"Cover!"
Rhea shoved me down as arrows hissed overhead and Vesper snapped her wrist and three small bones flashed, intercepting two shafts mid-air before they could pierce my skull. The third grazed her arm and buried itself in the bark behind us.
The forest exploded with noise and cloaked soldiers broke from the trees on both sides, boots muffled with cloth, blades already drawn. Behind them came the handlers with dogs straining against iron collars, muzzles smoking with whatever poison they had been fed.
Selendra's tail lashed once as she stepped in front of me. "Imperial," she said flatly. "Palace hunt."
"Charlotte," I spat.
"Or her captain," Vesper hissed, already cutting fresh lines of chalk across the moss. "Hold them!"
Rhea surged forward like a wall,her blade met the first two men, knocking them back before they could close in. Steel rang out, clean and sharp and the dogs barked, shaking the ground with the sound.
My chest burned and the charm pulsed hard against my ribs. Alma was still hibernating, but the hum in my veins was louder than blood. I pushed to my knees, confused, then to my feet. My vision sharpened and every soldier's step, every twitch of a dog's jaw, every drop of sweat on their brows…I saw them all.
A soldier lunged before I could think, my arm snapped up and caught his wrist mid-swing. He stared at me in shock and I was just as shocked…his strength should have crushed me,instead, I squeezed and his bone cracked,his sword fell and he screamed.
"What the hell…" I gasped but there was no time.
More soldiers pressed in on us and Selendra's claws tore across one man's chest, Vesper's chalk flared, throwing two more back with a burst of static force and Rhea spun her blade, cutting a dog loose from its collar and sending it tumbling into another handler.
The ground shook with heat and seared the air.
The White Fire Dragon dropped from the sky like judgment itself,its wings slammed wind into the trees, sending men sprawling. Its throat glowed with pale fire, brighter and brighter until the soldiers froze where they stood.
The dragon's eyes found me,not Rhea,not Vesper,not Selendra,me.
The charm burned so hot I thought it would sear through my chest and explode. My knees wanted to buckle, but the energy inside me forced me upright. The dragon lowered its head, fire leaking from its jaws, and pressed its snout close enough that I could see my reflection in its scaled hide.
[White Fire Dragon — Recognition Test Pending]
The panel flashed before my eyes and the words pulsed.
[Anchor Link Required: Touch]
Rhea shouted behind me. "Eiji, no!"
But I was already moving. My hand lifted, shaking,the dragon's heat should have melted flesh from bone, but the charm hummed harder and shielded me as I pressed my palm against its snout.
The world stopped,the fire in its throat dimmed and the soldiers who hadn't already run began to scream and scatter. The dragon's pupils narrowed, then widened, and then..slowly..it lowered its head until one horn touched the ground.
And the panel blazed.
[Recognition Accepted]
[Bond: Provisional — Rider Candidate: Eiji Kagemaru]
The soldiers panicked and some fled. Others tried to fire arrows at the dragon, only for the shafts to burn mid-air. The Collectors stood their ground, horned masks gleaming, their voices cold and unified.
"He is marked," one said.
"Then cage him," another replied.
They moved in, ignoring the dragon, as if it were nothing more than fog. My skin crawled and I stumbled back as their hands stretched toward me.
The dragon roared and fire spilled out in a wave that turned the ground into molten glass. The collectors staggered but kept coming,Vesper swore and flung her last bone. Rhea cut two soldiers in half and bellowed at me.
"Call it again! Do it now!"
I didn't know how. My chest was going to split and the charm screamed. Alma's voice bled faint and weak in my skull.
Eiji… anchor it.
"Anchor what?!" I shouted.
Selendra's hand clamped over mine, forcing it flat against the charm. Her claws dug through cloth into skin. Her voice was steady, dark with something like excitement. "Anchor yourself and command it, host or we all die here."
The dragon reared,its wings blotted out the canopy. The Collectors lifted their arms and spoke in one voice. "Submit the system."
Alma groaned weakly in my head. No… don't give…
"I'm not giving you anything!" I roared.
The charm detonated cold light. My vision went white, then sharp again. My body moved faster than I thought. One blink and I was across the clearing, fist slamming into a Collector's mask. It shattered under the blow, bone and horn breaking. The figure fell limp.
Everyone stared,even me…Rhea didn't waste the moment,she drove her blade through another Collector's chest. Vesper's rings sang as she forced a ward around us and Selendra tore into the last soldier near her, tail whipping blood into the air.
The dragon's fire swept once more, and the forest was suddenly empty of enemies. Only scorched earth, broken steel and silence remained.
The dragon lowered its head again, eyes burning into mine.
[Bond — Strengthened. Rider Recognition: 47%]
It snorted, shaking ash and sparks across us, then spread its wings and took off into the sky. The downdraft nearly threw me off my feet..the silence after was deafening.
Rhea wiped blood from her blade and turned to me. "What in hells was that?"
"I… I don't know," I panted, shaking. My hands wouldn't stop trembling. "I just…moved….It wasn't me, I think it was Alma…"
The charm pulsed weakly and Alma's voice was gone again, only a faint hum where she had been.
[Status: HIBERNATE — 19% Integrity]
"Not good," Vesper muttered, checking the glow. "She's sinking deeper,you pushed her too far."
Selendra stepped close, tail curling lazily behind her. She touched the edge of the charm with one claw and smirked. "But you lived and you made the dragon bow. Not many do say that."
Rhea cut her a glare. "Enough,we need to move."
We didn't stop until our legs gave out. Hours later we found a ruin half-collapsed into the hill, stone walls leaning but still enough to cover us from the wind. We slipped inside,the roof was cracked, but dry and moss covered most of the floor.
Rhea set her blade across her lap and kept watch at the door, Vesper collapsed against the wall, eyes half-shut, muttering about chalk and new wards.
I sank down by the cold hearth, hand pressed to the charm. The hum was faint, weaker than ever.
Selendra crouched in front of me,her eyes were bright in the dim. Her tail coiled across the floor like it had a mind of its own. "You should rest," she said softly. "Your body is trembling."
I nodded, too tired to argue. My hand shook against the charm but Alma didn't answer.
Selendra leaned closer, so close I could feel the heat of her breath. "You really don't understand yet, do you?"
"Understand what?" I asked.
Her lips curved. "That you're mine now."
The words hit me harder than any battle.
The fire outside the ruin cracked once in the wind,Rhea stirred at the door and Vesper muttered in her sleep.
Selendra's tail slid across my boot and coiled gently around my ankle. She smiled slow, wicked, and patient.
And I realized she wasn't done at all and she had other intentions behind her words.