Far from the cavern, in the open fields just on the edge of the VulcanFire capital, Aeron froze mid-stride. One moment he and Violet had been laughing—Violet recounting some silly rumor about her classmates—and the next, a sharp, electric sting shot behind Aeron's eyes, searing through his mind like a flash of lightning. He staggered. Clutched his chest. Eyes widening in sudden dread.
" Aeron?" Violet asked, her voice small, confused. " What's wrong?"
But he didn't answer. It was a pain he felt. It was a loss. A hollowness—a void—echoing in his chest like something had been ripped out. An instinctual, primal ache. His breath hitched, and his pupils narrowed as the psychic echo reverberated again. Bone.
Drogo suddenly lifted his massive head, nostrils flaring as though inhaling an invisible scent. His eyes—bright, ancient, fiercely intelligent—flashed with horror. Then he roared. A sound of pure anguish, fury, and disbelief—so powerful the ground trembled. Before Aeron could react, Drogo bolted, wings tucked close to his sides as he sprinted toward the distant mountains where Bone's cave lay hidden. Violet screamed his name and broke into a run. Aeron chased after her, his heart hammering against his ribs. " Drogo—STOP!"
" Aeron, what's happening?!"
" Something's wrong! Drogo feels it—I—" he gasped, clutching his chest as the echo hit again, harder this time, " I feel it!"
Drogo didn't listen. He couldn't. Dragons didn't ignore the death-cry of one of their own. They ran—through the village paths, over scorched fields, between rows of jagged volcanic stone—until they reached the dark mouth of Bone's cavern. Drogo skidded to a halt, nearly slipping in the dirt, his chest rising with rapid breaths. Violet leaned against Aeron, winded and trembling.
" Why…did he run here…? " She panted. Aeron swallowed, dread settling in his bones. " Because Bone is here."
And something terrible had happened. Drogo let out a low, quivering rumble—a sound Aeron had never heard from him before—then stepped inside. Aeron grabbed Violet's hand. Together, they followed.
The cave grew colder the deeper they went. Quieter. Still. And then they saw her. Starfania. Curled against Bone's unmoving body. Tears streamed down her face. Her knuckles are bleeding. Her voice, a hollow whisper swallowed by the cavern's darkness. Aeron's heart shattered. Everything inside him—every instinct, every memory, every silent thread connecting him to Starfania—pulled him forward. He dropped to his knees beside her. Violet gasped somewhere behind him, but Aeron barely heard it.
" Starfania…" His voice cracked with fear. " Starfania, what happened?"
Slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes were swollen, red, empty. She looked broken. When she tried to speak, her voice faltered—but she told him. She told him everything. Aeron felt her trembling. Her breath hitching. Her grief suffocates her with every passing second. Without a word, he pulled her into him. Her tears soaked his shirt, but he didn't care. He didn't care that her blood smeared his hand. He didn't care that his own chest ached with the echo of Bone's death. All that mattered was her.
Drogo and Violet lingered at a respectful distance—their faces filled with sympathy and confusion, realizing this loss was felt by more than just one. When Aeron gently took her hand, tracing over her bloody knuckles, Starfania collapsed against him. He held her closer, grounding her, whispering small, steadying breaths as she cried into his chest. Then Drogo stepped forward. The cavern trembled beneath his heavy steps. His wings drooped—an unmistakable dragon expression of mourning—and his throat rumbled with a guttural, sorrow filled-sound.
He lowered his head beside Bone's still form. Pressed his snout near Bone's own. Closed his eyes. A last farewell. Then Drogo opened his jaws. Fire erupted. A sweeping torrent of crimson flame engulfed Bone's body. The blaze illuminated the cave walls with scorching brilliance, painting the stone with flickering golden light. Aeron flinched, pulling Starfania back just enough to keep her safe. She looked up, shocked, horrified, but unable to look away.
" Why?" She whispered. " Why is Drogo doing this?"
Aeron swallowed.
" He's paying tribute," he answered softly. " Dragons don't bury their own. They send them home in flames."
She stared at him, her expression shifting—still grief-torn, but touched with a fragile awe. Aeron added quietly, " This is their honor. Their way of saying…Bone's spirit is free."
The fire burned brighter—then faded. And Bone was gone. Ash drifted upward like falling stars before dissolving into the quiet air. A silence settled. Heavy. Revenant. Filled with an unspoken understanding that a sacred tradition had just unfolded before them. Starfania wiped her cheeks, her voice quivering but steadier than before. " I suppose…you're right."
Aeron nodded, his eyes soft. And for a brief, fragile moment—as the last embers faded into darkness—Starfania found a silver of peace within the ruin.