Elara's POV
"How long do we have?" I shouted over the rumbling.
Drakarion's eyes went distant, calculating. "Minutes. Maybe less. The Collapse Seal destabilizes the volcanic core beneath us. When it reaches critical mass—"
The ground lurched sideways. I fell hard, scraping my palms on stone.
"When it reaches critical mass, this entire mountain becomes a tomb," Drakarion finished grimly.
I scrambled to my feet and ran to the fifth chain. My hands were already glowing, but when I pressed them against the iron, nothing happened.
"Why isn't it working?" Panic clawed at my throat.
"You're exhausted. You've broken four chains, fought off an army, and used magic you barely understand." Drakarion tried to move closer, but the remaining chains held him in place. "Your power needs time to recover."
"We don't HAVE time!" Another massive tremor. A section of ceiling collapsed twenty feet away, sending up clouds of choking dust. "There has to be another way!"
Through our bond, I felt Drakarion's conflict—he wanted to help but was helpless. Then I felt something else: resignation.
"There is one way," he said quietly. "But you won't like it."
"Tell me!"
"If you channel my power directly through the bond instead of using your own magic, you could break the chains faster." His golden eyes met mine. "But it will hurt you. Badly. Dragon power isn't meant for human bodies. It could burn you from the inside out."
The mountain shook so violently I had to grab his leg to stay upright. More ceiling chunks rained down.
"I don't care about the pain," I said. "How do I do it?"
"Elara—"
"HOW?"
He stared at me for a long moment. Then: "Place both hands over my heart. Where the bond mark is. Open yourself completely to our connection. Don't fight the power when it comes—let it flow through you like a river."
I moved to his chest, where his scales were scarred from centuries of harvesting. The bond mark glowed silver beneath my palms.
"This is insane," Drakarion muttered. "I should stop you. I should—"
"You should trust me," I interrupted. "Like I've been trusting you."
His expression softened. "You're either the bravest person I've ever met or the most foolish."
"Can't I be both?" I smiled despite my terror. "Now shut up and give me your power. We're about to bring down a mountain."
I closed my eyes and opened myself to the bond.
Drakarion's power hit me like a hurricane.
It was nothing like the gentle trickle I'd felt before. This was raw, ancient, overwhelming force that made my previous dragon fire feel like a candle next to the sun. It poured into me—too much, too fast, too HOT.
I screamed. My body convulsed. Every nerve felt like it was being set on fire.
"STOP!" Drakarion roared. "You're going to kill yourself!"
But I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Because through the agony, I felt something else: the chains weakening. Not just the ones binding Drakarion, but something deeper. Some fundamental seal on both of us was starting to crack.
Just a little more, I thought desperately. Just hold on a little longer.
My skin began to glow—not silver, but gold like Drakarion's fire. The bond mark on my chest expanded, spreading across my entire body in intricate patterns that looked like dragon scales made of light.
"Elara, your eyes!" Drakarion sounded awed and terrified. "Your eyes are turning gold!"
I couldn't answer. Could barely think. There was only power and pain and the desperate need to break these chains before we both died.
I pulled everything I could from Drakarion and channeled it into the fifth chain.
The iron exploded.
The backlash threw me backward. I hit the wall hard enough to crack ribs, tasted blood, and collapsed in a heap.
Through blurry vision, I saw Drakarion move—truly move for the first time. With only one chain left, he had almost full mobility. He swept his wing over me protectively as more ceiling chunks crashed down.
"One more," I gasped, trying to stand. My legs wouldn't support me. "Just one more chain—"
"No." Drakarion's voice was firm. "You're done. You've done enough."
"But—"
"I can break the last chain myself now that I have this much mobility." He looked at me with something fierce in his golden eyes. "Your job is to survive. Understand?"
The mountain groaned like a dying beast. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls.
"How?" I demanded. "How will you break it?"
Drakarion smiled—sharp and wild. "The old-fashioned way."
He reared back and pulled against the final chain with all his considerable strength. The iron groaned. Held. His muscles strained, scales grinding against metal.
"Come on," he snarled through gritted teeth. "THREE HUNDRED YEARS YOU'VE HELD ME! NOT ONE MORE SECOND!"
The chain began to glow red from the friction. Then white-hot.
Then it snapped.
The recoil sent Drakarion staggering, but he caught himself. Stood tall. Spread his wings to their full, magnificent span.
For the first time in three centuries, the Last Flame was free.
Power exploded from him in a visible wave—golden light that swept through the cavern and made my remaining strength feel like nothing. This was true dragon might. This was what the empire had been stealing and hoarding.
This was what they'd been so afraid of.
"We need to leave," Drakarion said, his voice deeper and more commanding now. "The collapse is accelerating. Can you walk?"
"Barely." I tried to stand again. Failed again. "My legs aren't working right."
Without hesitation, Drakarion shifted to his human form—but different than before. Now he looked like he had centuries ago, before the torture and starvation. Powerful. Healthy. Devastatingly beautiful.
He scooped me up in his arms like I weighed nothing.
"Hold on," he commanded.
Then he shifted back to dragon form while still holding me, tucking me securely against his chest between his forelegs. His scales were warm and smooth, and through our bond, I felt his determination: I will not let you die. Not after everything.
He launched himself toward the cavern ceiling just as the floor beneath us gave way.
We flew through crumbling corridors, dodging falling rocks and gouts of volcanic fire that erupted from new cracks. Drakarion's wings beat with power I'd never felt from him before—each stroke carrying us higher, faster, toward freedom.
Behind us, the mountain was eating itself. Collapsing inward in a controlled demolition designed to bury us forever.
"The exit!" I pointed at a shaft of daylight ahead.
Drakarion poured on speed. The tunnel was collapsing behind us, closing like a mouth trying to swallow us whole. Rocks pelted his wings and back, but he didn't slow down.
We burst through the exit just as the entire mountain imploded behind us.
The shockwave hit us like a physical blow, sending us tumbling through the air. Drakarion wrapped himself around me, taking the impact on his own body as we crashed into the ground and rolled.
When we finally stopped, I was lying on actual grass for the first time in days. Breathing actual fresh air. Feeling actual sunlight on my face.
We'd made it. We were alive.
Drakarion shifted back to human form, still cradling me protectively. His golden eyes searched my face frantically.
"Are you hurt? Broken bones? Internal bleeding?"
"I'm fine," I managed to say, though everything hurt. "We did it. You're free."
Something profound passed over his expression. Joy. Disbelief. Wonder.
"I'm free," he repeated, like testing the words. "After three hundred years, I'm actually—"
An arrow pierced his shoulder.
Drakarion roared in pain and rage. I felt it through our bond—the agony and the fury.
We both looked toward the tree line.
My blood turned to ice.
Hundreds of Dragon Corps soldiers surrounded us in a massive circle. And leading them, his face healed from burns but his eyes still bandaged, was Theron.
"Did you really think we'd let you escape?" he called out. "The Collapse Seal was never meant to kill you, dragon. It was meant to drive you into the open. Into our trap."
Behind the soldiers, I saw them—massive metal cages on wheels. Dragon-hunting equipment. And standing beside the cages, smiling with cruel satisfaction, was the head magistrate.
"Welcome to your new prison, Last Flame," he said. "We've learned from our mistakes. These chains can't be broken. These cages can't be escaped. And this time—" His smile widened. "—we'll make sure your little Lifeweaver can't help you."
He raised his hand, and twenty mages stepped forward, all channeling the same spell.
Paralyzing magic hit me from every direction. My body locked up completely. I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Could barely breathe.
Through our bond, I felt Drakarion's panic. No. NO. Not her. Take me, but leave her alone!
"Separate them," the magistrate commanded. "The dragon goes in the adamantine cage. The girl goes to the research facility."
"Research facility?" Drakarion snarled, trying to shield my frozen body with his own. "What are you planning?"
The magistrate's smile was horrifying. "She's the first Lifeweaver we've captured alive in three centuries. We're going to study her. Dissect her magic. Learn how to suppress it permanently." He gestured to his mages. "And you're going to watch every moment of her torture, knowing you're helpless to stop it."
Guards moved in with nets and chains designed specifically for dragon-catching. Others grabbed me, my paralyzed body completely helpless.
"ELARA!" Drakarion thrashed against the soldiers holding him, but there were too many. Dozens of chains wrapped around him, pulling him toward the cage.
Through the bond, I felt his anguish. His rage. His desperation.
And underneath it all, something I'd never felt from him before: love.
I'm sorry, his voice whispered in my mind as they dragged us apart. I should have protected you better. I should have—
It's not your fault, I sent back, even though I couldn't speak aloud. We'll find a way out of this. Together.
How? They're going to torture you. Break you. I'll be locked in a cage, forced to watch you suffer.
Then we'll break out. Again. I poured every ounce of conviction I had through the bond. We freed you once. We'll do it again. No matter what it takes.
The last thing I saw before they threw a black hood over my head was Drakarion being forced into the adamantine cage, his golden eyes locked on me with desperate promise.
Then darkness swallowed everything.