Kael's POV
I should have told her the truth years ago.
I watch from my seat in the Grand Arena as Aria touches the Awakening Stone. Golden light explodes upward—the color of dragon affinity. My heart stops. After ten years of waiting, watching, protecting her from the shadows, it's finally happening.
She's awakening as the Dragon Tamer.
The Examiner announces it, and the arena falls silent. Then the laughter starts.
My hands grip the armrests so hard the metal bends. I want to stand up. Want to transform right here and show these fools that dragons never died. That the "useless" girl they're mocking just became the most powerful person in this entire arena.
But I can't. Not yet. Not until she knows the truth about me first.
Then Marcus Ashford walks toward Vivian instead of Aria.
My vision goes red.
I've watched that boy court Aria for three years. Watched him smile and make promises. I hated every second of it, but Aria loved him. She was happy. And I wanted her to be happy, even if it killed me.
But I also researched Marcus. His family history. His true personality. He's ambitious, selfish, and cruel. I stayed close, ready to catch Aria when he inevitably showed his real face.
I just didn't think he'd do it like this.
Marcus drops to one knee in front of Vivian. "I need a partner with a useful ability," he says, loud enough for everyone to hear.
The crowd gasps. Whispers spread like fire.
"Will you marry me instead?"
Vivian throws her arms around him. They kiss while ten thousand people watch. While Aria stands frozen in the center of the ceremony ground, her face white with shock.
I'm moving before I realize it. Standing. Pushing past people in my row. I need to get to her. Need to—
Helena Winters stands up in the family section. "The Winters family officially disowns Aria!"
My dragon nature surges forward, wanting out. My eyes start glowing—I can feel the heat. My bones ache with the need to transform. To burn everyone in this arena who dares to hurt her.
Control, Lysander's voice snaps into my mind. He's somewhere in the crowd, also watching. Also furious. If you transform now, you'll start a war before she's ready.
She's being destroyed!
And you'll make it worse if you reveal everything here. Get to her quietly. Explain privately. Let her choose what happens next.
He's right. I hate that he's right.
I force my dragon back down. Force my eyes to dim. But I can't hide the rage on my face.
Aria's eyes find mine across the crowd. For one second, our gazes lock.
She looks shattered. Broken. Like every dream she ever had just died in front of thousands of witnesses.
Then someone bumps her and the moment breaks.
I push harder through the crowd, but people are standing now, talking, laughing, blocking my path. By the time I reach the ceremony ground, Aria is already running.
"Move!" I snarl at a group of gossiping women.
They jump aside, eyes wide. Probably because my voice came out wrong—too deep, with the rumble of dragon speech underneath.
I chase after Aria, but she's fast when she's desperate. She disappears into the crowd streaming out of the arena. I try to track her scent—dragons can smell their bonded tamer from miles away, but she hasn't bonded with me yet. She's still just human to my senses.
I pull out my phone and call Lysander. "I lost her."
"I'm tracking her phone," he says immediately. "She's heading toward the slums. Kael, what are you going to tell her?"
"The truth."
"All of it? That you've been in love with her since she was twelve? That you've been protecting her for ten years? That thirty dragons have been waiting for her to awaken so we can finally stop hiding?"
"Yes. All of it." I start running in the direction of the slums. "She deserves to know."
"She just got publicly humiliated and abandoned. Maybe ease her into the 'surprise, your best friend is an ancient dragon' conversation."
"I've been easing for ten years. It's time."
I hang up and run faster, my dragon speed making me blur past normal humans. They probably think I'm a beast tamer using enhancement abilities.
If they only knew.
I reach the slums in minutes and follow the pull I've always felt toward Aria—not a bond, just gravity. Like she's the sun and I'm caught in her orbit.
I find her collapsed in an alley, crying so hard she can't breathe.
Every protective instinct in my dragon nature screams at me to go to her. To wrap her in my arms and promise no one will ever hurt her again.
But then Zara Knight appears.
I stay in the shadows, watching. Zara is good for Aria—fierce and loyal. She helps Aria stand. Talks about testing her ability.
They leave together, heading toward the Taming Grounds.
I follow at a distance, staying hidden. When they break into the practice beast area, I move closer. Close enough to help if something goes wrong.
Close enough to hear when Aria says, "Here goes nothing."
Golden light flows from her hands. Dragon taming power, wild and untrained. She's aiming for a small fox beast, trying to create a bond.
My heart pounds. This is it. Her first attempt. If she can tame other beasts, she'll at least have some power to defend herself until she's ready to learn about dragons.
The golden light shoots forward.
And completely misses the fox.
It hits me instead.
I have exactly one second to realize what's about to happen before the soulbond snaps into place.
Pain and pleasure explode through my body as the bond locks around my heart like chains made of starlight. I feel Aria on the other end—confused, shocked, unprepared.
And I feel my dragon form responding to her power.
"No," I gasp, trying to hold my human shape. "No, no, no—not like this—"
But dragon taming power is absolute. When a tamer calls, a dragon answers. It's built into our very existence. The bond is too new, too strong. I can't resist.
My body shifts.
Bones break and reform. Muscles expand. Wings tear through my back. My human clothes shred as I grow thirty feet tall in three seconds.
The transformation hurts worse than usual because I'm fighting it. Because I wanted to tell Aria the truth gently. Carefully. Not like this. Never like this.
When the shift completes, I'm standing in my true form—massive black dragon with golden eyes. My wings knocked over half the practice cages. My tail demolished the rest.
Zara screams and falls backward.
But Aria just stares up at me with wide honey-colored eyes.
Through our new bond, I feel everything she's feeling. Shock. Disbelief. Confusion.
And underneath it all, a tiny spark of wonder.
I lower my head until we're eye to eye. Speaking out loud would terrify the humans nearby, so I use the bond instead—a mental connection only she can hear.
I'm sorry, little tamer. I wanted to tell you the truth a thousand different ways. But not like this. Never like this.
"You're—" She can't finish. Can't process what's happening.
A dragon. Yes. I keep my mental voice as gentle as possible. And I've been your friend for ten years, watching over you. Waiting for this day.
"Dragons aren't extinct," she whispers.
No. We've just been very, very good at pretending to be human.
She reaches out with shaking fingers and touches my scales. The bond flares at the contact, sending warmth through both of us.
"How many?" she asks. "How many dragons are hiding?"
I hesitate. Then I open the bond wider, letting her feel the thirty other presences suddenly focusing on us. Thirty ancient dragons scattered across the city, all feeling the moment a new Dragon Tamer awakened and bonded.
Enough, I tell her. And now that you've awakened and bonded with me, they're all going to know.
"Know what?"
That the Dragon Tamer has finally returned. And that means everything in this world is about to change.
The bond pulses as my flight—my family—reaches out through the dragon network. They're excited. Curious. Desperate to meet her.
But they're also hungry for revenge. Hungry to stop hiding. Hungry to remind this world that dragons were never weak prey.
"Aria," Zara's voice shakes behind her. "What did you just do?"
Aria stares up at me. Through the bond, I feel her shift from shock to understanding to something that makes my dragon heart soar.
Determination.
"I think," she says slowly, "I just declared war on everyone who called me useless."
Pride floods through me. That's my tamer. Broken one minute, ready to fight the next.
But before I can respond, another presence enters my awareness. Powerful. Close. Moving fast.
Lysander's voice slams into my mind. Kael! You need to get her out of there NOW. Someone from the Arena felt the power surge when you transformed. They're coming.
I shift my attention and smell them. Three tamers. Their bonded beasts. Coming fast.
And leading them is a familiar scent.
Marcus Ashford and his phoenix.
Aria, I say urgently through our bond. We need to leave. Now.