Elara's POV
"Again," Cael said, his voice patient despite the fact that I'd failed seventeen times already. "Feel the fire in your chest. Don't force it out. Invite it."
I gritted my teeth and tried again. The warmth was there, pulsing beneath my ribs like a second heartbeat. But every time I reached for it, the magic slipped away like water through my fingers.
"I can't!" I dropped my hands, frustrated tears burning my eyes. "It's not working!"
"Because you're treating it like an enemy." Cael moved behind me, his hands hovering near my shoulders without quite touching. "The magic knows when you're afraid of it."
"I'm not afraid—"
"You're terrified." His voice was gentle. "Of what you can do. Of what you might become. Of proving your father was right to fear you."
The words hit too close to home. I turned to face him. "How do you know that?"
He tapped his wrist where the bond mark glowed. "I feel what you feel, remember? Your fear tastes like ash in my mouth."
I looked away, embarrassed. "Then you know I'm not strong enough for this."
"No. I know you're strong enough to survive torture, betrayal, and almost dying in an ice cave." He caught my chin, making me meet his eyes. "But you're not strong enough to forgive yourself for being powerful. That's the real problem."
Before I could respond, Seraphine's voice cut through the chamber. "Stop coddling her, Cael. We don't have time for therapy sessions."
She strode into the training space, looking annoyed. Behind her, Kiran followed nervously.
"The hunters lit signal fires," Kiran reported. "Dawn is in four hours. If we're doing this, we need to move soon."
Four hours. Four hours to learn magic I'd barely touched. Four hours to become someone who could destroy a Dragon Cage and save three hundred lives.
"I'm trying," I said, hating how small my voice sounded.
"Try harder." Seraphine walked up to me, her opal-scaled skin shimmering in the firelight. "Or admit you're too weak and let the dragons die. Your choice."
Anger flared hot in my chest—hotter than it should have been. How dare she act like I wasn't trying? Like I wanted to fail?
"I'm not weak," I snapped.
"Prove it." Seraphine grabbed my wrist, her fingers digging in painfully. "Stop being afraid of your own blood and use it!"
The warmth in my chest exploded outward.
Silver fire erupted from my hands, engulfing both our arms. Seraphine jerked back with a curse, but she was smiling—sharp and satisfied.
"There it is," she said. "Your anger. Use it."
I stared at the flames dancing across my skin. They didn't hurt. They felt... right. Like they'd always belonged there.
"Anger isn't the answer," Cael said, frowning at Seraphine. "Teaching her to rely on rage will only—"
"Will only make her dangerous?" Seraphine interrupted. "Good. She should be dangerous. Her enemies certainly are." She looked at me. "You've spent your whole life being the good daughter. The perfect lady. Always controlled, always proper. Where did that get you?"
"Tortured and left to die," I admitted quietly.
"Exactly. So stop being that girl." Seraphine's eyes gleamed. "Be the girl who burns."
The flames on my hands grew brighter.
"Not like this," Cael protested. "Elara, don't listen to her. Dragon magic fueled by rage is unstable. You need control, discipline—"
"She needs to survive the next four hours!" Seraphine shot back. "You want to teach her meditation and breathing exercises? Fine. Do it after we save three hundred dragons from being slaughtered!"
They glared at each other, and I felt the tension crackling between them like lightning.
"Stop," I said.
They both turned to look at me.
The silver flames had spread up my arms now, wreathing me in light. I felt powerful and terrified and alive in a way I'd never experienced.
"You're both right," I said. "I need control. But I also need to be willing to fight. To stop holding back because I'm afraid of what I might do." I looked at Cael. "You saved me because you saw something worth saving. Trust that I won't lose myself just because I'm finally fighting back."
For a long moment, he just studied me. Then, slowly, he smiled.
It was the first real smile I'd seen from him—not a smirk or a grimace, but genuine warmth that transformed his entire face. He went from terrifying ancient dragon to something softer. Something beautiful.
"You're right," he said. "I do trust you." He moved beside me, his hand finding mine. "Then let's do this properly. Together."
Our bond marks touched, and power surged between us. His golden flames mixed with my silver ones, creating something new—white-hot and brilliant.
"Feel that?" His voice was low, intimate. "That's what bonded mates can do. Amplify each other's magic. Make each other stronger."
I felt it—his control blending with my raw power. His centuries of experience guiding my instincts. It was like learning to dance with someone who knew every step.
"Now," he murmured against my ear, "call the fire. Not with anger. With purpose."
I closed my eyes and reached for the warmth in my chest. But this time, I didn't think about my fear or my rage or my father's betrayal.
I thought about the three hundred dragons who would die if I failed.
About the village full of innocent people being used as hostages.
About Rhen, the young dragon who'd died protecting me.
The magic answered eagerly.
When I opened my eyes, flames danced across both my palms—controlled, beautiful, deadly. The fire shaped itself into small dragons, swirling around my fingers like living creatures.
"That's it!" Kiran breathed. "That's Starfire magic!"
Seraphine looked impressed despite herself. "Well. Maybe you're not completely hopeless."
I barely heard them. I was too focused on the magic flowing through me, responding to my thoughts. I willed the fire-dragons to fly, and they did—circling the chamber in perfect formation before dissolving into sparks.
"How do you feel?" Cael asked.
"Powerful," I admitted. "And scared. And... ready."
"Good." He squeezed my hand. "Because now comes the hard part. You need to learn to shift without losing control. If we're infiltrating that camp, you'll need to go between human and dragon forms quickly."
"And quietly," Seraphine added. "No screaming this time."
I shot her a look. "I'll try to keep my agony to a minimum."
"Appreciated."
For the next three hours, they put me through hell.
Cael taught me to shift partially—just hands to claws, or eyes to dragon sight, or growing scales for protection. Each transformation hurt, but I learned to breathe through it, to welcome the pain as proof I was changing, growing stronger.
Seraphine taught me to sense corruption in magic—the sick, twisted feeling of power being used wrong. She made Kiran create small corrupted spells so I could practice purifying them. Each purification burned like acid in my veins, but I got faster at it.
By the time false dawn started lightening the sky, I could shift my hands completely, call fire at will, and purify small corruptions without passing out.
"It'll have to be enough," Cael said, though worry darkened his eyes. "The Cage will be much worse than anything you've practiced on."
"I can do this," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
"We should go over the plan one more time," Kiran suggested. "Make sure everyone knows their role."
Seraphine nodded. "Simple extraction. Cael and I create a distraction at the north end of camp. Elara slips in from the south with Kiran as backup. She touches the Cage, purifies it, destroys it. We grab Adrian and Lord Thorne as hostages and fly out before their army can react."
"And if something goes wrong?" I asked.
"Then Cael burns everything and pulls you out," Seraphine said bluntly. "We don't get a second chance at this."
I swallowed hard. "Understood."
Cael pulled me aside while the others gathered supplies. "Elara. If you feel the corruption overwhelming you—if it's too much—you pull back immediately. Don't be a hero. Your life is worth more than any plan."
"Three hundred dragons—"
"Are not worth you dying." His hands cupped my face, his golden eyes fierce. "Do you understand me? You survive first. Everything else is secondary."
The intensity in his voice made my chest tight. "I'll be careful. I promise."
He kissed my forehead—quick and gentle. "That's all I ask."
Kiran appeared at the entrance. "Signal fires just went out. That's their warning. Thirty minutes until dawn. We need to leave now."
This was it. No more practice. No more preparation.
Time to prove I was more than just a broken girl my father threw away.
We flew through the pre-dawn darkness—Cael and Seraphine in full dragon form, me and Kiran riding on their backs. The wind whipped my hair as we descended toward the camp, staying low to avoid detection.
Below, I could see everything. Fifty tents. Armed guards patrolling. And in the center, the Dragon Cage—a massive construct of bone and metal, glowing with sickly green light.
Even from this distance, I could feel its corruption. It made my stomach turn.
"Remember," Cael's voice filled my mind through our bond. "Touch it and get out. Don't try to be heroic."
"I know."
We landed a quarter mile from camp. Kiran shifted to human form and motioned for me to follow. We'd sneak in on foot while Cael and Seraphine created chaos on the other side.
"Ready?" Kiran whispered.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
We crept through the darkness, avoiding guard patrols. My heart hammered so hard I was sure everyone could hear it. Every shadow looked like an enemy. Every sound made me flinch.
But we made it. We were fifty feet from the Cage when the screaming started.
Not human screaming.
Dragon screaming.
I looked up and my blood ran cold.
They'd caught Seraphine. She was trapped in a net made of the same corrupted magic as the Cage, thrashing and roaring as a dozen hunters hauled her down.
And standing over her, sword raised, was my father.
"No!" I started forward, but Kiran grabbed me.
"It's a trap! They were waiting—"
He didn't finish. Something hit him from behind, and he crumpled.
I spun around and found myself face to face with Prince Adrian.
He smiled. "Hello, Elara. Ready to die properly this time?"
Guards surrounded me. At least twenty, all armed.
Through the bond, I felt Cael's panic, his rage, his desperation to reach me.
But he was too far away.
And the guards were activating the Dragon Cage.
Green light exploded outward, and my dragon magic died like a snuffed candle.
I was human again. Powerless. Trapped.
Adrian grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. "Did you really think we'd just let you waltz in? Your father told us everything about Starfire blood. How to suppress it. How to kill it."
He pressed a blade against my throat.
"Say goodbye to your monster, Elara. Before we make him watch you die."