- 7 hours ago
Mark of the Eternal Bracelet EP
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The day we were supposed to complete our blood bonding ceremony, my mate Rylan 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,
00:21I accepted my family's arranged alliance and left the abyssal reach entirely. I disappeared
00:26from Rylan'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.
00:39At the border crossing, I walked out and froze. That person was Rylan, my ex. The arrival clearing.
00:47I spotted a scout holding a marker carved with my name, my formal alliance name, Heela, and walked
00:54over. Rylan was holding it. He had Lyra with him, plus a few of his clansmen, all craning their necks
00:59toward the treeline. Rylan looked surprised to see me. He covered it fast.
01:04Hey, isn't that Rylan's obsessed ex? Isn't that Ivara? I told you she'd come crawling back.
01:11His men laughed.
01:13Ivara vanished without a trass. Now she sees Rylan is in a higher rank. She probably cries
01:18herself to sleep every night. Ivara, if you're gonna fake a random run-in, why show up like
01:25this? Couldn't you at least put on some makeup? Without Rylan, you can't even buy a nice outfit.
01:30Look pathetic.
01:32It was true. I used to make myself perfect every time I knew I'd be near Rylan. 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
01:48for me. Listening to them mock me, it suddenly clicked. They only knew my alliance name.
01:54They had no idea the one they were here to collect was me.
01:57Ivara, hey, it's good you're back. Rylan'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
02:06the drop-off.
02:07He was still so incredibly arrogant, but I wasn't that naive girl anymore. I didn't want to
02:13waste another second on them. I was just about to tell them exactly who I was.
02:18I am-
02:19Please don't blame Rylan. He's just trying to take care of you.
02:22You disappeared for three years. Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive.
02:26Rylan caught my expression and thought I was jealous. Something flickered in his eyes.
02:31Satisfaction.
02:32All right, Ivara. Drop the attitude. You clearly can't survive out there,
02:36so 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. Rylan 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.
02:59Why would she be mistreated? She ran away over a tiny little misunderstanding.
03:02If she hit rock bottom out in the wilds, a little humility is good for her.
03:06My heart actually skipped a beat. Three years had passed,
03:09and he still thought it was a small matter to dump me and married Lyra.
03:12The Rylan who used to love me was truly gone. He wasn't the young warrior who'd carried me,
03:17wounded, across three territory borders in the dead of a moonless night. But whatever.
03:22It 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 Rylan calmly and said, silence 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
04:22enviled female in every territory. Lyra stopped. Then she pointed at my wrist and shrieked.
04:28That bracelet! That's it! The clearing went quiet. Everyone looked.
04:34It's a pretty good fake, which a lowborn Klansman bought you that. Buying you a cheap
04:39imitation. Absolute trash. Ryland grabbed my arm, studied the bracelet, then laughed.
04:45Wow, 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, Ivara, 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. Kale was a living
05:12legend across all territories. Cold, absolute, untouchable. And three years ago, I was just the
05:18girl Ryland had left standing outside the sacred hall. There was no version of reality where those
05:23two things connected. Lyra swung the bracelet around her claw. Just give it to me, Ivara. I'll pay double
05:29whatever you traded for. Give it back. Kale gave me that. Ryland struck me across the face before I
05:36could finish. Shut your mouth! My head snapped sideways. I tasted copper.
05:42Ivara, do you have any idea what you're saying? Ryland looked furious. You think you can just
05:49casually invoke Lord Kale's name? Are you trying to get me killed? His Klansmen piled on immediately.
05:55Do you know how hard we fought for this pickup assignment? Kale absorbed Ryland's clan faction
06:00last season. Our entire livelihood depends on him now. The only way Ryland keeps his post is if Hela
06:08accepts us. And you're out here spreading wild rumors that you're connected to Lord Kale. Are you
06:14trying to ruin Ryland entirely?
06:18I wiped the blood from my lip. Slowly turned back to Ryland. Whatever he saw in my eyes made him
06:25flinch.
06:26Lyra caught it. She stepped forward and pointed a claw at my face. You ungrateful snake. Ryland
06:31offered you a place and you throw it back at him? I know you're still bitter about the past. Trying
06:37to
06:37sabotage his standing out of petty spite. That's sick. Hearing her say that, it felt exactly like three
06:44years ago. No 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. By the end, he always took her side. Just like now.
07:02Jealous shrew.
07:11For old times sake, I'll let this go. Take these, get yourself proper clothes. If you really don't
07:16want to tend Lyra's hatchling, I'll find you something tolerable next season. Don't worry,
07:20ever since Kale absorbed us, this kind of thing cost me nothing.
07:23No, thank you. I don't take things from strangers.
07:33You won't take what I'm offering? What does that mean? I'm a stranger to you?
07:37Ryland grabbed my arm. He dissolved our bond. Better not to stay tangled in each other's lives.
07:42Others might get the wrong impression. I was thinking of Kale, who had a very particular dislike
07:47of misunderstandings. Ryland glanced at Lyra. He had a knowing look.
07:51My faction is hosting a tribute piece to the Kale in three days. I was going to bring you,
07:56show you something real. But you need to present yourself properly. You can't embarrass me.
08:00I'm fine. But thank you.
08:04Fine. I'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 treeline.
08:18Fresh air. The nausea faded. I stood there for a moment, breathing it in. My mind flashed back to
08:25three years ago. My family had arranged an alliance overseas. I'd gone to Ryland for the first. Seven
08:32years together, I wanted to seal our bond before the journey. Forced the decision. He agreed. But at
08:39the Sacred Hall, it wasn't just Ryland waiting. Lyra was there too.
08:43Lyra's baby needs a father on paper. Once we divorce, I'll marry you.
08:48This is just about Hatchling. I watched him take her inside. That was the last thing I needed to see.
08:54I crossed the border that night. Met Kale. Bonded with him a month later. Had our son the year after.
09:01Now I was carrying it again, and the only reason I was even back in the reach was to attend
09:06a clan
09:06ancestral right with Kale. Honestly, if it wasn't for the right, I never would have set foot back here,
09:12and I definitely wouldn't have run into Ryland. Three days later, I painted on a light adornment,
09:18threw on comfortable traveling leathers, and made my way to the feast grounds alone.
09:22The second Ryland saw me enter the clearing, his eyes lit up. A smug smirk spread across his face.
09:30You said you weren't coming, but here you are. Listen, if you want me back, you need to at least
09:37present yourself properly to match my standing. I walked past him without a word. He grabbed my arm.
09:44Evara, I'm talking to you. Our circle is here. Where do you think you're going?
09:49I pulled free and said simply, That's your circle. Mine is up there.
09:57He followed my gaze to the head circle. The raised dais reserved for lords and their bonded mates.
10:03His face went pale. Lyra spotted my bracelet from across the ground, and her voice cut through the
10:08clearing. Evara, how did she get in here? She's here to cause chaos. How dare she wear that bracelet
10:15tonight? Of all nights. Tonight is the first time Kale is bringing his bonded maid out publicly.
10:21Is she trying to humiliate Hela? She slipped past the sentinels. She's trying to make us look disloyal
10:28in front of Lord Kale. Is this female with you? No.
10:37Take that bracelet off and get out. I looked at her with a faint smile.
10:46You sure you want me to leave? Lyra realized others were watching. Her eyes went vicious.
10:52Stop acting like you're something. Take it off now. She lunged forward to rip it from my wrist. I
10:58swatted her claw away and stepped back. Someone behind me tripped me. I hit the ground hard.
11:06Lyra stepped on my arm and ripped the bracelet off my wrist. My arm screamed. My wrist was bleeding.
11:13Treating this like it's something sacred. Trash.
11:19But I just sat there, staring at the bracelet lying broken on the ground, shards scattered across the
11:25stone. Pick her up and throw her out. A few sentinels moved toward me. They reached for my arms. I
11:33struggled. I am Kale's... Lyra struck me across the face before I could finish. Are you going to start
11:40spreading rumors that your Lord Kale's kept female? You wish. She struck me again. When I came back to the
11:48reach, I hadn't planned to make a scene. It had felt beneath me. But now, she had made it worth
11:54it.
12:04Rylan crouched down in front of me. Reached for my wrist. I pulled back instinctively.
12:09Are you done throwing your fit? You show up wearing the bracelet, dressed down on purpose.
12:13You wanted me jealous. Just say it and I'll give you what you want. I laughed, short, sharp.
12:21Rylan, you're finished. He frowned, opened his mouth, and then the clearing went dead silent.
12:27Guests began to straighten themselves, drifting toward the entrance path.
12:31Kale is here. Behave yourself. Lyra and I have dissolved our bond, by the way.
12:37I stared at him. I was cradling my nearly broken wrist. I'm just setting word for again.
12:42Looking at the mail in front of me, thinking, how did I spend seven years on this person?
12:46What did his dissolution have to do with me? At that exact moment, Kale walked in with our son in
12:52his arms. Once they reached the feast grounds, our son squirmed and climbed down. He hit the stone path,
12:59all soft cheeks and small clawed boots, and every eye in the clearing went straight to him.
13:05His guardian scrambled after him. Ivara, if you stop being jealous of Lyra,
13:10I'll forgive you for disappearing three years. I'll give you another chance.
13:15Carry my hatchling, a real one, ours. Just come back and tend to my son. I'll get rid of Lyra.
13:22Rylan hadn't noticed who the cub was yet. I didn't say a single word to him.
13:26I just looked past him into the crowd, trying to catch Kale's and our son's eyes.
13:32Then it happened. Kale followed the cub's small, clumsy steps, straight to where I was.
13:39The second my son saw me, something broke open in his face. He threw himself into my arms.
13:46He looked at my wrist. Why is there so much blood?
13:49Mom. Every dragon in that clearing turned from the cub to me. The ones who have watched me get
13:54knocked around without doing a thing, all of them staring. My son's warmth in my arms washed away
13:59everything that had been pressing down on me. I crouched down to his level, cupped his cheek.
14:04He took my hand, bent his small head, and breathed very carefully on the wound. A dragon child's
14:11instinct. The faint warmth of an ember breath that couldn't yet burn but still tried to heal.
14:16He did this to you. His eyes were wet, cubs. They see something hurting someone they love and they
14:21just fall apart. Protecting you is mom's job too. Before I could say anything more, the air in the
14:27clearing changed. A heavy, suffocating stillness washed over the crowd. Kale was walking toward us.
14:32That quiet, controlled walk that made the air around him feel different. Dragons moved aside without
14:38knowing why. I felt him before I saw him. I picked up our son and turned around. The blood on
14:43my wrist
14:43looked stark against his white rat. Our son looked up at Kale immediately.
14:47Father, someone hurt mother. We have to make them pay. Kale stepped forward and very carefully lifted
14:54my arm. What happened? His face was unreadable. Ivara, I'm right here and you're already hurt.
15:00I can't take my eyes off you. But his voice was quiet. He didn't finish the sentence.
15:05Whoever did this? He didn't need to. Looking at this cold, absolute lord turn into a fiercely
15:12protective mate made my heart ache. He was always like this. A mosquito bite. A bruise from sleep.
15:18Even just eating half a portion. He'd be beside himself with worry. But I loved how intensely he
15:23cared about me. The feast hall's ambient light was low and dim, but our son felt something hard
15:28beneath his boot. He bent down and picked it up from the stone. It was the central gem from my
15:33broken
15:33bracelet. Father, isn't this the bracelet you gave mother? Kale's inscription visible on its face.
15:37Kale took it from him, turned it over, saw the engraving. Then I looked at the shard scattered
15:42across the ground and at my wrist. The nearest stone pillar cracked in his grip.
15:47Bring every torch to the ground over here. Now!
15:50He drew me gently into the light. When our eyes met, his pupils narrowed slightly. I softened my voice.
15:55What happened to your face? They actually dared to do this to you?
16:00I'm fine, Kale. Evora, I am your mate. You never have to swallow this kind of treatment alone.
16:09No one gets to hurt mother! Our son pressed close. Honestly, I could have handled Rylan and Lyra myself,
16:16but perhaps it was pregnancy, or perhaps it was just finally feeling safe. My voice cracked.
16:21I loved you. And they all came at me. All the weight I'd been holding for three days broke open.
16:28Vesa had lost control of herself entirely. Her shift reflex had misfired in the most primal,
16:34humiliating way a dragon can in public. Scales broke out down one side of her neck and arm in a
16:40panicked,
16:41involuntary half shift, the kind that happened to hatchlings who couldn't control their fear responses.
16:46On a grown female in a formal gathering, in front of a lord, it was devastating. Kyle's jaw tightened
16:53slightly. A sentinel materialized and quietly escorted her from the grounds. Lyra and Rylan went
17:01scarlet. The guests looked at them the way you look at those who have shamed themselves past the point
17:06of recovery. Meanwhile, a healer Kale had summoned was tending to my wrist, nearby. I hissed.
17:14Kale and our son both turned with the same expression. Can you perhaps be a little more careful?
17:20The healer's hands started trembling. I shot them both a look.
17:28He's helping me. Stop. I grabbed a clean wrap and frantically began binding Kale's bleeding hand.
17:35Rylan looked genuinely hurt. Ivara, I know you're bitter, but Lyra and I have dissolved our bond.
17:42Her hatchling is ready to call you mother. You only bonded with Kale to wound me. I understand.
17:48I'm not angry. Just come back. Whatever he can give you, I'll work twice as hard to match it.
17:53Just return and tend to my son. If you don't want Lyra, I'll make her disappear.
17:57I honestly could not believe what I was hearing. His arrogance had no floor. Kale's blood was smearing
18:03onto my wraps, but as I urgently pressed the binding to his palm, he suddenly let out a low,
18:08genuine laugh.
18:12Kale reached over with his uninjured hand and quietly rested it on top of my head.
18:17You just said I'm the one you love most. Our son made a face and looked away. His cold,
18:22fearsome father was currently acting like a lovesick hatchling, all because I'd defended him.
18:27The entire feast grounds went still. Half the guests were in shock. The other half were dying of quiet
18:33envy. The whispers spread through the crowd like fire through dry grass. The rumors are real. He is
18:39completely devoted to his mate. Ryland stood there, his knuckles white with humiliation. But our son
18:45wasn't finished. He looked Ryland up and down with open disdain. Cub tender, my mother is the most
18:51protected one in our den. You think you deserve her?
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