**The Wastes**
They landed in a graveyard of stone.
Alyssandra coughed sand from her lungs, her dragon scales receding as the vortex spat them into a jagged valley. The air reeked of ozone and old blood. Kaelen rolled off her, cursing, his dagger still clutched in his fist.
"Where are we?" she rasped, pushing herself up.
Kaelen scanned the horizon, his jaw tightening. "The Obsidian Wastes. Seraphine's maps called this place cursed."
Ruins loomed around them—crumbling pillars carved with weeping faces, their eyes worn smooth by time. Alyssandra's mark throbbed. She pressed a hand to her chest, nausea rising. *This place… it's wrong.*
A low growl echoed.
Kaelen grabbed her wrist. "Stay behind me."
---
**The Whispering Stones**
The ground shifted.
Alyssandra stumbled as the ruins *moved*. Pillars twisted into humanoid shapes, their stone limbs creaking. Faces formed in the rock—screaming, pleading, laughing—all whispering in unison:
*"The Crown's heir. The Crown's heir. The Crown's heir."*
Kaelen slashed at a stone hand reaching for Alyssandra. Chips of obsidian rained down, but the statues kept coming. "They're *alive*," he gritted. "And they want you."
Alyssandra's magic surged. Fire erupted from her palms, incinerating a statue. But for every one she destroyed, two more rose. "Kaelen—"
"**Run**."
---
**The Lair**
They fled into a cavern, its walls glittering with embedded hourglasses.
Alyssandra collapsed against a pillar, her breath ragged. Kaelen dropped beside her, his tunic torn. "You're bleeding," she said, nodding at his side.
"Scratch. You?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on the cavern's center—a massive obsidian altar, its surface etched with the Chronos Crown's symbol. Chains of light bound it, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"This is a *trap*," Kaelen said, but Alyssandra was already moving toward it.
The whispers returned, louder now. *"Claim it. Claim us."*
---
**The Bond**
Kaelen grabbed her wrist. "Don't touch it."
Alyssandra wrenched free. "I need answers!"
Her palm slammed onto the altar. Light exploded. Visions assaulted her: a battlefield choked with Sandreavers, a throne room crumbling to dust, Kaelen's lifeless body at her feet. She gasped, recoiling.
Kaelen caught her. "What did you see?"
"Your death," she whispered. "Again."
The altar's chains snapped. A roar shook the cavern—a **Nexus Golem**, its molten veins glowing, burst through the wall. Kaelen shoved Alyssandra behind him, summoning a **Void Wolf**.
"Time to earn that 'Beast Tamer' title," she muttered.
---
**The Golem's Heart**
The Golem swung a fist, shattering pillars. Kaelen's Void Wolf lunged, teeth sinking into its arm. The creature howled, its body dissolving into sand.
"Again," Alyssandra ordered. "Summon more."
Kaelen's voice was strained. "I'll pass out if I—"
"**Do it**."
Three wolves erupted from his shadow. The Golem faltered, its molten blood pooling. Alyssandra plunged her hand into its chest, gripping a glowing core.
*"What are you—"* Kaelen started.
The core shattered. The Golem collapsed, and Alyssandra's mark flared. She crumpled, clutching her head.
"Alyssandra!" Kaelen knelt, brushing hair from her face.
Her eyes opened—glowing blue. "I saw… the Crown's true form. It's *alive*."
---
**The Price**
Kaelen's hands shook. "What does that mean?"
Alyssandra's voice was hollow. "It feeds on souls. On *time*. My father… he didn't wield the Crown. It consumed him."
The cavern rumbled. Hourglasses on the walls cracked, releasing swirling sand. Kaelen yanked Alyssandra up. "We need to move. Now."
They sprinted into a tunnel, the sand chasing them like a living tide. Alyssandra's legs gave out. Kaelen scooped her into his arms, ignoring her protests.
"I can walk!"
"You're about to collapse." His tone softened. "And I'm not losing you to a *hallucination*."
---
**The Oasis**
Dawn found them at a hidden spring, its waters shimmering silver.
Alyssandra drank greedily, her reflection rippling. Kaelen's eyes lingered on her—older now, her face sharper, her violet eyes deeper.
"You've aged again," he said quietly.
She flinched. "Thanks to you."
"Me?"
"You forced me to touch the altar."
Kaelen's laugh was bitter. "I just saved you from a Golem. You're welcome."
Alyssandra's glare faded. She studied his scarred hands. "Why do you summon beasts? Why not just… fight?"
He stiffened. "Not all of us get dragon blood."
The unspoken *"Or a destiny"* hung between them.
---
**The Vision**
That night, Alyssandra's dreams fractured.
She stood in a desert, Kaelen's corpse at her feet. A figure approached—herself, but older, crowned in starlight. *"You'll betray him,"* Future Alyssandra said. *"Just like the rest."*
She woke screaming. Kaelen's arms were around her instantly.
"Another vision?"
She clung to him, trembling. "I keep seeing you… dead. Because of me."
His grip tightened. "Then we'll change it."
---
**The Hunt**
Malric's voice echoed through the oasis.
*"Find the heir. Burn the Tamer."*
Alyssandra and Kaelen froze. A dozen **Soulforged Knights** surrounded them, their armor fused with black smoke. Kaelen summoned a **Sky Basilisk**, its serpentine body coiling protectively.
"Can you shift?" he asked.
Alyssandra's mark burned. "Not yet."
"Then follow my lead."
The Basilisk lunged. Knights scattered. Alyssandra's magic surged, aging her **1 year** (now 14) as she hurled fireballs.
---
**The Escape**
They fled into the dunes, Knights closing in.
Kaelen's Basilisk died shielding them, its scales crumbling. Alyssandra's hands glowed blue. "I can't—"
"**Yes, you can**." Kaelen's bloodied fingers pressed to her mark. "Use my magic. Use *me*."
Power exploded. Alyssandra's dragon form erupted, wings blotting out the sun. She scorched the Knights, but her scales cracked mid-flight.
Kaelen caught her as she fell. "Rest," he whispered. "I'll keep watch."
Alyssandra's eyes fluttered shut. *He tastes like smoke and survival.*
---
**The Revelation**
Hours later, Kaelen traced the hourglass on her wrist.
"You're not just a princess," he said. "You're the Crown's *key*. And I…"
Alyssandra tensed. "You what?"
His voice broke. "I'm the only one who can stop you… if you become the monster they fear."
Before she could reply, a Sandreaver's roar split the sky.