Kaida POV
The golden light pouring from my skin was blinding.
I couldn't see anything except pure burning gold, couldn't hear anything except Ryven's shocked gasp and his uncle's furious shout. Power flooded through my veins like liquid fire, and somehow I knew—absolutely knew—that I could kill them all if I wanted to.
Dragon-rider marks. That's what Aurelius had called them.
Then the light vanished as suddenly as it appeared, and I collapsed. Ryven caught me before I hit the floor, his arms burning hot around me.
"What did you do?" he whispered, his silver eyes wide with terror and awe.
"I don't know," I gasped. My whole body felt like I'd been struck by lightning. "I just—I couldn't let them hurt you."
Aurelius stared at us like we were ghosts. The three dragon enforcers behind him had actually stepped back, fear clear on their faces.
"The marks," Aurelius said slowly. "They were real. I saw the covenant symbols, the binding runes. You're—"
"She's leaving," Ryven interrupted, standing up and pulling me with him. His body was changing, scales rippling across his skin. "And you're not going to stop us."
"Ryven, you foolish boy." Aurelius shook his head. "You've doomed us all. If she's truly a dragon rider, then everything we've hidden for three centuries—"
"Is your problem, not hers!" Ryven's voice came out layered with dragon resonance that made the windows rattle. "She didn't ask for this. She didn't ask to be treated like trash by her family or hunted by whatever possessed that phoenix. Leave her alone!"
I felt his rage through our bond, felt how much he wanted to protect me. But I also felt his fear—not for himself, but for me.
"I can't leave her alone," Aurelius said, and for a moment he sounded sad instead of angry. "None of us can. Not now. The marks have awakened. Every dragon within a hundred miles felt that power surge. They'll all come looking."
My blood went cold. "What do you mean?"
Aurelius looked at me directly for the first time. "Dragon riders weren't just tamers, girl. They were our natural leaders. Our queens and kings. When the marks appear, every dragon feels the pull—the instinct to serve, to protect, to obey." His jaw clenched. "You just announced yourself to every hidden dragon in the territory. And most of them won't react as calmly as I am."
"Some will want to kill her," one of the enforcers said quietly. "Before she can expose us or control us."
"And others will want to claim her," another added. "Force a bond, use her power for themselves."
I felt sick. "I don't want to control anyone. I just want to be left alone!"
"Too late for that." Aurelius sighed. "The marks don't lie. You're a dragon rider, whether you want to be or not. And now every dragon who felt that surge is coming for you."
Ryven's arms tightened around me. "Then I'll fight them all."
"You can't fight an entire race, nephew." Aurelius walked closer, and I noticed he moved carefully, like he was approaching something dangerous. Me. "But perhaps we can find another way."
"What way?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"Training. Protection. An alliance." Aurelius studied my face. "You need to learn what you are, what you can do. And we need to understand why the marks awakened now, after three centuries of silence." He glanced at Ryven. "The accidental bond triggered something. But bonds don't create riders—they're born, not made."
"My family always said I was useless," I whispered. "That my dragon-taming ability was worthless because dragons are extinct."
"Your family are fools." Aurelius said it like a fact, not an insult. "Dragon taming isn't about controlling beasts. It's about partnership with the most powerful beings alive. Your ancestors rode dragons into battle, fought alongside them, loved them. You carry that legacy in your blood."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe I wasn't worthless after all. But five years of being told otherwise had carved deep wounds.
"She needs time," Ryven said. "Time to process this, to rest. That power surge drained her."
He was right. I could barely stand, my legs shaking with exhaustion.
Aurelius nodded slowly. "Three days. I'll give you three days before the council demands answers. Use that time to teach her the basics, Ryven. She needs to understand what she is before she accidentally kills someone."
"Or before someone kills her," an enforcer muttered.
"Get out," Ryven growled. "All of you. Now."
Surprisingly, they left. Even Aurelius obeyed, though he paused at the door. "Protect her, nephew. But remember—she's dangerous now. To herself and to everyone around her. Don't let sentiment cloud your judgment."
Then we were alone in the destroyed archives, surrounded by scattered books and shattered furniture.
I started shaking. Not from cold—from everything. From fear and confusion and the lingering buzz of power in my veins.
"Breathe," Ryven said softly, turning me to face him. "Just breathe, Kaida. I've got you."
"I don't understand," I gasped. "What just happened? What am I?"
"Something incredible." His silver eyes blazed. "Something the world hasn't seen in three hundred years. You're a dragon rider, Kaida. The first in centuries."
"But I don't know how to be that! I don't even know what it means!"
"Then I'll teach you." He cupped my face gently. "Starting tonight. We don't have time to wait—dragons are coming, and you need to be ready."
"Tonight? But it's already midnight, and I'm exhausted, and—"
"And you almost died today." His voice turned fierce. "That phoenix was possessed by something hunting you. Now dragons are hunting you too. You need to learn fast."
I knew he was right. Hated that he was right. But I was so tired of being scared and helpless.
"Okay," I whispered. "Teach me."
He smiled, and it transformed his whole face. "First lesson: dragon riders don't tame dragons. They bond with them. Equal partners, not master and servant."
"Like our bond?"
"Similar. But deeper. Permanent. A true dragon-rider bond is soul-deep, unbreakable even by death." He hesitated. "Our accidental bond is real, Kaida. I can feel your emotions, your pain. And you can feel mine."
That explained the strange warmth, the connection I'd been sensing. "So we're bonded? Forever?"
"Unless we find a way to break it without killing each other." He looked away. "Though honestly, I don't want to break it."
My heart skipped. "Why not?"
Before he could answer, the archive windows exploded inward.
A massive creature landed in the center of the room—a dragon, dark blue scales glinting like sapphires, eyes burning with hunger. But something was wrong with its eyes. They glowed with the same sick green as the possessed phoenix.
"Found you," it hissed in my mind, its voice scraping like broken glass. "The sleeping bloodline awakens. Perfect. Your power will feed us well, little rider."
Ryven shoved me behind him, his body already transforming. "Kaida, run! It's possessed, just like the phoenix!"
But I couldn't run. Couldn't move. Because I could feel something now—something dark and ancient calling to me from inside the possessed dragon.
It wanted my blood. Wanted my power.
And it wasn't alone. Through the shattered windows, I saw more glowing green eyes in the darkness. Dozens of them.
"They're all possessed," I whispered in horror. "Ryven, they're all possessed!"
The blue dragon lunged, jaws wide and dripping venom.
And that's when my marks blazed golden again—but this time, they didn't just appear on my skin. They appeared in the air around us, forming a glowing barrier that the dragon slammed into with a howl of rage.
"Impossible!" it screeched. "The covenant wards! She knows the ancient protections!"
I didn't know anything. The magic was moving through me on its own, like my blood remembered what my mind had forgotten.
"Whatever you're doing," Ryven said, his voice strained as he held his partial transformation, "keep doing it!"
But I could feel the barrier weakening. Could feel dozens of possessed creatures pressing against it from outside.
And then I heard a voice—not in my head like the possessed beasts, but somehow deeper. Coming from inside my own blood.
Wake up, daughter of dragons. Your enemies gather. Your power sleeps. Wake up, or die with your secrets unspoken.
The barrier shattered, and the possessed dragons poured through, their eyes blazing with hunger.