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Short filmTranscript
00:00I was born with the power to breathe souls into every living thing, yet no one ever cared, because I'm
00:05the weakest beastkin in my family.
00:07A lovebird, my fiancé, a phoenix, gave me an iron egg to get out of our bonding contract.
00:12He said if I could hatch it, he'd go through with the bonding ceremony, but he has no clue this
00:17iron egg holds the dragon king, and I'm destined to become the dragon's bride because of it.
00:22The ceremony is set for next year. The family has already started preparations.
00:27Our bonding ceremony, I'd like to push it back.
00:31Why?
00:32He shrugs, sighs.
00:33The academy's been keeping me occupied.
00:36Performative, tired.
00:38I simply don't have the bandwidth for a bonding.
00:41Everyone knows that is an excuse. My stepfather's brow creases.
00:45Lord Whitmore, you're aware the Vanguard retrieved void crystals from the Voidlands on their last expedition.
00:51Our research isn't finished.
00:53If Rin could help shoulder some of my workload, I'd certainly find time for the ceremony.
00:58My stepfather's eyes light up. He smells opportunity.
01:01Name your terms. She will comply.
01:03Neither of them asks me. I'm furniture.
01:06Avians are natural nesters, aren't they? Consider it playing to your strengths.
01:12Raynard opens his spatial pouch and places an egg in my hands.
01:16If you manage to hatch it, I might even put your name in my next paper.
01:20Muffled laughter from the other beastkin at the table.
01:22I handed her a rock and called it a test.
01:25Avians are natural nesters, aren't they? Should be easy for her.
01:29He's an arp magister and an apex phoenix.
01:33The Whitmos were the ones reaching above their station.
01:36Raynard's lips curl, lazy, self-satisfied.
01:38If a hatchling comes out, I can apply for a new research champ.
01:43We'll hold the ceremony then.
01:44A fool's errand. He knows it. Everyone knows it.
01:47I look down at the egg in my arms cold to the eye.
01:50But under my fingers, hard as iron, I lay my palm flat against the shell.
01:53Warm light flows from my hand into the egg.
01:56Soft. Steady.
01:57Under the amused, pitying stares of every beast, kin in the room, I answer.
02:02Fine.
02:05But there's something I haven't told any of them.
02:07I am one of the rarest things in all of Aethermord.
02:10A soul mender.
02:15I take the egg home.
02:16My stepfather assumes I'm desperate to marry Raynard.
02:19So desperate, I'd accept an impossible task.
02:21Wern, just put your heart into it.
02:23Renwick will come around.
02:24I turn and walk to my room.
02:26Why would I want a preening phoenix to be moved by me?
02:29But this egg is different.
02:30Aether flows from my core, wrapping the shell like a hot spring.
02:33Golden light soaks through.
02:35Gentle dents.
02:36Raynard mentioned the Academy's healers tried everything.
02:38Not a flicker of response.
02:40But right now, in my arms, the egg shifts.
02:44Trying to come out already?
02:45I poke it gently, as if it heard me.
02:47What should I call you?
02:49The egg goes perfectly still.
02:50Quiet.
02:51Obedient.
02:51Better behaved than any male I've ever met.
02:53I think for a long time.
02:55Then, testing the waters.
02:56Pebble?
02:57It rolls away.
02:58Actively trying to escape, I grab it.
03:00Listen, Pebble.
03:01I'm going to raise you right.
03:03And in return, you're going to look after me when I'm old and gray.
03:05Every night after that, I shift into beast form, sing the old nesting song of the avian
03:11clans, and tuck the egg against my chest.
03:13Wings folded tight around it, warm, safe.
03:16That night, the servants are buzzing.
03:18Crown Prince Daemon, missing for half a month, has been recovered by the Imperial Guard.
03:23Battered, covered in wounds, but conscious.
03:25However, the one who went into the Voidlands with him, Commander Castor Selnaris, is still
03:30missing.
03:31Castor is the youngest commander in the Empire's history.
03:33Almost nothing is known about him, only that he's Demon's sworn brother.
03:37No one knows the true nature of House Selnaris.
03:39No one knows his past.
03:41The speculation runs wild, an ancient lineage.
03:43Immeasurable powered.
03:45Some whisper that Selnaris is a surname belonging to a species long extinct.
03:49The moment the servants mention Castor's disappearance, the egg in my arms lurches.
03:53Violent.
03:53Frantic.
03:54I assume it's just the usual movement, but after I fall asleep on that shell, hard as
03:58iron for weeks, a hairline crack appears.
04:05The next day, I'm walking with Pebble in my arms when I run into Raynard and his colleagues
04:10from the Arcane Academy.
04:11A flock of sparrows would hold a more dignified assembly.
04:15Renit.
04:15Is this your weak little fiancée?
04:19Utterly foolish.
04:20She's actually trying to incubate a rock.
04:23Remnod.
04:24How did you get her so wrapped around your talon?
04:26I walk past them without a glance.
04:30Reynard calls after me.
04:32Bryn.
04:33He tilts his head, almost wistful.
04:35I didn't realize you were this... devoted.
04:38It's almost touching.
04:40Move.
04:41Wyn, how about this?
04:42I can see you've been working hard.
04:44If that egg shows even a single crack, I'll agree to the ceremony.
04:48Are you deaf?
04:50Back off.
04:51Know your place, Wynk!
04:53You are bound to me!
04:55Lord Whitmore has clearly been far too lenient.
04:58That's the only explanation for your manners.
05:00He opens his mouth to continue.
05:02A carriage bearing the royal crest descends from the sky.
05:05Slow, silent, unmistakable.
05:07The onlookers exchange glances.
05:09Someone whistles.
05:10Revnod, that's got to be for you, right?
05:11Did the crown notice your research project?
05:13Go say hello!
05:14Maybe they'll invite you to the se...
05:15Forward, ready to greet them with his most practiced charm.
05:18The crown does move fast.
05:20Two attendants in Imperial livery step out.
05:23Walk right past him.
05:24Raynard freezes.
05:25They stop in front of me.
05:26Lady Rint, Crown Prince Daemon requests your presence.
05:32I'm brought to a private sitting room.
05:34The moment I push open the door and see Crown Prince Daemon, something clicks into place.
05:39Silver white hair, cropped short, heterochromatic eyes, cold underneath.
05:43He lounges on the sofa like he owns gravity itself.
05:46Lady Wynne, forgive the sudden summons, I just have one question.
05:51That egg, where did you get it?
05:52This?
05:54This is my son.
05:55Pebble.
05:56He blinks.
05:56Repeats himself slower this time.
05:58Y-your son.
06:00You laid this?
06:02Someone gave it to me.
06:03I've been caring for him for weeks, close enough to count as mine.
06:06Here.
06:07Would your highness knit like to hold him?
06:08Daemon opens his mouth, closes it, swallows whatever he was about to say.
06:12He takes Pebble with both hands.
06:14Stiff, terrified of dropping it.
06:16Pebble shakes harder in Daemon's arms.
06:18I snatch it back.
06:20Soothe it gently, Daemon watches, expression unreadable.
06:23Do you know what this egg is?
06:24I tilt my head.
06:25Some kind of large bird, maybe?
06:28A knock at the door interrupts us.
06:31Your highness, still no word on Commander Solaris.
06:34A night patrol has been dispatched to sweep the outer perimeter of the Voidlands.
06:37Call off the search.
06:38A slow breath, a quiet cough.
06:44I found him.
06:48Daemon sends me home in a royal escort.
06:50The moment I step out of the carriage, my stepfather rushes forward, not to greet me,
06:54but to fawn over the attendants behind me.
06:56Wern is always causing trouble.
06:58Please convey to his highness, if he ever has a free moment, our home is always open.
07:03Laughable.
07:04What crown prince would set foot in this dumpy lower my eyes and push past them?
07:08When?
07:09Who sent you home?
07:11Was that the crown prince?
07:13I let my voice shrink to the timid, harmless version they've always expected.
07:17I just got hit by the royal carriage by accident.
07:20His highness felt bad, so he gave me a ride home.
07:23I knew it.
07:24A lovebird Remick won't even look at, as if the crown prince would give her the time of day.
07:27Back in my room, I eased Pebble out of my satchel.
07:30When Daemon handed it back to me earlier, his expression was the most serious I've ever seen from him.
07:35Take care of him for now.
07:36Keep him safe.
07:37I'll send someone when it's time.
07:39If anyone asks whose egg this is, you know what to say.
07:41My son, Pebble.
07:44Daemon smiles back.
07:45It seems he chose well.
07:47This egg just became something far bigger than a research specimen.
07:50But Daemon doesn't tell me what Pebble is.
07:53And I don't ask.
07:54Some knowledge comes with a death sentence.
07:56When I wipe the shell clean that night, I find it.
07:59A crack.
07:59Hairline thin.
08:01Unmistakable.
08:01Panic.
08:02Sharp.
08:02An instant.
08:03I rush the egg to the healer's hall in the dead of night.
08:05My healer's token gets me past the door.
08:08The apprentice on night shift is half asleep at the desk.
08:10I slip Pebble into a healing cradle and activate the diagnostic runes before anyone notices.
08:15Private use of the hall's equipment is strictly forbidden.
08:18But formal admission means registering Pebble's information.
08:21That's not an option.
08:22This recovery room is tucked at the end of the corridor.
08:25Hardly anyone comes down here.
08:26I set Pebble into the cradle.
08:28Crack.
08:29I stop breathing.
08:32In the silent room, the fracturing grows sharper, faster.
08:35Then a small ink-black creature wriggles out of the shell.
08:38It shakes its downy feathers.
08:39Looks up.
08:40We stare at each other.
08:41Silence.
08:41My shoulders slump.
08:43Deep disappointment.
08:44All those weeks of incubation.
08:45And you're just a black chicken.
08:47Flaps its tiny rings.
08:49Can't speak yet.
08:49Newborn Pebble is frail.
08:51Exhausted from the effort of breaking free.
08:53I sigh and channel soul energy into its small body.
08:56Golden warmth wraps around it.
08:57Pebble's eyes drift shut.
08:58It curls into a ball.
08:59Once it's asleep, my own eyelids grow heavy.
09:02Soul mending drains everything.
09:03Even just those few minutes leave me barely functional.
09:07When I open my eyes again, sunlight floods the room.
09:10Someone draped a blanket over me.
09:11I jolt upright.
09:12A talon extends from beside me.
09:14A water cup hooked on the tip.
09:15I take it.
09:16Stare.
09:17A jet black male bird sits in the chair watching me, calm, docile, still juvenile, but far too
09:22large for something that hatched hours ago.
09:24Who are you?
09:25He points at the broken shell on the floor.
09:28My voice pitches up.
09:29Pebble?
09:30His body stiffens for a split second.
09:32I grab him.
09:33Turn him over.
09:34Examine every angle.
09:35He looks nothing like the black chickens I've seen one night.
09:38How did he grow this much in one night?
09:39Did someone slip you a growth taunet?
09:44I cup his face in both hands.
09:46Baby.
09:46Slow, patient.
09:47Say mama.
09:48Enunciating every syllable.
09:50He gazes at me gentle.
09:51Shakes his head.
09:52Come on.
09:52I refuse to give up.
09:53Repeat after me.
09:55Your name?
09:57Pebble.
09:58He turns away, probably embarrassed.
10:00Pebble still can't speak.
10:02Stranger yet.
10:02I can't understand his calls either.
10:04The only option is a familiar stone for basic translation.
10:07But I'm broke.
10:07The stone's magic is almost drained and it keeps glitching.
10:10Are you hungry?
10:11You want something to eat?
10:12He curves his beak into a gentle smile.
10:15Nods.
10:15My familiar stone translates.
10:18I stare at the stone.
10:19Familiar stones are masterwork artifacts.
10:21They can translate virtually every known beastkin language.
10:24What is Pebble if even a familiar stone can't process his speech?
10:28He might not exist in the empire's species registry at all.
10:31I send Demon a note via ink script.
10:33One word comes back.
10:34He's still handling affairs in the outer territories.
10:37One more day, then he'll send someone for Pebble.
10:39The imperial patrol has been unusually active lately.
10:42I overhear Aldis telling the servants they're searching for humans, remembering my conversation
10:47with Demon.
10:47It clicks.
10:48His condition can't wait.
10:49He needs to find a human to stay alive.
10:51For now, Pebble comes home with me.
10:53Hidden.
10:54He just finished eating.
10:55Nestled in my arms.
10:56Nuzzling against my downy feathers.
10:58Content.
10:59Pebble grows like he is fueled by wildfire.
11:02At this rate, he'll be speaking by tomorrow.
11:04I lay both hands on him for one last soul-mending session.
11:07Newborn hatchlings can't regulate their own soul energy.
11:10Bird types especially.
11:11Prone to volatile outbursts.
11:12All right.
11:13Sleep now.
11:14Maybe tomorrow you'll find your voice.
11:16He settles into the little nest I built for him.
11:18Lined with down feathers and a pink cotton blanket.
11:21Babies like cute things.
11:22I tuck the blanket around him.
11:23Kiss his forehead.
11:24His breathing quickens.
11:26From outside the room, my stepfather's voice.
11:29Wren!
11:30Get out here!
11:34I hide Pebble.
11:36Open my door.
11:38Reynard stands in the main hall.
11:40Beside him, my stepfather's seething.
11:42Tessa and Aldous hover behind them.
11:43Complex expressions.
11:45Jealousy they can't quite hide.
11:46Wren, so you've learned to lie now.
11:48You clearly know Crown Prince Damon.
11:50Why did you tell us you didn't?
11:52You can't even do this one small thing for your brother.
11:55Well, what do you expect?
11:56Aldous isn't her real brother.
11:58Wren's cozied up to the Crown Prince.
12:00She's probably eyeing the Consort's seat.
12:03Why would she bother with little old House Whitmarm?
12:05Oh, absolutely.
12:07After all, this household's only notable exports are mediocrity and audacity.
12:10Tessa's eyes go wide.
12:12Did you just...
12:13She lunges.
12:14I don't flinch.
12:15I've been silent all these years because I called them family.
12:18Swallowed every insult, hoping the next time would be different.
12:21That if I just endured enough, they'd love me back.
12:23All I got was more...
12:24They were never my family.
12:25And I'm done shrinking so they can feel tall.
12:27There's no word for endure in a lovebirds dictionary.
12:29Besides, I have pebble now.
12:31Raynard catches Tessa's arm.
12:32Turns to my stepfather with a diplomatic smile.
12:35Lord Whitmore, it's really no issue.
12:37Mother actually sent me to ask, could we move the bonding ceremony up?
12:40The whiplash silences the room.
12:42To be honest, when Mother first arranged the contract, I was quite fond of Wynne.
12:45I was simply too busy to show it.
12:47He reaches for my hand.
12:48Intimate.
12:49Proprietary.
12:49But now I think we're ready to formalize things.
12:51And if the Academy needs me later, I'm sure Wynne could mention it to Crown Prince Damien.
12:55His Highness would be happy to make arrangements.
12:57That preening, insufferable phoenix.
12:59What utter nonsense.
13:00My stepfather is the only one beaming.
13:02His face flushes red with delight.
13:04Wonderful, wonderful.
13:06We were afraid you'd changed your mind.
13:08I pull my hand free, my voice is calm.
13:10I'm afraid the answer is no, I won't be bonding with you.
13:13Raynard's smile dies on his lips.
13:15Why?
13:15He forces his voice steady.
13:16Wynne, you don't seriously think you can marry Crown Prince Damien?
13:20This has nothing to do with Damien.
13:22I simply don't want to marry you.
13:24He reaches for me again.
13:27She said no.
13:29What part of that wasn't clear?
13:34I spin around a dark-haired young man leans against the doorframe.
13:37Bare-chested, a strip of linen wrapped low around his hips.
13:41Lean muscle, pale skin, eyes black as void stone and just as empty.
13:44He's smiling, but the warmth doesn't reach past his mouth.
13:47Brent, you've been cheating on me with another male?
13:50I look at him the way you'd look at something stuck to your shoe.
13:53The young man's expression cools.
13:55He glances at Raynard barely, like something not worth focusing on.
13:58Wings erupt from his back, obsidian black, massive.
14:01They unfurl like a living cage, blotting out the ceiling.
14:03Bone spurs line the edges, razor sharp, and they sweep toward the room in one motion.
14:07Raynard doesn't dodge past him.
14:08The tips stop a centimeter from his eyes.
14:10Raynard's face drains white.
14:12His knees buckle.
14:13Behind him, my stepfather, Tessa, and Aldous cling to each other.
14:16Petrified.
14:16The young man extends one arm and draws me against his chest.
14:20Pardon the interruption.
14:21Slight bow, a quiet smile.
14:22Allow me to introduce myself.
14:24My name is Castor Solarius.
14:27Castor, my mind goes blank.
14:28Raynard is the first to recover.
14:30He scrambles to his feet, face rearranging into something desperate and ingratiating.
14:34Commander, hello, I'm...
14:36I know.
14:37Rin's former fiancé.
14:38Castor looks down at him, calm, almost bored.
14:40The one who tried to dissolve the bond.
14:42He feels me look up at him.
14:43But from today onward, that gentle warmth returns.
14:46Your betrothal is mine now.
14:48Demon dispatches the Empire's highest tier escort.
14:51They convoy Castor to the healer's hall.
14:53Through the carriage window, I watch my step.
14:55Father and the others shrink.
14:57Smaller, smaller.
14:58Until they're just dark specks on the road behind us.
15:00I still feel dizzy.
15:01Like the ground shifted and hasn't settled back.
15:03Don't worry.
15:04Castor takes my hand.
15:05Steady warm.
15:05I didn't order their arrest.
15:07There's an estate in the city.
15:10You can stay there if you'd rather not go back to your family and name.
15:13Diagnostic runes glow faintly on his wrists and chest.
15:16Pulsing gold with every heartbeat.
15:18I lower my eyes.
15:19Thank you, Commander.
15:20A beat, then a soft laugh.
15:22You don't have to be so formal.
15:24I take a breath.
15:25Alright.
15:25Pebble.
15:26His mouth twitches.
15:28Just Castris is fine.
15:30Word of Commander Selnerus' return has already spread.
15:32The crowd outside the healer's hall is thick.
15:34Civilians, officials, gossip peddlers all jostling for a glimpse.
15:38We slip in through the back.
15:39He reads the question on my face.
15:41Explains, voice low, just for me.
15:43Our unit was ambushed in the Voidlands.
15:45Daemon suspects to molt in his inner circle.
15:47He couldn't risk revealing too much, afraid they'd come for me.
15:49So that's why Daemon let a lovebird keep the egg.
15:52I was camouflaged.
15:52The high healer, a stern, by-the-book authority who intimidates everyone,
15:56stands before Castor like a nervous first-year apprentice.
15:59Commander Selnerus, we've arranged our senior healers.
16:02They'll oversee your full recovery.
16:04No need.
16:05Castor cuts him off.
16:06His gaze drifts to me.
16:07Then back to the high healer.
16:08I already have my healer.
16:11The room clears.
16:12I catch his wrist before he can sit down.
16:14Castor blinks.
16:15Before he can react, I push soul energy into his body.
16:18A moment later, I withdraw my soul sense.
16:20My face tightens.
16:21Similar to Daemon.
16:23But by a narrow margin not as far gone.
16:25What is it?
16:26He reads my expression.
16:27I'm fine.
16:28Dragons get one rebirth.
16:29After a mortal wound, the body reforms.
16:31Once.
16:32I've never met a dragon before.
16:34But I can feel it.
16:35Your body hasn't fully recovered.
16:36The damage from the Voidlands is still there.
16:38The Hall's treatment is only maintaining your baseline vitals.
16:41Full recovery?
16:42Near impossible.
16:43Dragons.
16:43I've never heard the word spoken.
16:45Not once.
16:46Not by anyone.
16:47As if Castor doesn't belong to this continent at all.
16:49It is what it is.
16:51Slow healing it is.
16:54Wait.
16:54Something clicks.
16:55My heart kicks hard against my ribs.
16:57The words I told Daemon.
16:59I know a way to heal you.
17:03Now I just need Daemon to share the blood.
17:05Castor just watches me.
17:07Doesn't ask what I have in mind.
17:08If you need to go out, I'll assign two Wolf Clan soldiers as your guard.
17:11He presses something into my hand.
17:13A medallion black obsidian.
17:14A dragon crest etched into the surface.
17:17Gilded lines catching the light.
17:18My signan medallion.
17:20It grants access everywhere.
17:22Keep it.
17:22I look up at him.
17:23Aren't you worried I'll use it to do something bad?
17:25Castor gazes out the window.
17:27The ghost of a smile.
17:29Little birds don't have wicked hearts.
17:31I decide to try the black bazaar.
17:33The bazaar is flooded with goods smuggled out of the void lands.
17:37Void raiders strip the ruins clean.
17:39Dump the loot on traffickers.
17:40Who repackage and resell it all.
17:42Long odds.
17:43But what if someone's selling human blood?
17:45Three days of staking out every stall.
17:47Nothing.
17:48On the last day, I spot her.
17:50A human girl.
17:53She's hidden under a cloak.
17:55But I catch her scent immediately.
17:57Clean in a way that makes no sense.
17:59Not a trace of beast kin musk.
18:00Other beast kin are starting to notice.
18:03I move first.
18:05I weave an aether veil around her.
18:07A soul energy barrier that masks her presence from every nose in the market.
18:10And pull her through the crowd into Castor's estate.
18:13The estate door closes behind us.
18:15I don't waste time.
18:16I'm sorry.
18:17I need your help.
18:18I have a family member.
18:20Badly hurt.
18:21Your blood might be the only cure.
18:23I just need a little.
18:25Palms pressed together.
18:26Guilt written across my face.
18:27I'm Mira.
18:29You?
18:31Wren.
18:31She's kind.
18:33Genuinely kind.
18:34When I explain I need the blood for someone I care about, she holds out her other arm.
18:38Do you need more?
18:39You can take from both arms.
18:41Mira tells me she came to this continent from the otherlands.
18:44Chasing a lost kitten, I jot down her description of the cat on ink script and send it to Castor.
18:49Then to every contact I have, cat kin are terrors.
18:52When I was young, they used to yank out my feathers for fun.
18:55How a creature like that ended up bonded to someone this sweet, I'll never understand.
18:59That night, I mix the human blood into a ritual tonic and feed it to Castor.
19:03Between dozes, I tell him about Mira's quest.
19:05He raises an eyebrow.
19:07Looking for a kitten?
19:07Mm-hmm.
19:08Etochromic eyes.
19:09In humanoid form, he'd probably still look like a child.
19:12Castor thinks for a moment.
19:13A quiet laugh.
19:14Is that so?
19:18Castor reminds me.
19:19I can take Mira to the Imperial Archive to search for records of her cat.
19:23The crown is throwing a grand celebration for Demon and Castor's return.
19:27Every eye in the palace will be on the festivities.
19:29No one will notice two girls slipping through the halls.
19:32On the ride to the capital, my stomach won't stop churning.
19:35The crown has been aggressively hunting for humans.
19:37I don't know if Demon has found any others yet.
19:40Mira pokes her head out of the carriage, gawking at everything.
19:42Wyn, what's that?
19:45Wyn, you don't use horses?
19:47This carriage just...
19:48flies?
19:53Wyn.
19:53I don't want to hand Mira over to Demon.
19:56History says humans who fell into royal hands became either playthings or prisoners, caged
20:01until they died.
20:02The old cruelties were officially outlawed generations ago.
20:05But behind palace walls, who really knows?
20:07I shouldn't have brought her here.
20:09We'll slip in when the crowd's thickest.
20:11If any soldier questions you, tell them you belong to Commander Cenarius.
20:15Understand?
20:16Castor's rank is second only to Damon.
20:18With his sigil, no Beastrin would dare touch her.
20:20But I forget one thing.
20:22I'm not safe either.
20:27At the archive entrance, the crowd is thicker than I expected.
20:30Gala guests drift through every corridor, wine glasses in hand, laughter bouncing off
20:34marble walls.
20:35Patrols everywhere.
20:36I lean close to Mira.
20:38I'll watch the door.
20:39Go straight to the back.
20:40Species records.
20:41Third row.
20:42Grab what you need and get out.
20:43Don't linger.
20:44She nods.
20:45Clutches the sigil medallion.
20:46Slips inside.
20:47I press my back against a pillar, pretending to admire the murals.
20:51My pulse hammers.
20:52Beastkin fill every sightline.
20:53Some far above my tear.
20:55If anyone catches Mira's scent.
20:56Excuse me, miss.
20:57Which house are you with?
20:58A calm voice.
20:59Behind me, I turn.
21:00A middle-aged Beastkin in military dress uniform.
21:03The insignia on his lapel.
21:04Imperial Intelligence Bureau.
21:06Wern of House Whitmer.
21:08The tone is pleasant.
21:09The eyes are dead.
21:10No, you're a soul mender.
21:15My blood goes cold.
21:16You have the wrong person.
21:18I'm just an ordinary lovebird.
21:20Ordinary lovebirds don't cast error veils.
21:23My people saw.
21:25He steps forward.
21:26Soul menders are strategic assets of the Empire.
21:29You're aware that under Imperial law, your abilities must undergo formal evaluation and
21:33assignment.
21:34His tear is far above mine.
21:36My Aether Veil is useless against him.
21:37All I can do is stall.
21:39I need to notify my guardian first.
21:40He lifts a hand.
21:42No, you don't.
21:43Come with me.
21:44It won't take long.
21:45I'm taken deep into the palace.
21:47The door locks from the outside.
21:49Wern Holloway.
21:50Greater.
21:50Avian bloodline.
21:51Lovebird substrate.
21:53Stepdaughter of House Whitmore.
21:54Assessed constitution near common.
21:56But your soul energy output far exceeds Greater.
21:58That's a contradiction.
22:00Unless you've been hiding your true capabilities.
22:02Volunteer and you'll be taken care of.
22:03The court provides quarters.
22:05A stipend.
22:06It's a comfortable life.
22:07Of course, if you refuse, we have other methods.
22:11I meet his eyes.
22:12Don't blink.
22:13I refuse.
22:17I lose track of time.
22:19The door stays shut.
22:20The room is silent.
22:21I lean against the wall.
22:22Keep my breathing even.
22:23I keep running the numbers.
22:24Mira should be out of the archive by now.
22:26She has Caster's sigil.
22:28No one will touch her.
22:29But she's seen I'm gone.
22:30What will she do?
22:31Caster is still in the healer's hall.
22:33His body isn't recovered.
22:35Diagnostic runes still clicker gold on his wrists.
22:37He shouldn't come.
22:38He can't come.
22:39Then I hear it.
22:40The entire palace shaking.
22:41First a faint tremor like distant thunder.
22:43Then stronger.
22:44The file slides off the table.
22:46The chair topples.
22:47Screaming.
22:47Then a roar tears through every other sound.
22:49Nothing I've ever heard.
22:51Deeper than thunder.
22:52Older than wind.
22:53Like the earth itself is furious.
22:54The entire capital hears it.
22:56The door crashes inward.
22:57One of demon's attendants, face white as bone, staggers into the room.
23:01Release!
23:01Release her!
23:02Come on, it's hilarious!
23:03He's-
23:04Dragon!
23:05It's a dragon!
23:06They pull me out of the cell.
23:08Every person in the corridor is pressed flat against the walls.
23:11No one moves.
23:12Not because of an order dot.
23:13Because of fear.
23:14Ancient.
23:15Bone deep.
23:15The kind written into blood before history began.
23:18I run through the palace doors.
23:20Look up.
23:20A wingspan that blots out the night sky hovers over the capital.
23:23This is the first time any beastkin in the empire has seen a dragonstrew form.
23:28Obsidian black scales shimmer under the moonlight.
23:30Veins of gold rippling through them like living scripture.
23:33Slitted pupils survey the city below.
23:35Judging every creature that breathes.
23:37Castor.
23:38He's looking for me.
23:41The dragon descends into the palace square.
23:44Wings fold.
23:44The beast form dissolves.
23:46Castor stands in human form.
23:47Demon's attendants rush forward.
23:49A single look from Castor stops them dead.
23:51Sees me.
23:52He walks toward me.
23:53Steps even.
23:53But his hands are shaking.
23:55He reaches me.
23:55Says nothing.
23:56Just pulls me in.
23:57Holds tight.
23:58I feel his heart beat too fast.
23:59His soul energy guttering inside him like a flame in a storm.
24:02Forcing the shift burned through every scrap of strength he'd recovered.
24:06I'm late.
24:07His arms tighten.
24:08There won't be a next time.
24:09Then his weight shifts against me heavier.
24:11Castor.
24:12Castor.
24:13It's nothing.
24:14Just tired.
24:16His eyes close.
24:17He collapses against me.
24:19Every diagnostic rune goes dark.
24:23I drop to my knees.
24:25Press both hands against his chest.
24:27Gold ether floods from my palms.
24:29I pour it into him.
24:30Everything I have.
24:32Soul mending is devastating.
24:34Last time.
24:3510 minutes knocked me unconscious.
24:36I don't stop.
24:38By the time the high healer arrives with a team.
24:40I've lost track of how long I've been kneeling here.
24:42Someone tries to pull me away.
24:44I throw off their hands.
24:45Not until the diagnostic runes flicker back to life.
24:48Faint gold.
24:49Barely there.
24:50Not until his chest rises again.
24:52Then I let go collapse backward onto the ground.
24:55Demon stands nearby.
24:57Behind him.
24:58Attendants flank a cloaked figure mirror.
25:00He looks at Castor.
25:01Unconscious on the stone.
25:02Then at me.
25:03A long stillness.
25:04Get them both to the healer's hall.
25:07Highest clearance.
25:14A beat.
25:15His gaze shifts to something behind me.
25:17And that intelligence officer.
25:22Lock him up.
25:23I'll handle that one personally.
25:28Castor stays unconscious for three full days.
25:31I don't leave his bedside.
25:32Third evening.
25:33His eyes open.
25:34I throw my arms around him.
25:35The tears come before I can stop them.
25:37Not grief this time.
25:38Relief.
25:38Then reality crashes back.
25:40I grab his shoulders.
25:41Mira.
25:42Damon took over.
25:43Demon's condition is worse than Castor's.
25:45If he forces a blood extraction, Mira won't survive it.
25:48But Castor exhales.
25:49Relaxed.
25:50It's fine.
25:51Relax.
25:51Damon won't hurt her.
25:53Really?
25:54She's a human.
25:55A rare human.
25:57Nothing will happen to her.
25:59I'm so worried about Mira.
26:01I chew my lip.
26:02Think it over.
26:03Still can't let it go.
26:04Castor, can you go ask Damien?
26:06Please?
26:07Halfway through my sentence, I freeze.
26:09Also, there's something else I need to tell you.
26:13Not important.
26:14Don't worry about it.
26:15Not important.
26:16It's your sigil.
26:17Your sigil medallion is in Mira's hands right now because I gave it to her.
26:22The recovery room door slams open.
26:24Demon storms in.
26:25Castor, you're not even out of bed and you're already poaching?
26:28Don't you have your own mate?
26:29Why are you stealing mine?
26:31Stealing your mate?
26:32Castor releases me.
26:33I don't have that particular hobby.
26:35Leans back on the sofa indolent.
26:36Then why does she claim to be Commander Solaris' person?
26:39Demon's jaw clenches, a cold thin smile.
26:41Since when do you keep a human?
26:43Castor opens his mouth.
26:44Demon cuts him off.
26:45And Pebble?
26:46Don't even get me started.
26:48Castor takes a slow breath.
26:49The corner of his lips lifts.
26:50The sofa armrest crumbles to dust in his grip.
26:53As if pudding is the pinnacle of dignity.
26:56Demon choke.
26:57Before they can come to blows, I throw myself between them.
27:00It wasn't him!
27:02I'm the one who gave Mira the signal!
27:04After a brief and painful exchange, the two of them retreat to opposite sides of the room.
27:08Demon's expression softens.
27:09He even directs a warm look at me.
27:11I had no idea you and Mira were friends.
27:12I've seen that look before.
27:13Many times.
27:14When I was a child, right before a catkin yanked out my feathers.
27:17Same exact expression.
27:18He looks at me, voiced like honey.
27:20I'll leave it to you then.
27:21I don't follow.
27:22I glance at Castor for help.
27:24Castor gives me a reassuring nod.
27:25He means, say nice things about him to his consort.
27:29Help move things along between them.
27:32My face burned.
27:33But I, I haven't even been in a relationship myself.
27:35No pressure, of course.
27:37But Castor did use my future mate's blood without authorization.
27:40To bring this before the war tribunal, I'm go there if far shem a lesser male.
27:45I deeply regret not telling him he had six months to live.
27:49Castor nearly died following Demon into the Voidlands.
27:52And now I'm playing wing woman for the crown prince's love life.
27:55We are quite literally being used.
27:57Mira and I are out walking when she lowers her voice.
27:59Wink, do you have places here where you can pet cats?
28:03Pet cats?
28:05I blink.
28:07Demon's voice crackles from the whispering stone on my earring.
28:11What is that?
28:12I echo carefully.
28:13What do you mean?
28:14You know, a place with lots of kittens.
28:15You pay to go in and you hold them and stroke their fur and bury your face in their little
28:19bellies.
28:19Cat bellies are so soft, it's the best.
28:21I'm about to say we actually have something like that, the purring parlor.
28:24Customers pay cat kin to shift into beast form and curl up in their laps for petting.
28:28Of course, in the beast kin world, that level of physical contact is considered extremely intimate.
28:33Demon is already losing his mind through the whispering stone.
28:36What kind of draved establishment?
28:40Shut it down.
28:41The whisper link cuts dead.
28:43Castor from somewhere far away kills the connection.
28:45His voice comes through a separate channel.
28:47Mild.
28:48Pleasant.
28:48Don't worry about him.
28:50I'll have someone slip a sedative into his teeth.
28:51Mira watches me fiddle with my earring.
28:53Concern on her face.
28:54Why do you keep touching your ear?
28:57It's just a little itchy.
29:02Dabin really does care about you.
29:04I've never heard a single rumor about him and anyone else.
29:07He's impatient with everyone, except you.
29:10With you, he's completely different.
29:13Through the whispering stone, Demon nods vigorously.
29:16Yes, yes, exactly.
29:18Keep going.
29:19Diamond is handsome.
29:20I do like him.
29:22And he really has been good to me.
29:24He doesn't make me stay in the palace.
29:26He says I can go wherever I want.
29:28The beast kin here are probably nice to me because of him, but still.
29:31It's more kindness than I've ever known.
29:34It's the first time I've felt loved.
29:37My situation isn't much better than hers.
29:40What is family?
29:41What is love?
29:42If you like it here, then that's what matters most.
29:45I take her hand.
29:46Hold it firm.
29:47Diamond brought you here so you could live freely.
29:49And if you ever decide you don't want to stay, you can leave.
29:54Anytime.
29:56I believe Diamond would respect whatever you choose.
30:02Demon told me explicitly, don't tell Mira that humans can heal him.
30:06He's afraid she'd shoulder that burden.
30:08Stay out of obligation.
30:09Sacrifice her freedom to keep him alive.
30:11I want Mira to be free, kind, endlessly curious about this world.
30:18I really do like this world.
30:20It's just because I used to think he was just a house cat, you know?
30:24And house cats are compact.
30:27So now every time I see him, my brain just...
30:30I'm sorry.
30:31I'm sorry.
30:33This is wildly above my class level.
30:36I am a love bird, not a demon's voice through the whispering stone.
30:39Rin, assure her, that won't be a concern.
30:43How am I supposed to say that out loud?
30:45I'm sorry.
30:47I'm a love bird who has never even been on a date.
30:50Mira and Damon grow closer by the day.
30:53Castor is finally cleared to leave the healer's hall.
30:56I walk beside him, one hand steadying his arm.
30:59During my time at the estate, my stepfather came to the door multiple times, demanding I return.
31:05Castor's people turned him away every time.
31:08Tessa and Aldous take a different route.
31:10Spreading rumors through the noble salons.
31:13Saying I abandoned my own sister and brother the moment I latched onto Commander Salnaris.
31:18Ungrateful, social, climbing.
31:20Mira handles it at a tea party solo.
31:22Tessa throws shade in front of the entire salon.
31:25Mira stands up and dismantles every word, line by line, in public, with surgical precision.
31:31Every time Tessa tries to counter, Mira is faster, sharper.
31:35Meaner.
31:36By the end, Tessa is shrieking, red, faced in front of every noble woman in attendance.
31:42In aristocratic circles, losing composure in public is worse than losing the argument.
31:48Mira reports back to me, glowing with pride.
31:50Amateur hour, I can handle these two single-handedly.
31:54And, and I can insult their bloodline going back 12 generations without repeating myself.
32:01Castor follows up.
32:02He sends word to every broadsheet printer and pamphlet press in the city.
32:06One sentence.
32:07Any further publication regarding Lady Wrynn Holloway will be treated as a personal slight against House Selmius.
32:13Overnight, every negative piece about me vanishes.
32:16The gossip peddlers go mute.
32:18No one in the Empire wants to offend its only dragon commander.
32:21And just like that, the narrative flips.
32:23The streets buzz with it.
32:25Lady Wrynn isn't even a Whitmore by blood.
32:27Of course not.
32:28Her mother remarried into that family.
32:30Poor little lovebird.
32:32That stepfather's household must have made her life hell.
32:34Word is she's seeing Commander Solarius now.
32:37Good for her.
32:38When's the last time an avian amounted to anything?
32:41Never thought I'd see the day an avian caught a dragon's eye.
32:45My heart pounds so hard I feel it in my teeth.
32:48This is bad.
32:49They think we're together.
32:50The dark-haired young man across from me doesn't seem concerned at all.
32:54Castor's family is shrouded in mystery.
32:57Noble houses have tried to arrange bonds with him before.
33:00He turned every single one down.
33:03His response at the time a thin, dismissive curve of the mouth.
33:06I don't need a bonding to secure my position.
33:09So speculation about his mate has been a favorite pastime of the entire Empire.
33:14After I finish speaking, the room holds still.
33:18Castor adjusts the clasp of his commander's cloak.
33:21Then, without looking up.
33:22They're not wrong.
33:24His lashes lower, casting shadows across pale skin.
33:27I'm the one who put the word out.
33:29I stare.
33:30Castor presses his lips together.
33:32Keeps talking, almost to himself.
33:34Being the lady of House Solanus wouldn't be so bad.
33:37I have no parents.
33:38My mate wouldn't have to navigate into house politics.
33:40No meddling relatives.
33:41No one whispering behind your back.
33:43Solanus isn't as wealthy as Daemon's Crown, but you'd never want for anything.
33:47I'm stationed at the Bastion often, but every two moons I get extended leave.
33:50My voice shrinks.
33:51Castor, what exactly are you saying?
33:55Castor's expression softens.
33:57I'm saying, you don't have to envy Meera for being loved.
34:01He takes my hand, gentle.
34:03The way he once spread those wings between me and the world.
34:06Daemon wants her to be free.
34:08A pause.
34:09His thumb traces my knuckles.
34:13I just want you to be happy.
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