The silence of space shattered.
The Starling jolted as warning sirens wailed—three Imperial frigates dropping from hyperspace, their hulls bristling with cannons. Between them, a swarm of fighter drones spread like a black cloud, their formation cutting across the void with predatory precision.
Tessa's hands slammed the controls. "Three frigates? They're hunting us like we're a damn fleet."
Kaelen's pulse thundered. He could feel the dragon stirring, awake, hungry. The fire inside him flared so bright it made his veins ache.
They fear you, the voice whispered. Good. Let them fear.
Kaelen gritted his teeth. "Not now. I can't—"
You can. Fly.
The words weren't just a command—they were a surge of force. Kaelen's vision doubled, shadows spilling across the cockpit until he wasn't just seeing through the viewport anymore. He was seeing everything—the cold hum of the frigates, the swarm's mechanical thoughts, the fire hidden in every star.
The dragon roared inside him, and for the first time, he roared back.
---
The swarm closed in.
Tessa's fingers flew across the board, dodging bolts of plasma fire. "Kael, any bright ideas that don't end with us atomized?"
His voice came low, steady, unnatural. "We don't run."
Her head snapped toward him. "Excuse me?"
He stood, hands pressed to the console, black fire flickering along his skin. His eyes burned with shadows. "We fight."
Before she could argue, the Starling shuddered—and then changed.
The dragon's fire poured through the ship's systems, bending steel to its will. Panels glowed with black light, engines screamed as though alive. The ship's silhouette warped, stretching, reshaping until the Starling looked less like a craft and more like a creature—wings of shadow unfurled across the void, talons of flame forming at its prow.
Tessa's jaw dropped. "What the hell—Kael, what did you—"
His voice wasn't just his anymore. It was layered, deeper, like thunder. "Not me. Us."
The swarm struck.
But the Starling moved like no machine had the right to. It didn't dodge—it danced, weaving through fire, claws of black flame slashing through drones like paper. Plasma bolts dissolved against wings of shadow. The frigates opened fire with everything they had, but the dragon only laughed through Kaelen's veins.
Yes, it howled. Wings unbound. Flame reborn.
Kaelen felt every kill as if it were his own body tearing through metal. Every motion was instinct, every strike inevitable. For the first time, he wasn't just flying a ship—he was flying.
And gods, it felt like freedom.
---
But freedom had a cost.
Kaelen's vision blurred, blood running from his nose. His chest burned, every heartbeat a hammer against his ribs. He could feel himself fading, the dragon pressing harder, filling the cracks.
"Kael!" Tessa's voice broke through the storm. She was at his side now, grabbing his arm. "You're bleeding. You have to stop!"
He shook his head, gasping. "If I stop—we die."
Her hand gripped tighter. "Then don't stop alone. Let me in."
The dragon stirred at her words, curious.
Kaelen stared at her, shadows flickering across his eyes. "Tess… if it touches you—"
"I don't care," she snapped. "We survive together, or not at all."
Her hand slid down his arm until their fingers locked. And in that instant, the fire surged outward—not just into him, but into her.
---
The dragon roared, and Tessa's eyes went wide. She saw it too now—the endless wings, the burning void, the storm of shadow and flame. For a heartbeat she gasped, overwhelmed. But then her jaw set, and she didn't pull away.
Instead, she gripped Kaelen's hand tighter.
Two flames, the dragon rumbled, pleased. One shadow. Stronger together.
Power rippled through them both. The Starling screamed with life, wings expanding into a storm of fire and smoke. The frigates opened fire in unison, but the blasts never reached—shadow-fire swallowed them whole.
Kaelen and Tessa moved as one, guiding the dragon's fury. The ship spun into a corkscrew, slicing through the swarm. Talons of flame ripped a frigate's engines apart, sending it spiraling into oblivion.
Tessa shouted over the chaos, her voice fierce. "Don't you dare burn out on me now, Kael!"
He met her gaze, shadows crackling around them. For once, he didn't feel like he was drowning in fire. For once, he felt balanced.
Together, they turned the dragon loose.
---
The final frigate reeled back, shields failing. Kaelen and Tessa drove the Starling forward, wings unfurling into a vast storm of shadow. With a roar that shook the stars, they plunged through the frigate's hull, splitting it apart in a blaze of black fire.
Silence followed. The swarm was gone. The frigates reduced to drifting wreckage.
The Starling floated among the debris, its form slowly folding back into steel and shadow. Kaelen collapsed into his seat, trembling, his chest still burning. Tessa sank beside him, her hand never letting go of his.
The dragon purred low in their bones. Yes. This is flight. This is flame. This is bond.
Tessa leaned her forehead against his, both of them shaking. "Kael… what are we becoming?"
He closed his eyes, too exhausted to answer. But deep inside, the dragon whispered the truth neither of them could deny:
Something the Empire cannot kill.
---
Far across the void, in the command chamber of the Imperial flagship, Commander Deyne watched the destruction replay across holograms. Three frigates reduced to nothing. An entire swarm gone.
And yet, he did not rage. He smiled.
"The host has taken wing," he said softly. "Good. Let him taste freedom."
His eyes narrowed, glinting like cold steel.
"Because when I break him, the galaxy will see the Shadow Dragon bow."