HAZEL'S POV The pain shot through my muscles when I had barely crossed a quarter of the stairs but I kept moving for the people, things were getting worse. The thought of Dravon made it worse, I couldn't even bring myself to imagine what he would do when he found I was gone. The more I tried to push the thought it was the more it hurt me. I had promised him last night that I wouldn't leave his side but here I was miles away from him. I lied and now it hurt me more. Sweat dripped down my back as the sun scorched me weakening me more than I already felt. The sun scorched, the wind blew but being far from where I was headed gave me motivation to keep going. Soon my legs began to bleed badly but the only thing I was grateful for was that he couldn't feel any of it, the feeling brought me only joy I had right now. Morwenna had said this would be hard but doing it now seemed harder. After going further my breathing heaved, my lungs burning like they had forgotten how to work. Just

The white haired dragon warrior stood firmly as I watched her in shock, stepping back to stay far enough to observe and calculate her every move. I stopped."How did you k—""The gem you seek is not with me," I said, fisting my hand at my side.She stopped."A human," she said slowly, her eyes moving over me. "Standing right in front of me, and somehow you knew exactly where the gem was." She tilted her head. "Go on then. Tell me how."I said nothing."No?" She smiled. "Then I'll tell you instead — since it seems someone has already been generous with information about you.""Witches have been banned from our land — too many have gone into extinction — but some of us still know their importance," she continued. She hadn't said it plainly, but the meaning was clear.She had consulted a witch. I had been cornered. The witch must have told her everything. I straightened up."The vapour disrupts our bonds—" she breathed."I do not mean to fight you. You could simply hand the gem over — it

NATHAN'S POVThe library in the woods hadn't changed much. The ruins had only gotten worse. I stepped in cautiously as the evening breeze grazed my skin.My eyes moved through the old books still scattered across the ground and I could only hope the one I needed wasn't among them.I approached what remained of the shelves, scanning quickly as I pulled out book after book.I should have found this tedious but being attacked by a dragon witch at the borders and a dragon warlord wasn't something I could afford to be casual about. The Daraenxyn had told me they would seek the gem but I hadn't expected it to be this soon.She had stopped communing with me since I got back. Maybe she felt I could take things from here.Something had to be documented somewhere. I just needed to find where.I had lost the only meaningful book on the gem back in Drakharis. It wasn't among my things when I returned. And now standing before a pile of books with nothing useful on the wooden shelf, I knew I was in

After settling Blacky in the stables I hurried toward my door, pushed it open and stopped dead. Dravon sat on the sofa with the gem in his hands. "What are you doing with that?" I asked from where I stood, letting the door bang shut behind me. He turned to face me. "You're back," he said, rising and walking to drop the gem back into the chest. My eyes followed every movement until he closed it. He turned again. He looked more dangerous than I remembered. "It's been a long time, old friend." He said it with a grin that somehow made him look unhinged, especially with his clothes torn the way they were. "Wh — what happened to you. What did you become, Dravon." He tilted his head with a smile. "I have become what I was always supposed to be." My eyes widened. He stepped closer until there was barely an inch between us, until our breaths mingled. Up close it was impossible to miss. Something had changed in his eyes. Flames moved through them, yet his face remained that

"Almathae, Almathae." Vorthar's voice carried down the hallway. Almathae was already turning, taking the opposite passage, slamming through people as she ran towards her dorm. She had been avoiding him for days. When she was sure he wasn't following, she stopped at her door, pushed it open and stepped inside, breathing heavily. "Hey, Almathae, what's wrong?" Kairyn, one of her dorm mates she had grown close to, looked up from the bunk, one of Almathae's books open in her lap. "I'm fine," Almathae said, walking to her bed and dropping her bag with a sigh. "Okay, if you say so." Kairyn lay back without another word. Days passed like that. Eventually Vorthar stopped reaching out altogether. Then one Evening she found a note on her bed. She picked it up. "I'm so sorry, Almathae. Let's talk one last time. I'm done with that shit." She whispered the words to herself, then threw the paper from her hands. She was sneaking towards the door when she heard it, her name, a whispe