's lovesick cast-off was Lord Kale's bonded mate.
15:28They'd seen the bracelet.
15:29She'd told them.
15:30Multiple times.
15:31Every single one of them was now looking for a way to disappear into the tree line.
15:35But then Lyra's companion, a female named Vesa, who had arrived late, strutted out from the crowd.
15:40Evola, where did you find these two?
15:42Their performance is impressive.
15:43Do you want Lyra to get them placed with a traveling troop?
15:46Not that you could afford the placement fee.
15:48Vesa had arrived late.
15:50She hadn't seen Lyra fawning over our son.
15:52And she knew the easiest way to earn Lyra's favor was to make me miserable.
15:57Vesa threw her head back and laughed at her own words.
16:00But this time, the entire grounds just stared at her like she had lost her mind.
16:05Vesa noticed the dead silence.
16:10You're actually quite striking.
16:13If you ever want to leave her, I wouldn't mind taking care of you.
16:18My mouth twitched.
16:19She was propositioning my mate in front of me.
16:23Over the years, anyone who'd tried to get close to him had either vanished from the territories entirely
16:28or ended up reassigned somewhere they had no desire to be.
16:32Vesa finally registered the clearing's energy.
16:35She drifted toward Lyra for backup.
16:38Lyra wanted nothing to do with her.
16:45Vesa, are you insane?
16:46You just insulted Lord Kale and his bonded mate.
16:49Do you want to be banished?
16:51Vesa sat on the ground with her claw pressed to her cheek, replaying the last few minutes.
16:56I just told her mate I'd take care of him.
16:58Oh no!
16:59Kale's reputation as the most protective bonded lord in any territory was not a rumor.
17:05Vesa started shaking.
17:06Then someone near the back of the clearing made a sound.
17:09Heads turned.
17:11Vesa had lost control of herself entirely.
17:14Her shift reflex had misfired in the most primal, humiliating way a dragon can in public.
17:19Scales broke out down one side of her neck and arm in a panicked, involuntary half-shift.
17:24The kind that happened to hatchlings who couldn't control their fear responses.
17:28On a grown female, in a formal gathering, in front of a lord, it was devastating.
17:33Kale's jaw tightened slightly.
17:35A sentinel materialized and quietly escorted her from the grounds.
17:39Lyra and Rylan went scarlet.
17:41The guests looked at them the way you look at those who have shamed themselves past the point of recovery.
17:48Meanwhile, a healer Kale had summoned was tending to my wrist nearby.
17:53I hissed.
17:54Kale and our son both turned with the same expression.
17:57Can you perhaps be a little more careful?
17:59The healer's hands started trembling.
18:03I shot them both a look.
18:05He's helping me.
18:06Stop.
18:07They immediately turned identical wounded expressions on me.
18:10Father and son, same face, same pout.
18:13I sighed.
18:14I told the healer.
18:15Okay.
18:16I know.
18:17I'm sorry.
18:18Keep going.
18:18He visibly relaxed.
18:19When he finished, he turned to Kale.
18:22My lord, your mate is perfectly fine.
18:25The unborn is safe.
18:27The wrist is the worst of it.
18:30I will source the best remedies available and do everything possible to ensure no scarring.
18:35Kale said nothing.
18:37I knew exactly what that silence meant.
18:39It was the one that came before something irreversible.
18:43Standing in the crowd, Rylan looked terrified.
18:45But underneath the panic, he burned with something else.
18:49Jealousy, watching how close Kale stayed beside him.
18:52His old possessiveness was peaking, but the survival of his faction was on the line.
18:57So he had to bite it down.
18:59Kale stood beside me and surveyed the clearing with the kind of stillness that made everyone
19:04in it feel like they'd already been found guilty of something.
19:07I actually found it a little endearing, especially with our son standing right beside him like
19:12a tiny, furious mirror.
19:13I want to know exactly what happened.
19:15Everything.
19:16If you speak now, perhaps you survive this.
19:20If I have to find it out myself, every single one of you goes down with it.
19:26It was a naked threat.
19:28These dragons had clawed for the chance to attend this feast.
19:32None of them wanted to burn for Rylan's sake.
19:35Rylan panicked.
19:37He stepped forward.
19:38Lord Kale, there's been a misunderstanding.
19:41As Avaras, as her former bonded partner, I was simply reconnecting with her.
19:47Things got out of hand.
19:48God blessed him.
19:50Such an idiot.
19:51He actually thought I had spent three years keeping myself for him, waiting for him to
19:56snap his fingers so I could come running back.
19:58He completely missed the murderous stillness crossing Kale's feet.
20:02I heard the stone goblet in Kale's hand crack.
20:05Rylan kept going, oblivious.
20:07You likely know she was quite devoted to me before the disillusion.
20:12Reconnecting after years apart, it's natural that emotions would-
20:15The goblet shattered in Kale's grip.
20:18Stone fragments fell.
20:19Blood ran down his fingers.
20:21I pushed Rylan out of my focus and reached for Kale's hand.
20:25Stop.
20:26Stop trying to put yourself between us.
20:27You had your chance and you threw it away.
20:30Don't flatter yourself.
20:31I pressed carefully around Kale's cut, looked up at him.
20:35I have loved exactly one person my entire life, and it is you.
20:40Everyone here can hear me say it.
20:42I grabbed a clean wrap and frantically began binding Kale's bleeding hand.
20:47Rylan looked genuinely hurt.
20:49Ivara, I know you're bitter, but Lyra and I have dissolved our bond.
20:54Her hatchling is ready to call you mother.
20:57You only bonded with Kale to wound me.
20:59I understand.
21:00I'm not angry.
21:01Just come back.
21:03Whatever he can give you, I'll work twice as hard to match it.
21:06Just return and tend to my son.
21:09If you don't want Lyra, I'll make her disappear.
21:12I honestly could not believe what I was hearing.
21:15His arrogance had no floor.
21:18Kale's blood was smearing onto my wraps, but as I urgently pressed the binding to his palm,
21:23he suddenly let out a low, genuine laugh.
21:26I looked up at him, furious.
21:30I looked up at him, furious.
21:32Why are you laughing?
21:35Kale reached over with his uninjured hand and quietly rested it on top of my head.
21:44Evara, you just said I'm the one you love most.
21:48Our son made a face and looked away.
21:50His cold, fearsome father was currently acting like a lovesick hatchling.
21:55The entire feast grounds went still.
21:57Half the guests were in shock.
21:59The other half were dying of quiet envy.
22:01The whispers spread through the crowd like fire through dry grass.
22:05The rumors are real.
22:07He is completely devoted to his mate.
22:09Rylan stood there, his knuckles white with humiliation.
22:12But our son wasn't finished.
22:14He looked Rylan up and down with open distance.
22:16Cub tender?
22:18My mother is the most protected one in our den.
22:22You think you deserve her?
22:24Mother only carries two cubs.
22:26Me and my sister.
22:30You really think your unacknowledged hatchling gets to call her mother?
22:36I know all about you.
22:38You're the one who broke my mother's heart.
22:40You're not as impressive as my father.
22:43Not as strong.
22:44Not as well formed.
22:47He tilted his head, studying Rylan with the kind of cold disdain that was entirely too familiar on that small
22:53face.
22:53And you smell like someone who peeked too early and never recovered.
22:57It's making my eyes water.
23:00Is your hatchling going to grow up leeching off others just like you?
23:04The guests surrounding us erupted.
23:06They couldn't help it.
23:07Rylan bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, shaking with shame.
23:12Everyone in that clearing knew the truth.
23:13He had coasted for years on Lyra's family resources.
23:17It was not a secret.
23:18Hearing all of this, Lyra had completely lost her grip on rational thought.
23:23Her hatchling was the most important thing in the world to her.
23:25The most exceptional cub alive.
23:28And this female was going to replace her.
23:30Rylan had essentially said so himself.
23:33Lyra grabbed a bone-handled knife from the nearest table and lunged straight at our son.
23:37You little wretch!
23:39I'll kill you!
23:43I didn't think.
23:45I let go of Kale's hand and threw myself entirely over our son.
23:50A blinding, searing pain ripped through my back.
23:54The color drained from my face.
23:56Ivara, are you...
23:58I didn't finish the sentence.
24:00Everything went black.
24:02I collapsed to the stone.
24:03The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was our son's face, white with panic.
24:09I wanted to tell him not to cry.
24:11I didn't get the chance.
24:13I woke to the sharp smell of Healer's Den.
24:17Dried herbs.
24:18Warm stone walls.
24:19I stared at the ceiling for a moment, disoriented.
24:22My best friend Sorin was in the chair beside me.
24:25The second she saw my eyes open, she grabbed my hands.
24:29Oh, thank the ancient fires.
24:31You're awake.
24:33If you had stayed under any longer, your mate and your son were going to tear this entire territory apart.
24:40What?
24:41She was definitely exaggerating.
24:45I reached for my stomach on instinct.
24:48Sorin caught the look immediately.
24:50You're both fine.
24:51The Healer said it was shock and pain, that's why you went under.
24:55The Unborn is completely safe.
24:57That Lyra is something else.
24:59Morse Frant.
25:01Going after a cub with a blade.
25:04Dre.
25:05My chest tightened.
25:06My son.
25:08Kale.
25:09Are they...
25:10Both fine.
25:12Physically, completely fine.
25:16Sorin handed me a cup of broth.
25:18Slow down.
25:20Drink.
25:21I drank.
25:23The tightness eased a little.
25:26You didn't need to throw yourself in front of him.
25:28There were six sentinels in that clearing.
25:32Dre was never going to get touched.
25:35That's Dre.
25:38I know.
25:39I know.
25:40He's your whole heart.
25:41That terrifying little creature.
25:45He doesn't need protecting.
25:47He's more dangerous than most full-grown warriors.
25:51I smiled despite myself.
25:54Where are they?
25:56Sorin's eyes lit up.
25:57Getting revenge.
25:59I wanted to come along.
26:00But your mate and your son are genuinely terrifying when they operate together.
26:06So I volunteered to stay with you instead.
26:09She settled in and began.
26:11When I arrived, you were already under.
26:15From what I pieced together from the witnesses still standing.
26:19Your son watched you collapse and went completely still for about two seconds.
26:23Then he picked up the knife Lyra had dropped and drove it straight through her hand, into the stone beneath.
26:29A cub.
26:31I don't know where he gets that kind of strength.
26:35Kale found out about the strike at the border crossing three days ago.
26:39And the bracelet.
26:40And everything they said to you.
26:42He had his sentinels hold Rylan down.
26:45And they dealt with the hand he used to hit you.
26:47I closed my eyes briefly.
26:50Lyra's face received the same treatment.
26:53And then Kale had a chest of gemstones brought into the clearing.
26:57All the shards from your broken bracelet.
26:59And he told Lyra that since she loved taking things that belonged to you so much,
27:05she could have them.
27:06All of them.
27:08She had to swallow them.
27:11You know what Kale said.
27:14You love taking what is hers.
27:17I am giving you everything you wanted.
27:19The stones.
27:21And the mail.
27:22She refused at first.
27:23So Kale had her hatchling brought in.
27:25Then she did it.
27:26She swallowed a great many shards.
27:28They worked her over until she was barely conscious.
27:30Then Kale had her dropped beyond the outer borders.
27:34Face first.
27:35Every dragon who stood around watching you get hurt.
27:38Every single one of them carries a mark on their wrist now.
27:41Just for doing nothing.
27:42If you weren't my closest companion, I'd probably have one too.
27:45Soren fake dabbed her eyes.
27:47I gave her a flat look.
27:48But the only news that spread was about Rylan's faction being absorbed and dissolved.
27:53Rylan was supposed to go the same way as Lyra.
27:55But Lyra stopped it.
27:56Threw herself in front of the sentinels.
27:58I think she made a deal with him.
28:00It wasn't hard to figure out.
28:01The hatchling.
28:02When a mother is running out of time, the one thing she'll trade everything for is her child's safety.
28:07Rylan must have promised her something about the boy.
28:09Lyra had swallowed shards and stones for the chance that her son would be all right.
28:13Kale was precise and he was cold.
28:14But every time I so much as bruised my arm, he acted like he'd personally failed.
28:19Not of losing power.
28:20Of losing me.
28:21And Dre, my sweet, sharp, slightly terrifying.
28:22The den door swung open.
28:24I thought it was Dre.
28:26Kale, can you grab my-
28:32Evara, it's me.
28:34I turned.
28:35Rylan.
28:37His face was still swollen.
28:39He'd managed to find a decent cloak.
28:41The one I'd given him years ago.
28:43The one he'd told me was plain and unworthy of his rank.
28:46He had his methods for getting past sentinels, apparently.
28:49I stayed where I was.
28:50Last time I'd moved too fast, it'd cost me.
28:54He seemed to read that.
28:55I'm not going to hurt you.
28:58I just needed to-
29:01What?
29:02I still love you.
29:03His voice broke on it.
29:04Every time I think about you with him, I can't breathe.
29:07I know it's too late.
29:09I know what I did.
29:11But I can't just-
29:12Rylan.
29:15He stopped.
29:17You were with another female while we were still bonded.
29:20You let me humiliate myself.
29:22You abandoned me and destroy me.
29:24And then tonight, when you had the chance to do literally anything else, you stood in front
29:32of my mate and told him I was devoted to you.
29:35You've had seven years and three more to figure out what you want.
29:40What you want keeps shifting based on what you can reach.
29:44That's not love.
29:45Rylan's jaw worked.
29:46He wanted to argue.
29:48I was always your contingency, I said.
29:51And you were never mine.
29:53Not really.
29:56He looked at me for a long time.
29:58Then he looked at the cloak.
29:59You gave me this for the winter sauce.
30:01I told you it was plain.
30:03I know.
30:05I kept it.
30:07I didn't say anything.
30:08He left quietly.
30:10A moment later, Rylan hit the corridor outside, and Kale's sentinels and Kale's fist.
30:15I heard it from inside the den.
30:18One impact.
30:19Then nothing.
30:20Kale came in with his hand newly wrapped, Dre right behind him.
30:24They both stopped when they saw I was awake.
30:26Then they were both in front of me at the same time, Dre getting there first only because
30:31he was smaller and could cut the corners.
30:33Kale's voice was unsteady.
30:35You're up.
30:35Are you...
30:36Does anything hurt?
30:37Do you need...
30:37Father, she was fine two minutes before you got here.
30:40She was talking and everything.
30:42Kale ignored him.
30:43Are you okay?
30:44Are you okay?
30:45Tell me you're okay.
30:48I'm okay.
30:49You say that every time.
30:52Because it keeps being true.
30:55Dre tucked himself under my arm.
30:57After a moment, he spoke very quietly.
31:00Mom, are you upset that father raised his voice at me?
31:06Did he raise his voice at you?
31:08Dre's lower lip came out a fraction.
31:10He maintained firmly that he was fine.
31:13He was the worst liar.
31:15Dre.
31:18He didn't yell, Dre said very firmly.
31:21I pulled him closer and looked over his head at Kale, who was suddenly very interested in
31:26the den wall.
31:29He was scared into my shoulder.
31:32We both were.
31:34He wasn't really yelling.
31:36He was just...
31:39loud.
31:40I kissed the top of his head.
31:44Protecting you is also my job.
31:46I'm not sorry.
31:49I know, I know, Mom.
31:54Soren eventually took Dre to find food, and it was just the two of us.
31:59Kale pulled up a chair and stayed there, not quite touching, like he was still afraid something
32:04would break if he moved too fast.
32:06He wanted to look at my wrist.
32:07I let him.
32:09He was so careful about it, like the wound was still happening.
32:13I'll do better.
32:15You won't be alone like that again.
32:17Kale, this wasn't your fault.
32:20You were alone and you got hurt.
32:22I was in a clearing full of dragons and I got hurt.
32:25That's not the same thing as being alone.
32:27He looked up.
32:28I'm not made of glass.
32:30I'm also not leaving.
32:31You understand that?
32:33I'm here.
32:34I chose this.
32:35You chose it because your family arranged the alliance.
32:39I chose to stay.
32:41Every single day for three years, I chose to stay.
32:45That's not an arrangement.
32:46That's me.
32:47He didn't answer, but something in his face shifted.
32:50I thought about the hidden chamber behind the clan tapestry, his quiet, years-long devotion
32:55that he'd never once spoken aloud.
32:57The young, unblooded dragon eating alone at the edge of the training grounds every day
33:02while I stuffed a pouch of resource tokens into his pack and told him he was my honorary
33:06younger clansman.
33:07He'd loved me before he knew what to do with it, before I even knew his name.
33:11I reached over and took his uninjured hand.
33:13You want to know what I was thinking?
33:15Every time things got hard and someone told me I'd bonded with the wrong dragon?
33:19He waited.
33:20That they'd never seen you bring me warm stones when the cold fever took me.
33:25Or stay awake beside me through three full nights because I was homesick and couldn't
33:29sleep.
33:31Or look at me the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching.
33:34They were comparing you to whoever they assumed you were.
33:38I know who you actually are.
33:42Kale didn't show weakness easily.
33:44He was showing it now.
33:47I don't need you to be fearless.
33:49I told him.
33:50I just need you to stop assuming I'll leave.
33:52I'm not going anywhere.
33:54He brought my hand up and held it against his face.
33:56Didn't speak.
33:58Didn't need to.
34:00They kept me in the healer's den two extra days.
34:02The morning they finally let me return to our den, I walked back through the entrance
34:07and stopped in front of the bonding tapestry.
34:10We were both so young in it.
34:12Kale, already composed.
34:13The barest pull at the corner of his mouth, like he'd practiced not smiling until it became
34:19habit.
34:19Me, looking sideways, like I hadn't fully believed in the moment yet.
34:23I lifted the tapestry, and I found the wall behind it.
34:27Dragon memory stone, the kind that holds a moment in its surface like pressed light.
34:31Me at 19, handing out forage tokens outside the training grounds.
34:36Me at 16, laughing at something off frame.
34:39Me at 14 in a clan corridor, arms full of scrolls, annoyed at whoever had pressed the
34:45stone.
34:45He'd loved me across a decade before I'd ever said his name.
34:48I heard the den entrance behind me.
34:50Kale froze in the corridor, looked at the memory stones, looked at me.
34:56Ivara, I can explain.
34:57I said.
34:59You noticed me first.
35:00He didn't move.
35:01I gave you resource tokens at the training grounds because I thought you couldn't afford
35:05to eat.
35:06I said.
35:06I told you that you were my honorary younger clansman, and I never even asked your name.
35:13I didn't know it was you until I found these.
35:16Silence.
35:17I'm a little upset it took us this long, I said.
35:20Think about all the time we wasted.
35:22His voice came out rough.
35:24You're not.
35:26Upset about the stones?
35:27I looked at him.
35:28No.
35:28I'm glad.
35:30I'm glad you kept looking.
35:32Kale crossed the den in four strides and pulled me in before I could say anything else.
35:37He didn't speak for a long time.
35:39Then, against my hair.
35:40I never thought you'd say that.
35:42I know.
35:44That's the problem.
35:45You've been waiting for me to leave since the day I arrived.
35:48I felt him exhale.
35:49I'm not leaving.
35:50I've told you.
35:51I'll keep telling you.
35:52I thought about it.
35:53As long as it takes for you to actually believe me.
35:56Kale held on a little tighter.
35:58Outside, the ancient forests of the Abyssal Reach kept moving.
36:02Wind through the canopy.
36:03The distant sound of wings.
36:05The slow pulse of a territory that had stood for 10,000 years.
36:09And I stayed exactly where I was.
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