00:00name is Kale. A beat of silence. His voice drops, quieter, almost to himself. I've always wanted
00:07you to know it. I take his hand. It isn't cold the way I expected. A warmth I didn't anticipate.
00:14In that instant, the skin over my collarbone flares hot. Kale's grip tightens around my
00:19fingers. He lifts his head, looks straight into my eyes. His silver irises reflect my face.
00:24If you'll have me, I swear on my blood and my bones. Not in this life or any other.
00:32Treyu. Or leave you.
00:35Golden divine light splits the sky and cracks across the sacred alt, sealing his oath. The
00:41flash lights up his face. Something inside my chest cracks open, melts. Kale is the first
00:47person in two lifetimes who chose me without a single moment of hesitation. The corner of
00:53my mouth lifts on its own. A voice shoves its way in from the side. Draven stands with
00:58his arms crossed, looking down at Kale like an insect.
01:01Your Highness. Silver Serpentine have virtually no Morna. Bonding with him won't do a thing
01:08for your power.
01:09Kale lowers his head slightly. Not avoidance. Habit. He's heard this too many times. The
01:13smile on my lips goes cold.
01:26The smirk on Draven's face turns to stone. I catch it. The hatred that flashes across
01:31his features. A fraction too slow to hide. In my past life, I wasn't blind. I chose him
01:37over every candidate because he once saved my life in the bone wastes. That was the first
01:42time anyone shielded me with their own body. I thought it was real. Now he humiliates
01:46me in public and clings to my sister for power. So don't expect me to play nice. I turn to
01:51face the clan.
01:52From this day forward, Kale is under my protection. He is mine.
01:58My gaze sweeps the crowd. Touch him and you answer to me.
02:03The crowd shrinks back half a step under my stare. Draven's fists clench.
02:07Whatever makes you happy, your highness.
02:10Kale's fingertip brushes mine. I turn to look at him. Those silver-slit pupils fix on me.
02:16Fragile, trembling, and impossibly bright.
02:18You're the only one who ever saw me.
02:20Something slams against my ribs.
02:22Enough. It's time. Begin the soul bond right.
02:27Four of us step into the runic circle at the center of the sacred altar. Ancient dragon
02:31script blazes to life beneath our feet. Divine lightning strikes. The altar channels it,
02:36tearing soul fragments from each pair and branding them into irreversible bonds.
02:41But the power gap between dragon and serpent is vast. The bond's energy surges from the stronger
02:47vessel to the weaker, seeking balance, like a flood pouring into a creek. Both serpents buckle at
02:54once. Draven collapses under the force. Blood spills from the corner of his mouth. He struggles to lift
03:00his head, reaching toward Isolde. Isolde, please help me. Isolde starts to extend her hand. Father stops her
03:07cold. Sir, your blood is barely worthy of my daughter as it stands. If you can't endure this,
03:15then it's your fate. Draven's eyes go wide. He stares at Isolde, the same woman who blushed while
03:20accepting him moments ago, now standing safely outside the circle. Her expression is calm.
03:25Deren, I am the next Archean of Clan Avelion. Every drop of my martyr is precious. So,
03:32I can't give you any. Disbelief carves itself across his face. On my side,
03:38Kale is in just as bad shape. Silver scales surface along his neck and arms. His body convulses.
03:44I raise my hand to channel mana into him. Kale lurches back.
03:47Your highness, the first princess is right. If I can't endure the bond's power, then it means I'm not
03:55worthy of you. They call you lowborn and you just accept it? We're bonded now. That means we live and
04:05die together. So shut up. I grab his shoulder. Mana pours from my palm, flooding into his body in a
04:13steady, relentless stream. Golden dragonfire threads along the bond's pathways, flowing into him. And
04:20then I notice something strange. Kale's body absorbs my mana with impossible efficiency, as if he was
04:26born to receive this exact power. For the weakest serpent alive? Makes no sense at all. Now isn't the time
04:33to ask. I file the anomaly away. The soul bond right ends. Draven lies, soaked in sweat and blood,
04:42pinned to the ground, jaw locked, crimson still leaking from his mouth. Kale stands untouched.
04:48I feel Draven's stare. Turn to meet it. His eyes are dark, resentful. As if I owe him something. Last
04:56life, Draven barely took a scratch. I was always the one fighting his battles. Now he's chosen the
05:01clan's anointed next archon, and nearly died during a bond ceremony. And he has the nerve to look at me?
05:08I mouth one word at him. Ice cold. Deserved. Isolde doesn't notice the exchange. Her eyes close.
05:16She sinks into the fresh mana coursing through her, satisfaction spreading across her face.
05:22Father, the covenant has spoken. I'm ready to receive the Arcan's flame!
05:29The crowd stirs with excitement. Every new Archon's ascension triggers the dragon's resonance.
05:35The resonance releases ambient mana that nourishes every dragon present,
05:40pushing them past barriers, sometimes by an entire rank or more. Father beams.
05:46The sacred altar is cleared. Isolde stands at the center of the open circle.
05:51She glances at me, motionless on the sideline, and her lip curls.
05:55Sarah, I understand you're upset about Draven, but that's no reason to stand in the way of the resonance.
06:05Would you drag the entire clan down with you?
06:08The crowd catches it. Murmurs swell.
06:11Your Highness, settle your quarrel with the First Princess in private. Don't delay the resonance!
06:16Draven was right. The Second Princess can't compare to the First Princess. If it were me, I'd choose the First
06:22Princess too.
06:22Draven smiles.
06:24Sarah, everyone can see the truth. I must have been blind to ever stand by you.
06:30Kale's brow furrows. He shoulders Draven aside, steps in front of me, and gently presses his hands over my ears.
06:37My words are poison. Don't let them in.
06:40The weight on my chest lifts. I give him a real smile, then turn toward Isolde, basking in her victory,
06:47and speak calmly.
06:49Islin, you will never be arching, and the Covenant will not grant you the flame. If you try, the resonance
06:56will destroy your power from the inside out.
06:59A beat of silence. Then the crowd bursts into laughter. Draven folds his arms, contempt dripping from every glance.
07:06Who are you to judge the First Princess? If she can't be Arcane, who can? You? Enough of this nonsense.
07:15Father's expression hardens.
07:17Seraphina, step aside.
07:19A flick of the wrist.
07:20Mana shoves me and Kale to the edge of the platform. Isolde locks eyes with me, triumphant.
07:25Watch closely, Seraphina. Watch what centuries of sacrifice look like.
07:31Isolde stands at the heart of the Sacred Altar. She unleashes her mana. A deep hum resonates through the stone.
07:38Power radiates outward. The ground shudders.
07:44Pillars of golden light converge from every direction. Ancestral echoes of countless dragon bloodlines answer the call, weaving together into
07:53a thunderous, sky-darkening tie resonance.
07:56Isolde stands at the center, poised, regal. Layer upon layer of golden energy knits itself into a breathtaking tapestry. A
08:06net of staggering power. The clan watches, mesmerized. The dense mana begins to disperse, drifting toward every dragon present. Then,
08:16confusion.
08:17Strange. Why can't I absorb any of it?
08:19Same here. It just passes through me, like it doesn't recognize me.
08:26More voices. More unease. Heads turn back toward Isolde on the altar. She doesn't notice. Still lost in the moment,
08:35the ritual concludes. She bows to heaven and earth, then raises her voice.
08:39I, Isolet Aurelion, firstborn of the golden scale, call upon the dragon's re-resonance. Grant me the Archon's flame!
08:47Silence. Nothing happens. Panic flickers across her face. She prostrates herself, calls out again.
08:55I, Isolet Aurelion! Invoke the Rite of Ascension!
09:00This time, she gets an answer. From me. I stand beside Kale, voice steady.
09:07You can kneel until your scales crack. The answer is no.
09:12Dead silence. Every pair of eyes in the clan turns to me.
09:17Father thinks I'm sabotaging the ceremony. Combined with Isolde's failed succession, his rage boils over.
09:23His full dominance aura crashes down, driving me to my knees.
09:28Seraphina, you have never disappointed me more than today. I've indulged you in everything.
09:35But this, this is the clan's future, and you keep sabotaging it.
09:42Today, I'll discipline you on your mother's behalf.
09:45He raises his hand. Mana compresses into a force field, hurtling toward my face. I watch it come, calm.
09:52Draven stands nearby, suddenly anxious.
09:54Seraphina, just apologize! Now! Do you actually want to get hit?
09:58The blast is inches red.
10:00He flinches. Self-preservation kicks in, and darts to the side without a second thought.
10:04Then Kale launches himself forward. His eyes shift from silver to pure white. Slit pupils contract to pinpoints.
10:11Silver scales erupt across his neck and forearms. A low, guttural hiss tears from his throat.
10:16Half-shifted, he throws himself in front of me, and takes the Archon's full-force strike, head-on.
10:21Blood sprays from his mouth, once, twice, three times, and he crashes backward into me.
10:27His fingers claw at my arm, trying to push his last scraps of mana into my body.
10:31Kale, truly, completely, for me.
10:34Father sees a serpent openly defy him.
10:37Fury consumes what's left of his restraint.
10:39He begins charging another strike.
10:41In the same breath, I lean down, wrap my arms around Kale, and whisper against his ear.
10:45Don't be afraid.
10:46The Covenant of Flame.
