Elara's POV
"She's not starting any war." I stepped in front of Cael before I could think better of it. "This is between me and my father. No one else needs to die."
Seraphine's laugh was like breaking glass. "How noble. How human." She circled me slowly, studying me like I was a puzzle to solve. "But you're not entirely human, are you, little hybrid?"
"Back off, Seraphine." Cael's voice was cold. "She's under my protection."
"Your protection? Or something more?" Her eyes flicked to the bond mark on my wrist, then to Cael's matching one. "Oh, this is rich. The great Destroyer, who swore never to bond again after losing his first mate, has found himself a replacement. And she's half the enemy you've spent a millennium destroying."
"Careful," Cael warned.
But Seraphine ignored him, moving closer to me. "Tell me, child. Do you even know what you are? What flows through your veins?"
"Dragon blood," I said, lifting my chin despite my racing heart. "From my mother's line."
"Dragon blood, yes. But not just any dragon blood." She reached out and grabbed my wrist, ignoring Cael's growl. Her fingers traced the bond mark, and power flared between us—painful and invasive. "By the ancient fires. You carry the Starfire line. I thought they were all dead."
"The what?" I tried to pull away, but her grip was iron.
"Let her go," Cael snarled, flames erupting along his arms.
Seraphine released me, but her eyes were wide with something that looked like shock. "Cael, do you understand what she is? The Starfire bloodline created the first dragon-human bonds. They were the bridge between our kinds, the ones who ended the Great War a thousand years ago."
"I know what they were," Cael said quietly.
"Then you know they were hunted to extinction. Slaughtered by both sides because people feared their power." Seraphine turned to me. "Your mother was the last of that line, girl. Which means you're not just special. You're potentially the most powerful hybrid to exist in a millennium."
The words hit me like cold water. "That's why Father killed her. That's why he destroyed me."
"Your father is a fool," Seraphine said bluntly. "The Starfire line doesn't just carry dragon blood. They can amplify dragon magic, bond with multiple dragons, even calm berserker rage. You're not a threat, child. You're a weapon. And your father knew it."
My legs felt weak. I sat down hard on the furs, trying to process this. "I don't want to be a weapon."
"Too bad." Seraphine's voice lost its mocking edge. "The humans know what you are now. They saw you shift. Word will spread. Every kingdom with dragon problems will want to capture you, study you, use you." She looked at Cael. "Keeping her here makes you a target."
"I don't abandon those under my protection," Cael said firmly.
"Even if it costs you everything?"
"Especially then."
Kiran cleared his throat nervously. "Um, not to interrupt this dramatic moment, but we still have fifty dragon hunters and a Dragon Cage outside. What's the plan?"
Seraphine smiled, sharp and predatory. "Simple. We prove the girl is worth protecting. We use her Starfire abilities to destroy the Cage."
"She just learned to shift two days ago!" Cael protested. "She's not ready for—"
"She'll never be ready if you coddle her." Seraphine cut him off. "The Cage is powered by corrupted dragon magic. Starfire blood can purify corruption. She's literally the only one who can destroy it without triggering it."
I looked down at my bandaged hand, then at the bond mark glowing softly on my wrist. "How do I do it?"
"Elara, no—" Cael started.
"How?" I repeated, looking at Seraphine.
She studied me for a long moment. "You touch the Cage. Let your blood make contact with it. The Starfire magic will recognize the corruption and burn it away." She paused. "But I'll warn you—purifying corrupted magic is agonizing. It feels like your blood is boiling from the inside out."
"And if I don't do it?"
"Then Cael uses the Cage against him when they attack, you die when your newly awakened dragon side can't handle the suppression, and probably Kiran dies too trying to protect you both." Seraphine shrugged. "But at least you won't feel the pain."
The casual way she said it made me want to hit her. But she wasn't wrong.
"I'll do it," I said.
"Absolutely not." Cael moved between us. "I'll destroy the Cage myself. Fight through whatever they throw at me."
"And die doing it," Seraphine said. "The Destroyer you may be, but even you can't survive a Dragon Cage at full power. Stop being stubborn and let the girl do what she was literally born to do."
"She was born to be protected!" Cael's voice rose, flames licking up his arms. "Not thrown into danger!"
"She was born to be a bridge," Seraphine countered. "Between your kind and hers. Between peace and war. You can't cage her in safety, Cael. Not when the world needs what she can do."
They stared at each other, two ancient dragons locked in a battle of wills.
I stood up, walking between them. "Stop. Both of you." I looked at Cael, really looked at him. "I know you want to protect me. And I love that you care. But Seraphine is right. I can't hide forever. And I won't let people die because I'm too scared to use whatever this is inside me."
"You could die," Cael said quietly, his voice raw.
"Then you'll bring me back." I touched his face, feeling the warmth of his skin. "We're bonded, remember? You said mates can sense each other's danger. If something goes wrong, you'll know. You'll come for me."
"Always," he breathed.
"Then teach me." I turned to Seraphine. "Both of you. Teach me how to control this Starfire blood. Teach me how to destroy that Cage. And then teach me how to make my father pay for what he's done."
Seraphine's smile was approving. "Now there's the fire I was hoping to see."
Kiran stepped forward. "I'll help scout the best approach to the camp. We'll need—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his face going pale.
"What?" Cael demanded.
"The seeing stone." Kiran held it up with shaking hands. "Look."
We crowded around the crystal. The image showed the hunter camp below, but something had changed.
They were moving the Dragon Cage. Not toward the mountain.
Toward the nearest village.
"No," I whispered.
A man stood in front of the Cage, and even through the crystal's flickering image, I recognized him.
Prince Adrian.
His voice carried through some kind of amplification magic: "People of Thorndale! Your former lady, the traitor Elara, hides in these mountains with the Destroyer dragon. We will flush her out. Give us the dragon and the girl, or we activate this device and every dragon within fifty miles dies screaming. You have until dawn."
The image shifted, showing the village. Families. Children. People I'd grown up with, looking terrified.
"He's using them as hostages," Kiran said. "If you don't surrender, he'll kill every dragon in range. Including the ones who haven't done anything wrong."
My stomach turned. "How many dragons live within fifty miles?"
"Counting younglings and elders?" Kiran's voice was hollow. "About three hundred."
Three hundred lives. Or mine.
"It's not a choice," I said, already moving toward the exit. "I'll turn myself in. End this."
Cael grabbed my arm. "No."
"Three hundred dragons, Cael! I won't let them die for me!"
"And I won't let you sacrifice yourself for a trap!" He pulled me back. "The moment you surrender, they'll kill you. Adrian doesn't want prisoners. He wants you dead and me watching, so he can use my rage to justify destroying more dragons."
"Then what do we do?" My voice cracked.
Seraphine was very quiet. When she finally spoke, her voice was grim. "We have one option left. One very dangerous, very stupid option."
"What?" we all said together.
She looked at me with something that might have been respect. "You said you wanted to make your father pay? Here's your chance. We break into their camp, you destroy the Cage, and we take Adrian and your father prisoner. Use them as hostages to force a real negotiation."
"That's suicide," Kiran said flatly.
"Yes," Seraphine agreed. "But it's the only way everyone doesn't die." She looked at Cael. "Unless you have a better plan?"
He was silent, jaw clenched.
I pulled away from his grip. "When do we leave?"
"Elara—"
"When. Do. We. Leave?"
Seraphine smiled grimly. "As soon as you learn one last thing about your Starfire blood." She held out her hand. "Take it. Let me show you what you really are."
I hesitated only a second before placing my hand in hers.
Power exploded through me—visions, memories, knowledge that wasn't mine. I saw my mother, young and strong, standing beside a silver dragon. Saw her raise her hands and heal a dying warrior with just her touch. Saw her walk between two armies and stop a war with nothing but words and the fire in her blood.
Saw her murdered in her bed, my father's blade in her back, while seven-year-old me slept in the next room.
I jerked back, gasping. "He killed her while I slept. I could have saved her if I'd just—"
"You were a child," Seraphine said firmly. "But you're not anymore. And now you have a choice. Die a victim like your mother, or live long enough to become the weapon your father always feared."
I looked at my hands. At the silver fire already starting to spark between my fingers.
At Cael, watching me with those ancient golden eyes full of belief.
"Teach me," I said. "Teach me everything."
Seraphine's grin was fierce. "We have until dawn. Let's make it count."