[Lavinia's POV—Sacred Grounds of the Dawnspire wing, Twilight Hour]
"Marshiiiii…"
His name tore from my chest like a hymn and a battle cry all at once.
Across the golden expanse of the enchanted training fields, I saw him—my beast, my boy, my terrifying, oversized, utterly divine, utterly mine tiger—charging toward me like a living mountain of striped fury and devotion. His paws pounded against the earth, each thunderous step shaking the ground, sending flocks of silver-winged birds scattering from the trees in awe.
And I—I ran too.
Like a girl who hadn't just been grounded for one agonizing week by her warlord of a father for a not-so-minor incident.
"My big—mountainous—marshmallow beast—!" I shrieked, laugh-sobbing as I sprinted, arms wide, skirts flying like battle flags around me.
