Zara's POV
Blue fire exploded from my hands.
I didn't mean to do it. But when the Dragon Prince said he'd burn me to ash, something inside me just erupted. The blast hit Draven square in the chest and sent him stumbling backward.
His golden eyes went wide. "Impossible. You're untrained!"
"RUN!" Kaelen grabbed my hand and yanked me into the jungle.
We crashed through bushes, my heart hammering. Behind us, Draven's laughter echoed—amused, not angry. Like we were mice and he was a cat enjoying the chase.
"He's playing with us!" I gasped.
"I know. Keep moving!"
Fire blasted past us, setting trees aflame. We burst into a clearing and stopped. Dead end. Cliff on three sides, dragon behind us.
Draven stepped out of the shadows, flames dancing on his scaled arms. "Playtime's over." He looked at Kaelen. "Step aside, wolf. This doesn't concern you."
"She's my bonded. Everything about her concerns me."
"Your bonded?" Draven studied the glowing mark on Kaelen's chest. "You completed a bond with an untrained human?" He laughed. "You're either brave or stupid."
"Maybe both," Kaelen growled.
I stepped forward. "Why do you want to kill me? I haven't done anything wrong!"
Draven's expression hardened. "You exist. That's wrong enough. Every Marked One brings chaos. I killed the second one to prevent war. I'll kill you for the same reason."
"But I don't want to start a war!"
"That's what she said too." Draven raised his hand, flames gathering. "I'm sorry, human. But you're too dangerous to live."
He threw the fireball.
Kaelen shifted to massive wolf form and jumped between us, ready to take the hit.
"NO!" I grabbed his fur. Through the bond: You can't fight him alone!
Run, Zara. PLEASE.
I'm not leaving you!
Time slowed. I saw the flames coming. Saw Kaelen bracing. Saw death approaching.
Something inside me awakened.
My marks blazed white-hot. Power surged through me—my power mixed with Kaelen's strength. I threw my hands forward and blue fire erupted, meeting Draven's flames head-on.
The collision shook the ground.
When smoke cleared, Draven stared at me with new respect. "Hybrid fire. That shouldn't be possible." He lowered his hands. "I'll make you a deal. Survive the blood moon tonight without my protection, and I'll let you live."
"That's not a deal!" I protested.
"It's better than dying now." His smile was sharp. "Take it or fight me. Your choice."
Through the bond, I felt Kaelen calculating. "We'll take it."
"Excellent." Draven started walking away. "Oh, and little Marked One? The dragon clans will hear about your hybrid fire. Sleep well."
He vanished in flames.
I collapsed. "Did we just make things worse?"
"Much worse," Kaelen said grimly. "But we're alive. Come on—we need shelter before the blood moon rises."
We found a small cave with one entrance. Kaelen checked it thoroughly.
"How long until the blood moon?" I asked.
"Two hours. Maybe less." He pulled out an iron chain. "I need to chain you deeper in the cave."
"What? No!"
"Zara." His voice was gentle but firm. "If ferals get past me, the chain keeps you safe. Far from the entrance."
"Or it traps me while monsters eat me!"
"I won't let them reach you. I swear on my dead pack." His eyes pleaded. "Trust me."
Through the bond, I felt his terror of failing again. "Okay. I trust you."
He secured the chain around my wrist—long enough to move but not reach the entrance. "No matter what you hear, you stay here. Promise me."
"I promise. Just don't die."
"I'll try." He pressed his forehead to mine briefly, then moved to the entrance.
Outside, the sun set. The rising moon was blood red.
Howls started immediately. Dozens. Hundreds. Getting closer.
Kaelen shifted to wolf form and blocked the entrance. The first feral charged. He met it with teeth and claws. Blood sprayed. Three more took its place.
I pressed against the wall as Kaelen fought. Through the bond, I felt every wound, every moment of pain.
Hours passed. He killed feral after feral but they kept coming. He was slowing. Weakening.
Then—crack. His pained yelp. The heavy thud of his body hitting stone.
He'd fallen.
Ferals poured into the cave, racing toward me with snapping jaws.
I screamed and pulled the chain. It held. The ferals were five feet away. Three feet.
The closest opened its jaws for my throat.
Kaelen's body started glowing blue—my light flowing through the bond into him.
His eyes snapped open, blazing electric blue.
He moved like lightning. Every feral died in seconds. When the last fell, he collapsed. The glow faded.
"Kaelen!" I yanked desperately at the chain.
He didn't move. Through the bond—his heartbeat was fading.
He was dying.
"No!" I pulled harder. Blood ran down my arm from where the chain cut deep.
My blood dripped onto the iron and it started glowing. Then melting.
The chain shattered.
I stumbled to Kaelen and pressed my hands on his wounds. "Don't you dare die!"
My marks blazed. Power flowed into him—healing light, bond magic, everything I had.
"LIVE!" I commanded.
His chest heaved. His eyes opened—still electric blue.
"Zara? What did you do?"
"I saved you." I was crying and laughing. "We're even."
He sat up, touching his healed body in shock. "You shouldn't be able to do that."
"Maybe our bond is different."
He touched my face, wiping tears. "Maybe you're different."
Then he tensed. "Your scent just changed. You're not just human anymore. The bond transformed you."
"What am I then?"
A voice echoed from outside. Smooth. Amused.
"My, my. What an interesting night."
Draven stepped into the entrance. Behind him stood two more figures—a man with emerald scales and silver serpent eyes, and a hawk-kin with fierce amber eyes.
"She survived the blood moon," the serpent-man hissed. "And evolved. How delicious."
"She broke iron chains with blood magic," the hawk observed. "Ancient One power."
Draven smiled. "Gentlemen, we've found something extraordinary. Not just a Marked One—a Queen Marked One. The first in a thousand years."
All three stared at me like I was treasure.
Or a weapon.
"The question is," Draven purred, "who gets to claim her first?"