The moment the arrow struck her—
the world stopped making sense.
One second Lyra was in the sky, wings spread wide above the battlefield, her voice carrying across soldiers and refugees alike as the entire kingdom hung on her words.
The next—
blood bloomed across her chest.
Bright.
Violent.
Wrong.
My body moved before thought did.
Shadows exploded beneath me as I caught her before she hit the ground, the force of her fall slamming into my arms hard enough to crack the frozen earth beneath my boots.
"LYRA!"
The scream ripped out of me before I could stop it.
The battlefield erupted instantly.
Not because of the arrow.
Because of me.
The shadows reacted first.
Wild.
Uncontrolled.
They surged outward from my body in a violent wave, impaling the nearest soldiers before they could even process what had happened. Lightning cracked across the snow-covered ground, blinding white against storm-dark skies as men screamed and fell.
Around us, chaos exploded all over again.
"THE PRIMAL DRAGON'S DOWN!"
"Protect the healers!"
"MOVE THE CHILDREN!"
"FALL BACK!"
Everything blurred into noise.
Into blood.
Into panic.
But I barely heard any of it.
Because she was bleeding in my arms.
Too much.
Far too much.
Her breath hitched weakly as I dropped to one knee, pressing one hand hard over the arrow wound.
Warm blood spilled between my fingers instantly.
My chest tightened violently.
No.
No.
No.
"Stay awake," I snapped, my voice harsher than intended.
Her eyes fluttered weakly toward me.
Still conscious.
Barely.
Good.
"You don't get to die after causing all this trouble," I said.
The words came out rough.
Broken at the edges.
And gods—
my hands were shaking.
I hadn't noticed until then.
Lyra looked at me like she noticed anyway.
Even now.
Even like this.
Her lips parted slightly, but before she could speak another explosion rocked the battlefield.
Muir landed beside us in a spray of ice and snow.
His face drained instantly when he saw the blood.
"No no no—"
He dropped hard beside her. "Move your hand."
"I'm stopping the bleeding."
"You're making it worse."
I almost killed him for saying it.
The impulse hit so fast it startled even me.
The shadows around my feet darkened instantly.
Muir froze.
Not afraid.
Aware.
Dangerously aware.
Then Lyra's fingers weakly curled against my wrist.
Tiny pressure.
Barely there.
But enough.
I forced myself back.
Forced the shadows down.
Muir snapped the shaft carefully and inspected the wound, his expression darkening immediately.
"It's deep."
"No shit," Revik barked as he appeared beside us, blood streaked across his face and sword still dripping red.
Another boulder crashed through the outer camp behind him.
Screams followed.
Willow roared somewhere in the distance as earth walls erupted upward again.
The battle wasn't stopping.
Not yet.
Tadewi landed beside us in a rush of wind, silver-black hair whipping violently around her face.
Her eyes went immediately to Lyra.
Then to me.
Then to the shadows still writhing violently behind my back.
"Control yourself, prince," she said sharply.
I looked at her.
And something in my expression must have warned her.
Because for the first time since I'd met the Air leader—
she hesitated.
Just slightly.
The shadows shifted again.
Hungry.
Violent.
Mortimer stirred eagerly at the back of my mind.
Kill them.
Burn this kingdom down.
They hurt what is yours.
Mine.
The word hit something ugly inside my chest.
Lightning cracked violently overhead.
Several soldiers screamed as shadows ripped through them farther down the battlefield without me even consciously directing them.
I barely noticed.
My focus stayed locked on Lyra.
Blood still spread across her chest.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
"She's losing too much blood," Muir muttered.
A strange power flickered weakly beneath Lyra's skin, blue light pulsing faintly around the wound.
Trying.
Failing.
The arrowhead was black.
Poisoned.
My gaze sharpened instantly.
That wasn't standard military issue.
That was dragonbane.
My stomach dropped cold.
Panic setting in.
"Raiden."
Lyra's voice was weak.
Barely audible.
I leaned closer immediately.
Her eyes met mine.
Still burning violet beneath the pain.
"Stop…" she whispered.
Another scream echoed across the battlefield.
More fighting.
More death.
I realized suddenly—
the soldiers were looking at us now.
Not attacking.
Watching.
Watching the prince of the Fire Nation kneeling in the snow holding the Primal Dragon like the world would end if he let go.
Lyra coughed weakly, blood touching the corner of her mouth.
Something inside me nearly shattered.
"Save your strength," I said immediately.
Her fingers tightened weakly against my wrist again.
"Listen…"
I did.
Of course I did.
Because apparently I would destroy kingdoms for this woman now.
Annoying.
Her breathing hitched painfully before she forced the words out.
"The ledger…"
Revik blinked. "Now?"
"Yes now," she rasped.
Even dying—
still stubborn.
Tadewi crouched beside her immediately.
"We have it."
"Read it."
Muir looked horrified. "Lyra—"
"READ IT."
The command cracked across the battlefield hard enough that nearby soldiers visibly startled.
Even injured.
Even bleeding out.
She still sounded like something people obeyed.
Revik moved first.
He ripped the bound ledger from his side satchel and climbed atop a broken supply cart, blood-covered and furious as the battle raged around him.
"LISTEN UP!" he roared.
His voice carried surprisingly well.
Enough that hesitation spread through the battlefield.
Enough that soldiers paused.
Enough that people listened.
"This ledger was recovered from the Water Kingdom docks!"
He opened it sharply.
"Shipments authorized directly under royal seal!"
The harbor minister—still standing among the king's forces farther back—went white.
Revik started reading names.
Routes.
Numbers.
Missing persons.
Children.
The battlefield slowly changed.
I felt it happen.
Confusion first.
Then disbelief.
Then horror.
Water Kingdom soldiers began looking at one another uncertainly.
Weapons lowered slightly.
"What is he talking about?"
"That can't be real—"
"The royal seal…"
"The children…"
The harbor minister broke first.
Like the rat he is.
The man stumbled forward through the snow looking half-mad.
"I didn't have a choice!" he shouted suddenly.
Silence spread outward instantly.
Every eye turned toward him.
"The king ordered it!" he screamed.
There it was.
The moment everything shifted.
"He said the nation's would never notice missing children from the slums! He said no one would care!"
Shock rippled visibly through the soldiers.
Some stepped backward immediately.
Others lowered weapons entirely.
"He threatened my family!" the minister shouted desperately. "He said if I spoke—"
A crossbow bolt pierced his throat mid-sentence.
The battlefield froze.
The minister collapsed into the snow choking on blood.
My gaze snapped upward instantly.
Palace soldiers.
Archers.
Cleaning loose ends.
Cowards.
But it was too late.
The damage was done.
The truth was out.
And the Water Kingdom army knew it.
A soldier near the front slowly lowered his sword.
Then another.
Then another.
The shift spread outward like cracking ice.
"The king lied to us…"
"They were trafficking children…"
"We attacked refugees…"
The battle was dying.
Not because either side won.
Because neither side knew how to keep fighting anymore.
Good.
Lyra sagged weakly against me.
Exhaustion finally overtaking adrenaline.
"You stopped it," I muttered quietly.
Her eyes fluttered.
Not fully focused anymore.
"No…" she whispered weakly.
A tiny smile touched bloodstained lips.
"We all did."
The thread pulsed painfully tight.
Something twisted hard in my chest.
Dangerously hard.
Mortimer hissed with irritation somewhere deep inside my mind.
Weakness.
I ignored him.
For once—
completely.
Tadewi rose slowly, wind gathering sharply around her.
"The battle is over!" she declared across the battlefield.
No one challenged her.
No one moved.
Snow drifted softly between soldiers standing frozen among bodies and blood and ruined tents.
And in the center of all of it—
I held the girl who had just exposed a king.
Her breathing weakened again suddenly.
Muir swore violently.
"We need healers NOW."
I lifted her immediately.
Careful.
Too careful.
Like she was something fragile.
Which she wasn't.
She was the strongest thing I had ever met.
And somehow—
that terrified me more.
As I carried her through the ruined camp, her blood soaked into my hands.
Warm.
Endless.
Wrong.
A memory flashed into my mind.
Like I had done this before.
The healers rushed toward us.
People moved aside instantly.
The shadows followed close behind me like living things.
Protective.
Murderous.
Mine.
And for the first time in years—
I prayed.
Not to fire.
Not to darkness.
Not to power.
Just—
please.
Not her.