When morning came again, it did not arrive gently.
The first sign was the tremor.
A low rumble shook the palace floors, rattling glass and sending a few ornaments crashing to the ground. Rhea jolted awake in her bed, heart already pounding. She wasn't alone—she never was anymore. One of the dragons always stayed in the room with her.
Today, it was Draeven.
He sat in the shadowed corner, unmoving, carved like a statue out of living stone. Golden eyes snapped to her the instant she gasped. "It's starting," he said. His voice vibrated through the room like an earthquake.
Before she could respond, Aelion walked in through the balcony doors, wind swirling around his boots. His expression was unreadable. "The eastern cliffs collapsed at dawn."
Rhea froze. "Collapsed?"
"An entire section of the continent," Aelion said quietly. "Gone."
Her blood ran cold.
Kaelith entered next, fire curling lazily around his shoulders as if embers worshipped him. "And the southern border is burning. Flames from the mountains—my flames." His eyes flickered, hungry and frustrated. "They shouldn't be waking yet."
Seryon appeared behind him, soft but tense. "The rivers rose overnight. Three villages were washed away."
Rhea covered her mouth in horror. "People… the people—"
"They fled," Seryon said gently, kneeling beside her bed. "Most escaped. Some haven't been found."
Her eyes stung. "This is because of me."
"Not because of you," Aelion corrected, stepping closer. "Because the world is shifting. Because prophecy is moving. Because fate is aligning."
Kaelith scoffed. "Which is just another way to say: yes, because of you."
Draeven shot him a glare, but Kaelith held his ground, arms crossed, heat simmering dangerously around him.
Rhea shoved the blanket aside and stood shakily on her feet. "I didn't ask for any of this," she whispered. "I don't want anyone to suffer because of me."
Seryon rose with her, placing a hand over his heart. "You cannot stop the awakening now."
Aelion nodded. "The elements have chosen. The world is moving toward its reckoning."
Kaelith tilted his head, eyes sharp. "And you have to make a choice. Fast."
Rhea stared at him numbly. "What choice?"
All four gods exchanged a look—silent, shared, almost… fearful.
Aelion stepped forward until he stood just inches away from her. The wind around him softened, lifting the ends of her hair.
"Rhea Ardenwel," he said quietly, "the empire will collapse entirely within days. Borders are breaking. Crops are dying. Magic is unstable. The sky will tear open again."
Her breath shook.
Draeven moved closer, his presence a quiet wall of strength. "Without you, the land will crumble. You are the Heart Core. Only you can stabilize the world's power."
Kaelith sighed, rolling his eyes upward. "We're dancing around it. Just tell her."
Seryon met Rhea's gaze, his voice almost tender. "The prophecy requires one thing above all: you must come with us."
Rhea's heart slammed hard. "W-What do you mean 'come with you'?"
Aelion held her eyes. "Leave the empire. Leave this palace. Leave the mortal realm if necessary."
Kaelith's voice dropped into a low rumble. "Become ours."
Her knees buckled. Seryon caught her gently, helping her sit on the edge of the bed again.
"You expect me to go with you?" she whispered. "To… abandon my people?"
"No," Draeven said firmly. "We expect you to save them."
"How?" Rhea asked, voice shaking.
The dragons grew quiet.
It was Kaelith who spoke first, softer than she'd ever heard him.
"By accepting what you are."
Rhea stared at him. "And that is…?"
Aelion answered. "The bride of the four dragon gods."
Seryon added, "The balance of our power."
Draeven finished, "The only anchor that can bind the world back into place."
Silence crushed the room.
Rhea shook her head, trembling. "No… no, I can't… that's impossible. I can't even control my own magic."
Kaelith leaned forward, smirking faintly. "Your magic controls you because you're resisting what's inside you."
She recoiled. "Stop saying things like that!"
Aelion lifted a calming hand. "He is right, though his tone is wrong."
Seryon knelt before her again, taking her hands gently. "Rhea, the elements are tearing the world apart trying to reach you. They cannot stabilize unless you link with us."
"Link?" she whispered, choking on the word.
Kaelith grinned slowly. "Bond. Connect. Join." His voice dipped suggestively. "In every possible way."
Rhea's cheeks flushed deep red.
Seryon flicked Kaelith's forehead, making fire spark. "Not now."
Kaelith glared. "She needs to know."
"She needs clarity, not your hormones," Aelion said dryly.
Draeven exhaled, stepping forward. The shadows tightened around him. "Rhea, listen to me. If you stay here, the empire will collapse. If you come with us, we can protect it together."
She felt her throat close. "But my father… my people…"
"Your father knew the prophecy," Aelion said gently. "He chose not to believe."
Her chest ached.
Seryon squeezed her hands. "You are not abandoning them. You are saving them."
Kaelith rested a heated palm against the wall, fire crackling. "The real question is: do you trust us to protect you?"
Rhea looked at all four of them—at their faces, their strength, their overwhelming presence, their eyes locked entirely on her.
"I don't know you," she whispered.
Kaelith smirked. "You will."
Draeven's voice softened. "We will not let anything harm you."
Seryon murmured, "Not even ourselves."
Aelion bowed his head slightly. "Choose us, Rhea. Choose the world."
Her breath trembled.
Her heart raced.
Her mark burned beneath her skin.
Outside the window, another tremor rolled through the earth. Screams echoed from the courtyard. Wind howled. Flames flared. Water surged.
The world was falling apart, screaming for her decision.
Rhea closed her eyes.
"I… I need time," she whispered.
Aelion's expression softened. "Then take it."
Kaelith growled in frustration.
Draeven's jaw tightened.
Seryon nodded patiently.
But they all stepped back.
Every muscle in their divine bodies strained.
Every instinct inside them wanted to pull her close.
But they waited.
For her.
For her choice.
For her courage.
The empire's fate hung in her trembling hands.
And Rhea, with tears gathering in her lashes, whispered the only truth she had left:
"I don't know how to be what you need."
Aelion reached out—slowly, softly—and wiped a tear from her cheek with a thumb gentle as wind.
"You already are."