Valdris's POV
The twelve war mages' magic hits me all at once.
Fire, ice, lightning, darkness—twelve different attacks converging on my wounded body. I roar and throw up a shield, but I'm too weak. Too exhausted. The attacks break through and slam into me.
I crash to the ground, blood pouring from new wounds.
"Stay down, dragon," the leader commands. "You're under arrest for—"
I blast her with fire. Not enough to kill—just enough to make her stumble backward.
"I don't have time for this!" I roar. "There's a Soul Eater loose with my—with someone I need to save!"
"The Soul Eater is precisely why you're being arrested," another mage says. "Our intelligence says you're working with him."
"What? That's insane! He's my enemy! He—"
"He was sealed in the Void for helping you five hundred years ago," the leader interrupts. "Now you're both free. The timing is suspicious."
They think we're allies. They think I freed Kthanos on purpose.
"You have it backwards," I snarl. "Theron opened the rift that freed him! I'm trying to stop—"
"Theron is dead."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?"
"Executed thirty minutes ago by Commander Ravik's order. For attempting to summon demons and using torture magic on dragons." The leader's voice is cold. "With Theron dead and you free, someone needs to answer for five hundred years of dragon-caused destruction. That someone is you."
This is insane. Completely insane.
Through my bond with Elara, I feel her getting farther away. Feel Kthanos's control tightening. Feel that tiny spark of her real self getting dimmer.
If I waste time fighting these mages, she might be lost forever.
But if I surrender, they'll lock me up while Kthanos uses her to conquer the freed dragons.
"Listen to me very carefully," I say, forcing myself to stay calm. "I understand why you're suspicious. But right now, Kthanos has possessed a Dragon-Tender—the only person who can control and heal dragons. If he uses her power to bind the forty dragons we just freed, he'll have an army. Your entire alliance won't stand a chance against forty-one dragons under Soul Eater control."
The mages exchange glances. I can see doubt creeping in.
"Even if we believed you," the leader says slowly, "what could you do? You can barely stand."
She's right. I'm bleeding from a dozen wounds. My magic is nearly depleted. I'm running on pure desperation.
"I have a bond with the Dragon-Tender," I explain. "I can track her. Find her. Maybe even reach the part of her that's still fighting. But I can't do any of that from a cell."
"Or," another mage suggests, "you lead us into a trap."
"Then come with me!" I snap. "All twelve of you! If I'm lying, you can arrest me—or kill me. But if I'm telling the truth and we waste time arguing, everyone dies. Including you."
The leader studies me for a long moment. Then she turns to her team. "Opinions?"
"He could be telling the truth," one says.
"Or it could be an elaborate trick," another counters.
"The Dragon-Tender freed forty dragons earlier," a third adds. "I saw it. If Kthanos controls that power..."
The leader makes her decision. "Fine. We'll help you track the Soul Eater. But—" She creates magical shackles and clamps them on my wrists. "—you wear these. They limit your power to fifty percent. Try anything suspicious, and they'll kill you instantly. Understood?"
The shackles burn, suppressing my already-depleted magic. But I nod. "Understood."
"Then lead the way, Calamity Dragon. And pray you're not lying."
I close my eyes and reach through the bond. Elara's presence is faint but there—north, toward the mountains beyond the city. Moving fast.
"North," I say. "The Crimson Peaks. That's where he's taking her."
"That's where the Dragon Council's ancient meeting grounds are," the leader realizes. "If he reaches there with a Dragon-Tender under his control..."
"He can use the amplification circles to broadcast binding magic to every dragon in range," I finish grimly. "We have maybe an hour before he's in position."
"Then we fly. Everyone on me!"
The twelve mages form a platform of combined magic. I shift to human form—easier to transport, and I'm too wounded to fly anyway—and we take off at incredible speed.
As we race toward the mountains, I keep my focus on Elara through the bond. That tiny spark of her consciousness is still there, buried deep beneath Kthanos's control. She's fighting. Struggling.
Hold on, I think desperately. I'm coming. Just hold on a little longer.
For a moment—just a heartbeat—I feel her respond. Not words. Just... recognition. Hope.
Then Kthanos's presence crushes down harder, and she's gone again.
"Faster," I growl at the mages.
"We're going as fast as we can," the leader snaps. But she pours more power into the platform anyway.
The Crimson Peaks loom ahead—massive red mountains where dragons held their councils in the old days, before the betrayal. Before everything went wrong.
As we approach, I see them: forty dragons circling the ancient amphitheater. And in the center, standing in the amplification circle, are Kthanos and Elara.
Even from this distance, I can see her blank expression. Her empty eyes. She's standing perfectly still, like a doll waiting for commands.
Kthanos is chanting in the old dragon tongue. The amplification circle is starting to glow.
"He's already started the binding ritual," one of the mages gasps. "We're too late!"
"No." I clench my fists. "We're not too late. Land there—on that ridge. We need a plan."
"A plan?" The leader looks at me incredulously. "Against a Soul Eater with forty dragons and a Dragon-Tender? What kind of plan could possibly—"
"The kind where we don't all die stupidly," I interrupt. "Now land. Please."
She does. The moment we touch down, I turn to face all twelve mages.
"Here's the situation: Kthanos is binding those dragons through Elara's power. If we attack him directly, he'll activate the kill-seed in her mind and she dies. If she dies, the binding completes anyway and he controls the dragons. We lose."
"So what do you suggest?" the leader asks.
"I need to break Elara free from his control. But Soul Eater possession is too strong for me to break alone." I look at them seriously. "Unless I had help. Dragon-Tenders used to work with mages in the old days. Your magic and mine, combined and focused through our bond—it might be enough to shatter his hold on her."
"Might be?"
"It's the only chance we have."
The mages look at each other. Finally, the leader nods. "Tell us what to do."
Relief floods through me. "I need all your power channeled into me. I'll direct it through the bond to Elara's mind—specifically to that spark of her that's still fighting. If we can strengthen her consciousness enough, she might be able to push Kthanos out herself."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Then Kthanos controls forty dragons and we all die fighting. But at least we'll die trying."
One of the younger mages—barely twenty—steps forward. "I'm in. The Dragon-Tender saved my sister earlier. I owe her."
Another mage nods. "Agreed."
One by one, all twelve agree.
"Then let's do this," the leader says. "Before he finishes that ritual."
They form a circle around me. Their hands start glowing as they gather their magic—twelve different types, twelve different colors, all flowing toward me.
The power is incredible. Overwhelming. Without the shackles limiting me, it would burn me alive. Even with them, it's almost too much.
"Now!" the leader shouts.
I direct all that combined power through my bond with Elara. It shoots across the distance like a spear of light, slamming into her mind.
Through the connection, I feel everything. Kthanos's control wrapped around her consciousness like chains. Her real self buried deep, barely breathing, almost gone.
And I feel her surprise when my power—our power, mine and the twelve mages'—reaches her.
Valdris?
I'm here. We're going to break you free. But I need you to fight. Push back against him. Can you do that?
I... I don't know. He's so strong. I'm so tired.
I know. But you're stronger than you think. Remember? You freed me. You freed forty dragons. You started a revolution with nothing but kindness and stubborn hope. I pour everything I feel into the bond—my respect, my gratitude, my... something deeper I'm not ready to name. You're the bravest person I've ever met, Elara. Don't give up now.
I feel her stirring. Fighting. That tiny spark growing brighter.
Together? she asks.
Together, I promise.
She pushes. I push. The twelve mages pour more power through me.
Kthanos's control starts cracking.
But then—horror floods through me as I realize what's happening.
Kthanos isn't fighting to keep control. He's laughing.
"Did you really think I didn't plan for this?" His voice echoes through the bond. "I wanted you to try breaking her free. Because now—"
He activates the kill-seed.
"NO!" I scream.
Through the bond, I feel it—death magic exploding inside Elara's mind, tearing through her consciousness, destroying everything it touches. She doesn't even have time to scream.
The bond shatters.
Elara collapses in the amplification circle, dead.
And as she dies, the binding ritual completes. All forty dragons' eyes turn black. Controlled. Enslaved.
Kthanos laughs triumphantly. "Thank you for making this so easy, little brother! Now I have everything I need!"
I fall to my knees. The bond is gone. That connection that's been there since the moment we met—severed. Empty.
She's dead.
Elara is dead.
And it's my fault.
The twelve mages stare in horror as Kthanos and his forty controlled dragons turn toward us.
"Kill them all," Kthanos commands.
The dragons dive.
But I barely notice. I'm staring at Elara's body lying motionless in the circle.
The girl who freed me. Who showed me kindness. Who believed I was more than a monster.
Gone.
The rage that fills me is unlike anything I've felt in five hundred years. Not the mindless fury of torture. Not the burning hatred of betrayal.
This is cold. Focused. Absolute.
The shackles on my wrists explode—I burn through them with pure willpower. The twelve mages scatter as my power erupts uncontrolled.
"Valdris, wait!" the leader shouts. "You'll kill yourself if you—"
I don't care.
I transform into my dragon form and launch myself at Kthanos. The forty controlled dragons try to stop me, but I tear through them like paper. I'm not fighting to win anymore. I'm fighting to destroy. To make him pay. To make everyone pay.
I crash into Kthanos, and we roll across the amphitheater, claws and fire and rage.
"You killed her!" I roar. "You killed the only good thing in this entire cursed world!"
"Yes," Kthanos laughs. "And it was delicious. Her soul tasted like hope. I savored every—"
I rip his throat out.
But even that's not enough. Nothing will ever be enough. Because Elara is gone and—
Valdris.
I freeze.
That voice. Through a bond that shouldn't exist anymore.
Valdris, stop. Look.
I look at Elara's body in the circle.
It's glowing.
Not with death magic. With life magic. With healing magic. With light so bright it hurts to see.
She sits up. Her eyes open—not black with possession, not empty with death. Brown and warm and alive.
"Surprise," she says weakly. "Turns out being a Dragon-Tender means you're really hard to kill."
The forty dragons' eyes clear simultaneously. The binding shatters. They're free again.
And Kthanos, his throat torn out, finally dies for real.
I shift to human form and run to Elara, pulling her into my arms. "You were dead. I felt you die. The bond broke—"
"I did die. For like thirty seconds." She laughs, tears streaming down her face. "But Dragon-Tender magic includes resurrection—one time only, and only if someone who loves you is calling you back through a bond." She touches my face. "You brought me back, Valdris. You and your impossible, stubborn refusal to let me go."
"I thought I lost you."
"I know. I felt it." She hugs me tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Around us, the freed dragons land. The twelve mages approach cautiously. Everyone's staring at us—the Calamity Dragon and the dead-but-not-dead Dragon-Tender.
"So," the leader mage says finally. "What now?"
Before either Elara or I can answer, the ground starts shaking. Not normal shaking—earthquake-level trembling that cracks the stone amphitheater.
"What's happening?" Elara gasps.
Morvanna lands beside us, her face grave. "The amplification circle. Kthanos's death while it was active created a feedback loop. The ancient magic is destabilizing."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning these mountains are about to explode with enough magical energy to level half the continent." She looks at me seriously. "Someone needs to absorb it. Channel it safely. Or millions die."
"How much power are we talking about?" I ask.
"Enough to kill a dozen dragons. Maybe more."
Elara's hand tightens on mine. "Then we do it together. Through the bond. Share the load."
"It could kill us both."
"But it could also work." She smiles. "And I'd rather die trying to save people than live knowing we didn't try."
I look at this impossible girl. This thief who freed me. This healer who keeps choosing to save everyone, even at the cost of herself.
And I realize: I love her.
Not the way I loved my betrayer friend five hundred years ago. Not the way I love my dragon kin.
This is something different. Something I never expected to feel.
"If we survive this," I say quietly, "I have something important to tell you."
"Tell me now. In case we don't."
"I love you, Elara. You're the most amazing, frustrating, wonderful person I've ever met."
She stares at me. Then laughs—pure joy. "You picked the weirdest time to say that."
"Is it true?"
"Yes." She kisses me quickly. "And I love you too, you grumpy, overprotective, secretly-soft-hearted dragon. Now let's save the world. Again."
We stand in the amplification circle as magic erupts around us. The feedback loop screams toward explosion.
Elara takes my hand.
I take hers.
And together, we open ourselves to the flood.