The dragon loomed over the courtyard, smoke coiling like black silk from its nostrils. Its golden eyes locked with Elira's across the shattered stone. One blink. Two. It knew her. It wanted her.
And then—
It turned.
With a deafening beat of its enormous wings, the crimson-scaled beast rose into the air, spinning once in the sky with a thundering roar—then soared into the clouds and vanished beyond the mountains.
Just like that.
Gone.
Elira stood frozen in the middle of the ruined courtyard, surrounded by ash, heat, and the cries of stunned guards.
She barely registered the silence until she turned—
"Elric!"
He was on one knee, blood trickling from a gash near his ribs, his sword buried in the scorched stone beside him. His breathing was ragged. His tunic, slashed and burned.
She rushed to his side, dropping beside him.
"Why did it leave?!" she asked breathlessly, voice cracking with confusion and fear. "It could've killed us. You were losing. We were losing!"
He didn't answer right away.
"Elric—gods—you're hurt—"
He caught her wrist gently.
"I'm fine," he muttered through clenched teeth, though the grimace on his face said otherwise.
"No, you're not! You're bleeding. And that—that thing—it wanted me and then just... left? Why? It makes no sense!" Her eyes filled with tears. "This is my fault. I shouldn't be here. I brought this on your people… on you."
He slowly looked up at her, his silver eyes flickering under the dimming light.
"Stop blaming yourself," he whispered. "You didn't bring this. The world brought you into something far older than either of us."
"But why?" she asked again, voice rising. "Why did it leave? Why am I tied to it? Why does a cursed dragon want me?!"
There was a pause.
Then, through gritted teeth, Elric said:
"The only person who might have those answers is… my mother."
Elira's head snapped up. "Your mother? You mean the Queen?"
"Elira," he said, voice serious now, "Queen Lysandra isn't just the ruler of this kingdom."
He shifted, eyes distant. "She's the one who sealed the mirror. The one who bound the curse to our bloodline. And the only one left alive who knows how it all began."