Kael POV
Pain hits me without warning.
One moment I am standing in the academy hall, listening to an instructor speak about ward theory. The next moment my chest tightens like a fist has closed around my heart. I gasp and stagger back, knocking into a stone pillar.
The room spins.
I clutch my chest and drop to one knee. My breath comes out sharp and broken. Heat burns through my ribs, deep and fierce, like fire poured into my veins.
Something is wrong.
Very wrong.
Students shout. Someone reaches for me. I shove them away and focus inward, searching my core the way I was trained.
Magic answers.
Not mine.
A чужд power crashes into me, wild and ancient. It feels huge, heavy, and furious. It does not belong in a human body.
I grit my teeth and fight to stay conscious.
Then I feel her.
A girl.
Fear. Fire. Rage. Hope.
All at once.
I choke on a breath as images slam into my mind. A dark temple. A black altar. Golden flames tearing through flesh. Wings of fire bursting free.
Dragon magic.
My stomach twists.
"No," I whisper.
The bond tightens.
It feels like a chain snapping into place around my soul. Ancient runes flare inside my chest, burning symbols I learned as a child. Symbols I prayed never to feel.
Contract.
Dragon contract.
I squeeze my eyes shut and groan. Memories that are not mine bleed into my thoughts. I see a girl on her knees, screaming as fire claims her body. I feel her terror like it is my own. I feel her pain. Her strength. Her refusal to break.
She fights it.
That scares me more than the fire.
I push myself up, shaking. The hall is silent now. Students back away, faces pale. Instructors reach for their staffs, unsure if I am about to explode.
I do not look at them.
I look inward.
The bond hums.
It connects me to her, stretching across distance and stone like it means nothing. I can feel her heart racing. I can feel her breathing hard. I can feel the dragon watching through her eyes.
Ignaroth.
The name forms in my mind without being taught.
My hands tremble.
This is impossible. Dragon contractors are dead. Hunted. Erased. The Empire wiped them out centuries ago.
So why does my soul recognize this bond?
I stumble out of the hall before anyone can stop me. Boots slap against stone as I rush into a quiet corridor. The academy wards buzz overhead, reacting to the chaos rolling through the city.
Alarms scream faintly in the distance.
She caused that.
I press my back to the wall and slide down until I am sitting on the floor. Sweat pours down my face. My heart pounds like it wants out of my chest.
Focus.
I breathe slow, the way my master taught me. In. Out. Control the pulse. Control the fear.
The bond does not loosen.
Instead, it opens wider.
I see her again.
She stands at the edge of darkness, wings of fire folded tight, eyes glowing gold. She looks young. Too young. Her fear is sharp, but her will is sharper.
She does not look like a monster.
That makes it worse.
I feel something pull at my chest, like the bond wants me to step closer. Like it wants me to follow her. Protect her.
I snarl and shove the feeling away.
No.
I know what this means.
I was not brought to the academy for nothing. I was chosen. Trained. Shaped for one purpose only.
Dragon hunters.
Kill the contractors. Sever the bonds. End the threat before it rises again.
My teachers never used kind words. They showed us bones. Ash. Cities burned in dragon fire long ago. They showed us why mercy is a lie.
I press my palm over my chest and feel the heat there, steady and alive.
This bond should not exist.
Yet it does.
My jaw tightens.
I remember the oath I took at sixteen, blood on my hands and truth in my heart. I remember the weight of the blade they gave me. I remember the promise I made to the Empire.
If a dragon ever returns, you will end it.
Even if it wears a human face.
The bond pulses, almost like it heard me.
Pain spikes again and I cry out, doubling over. The bond responds to my conflict, tightening like a noose.
I see her fall. I feel her panic. I feel guards closing in. I feel the dragon's fury rise, eager to burn the world.
My breath shakes.
She is going to get herself killed.
Or worse.
I slam my fist into the stone floor and crack it. Magic flares around my hand before I can stop it. Blue light snaps and fades.
I stare at my fingers in shock.
The bond is already changing me.
That should not be possible. Contractors gain power from dragons. Hunters do not.
Unless.
Unless the soul bond snapped both ways.
A chill crawls up my spine.
I stand slowly, forcing my legs to obey. My thoughts race as pieces click together.
A living dragon. A new contractor. A bond strong enough to wake the Emperor himself.
The city alarms scream louder.
I know what will happen next.
Hunters will be sent. Mages will surround the Forbidden Zone. Chains will rise. She will be captured or killed.
I should be relieved.
I am not.
I feel her fear again, sharp and raw. She does not understand the world she just stepped into. She only wanted to save someone she loves.
That thought hits me harder than any spell.
I grind my teeth.
This changes nothing.
I am what I was made to be.
I straighten my back and push the bond down, locking it behind mental walls. It resists, but it holds for now.
I head toward the armory without looking back.
Each step feels heavier.
Each step feels like a lie.
As I reach for the door, the bond flares one last time, hot and desperate. Her voice brushes my thoughts, not words, just a feeling.
Help.
My hand freezes.
I close my eyes and speak the truth I have been trained to accept since childhood.
"No," I whisper. "Not a dragon contractor. I'm supposed to kill them."