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