I don’t move.
The forest seems to hold its breath around us. No rustling leaves, no whisper of wind–just silence.
Its eyes lock with mine, endless voids that pulsate.
Behind me, I feel her.
Wren.
Not close enough to touch anymore, but near enough that I know she’s safe. Her stillness settles over me like a second skin, allowing me to focus on the ancient spirit.
The dragon doesn’t speak, but I feel its presence rolling through me as all previous spirits have.
Judging and weighing my own spirit, to see if I’m worthy of it.
The night air moves across my shoulders, cool and clean, brushing over skin still damp with sweat from the run here. My pulse thuds steadily beneath it, slow and heavy, anchoring me in the moment. Beneath my skin, my animal spirits begin to stir, brushing to the surface of my mind, and I watch it play out there.
Wolf first, as always. Its growl hums low in my chest, rough and approving of the dragon twisting through me. Then the hawk, wings opening in welcome. The bear rumbles deeply, steady and slow. The serpent coils tighter in the quiet, watching. The fox lifts its nose, scenting the new presence. The mouse scurries out from the dark, greeting its new friend.
Last, the stag emerges, quickly locking eyes with the dragon. I watch an unspoken conversation flow between their eyes, before the stag inclines its head, bowing to the new spirit.
None of my spirits rise in challenge and I hold my breath at the acceptance they offer.
Now, it’s solely up to the dragon spirit to decide if I’m a worthy host.
Instinct guides me as I raise a hand, slow and careful, unsure whether it will vanish if I reach too fast.
It doesn’t pull away. Instead, it presses the side of its face into my palm. The heat of it floods through mybones like fire through stone. Its scales spark brighter, light dancing across my skin.
I feel it settling within me before I hear it.
A pressure behind the ribs. A new thrum alongside my heartbeat.
“You are not the one I initially sought.”
The words slide into me like a gentle breeze caressing my mind.
“I didn’t seek you out,”I answer in thought, the words stripped to their truth.“But I’m here if you find me worthy.”
It studies me for a moment.
“She called for me,”it says, its dark eyes briefly flickering to Wren before sliding back to mine.“But it is your soul I recognize.”
The shift begins within me as my soul makes space. The wolf lowers its head. The hawk tucks its wings. The others still, giving space.
“Your bond to her woke the earth. That is why I come.”
I can’t help but glance over my shoulder to find her, half-drenched in moonlight, her cheeks pink and her hair tangled by wind.
She doesn’t understand what she’s awoken, but I see her reverence.
My throat tightens, chest pulling taut beneath the weight of uncertainty.
How is she involved in this?
“What are you asking of me?”I ask, needing clarity.
The dragon lowers its head again to touch mine before its words rumble deeper and louder inside of me, anchoring tightly to my soul.
