The Spire thrummed.
Not like stone.
Not like magic.
Like something alive.
A heartbeat beneath the earth.
Hot. Slow. Ancient.
Yllas stood closest to me, his arm still braced protectively around my waist. Owain hadn't moved since the rune had thrown him backward. He stared at me like the world had tilted, betrayed and terrified all at once.
"Kanah…" Owain whispered, pushing to his feet. "Don't go. Don't walk in there without me."
My chest tightened painfully.
"I'm not leaving you," I whispered.
But the rune pulsed again—
soft
persistent
unignorable.
The Spire called me.
Helion glanced toward the glowing stone tower ahead of us. "The Spire's aura is circling her. If she doesn't enter, the pressure will increase."
Gerrin nodded grimly. "And if pressure spikes too fast, she might collapse."
Owain growled. "Then we ALL enter."
Yllas shook his head. "Wolves are not permitted entry."
Owain stepped forward instantly. "Try and stop me."
"You will be incinerated upon crossing the threshold," Yllas replied calmly.
"Then let me burn!"
"OWAIN—!" I reached for him.
He froze at the sound of my voice.
Looked at me with eyes already slipping into amber-gold instinct.
I whispered, "You dying doesn't help me."
His breath shattered.
He backed up one step.
Only one.
Yllas released me and stepped forward, voice steady.
"Kanah enters. I escort her. Helion and Gerrin follow if necessary."
"Over my corpse," Owain snapped.
"No," Yllas said quietly. "Over hers."
Owain's aura exploded.
Helion hissed as sharpening instincts crackled through the air.
Even Gerrin took a defensive step.
"Owain," Gerrin said sharply. "Control yourself."
"HE SAID SHE WOULD DIE!"
"But she won't," Helion countered. "Dragons don't lie about the Spire. It's their damn church."
Owain trembled—
rage, instinct, fear twisting together.
Yllas stepped toward me. "Kanah."
I swallowed. "Yes?"
He extended a hand, palm up.
An invitation, not a command.
"You walk beside me. Not behind. Not dragged. You enter by choice."
Owain's heart broke right in front of me.
But he didn't stop me.
Not this time.
With shaking fingers, I placed my hand in Yllas' palm.
The moment our skin touched—
The Spire ignited.
A shockwave of heat washed across the forest.
Dragons roared in the distance.
Owain's breath hitched.
Helion froze mid-step.
Gerrin cursed softly.
Yllas whispered, "It recognizes you."
It felt like stepping into sunlight.
Warm.
Heavy.
Accepting.
Owain stumbled toward us, eyes wide. "Kanah—please—don't let him—"
"I'm not leaving you," I said again.
But the Spire wanted me.
And my rune responded to the call.
Yllas guided me forward.
Owain followed until the earth split beneath him in a burst of molten gold.
He stopped just in time.
A glowing barrier rose from the ground between us, humming with draconic runes.
Owain slammed both hands against it.
"KANAH!"
I turned, heart wrenching. "Owain, I'm okay—"
His eyes were pure instinct.
Amber. Terrified. Furious.
"Don't let go of my voice," he whispered. "Don't forget me."
"I won't."
Yllas squeezed my hand gently. "We go."
Owain roared as we stepped past the barrier.
"BRING HER BACK!"
His voice echoed through the stone.
Yllas didn't look back.
I did.
Owain stood trembling, hands pressed against the glowing barrier, breathing like he was breaking apart.
And then—
Yllas pulled me into the Spire.
Inside the Dragon Spire
Heat hit first.
Not burning—warm.
Like stepping into the heart of a sunlit cavern.
The Spire interior spiraled upward, carved of obsidian and bright veins of gold. Glowing runes circled the walls, shifting like they were alive.
Flames drifted midair in delicate streams.
The air tasted like smoke and ozone.
Energy trembled beneath my feet like a heartbeat.
Gerrin and Helion entered after us. The moment Gerrin stepped across the threshold, his markings dimmed.
"The Spire is suppressing my magic," he said quietly.
Helion sniffed the air. "Mine too. Smells territorial."
"It IS territorial," Yllas said.
As if summoned by his voice, something moved above us.
A massive shadow.
A ripple of heat.
A low growl.
My breath froze.
"Is that—"
"Dragon," Yllas said softly.
Something huge landed on a ledge above—
massive scales black and gold,
wings lined with glowing veins,
eyes like molten amber.
I backed into Yllas instinctively.
He reached up and rested a steadying hand on my shoulder.
"Easy."
The dragon above lowered its head to watch me more closely.
Helion whispered, "Well. If she wasn't nervous before—"
"Shut up," Gerrin muttered.
Yllas held me still but did not pull me behind him. "Do not bow. Do not run. Do not look away. Dragons dislike weakness."
"Oh good," I muttered.
The dragon rumbled softly.
Then—
It bowed its head.
My breath caught. "Why did it—?"
Yllas answered quietly.
"Because it recognizes the rune."
My rune pulsed in response.
A small, warm hum beneath my skin.
And then the dragon spoke.
Not with words.
With instinct.
She returns. At last.
My vision dimmed.
The runes around the Spire flared.
The air vibrated with heat.
Yllas tightened his grip on my shoulder. "Kanah. Stay with me."
"I—I am."
"Don't drift."
"I'm not—"
Then the world tilted.
Runes lit up across the floor—
circles
triangles
lines of gold—
patterns that moved underneath my feet.
The Spire reacted to me.
Gerrin's voice sharpened. "The leyline is opening!"
Helion cursed. "Of course it is."
The stone beneath us split open.
Golden light flooded upward, engulfing me.
Yllas caught my waist. "Kanah!"
"I'm—I'm fine—"
I wasn't.
The rune burned.
Bright.
Loud.
Alive.
A memory surged into my mind—
A woman standing beneath the Spire.
Long black hair.
A crown of moonlight.
A glowing rune just like mine.
Her voice echoed through me.
Daughter of the Seal.
You stand where I sealed his throne.
My vision blurred.
I staggered.
Yllas caught me. "Kanah!"
Gerrin reached forward. "Break the vision—!"
Helion grabbed his arm. "Wait."
The woman's voice grew clearer.
The Beast King hunts you.
Because you carry my mark.
Because you carry my blood.
Because you carry my final command.
My lungs seized.
Her tone was mournful.
Seal him.
Or you will die.
The Spire flashed white.
I screamed.
Then—
Darkness.
Waking
I woke to warmth.
Not flames.
Not heat.
Breath.
Yllas knelt beside me, one hand braced on the floor, the other on my cheek.
His eyes glowed faintly, molten amber with gold flecks.
His skin shimmered with light under it.
Partially shifted.
A sign of instinct.
"Kanah," he whispered, voice low. "Are you conscious?"
Gerrin knelt on my other side. "Her pulse is steady."
Helion lounged against a pillar. "Barely."
I blinked up at Yllas. "Did we… did I just pass out?"
Yllas exhaled in relief.
"Yes."
"Did I almost die?"
"Yes," Helion said.
"No," Gerrin countered.
Yllas' eyes narrowed at Helion. "Stop talking."
"Thought you'd never ask."
I pushed up slowly.
Yllas steadied me, hand sliding to my lower back—
gentle, firm, grounding.
I shivered at the contact.
He did too.
"Careful," he murmured near my ear. "The Spire changed your aura."
"How?"
He hesitated.
Gerrin answered first.
"Your rune doesn't burn anymore."
"It hums," Helion added. "Like a dragon."
Yllas stared at me.
"Like me."
My throat tightened.
Before I could respond—
A thunderous crack echoed above us.
The dragon on the ledge roared, shaking the Spire.
Another voice followed.
Cold.
Sharp.
Furious.
"You brought a wolf-bonded human into the Spire?"
A tall figure descended the stairs—
a dragon in human form,
scales tracing his jaw,
eyes burning molten gold.
Dragon Court.
He radiated absolute authority.
Yllas stiffened.
"High Warden Kaireth."
Kaireth's gaze cut to me—
sharp as a blade.
"Explain why she carries a Wolf Moon bond."
Owain.
My chest tightened.
Yllas stepped in front of me. "She entered through the Calling."
"That does not give her access to sacred ground," Kaireth hissed.
"It does now," Yllas said.
Kaireth's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And why does she smell like the wolf?"
Owain's voice echoed from outside the barrier.
"Because she trusted me first!"
My heart jumped.
He was still there.
He hadn't moved.
Kaireth scoffed. "Remove the wolf from the border."
Owain snarled through the barrier.
"I AM NOT MOVING."
Yllas stepped forward, blocking Kaireth's path.
"Touch her, and the Spire will burn you."
Kaireth hissed, wings partially unfurling. "Challenge?"
Yllas' pupils narrowed.
"No."
He glanced at me.
"I do not waste instinct on jealousy."
Something inside me flipped.
Helion stifled a laugh.
Gerrin muttered, "Gods help us."
Kaireth growled. "She is unstable."
"Yes," Gerrin agreed.
"She is dangerous."
"Likely," Helion said.
"She is not welcome—"
Yllas cut him off, voice sharp.
"She is called."
Kaireth froze.
"What?"
Yllas nodded once.
"The Spire chose her."
For the first time, Kaireth's expression cracked.
Fear.
He turned to the Spire wall and hissed something in draconic.
The wall lit up.
A rune carved itself into the stone—
my rune.
Kaireth staggered back.
"No. That cannot be. That is—"
"Prophecy," Yllas said softly.
Gerrin inhaled sharply. "The First Queen's seal."
Helion muttered, "Well. That explains the Beast King losing his sanity."
Kaireth stared at me with new eyes.
Not hostile.
Not angry.
Afraid.
"You are her descendant," he whispered.
The Spire trembled.
The floor glowed.
And the rune burned again—
not painfully—
but fiercely.
My voice cracked.
"What does it mean?"
Yllas answered quietly.
"It means you are the key."
Kaireth stepped back warily.
"It also means the dragons cannot deny you."
My breath caught.
Owain banged on the barrier outside.
"Kanah! Are you hurt?!"
Kaireth frowned. "Silence the wolf."
"No," Yllas said sharply. "He stays."
Kaireth whipped toward him. "You protect a wolf?!"
"I protect her," Yllas said.
Gerrin stepped forward. "The Spire revealed a message. A prophecy."
Helion nodded. "And the Beast King wants her dead before she learns it."
Yllas knelt in front of me, voice lowering.
"Kanah."
I met his eyes.
"Your rune is awakening faster than any record."
His hand brushed my cheek.
"You cannot go back to wolf lands. Not yet. Not safely."
My throat tightened. "But Owain—"
Owain's voice came again, raw with desperation.
"I'm not leaving! Do you hear me?! KANAH!"
My heart twisted painfully.
I whispered, "I can't abandon him."
"You won't," Yllas said softly. "But if he enters the Spire, he will die."
My breath shook.
"So I'm stuck here?"
"No," Yllas murmured. "Protected."
Kaireth added coldly, "Unless the Beast King reaches you first."
Silence.
Yllas took my hand again.
"Kanah… you must complete the Dragon Trial."
Owain slammed into the barrier again.
"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE HER!"
My voice trembled.
"What… what is the Dragon Trial?"
Gerrin exhaled.
Helion crossed his arms.
Kaireth looked away.
Yllas answered.
"It tests your compatibility with dragon instinct."
My heart pounded.
"And if I fail?"
Yllas' gaze softened.
"Then the trial-bond breaks."
Owain's voice broke behind the barrier.
"Kanah… please…"
Yllas squeezed my hand.
"Are you ready?"
I didn't know.
I wasn't sure.
I was terrified.
But I nodded.
And the Spire opened beneath my feet.