“I don’t want to run the gauntlet anymore. Fighting the other students is pointless—they’re not even close to my level. Hell, fighting Dad is pointless at this point.” I look up into my mom’s golden eyes, and she nods slowly, listening without judgment. “Today, I saw him as a target when I took him to the ground. Not as my father—as prey.”
Turning away, I close my eyes against the shame. “When I felt it happening, I used my wings and got away from him before I could hurt him.”
“Black dragons are feared for a reason, sweetheart,” Mom says softly as she comes around the counter and curls up with me on the wide seat. “The most powerful black dragons can separate themselves from what they’re doing. The beast in the driver’s seat while the human side is sheltered, watching.”
Mom runs her fingers through my long black hair slowly, the gesture soothing and familiar. “Thauglor told me about the gift Solaris gave you long before you bonded—the ability to separate woman from dragon. It’s a blessing and a curse. More power means more control needed.”
“Yeah,” I agree quietly. I look down into my half-empty mug and stare at the swirls of chocolate at the bottom. “I think I’m going to move to mostly politics classes and Art of War and Defense strategy. It’s still early enough in the second half of the year to make the change without penalties.”
I finish the last of my drink, savoring the warmth, then look at my mom with a vulnerability I rarely show anyone. “I was afraidI was letting you down by wanting to step away from the combat track. From fighting all the time.”
“You can never let me down, Raven,” Mom says with absolute conviction. She kisses my temple tenderly and pulls me closer. “Never. I fought because it was what I needed to do—to prove myself, to survive, to protect what I loved. But you?” She cups my face gently. “You’ve already proven yourself a dozen times over. You don’t need to keep running gauntlets to show your worth.”
We fall into a comfortable silence, and I lean against her like I used to when I was small. I stay with Mom for the rest of the afternoon, just existing in her space, watching her tend the eggs and listening to her hum old lullabies.
Even the most powerful dragonesses need their momma occasionally.
And for the first time in years, I feel like maybe—just maybe—I’m allowed to want something different from what everyone expects.
Maybe I’m allowed to forge my own path, even if it’s not the one laid out for me by legends.
As the sun sets,painting the sky in shades of orange and deep purple, I step out of Mom’s nest and onto the upper courtyard. The cool evening air feels good against my skin after hours inside. Solaris stands there with his back to me at the edge of the courtyard, watching the start of the sunset. The fading lightcatches the burnt umber of his hair, making it look almost like living embers.
“The view from here is killer,” I say, just loud enough for him to hear me over the evening wind.
He turns slowly and opens his arms to me without a word. I run to him without hesitation, my boots hitting the stone in quick strides. I impact his solid chest and hug him tightly, breathing in his sandalwood scent. “Did ye find the answers ye seek?” he asks gently, kissing the crown of my head and smiling into my hair. I can feel the curve of his lips against my scalp.
“I’m stepping away from the combat path and going to learn more about politics and defensive strategy,” I explain, pulling back to look up into his amber eyes. “I want to be a good ruler and an effective dominant dragoness for the continent—not just a weapon.”
“I owe ye a mating flight,” Solaris says with a wicked grin that makes my stomach flip with anticipation.
“Oh, do you now?” I laugh, the sound lighter than I’ve felt in weeks. Then I turn and run to the edge of the courtyard without warning and dive off into open air.
The wind whips past my face as I freefall, stealing my breath and making my eyes water. The ground rushes up beneath me in a dizzying blur. About halfway down, I open my wings with a sharp snap, catching the air. The moment I climb on the updraft, I shift—my dragoness exploding into existence with joyful freedom.
Every beat of my wings feels lighter than before, unburdened, as I gain altitude rapidly. That is, until Solaris’s massive orange drake comes up from underneath me with predatory speed andflips me upside down in mid-air. He holds my front and hind legs with his, the grip firm and possessive. His tail snakes around mine with intimate purpose, and I feel him penetrate me several times while we fly—quick, powerful thrusts that make my wings falter.
The bond between us suddenly blazes to life, glowing brilliant gold in my mind’s eye and solidifying into something unbreakable. It’s more solid than any of my other bonds—thicker, older, weighted with his centuries of life. The oldest drake will always have the strongest bond. It’s dragon biology, instinct, ancient law written into our very DNA.
We remain locked together for several long moments, falling through the sky as one creature while the bond settles and strengthens. Then he pulls free, and cool air rushes between us.
Solaris rolls us mid-air with practiced grace and releases me, allowing me to fly on my own again. My wings catch immediately, and I bank hard to the left, following the mountain range past Blackhaven toward the oasis Dad and Mom gave me as my personal sanctuary.
I shift back to human form and glide down on my wings alone, the warm evening air rushing past my skin. When my bare feet hit the soft sand, still warm from the day’s sun, I move to the side, giving Solaris room to land beside me.
His hind feet hit the sand with heavy impacts that shake the ground, and he shifts on the spot—his massive form compressing into his human body. “I am so sorry, Raven,” he says immediately, rushing to me and holding me close. He cups both my cheeks with large, warm hands, and his amber eyes frantically search mine with obvious worry. “My drake got away from me. I didn’t mean tae?—”
I search his eyes carefully, feeling for my dragoness’s reaction. For once, she’s completely silent—settled, content, at peace. “No, it was meant to be that way, I think,” I say slowly, furrowing my brows as understanding dawns. I close my eyes and rest my hands over his where they cup my face. “My dragoness needed you to put her into submission. To lock with her the old way—the way ancient dragons have always done.”
I smile and laugh a little at the realization. “Even before I grew to this size, I was larger than Corvus. He couldn’t physically do what you just did—dominate my dragoness completely in flight.” I open my eyes and move closer while he still holds my face tenderly. “You gave me peace. You gaveherpeace. She finally submitted to someone strong enough to hold her.”
I press my lips to his and kiss him gently, tasting him, savoring him.
“Ye surprise me, my love. I thought ye would be furious with me fer taking ye like that,” he admits against my lips, kissing me again and holding me tight against his chest. I can feel his heart racing.
“Shocked, not furious,” I assure him, running my hands up his chest. “Let’s go home and shower, and you can take me to bed properly—slowly, gently, in comfort.”
I kiss the tip of his nose playfully and pull away from his embrace. I take off running across the sand, my feet kicking up small clouds with each step. I leap off the cliff edge into open air and shift mid-fall, my dragoness eager to fly home.
Tonight I will bed my mate properly in the comfort of my nest, in soft sheets that smell like home, with all the time in the world to explore each other.
