P
—Bun's POV—
I knew it from the start.
She was mine.
From the day she picked up that leaf. From the way she rolled her eyes and still let me sit beside her. From the silence between us that felt like home.
But he—
That black-scaled runt beside me—thought otherwise.
Even now, his scent—his pheromones—wrapped around her like smoke. A silent claim. One she couldn't even smell until she transformed. And I couldn't tell her. Not yet.
Stupid.
Selfish.
Short.
If dragons could roll their eyes, I would've done it a thousand times.
---
The drums echoed across the sacred cliffs.
The Ritual of Kaelith began.
Girls, robed in silver, stepped forward one by one. White sand beneath their bare feet. Moonlight crowning their heads.
First in line was her.
Nain.
---
—Nain's POV—
I inhaled.
Walked.
The firelight painted everything gold and blue and red.
I stepped in front of Bun. His red eyes glowed faintly. He looked smug.
I touched his forehead.
> Nothing.
I blinked. A pause.
Then I giggled—quietly, hiding it behind my hand.
"Thank the gods," I muttered. "I was so sure this stupid idiot—"
CLAP.
CHEERS.
A thread of light burst behind me.
I turned around. Reva was glowing.
Reva. And Bun.
A match.
She turned around, beaming. Bun didn't even react. His expression was stone. His eyes flicked once to me—no emotion.
I felt… something.
But I didn't stop walking.
---
I stepped forward. Still a few dragons left.
My hand lifted almost automatically.
A faint hum.
A light.
A thread.
---
Wait.
I blinked. My breath caught in my throat.
No one else was clapping.
I looked down. My chest glowed. The Thread of Aeons was stretching out from me like a silver comet.
But...
All the girls were staring at me.
Every dragon was still.
I turned my head slowly.
There.
At the end of the line.
Smallest of them all.
Scales like moonlit obsidian.
Eyes glowing, not red, not blue—
Gold.
A black dragon.
Taehyung.
---
And suddenly, the world went silent.