- 9 hours ago
- #asm
Don't Mess With My Dragon Mommy! - Short Drama Full HD 720p #ASM
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The day we were supposed to complete our blood bonding ceremony, my mate Rylan had the clan sentinels drag me
00:07out of the sacred hall.
00:08He walked in with his childhood sweetheart instead.
00:11Lila's baby needs a father on paper.
00:14Once we divorce, I'll marry you.
00:16Everyone thought I'd swallow my pride and wait another month.
00:19After all, I'd already waited seven years.
00:22But that night, I accepted my family's arranged alliance and left the Abyssal Reach entirely.
00:28I disappeared from Rylan's world completely.
00:31Three years later, I returned to Abyssal Reach with my mate for a clan ancestral rite.
00:36My mate had a work emergency, so he had his people to collect me.
00:40I walked out and froze.
00:42That person was Rylan, my ex.
00:49Hey, isn't that Rylan's obsessed ex?
00:53Isn't that Ivara?
00:54Told you she'd come crawling back.
00:58Ivara vanished without a trace.
01:00Now she sees Rylan is in a higher rank.
01:02She probably cries herself to sleep every night.
01:05Ivara, if you're gonna fake a random run-in, why show up like this?
01:10Couldn't you at least put on some makeup?
01:13Without Rylan, you can't even buy a nice outfit.
01:16Look pathetic.
01:17It was true.
01:18I used to make myself perfect every time I knew I'd be near Rylan.
01:23Sharpest claws, finest scales on display.
01:26Best version of me.
01:28Not anymore.
01:29No point.
01:30Because I'm carrying, and my mate refused to let me be uncomfortable.
01:34He had this soft traveling wrap, custom-tailored for me.
01:37Listening to them mock me, it suddenly clicked.
01:40They only knew my Alliance name.
01:42They had no idea the one they were here to collect was me.
01:46Ivara, hey, it's good you're back.
01:48Rylan's been asking after you for years.
01:50Yeah, our son is entering the young training cohorts.
01:52Now I'm in charge of the drama.
01:53He was still so incredibly arrogant.
01:55But I wasn't that naive girl anymore.
01:58I didn't want to waste another second on them.
02:00I was just about to tell them exactly who I was.
02:03Please don't blame Rylan.
02:05He's just trying to take care of you.
02:07You disappeared for three years.
02:08Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive.
02:11Don't worry.
02:12Caring for my son is a respectable role.
02:15No one will look down at you.
02:17Rylan caught my expression and thought I was jealous.
02:20Something flickered in his eyes.
02:22All right, Ivara, drop the attitude.
02:24You clearly can't survive out there, so stop throwing tantrums,
02:28take care of the kid, and learn your place.
02:31Damn, Ivara, look how good Rylan is to you.
02:34He's given you free room and board.
02:36Isn't babysitting better than whatever trashy life you're living now?
02:39Hurry up and say thank you.
02:41Don't worry, dear.
02:42If my son acts up, I'll handle him myself.
02:46You won't be mistreated.
02:48Why would she be mistreated?
02:50She ran away over a tiny little misunderstanding.
02:52If she hit rock bottom out in the wilds,
02:54a little humility is good for her.
02:56My heart actually skipped a beat.
02:58Three years had passed,
03:00and he still thought it was a small matter to dump me and married Lyra?
03:04The Rylan who used to love me was truly gone.
03:07He wasn't the young warrior who'd carried me,
03:09wounded, crossed three territory borders in the dead of a moonless night.
03:13But whatever.
03:14It was all in the past.
03:16None of it mattered anymore.
03:17Besides, I was about to carry my second patchling anyway.
03:21I looked at Rylan calmly and said,
03:23Aren't you here to pick me up?
03:24Let's go.
03:25Silence fell over the clearing.
03:27Then someone left.
03:29Pick you up?
03:30Please.
03:32Read it carefully.
03:34We are here for Hela.
03:36Do you even know who that is?
03:38Hela is the mate-bonded consort of the Frostridge line.
03:41She is blood-bonded to Lord Kale.
03:44Kale is a living legend.
03:46Coldest dragon alive in the field,
03:49but completely devoted to his wife.
03:51Rumor has it he refused all alliances for years.
03:55Just waiting for Hela.
03:57Everyone knows the rule.
03:58If you want Kale's favor, go through Hela.
04:01She is his entire world.
04:03Listening to them gossip about my marriage,
04:06I couldn't help it.
04:07A genuine happy smile spread across my face.
04:11We had been married for three years.
04:13Kale's reputation as a fiercely devoted husband had spread everywhere.
04:17To claim Hela as his,
04:19Kale went to the Ancient Exchange and paid down a legendary artifact,
04:22the Eternal Fang Bracelet,
04:24just to give to Hela.
04:27She's the most envied female in every territory.
04:34That bracelet!
04:35That's it!
04:37It's a pretty good fake.
04:39Which a lowborn Klansman bought you that?
04:41Buying you a cheap imitation.
04:43Absolute trash.
04:47Wow, it really is high quality for a fake.
04:50Way better than the replica I had made.
04:52But I'd never actually wear mine in public.
04:54These outer territory ammucations, though,
04:56the craftsmanship is something else.
04:58The weight actually feels real.
05:03Or what, Evora?
05:04Are you going to tell us you're Hela?
05:07Are you Lord Kale's bonded mate?
05:11Of course they did.
05:12It was absurd to them.
05:14Kale was a living legend across all territories.
05:18Cold.
05:19Absolute.
05:20Untouchable.
05:21And three years ago,
05:22I was just the girl Rylan had left standing outside the Sacred Hall.
05:26There was no version of reality where those two things connected.
05:33Just give it to me, Evora.
05:35I'll pay double whatever you traded for.
05:38Give it back.
05:40Kale gave me back.
05:43Shut your mouth!
05:45Rylan looked furious.
05:47Evora, do you have any idea what you're saying?
05:50You think you can just casually invoke Lord Kale's name?
05:54Are you trying to get me killed?
05:56His clansmen piled on immediately.
05:58Do you know how hard we fought for this pickup assignment?
06:00Get on a trine for this pickup of season.
06:02Kale absorbed Rylan's clan faction last season.
06:04Our entire livelihood depends on him now.
06:06Are you two trying to ruin Rylan entirely?
06:09I wiped the blood from my lip,
06:11slowly turned back to Rylan.
06:12Whatever he saw in my eyes made him flinch.
06:15Lyra caught it.
06:16She stepped forward and pointed a claw at my face.
06:20You ungrateful snake.
06:22Rylan offered you a place and you throw it back at him?
06:25I know you're still bitter about the past.
06:27Trying to sabotage his standing out of petty spite?
06:29That's sick.
06:30Hearing her say that,
06:32it felt exactly like three years ago.
06:34No matter what I did,
06:36Lyra would twist it,
06:37feed her poisonous version of the story to Rylan.
06:40In the early days,
06:41he used to defend me.
06:43By the end,
06:44he always took her side.
06:45Just like now.
06:47Jealous Shrik.
06:49For old times' sake,
06:50I'll let this go.
06:53Take these,
06:54get yourself proper clothes.
06:55If you really don't want to tend Lyra's hatchling,
06:58I'll find you something tolerable next season.
07:00Don't worry.
07:01Ever since Kale absorbed us,
07:02this kind of thing cost me nothing.
07:04No, thank you.
07:05I don't take things from strangers.
07:14Not three steps out,
07:16Rylan grabbed my arm.
07:18You won't take what I'm offering?
07:21What does that mean I'm a stranger to you?
07:23I kept walking and said evenly,
07:26We dissolved our bond.
07:29Better not to stay tangled in each other's lives.
07:32Others might get the wrong impression.
07:35I was thinking of Kale,
07:36who had a very particular dislike of misunderstandings.
07:40My faction is hosting a tribute feast for Kale in three days.
07:43I was going to bring you,
07:44show you something real,
07:45but you'd need to present yourself properly.
07:48You can't embarrass me.
07:49I'm fine,
07:50but thank you.
07:52Fine.
07:52I'll take Lyra.
07:53I won't let you down.
07:55I didn't look back.
07:56Hope you're still this confident in three days.
07:59Fresh air.
08:00I stood there for a moment,
08:02breathing it in.
08:03The nausea faded.
08:05My mind flashed back to three years ago.
08:08My family had arranged an alliance overseas.
08:11I'd gone to Ryland for the first seven years together.
08:15I wanted to seal our bond before the journey,
08:17force the decision.
08:19He agreed.
08:20But at the Sacred Hall,
08:21it wasn't just Ryland waiting.
08:23Her hatchling needs to be registered under my bloodline.
08:27I'll dissolve her bond claim in a month,
08:29then I'll bond with you.
08:31This is just about hatchling.
08:33I watched him take her inside.
08:35That was the last thing I needed to see.
08:38I crossed the border that night,
08:39met Kale.
08:40Bonded with him a month later.
08:42Had our son the year after.
08:44Now I was carrying it again.
08:46And the only reason I was even back in the reach
08:48was to attend a clan ancestral rite with Kale.
08:52Honestly, if it wasn't for the rite,
08:54I never would have set foot back here.
08:56And I definitely wouldn't have run into Ryland.
08:58Three days later,
08:59I painted on a light adornment,
09:01threw on comfortable traveling leathers,
09:03and made my way to the feast grounds alone.
09:06The second Ryland saw me enter the clearing,
09:08his eyes lit up.
09:10A smug smirk spread across his face.
09:12You said you weren't coming, but here you are.
09:15Listen, if you want me back,
09:17you need to at least present yourself properly
09:19to match my standing.
09:20I walked past him without a word.
09:23Evara, I'm talking to you.
09:24Our circle is here.
09:25Where do you think you're going?
09:27I pulled free and said simply,
09:29That's your circle.
09:31Mine is up there.
09:32He followed my gaze to the head circle,
09:34the raised dais reserved for lords
09:36and their bonded mates.
09:38His face went pale.
09:39Lyra spotted my bracelet from across the ground.
09:42Evara, how did she get in here?
09:44She's here to cause chaos.
09:46How dare she wear that pendant tonight?
09:48Of all knights?
09:50Tonight is the first time Kale
09:52is bringing his bonded mate out publicly.
09:54Is she trying to humiliate Hela?
09:57She slipped past the sentinels.
09:59She's trying to make us look disloyal
10:00in front of Lord Kale.
10:02Rylan?
10:04Is this female with you?
10:05Rylan straightened.
10:06No.
10:07Take that bracelet off and get out.
10:09I looked at her with a faint smile.
10:11You sure you want me to leave?
10:13Lyra realized others were watching.
10:15Her eyes went vicious.
10:17Stop acting like you're something.
10:19Take it off now!
10:21She lunged forward to rip it from my wrist.
10:23I swatted her claw away and stepped back.
10:26Someone behind me tripped me.
10:28I hit the ground hard.
10:29Lyra stepped on my arm and ripped the bracelet off my wrist.
10:33Treating this like it's something sacred?
10:35Trash.
10:36My wrist was bleeding, but I just sat there,
10:39staring at the bracelet lying broken on the ground.
10:43Pick her up and throw her out.
10:45A few sentinels moved toward me.
10:47They reached for my arms.
10:49Stop!
10:49I struggled.
10:50I am Kale's...
10:51Lyra struck me across the face before I could finish.
10:55Are you going to start spreading rumors that your Lord Kale's kept female?
11:00You wish.
11:03She struck me again.
11:05When I came back to the Reach, I hadn't planned to make a scene.
11:09It had felt beneath me, but now she had made it worth it.
11:12Rylan crouched down in front of me, reached for my wrist.
11:17I pulled back instinctively.
11:19Are you done throwing your fit?
11:21Huh?
11:22You show up wearing the bracelet, dressed down on purpose.
11:26You wanted me jealous.
11:27Just say it, and I'll give you what you want.
11:31I laughed.
11:32Short.
11:33Sharp.
11:33Rylan, you're finished.
11:37He frowned, opened his mouth, and then the clearing went dead silent.
11:42Guests began to straighten themselves, drifting toward the entrance path.
11:47Kale is here.
11:48Behave yourself.
11:53Lyra and I have dissolved our bond, by the way.
11:56I stared at him.
11:57I was cradling my nearly broken wrist, looking at the mail in front of me, thinking,
12:03How did I spend seven years on this person?
12:06What did his dissolution have to do with me?
12:08At that exact moment, Kale walked in with our son in his arms.
12:13Once they reached the feast grounds, our son squirmed and climbed down.
12:17He hit the stone path, all soft cheeks and small clawed boots.
12:22And every eye in the clearing went straight to him.
12:25His guardian scrambled after him.
12:28Rylan hadn't noticed who the cub was yet.
12:31If you stop being jealous of Lyra, I'll forgive you for disappearing three years.
12:35I'll give you another chance.
12:37Carry my hatchling.
12:39A real one.
12:40Ours.
12:41Just come back and tend to my son.
12:43I'll get rid of Lyra.
12:44I didn't say a single word to him.
12:46I just looked past him into the crowd, trying to catch Kale's and our son's eyes.
12:52Then it happened.
12:53Kale followed the cub's small, clumsy steps, straight to where I was.
12:58The second my son saw me, something broke open in his face.
13:03He threw himself into my arms.
13:09Why is there so much blood?
13:12One word.
13:13Mom.
13:16Every dragon in that clearing turned from the cub to me.
13:19The ones who have watched me get knocked around without doing a thing.
13:22All of them, staring.
13:24My son's warmth in my arms washed away everything that had been pressing down on me.
13:28I crouched down to his level.
13:30Cupped his cheek.
13:32He took my hand.
13:33Cuffs.
13:34They see something hurting someone they love, and they just fall apart.
13:40Who did this to you?
13:42Protecting you is mom's job, too.
13:47Before I could say anything more, the air in the clearing changed.
13:50A heavy, suffocating stillness washed over the crowd.
13:54Kale was walking toward us.
13:55That quiet, controlled walk that made the air around him move different.
13:59Dragons moved aside without knowing why.
14:01I felt him before I saw him.
14:03I picked up our son and turned around.
14:05The blood on my wrist looked stark against his white wrap.
14:08Our son looked up at Kale immediately.
14:13Father, someone hurt mother.
14:15We have to make them pay.
14:18Kale stepped forward and very carefully lifted my arm.
14:21His face was unreadable, but his voice was quiet.
14:23Ivara.
14:25What happened?
14:28I'm right here, but you're already hurt.
14:29I can't take my eyes off you.
14:31Whoever did this?
14:43Looking at this cold, absolute lord turn into a fiercely protective mate made my heart ache.
14:49He was always like this.
14:50A mosquito bite.
14:52A bruise from sleep.
14:53Even just eating half a portion, he'd be beside himself with worry.
14:58The feast hall's ambient light was low and dim,
15:01but our son felt something hard beneath his boot.
15:04Father, isn't this the bracelet you gave mother?
15:07Kale took it from him, turned it over, saw the engraving.
15:11Then I looked at the shards scattered across the ground and at my wrist.
15:15The nearest stone pillar cracked in his grip.
15:17He drew me gently into the light.
15:18Bring every torch to the ground over here.
15:21When our eyes met, his pupils narrowed slightly.
15:24What happened to your face?
15:26They actually dared to do this to you?
15:30I softened my voice.
15:32I'm fine, Kale.
15:34Ivara, I am your mate.
15:35You never have to swallow this kind of treatment alone.
15:40Our son pressed close.
15:42No one gets to hurt mother!
15:44Honestly, I could have handled Rylan and Lyra myself.
15:47But perhaps it was pregnancy.
15:50Or perhaps it was just finally feeling safe.
15:53My voice cracked.
15:55All the weight I'd been holding for three days broke open.
15:58You weren't here.
16:00And they all came at me.
16:02The feast grounds had gone dead silent.
16:05Rylan's scouts from the border crossing were somewhere in that clearing, shaking hard enough
16:10that they needed the standing stones to hold themselves up.
16:13They didn't expect it either.
16:15The female they'd spent three days calling Rylan's lovesick cast-off was Lord Kale's bonded
16:21mate.
16:21Every single one of them was now looking for a way to disappear into the tree line.
16:26But then Lyra's companion, a female named Vessa who had arrived late, strutted out from
16:31the crowd.
16:34Ivara, where did you find these two?
16:36Their performance is impressive.
16:38Do you want Lyra to get them placed with a traveling troop?
16:40Not that you could afford the placement fee.
16:43Vessa threw her head back and laughed at her own words.
16:46Usually half the clearing would laugh with her.
16:48But this time, the entire grounds just stared at her like she had lost her mind.
16:54Vessa noticed the dead silence.
16:56She doubled down.
16:57She turned to Kale and smirked.
17:00You're actually quite striking.
17:02If you ever want to leave her, I wouldn't mind taking care of you.
17:07My mouth twitched.
17:08She was propositioning my mate in front of me.
17:12Vessa finally registered the clearing's energy.
17:15She drifted toward Lyra for backup.
17:17Lyra wanted nothing to do with her.
17:19Before Vessa could even speak, Lyra spun around and struck her viciously across the face.
17:25Vessa?
17:26Are you insane?
17:28You just insulted Lord Kale and his bonded mate.
17:31Do you not banish?
17:33Do you want to be banished?
17:35Vessa?
17:39Vessa's healer.
17:42I just told her mate I'd take care of him.
17:47Oh no!
17:48Then someone near the back of the clearing made a sound.
17:52Heads turned.
17:53Vessa had lost control of herself entirely.
17:56Her shift reflex had misfired in the most primal, humiliating way a dragon can in public.
18:03Scales broke out down one side of her neck and arm in a panicked, involuntary half-shift.
18:10The kind that happened to hatchlings who couldn't control their fear responses.
18:14Kale's jaw tightened slightly.
18:16A sentinel materialized and quietly escorted her from the grounds.
18:20Lyra and Rylan went scarlet.
18:22The guests looked at them the way you look at those who have shamed themselves past the point of recovery.
18:28Meanwhile, a healer Kale had summoned was tending to my wrist nearby.
18:32I hissed.
18:33Kale and our son both turned with the same expression.
18:36Can you perhaps be a little more careful?
18:38The healer's hands started trembling.
18:41I shot them both a look.
18:42He's helping me.
18:43Stop.
18:44They immediately turned identical wounded expressions on me.
18:48Father and son.
18:49Same face, same pout.
18:53Okay, I know.
18:56I'm sorry, keep going.
18:57I told the healer.
18:59He visibly relaxed.
19:00When he finished, he turned to Kale.
19:04My lord, your mate is perfectly fine.
19:06The unborn is safe.
19:08The wrist is the worst of it.
19:10I will source the best remedies available and do everything possible to ensure no scarring.
19:15Kale said nothing.
19:16I knew exactly what that silence meant.
19:19It was the one that came before something irreversible.
19:23Standing in the crowd, Rylan looked terrified.
19:26But underneath the panic, he burned with something else.
19:30Jealousy.
19:31Watching how close Kale stayed beside me.
19:34His old possessiveness was peaking, but the survival of his faction was on the line, so he had to bite
19:40it down.
19:41Kale stood beside me and surveyed the clearing with the kind of stillness that made everyone in it feel like
19:47they'd already been found guilty of something.
19:49He looked almost cold.
19:51Almost lethal.
19:52I actually found it a little endearing, especially with our son standing right beside him like a tiny, furious mirror
20:00image.
20:01I want to know exactly what happened.
20:04Everything.
20:05If you speak now, perhaps you survive this.
20:09If I have to find it out myself, every single one of you goes down with it.
20:14It was a naked threat.
20:16These dragons had clawed for the chance to attend this feast.
20:20None of them wanted to burn for Rylan's sake.
20:23Rylan panicked.
20:24He stepped forward.
20:25Lord Kale.
20:26There's been a misunderstanding.
20:29As Evara's...
20:31As her former bonded partner,
20:33I was simply reconnecting with her.
20:36Things got out of hand.
20:37He unexpectedly said former bonded partner with a particular emphasis.
20:43God blessed him.
20:44Such an idiot.
20:45The worst possible moment for it.
20:48He actually thought I had spent three years keeping myself for him,
20:52waiting for him to snap his fingers so I could come running back.
20:55He completely missed the murderous stillness crossing Kale's face.
20:59I heard the stone goblet in Kale's hand crack.
21:03Rylan kept going.
21:04You likely know she was quite devoted to me before the disavolition.
21:10Reconnecting after years apart, it's natural that emotions would...
21:14The goblet shattered in Kale's grip.
21:16Stone fragments fell.
21:18Blood ran down his fingers.
21:20I pushed Rylan out of my focus and reached for Kale's hand.
21:26Stop!
21:27Stop trying to put yourself between us!
21:29You had your chance and you threw it away!
21:31Don't flatter yourself.
21:33I have loved exactly one person my entire life.
21:36And it is you.
21:38Everyone here can hear me say it.
21:41I grabbed a clean wrap and frantically began binding Kale's bleeding hand.
21:45Rylan looked genuinely hurt.
21:47Evora, I know you're bitter.
21:49But Lyra and I have dissolved our bond.
21:52Her hatchling is ready to call you mother.
21:56You only bonded with Kale to wound me.
21:58I understand.
21:59I'm not angry.
22:00Just come back.
22:02Whatever he can give you, I'll work twice as hard to match it.
22:05Just return and tend to my son!
22:08If you don't want Leia, I'll make her disappear.
22:11I honestly could not believe what I was hearing.
22:15Kale's blood was smearing onto my wraps.
22:17But as I urgently pressed the binding to his palm, he suddenly let out a low, genuine laugh.
22:23I looked up at him, furious.
22:25Why are you laughing?
22:27Kale reached over with his uninjured hand and quietly rested it on top of my head.
22:31Evora, you just said I'm the one you love most.
22:35Our son made a face and looked away.
22:38His cold, fearsome father was currently acting like a lovesick hatchling.
22:43All because I'd defended him.
22:45The entire feast grounds went still.
22:47Half the guests were in shock.
22:48The other half were dying of quiet envy.
22:51The whispers spread through the crowd like fire through dry grass.
22:54The rumors are real.
22:56He is completely devoted to his mate.
23:00Ryland stood there, his knuckles white with humiliation.
23:03But our son wasn't finished.
23:04He looked Ryland up and down with open disdain.
23:07Cub tender?
23:08My mother is the most protected one in our den.
23:11You think you deserve her?
23:13Mother only carries two cubs.
23:15Me and my sister.
23:19You really think your unacknowledged hatchie gets to call her mother?
23:24I know all about you.
23:27You're the one who broke my mother's heart.
23:30You're not as impressive as my father.
23:32Not as strong.
23:34Not as well formed.
23:35He tilted his head, studying Ryland with the kind of cold disdain that was entirely too familiar on that small
23:42face.
23:43And you smell like someone who peaked too early and never recovered.
23:46It's making my eyes water.
23:48Is your hatchling going to grow up leeching off others just like you?
23:52The guests surrounding us erupted.
23:54They couldn't help it.
23:56Ryland bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, shaking with shame.
24:00Everyone in that clearing knew the truth.
24:02He had coasted for years on Lyra's family resources.
24:06It was not a secret.
24:08Hearing all of this, Lyra had completely lost her grip on rational thought.
24:12Her hatchling was the most important thing in the world to her.
24:17The most exceptional cub alive.
24:20And this female was going to replace her.
24:22Ryland had essentially said so himself.
24:24Lyra grabbed a bone-handled knife from the nearest table.
24:28You little wretch!
24:29I'll kill you!
24:31I didn't think.
24:32I let go of Kale's hand and threw myself entirely over our son.
24:36A blinding, searing pain ripped through my back.
24:40The color drained from my face.
24:42Dre, are you...
24:43I didn't finish the sentence.
24:44Everything went black.
24:45I collapsed to the stone.
24:47The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was our son's face, white with panic.
24:52I wanted to tell him not to cry.
24:54I didn't get the chance.
24:56I woke to the sharp smell of healer's den.
24:59Dried herbs.
25:00Warm stone walls.
25:01I stared at the ceiling for a moment.
25:04Disoriented.
25:04My best friend Sorin was in the chair beside me.
25:07The second she saw my eyes open, she grabbed my hands.
25:11Oh, thank the ancient fires!
25:13You're awake!
25:14If you had stayed under any longer, your mate and your son were going to tear this entire territory apart.
25:21What?
25:21She was definitely exaggerating.
25:25Sorin caught the look immediately.
25:27I reached for my stomach on instinct.
25:30You're both fine.
25:31The healer said it was shock and pain.
25:33That's why you went under.
25:34The unborn is completely safe.
25:37That Lyra is something else.
25:39Going after a cub with a blade.
25:41My chest tightened.
25:43My son!
25:44Kale!
25:45Are they...
25:46Both fine.
25:46Physically, completely fine.
25:48Slow down.
25:49Drink.
25:50Drink.
25:51Sorin handed me a cup of broth.
25:55I drank.
25:57The tightness eased a little.
26:00You didn't need to throw yourself in front of him.
26:02There were six sentinels in that clearing.
26:04Dre was never going to get touched.
26:07That's Dre.
26:08I know.
26:09I know.
26:09He's your whole heart.
26:10That terrifying little creature.
26:12He doesn't need protecting.
26:14He's more dangerous than most full-grown warriors.
26:15I smiled despite myself.
26:18Where are they?
26:20Sorin's eyes lit up.
26:22Getting revenge?
26:22I wanted to come along.
26:24But your mate and your son are genuinely terrifying when they operate together, so I volunteered
26:29to stay with you instead.
26:30She settled in and began.
26:32When I arrived, you were already under.
26:35From what I pieced together from the witnesses still standing, your son watched you collapse
26:39and went completely still for about two seconds.
26:42Then he picked up the knife Laya had dropped and drove it straight through her hand, into
26:45the stone beneath.
26:48A cub.
26:49I don't know where he gets that cut strength.
26:52Kale found out about the strike at the border crossing three days ago, and the bracelet,
26:57and everything they said to you.
26:59He had his sentinels hold Rylan down, and they dealt with the hand he used to hit you.
27:03I closed my eyes briefly.
27:05Lyra's face received the same treatment.
27:06And then Kale had a chest of gemstones brought into the clearing, all the shards from your broken
27:11bracelet, and he told Lyra that since she loved taking things that belonged to you so
27:15much, she had to swallow them.
27:21You know what Kale said?
27:28You love taking what is hers.
27:30So here, I am giving you everything you wanted.
27:33The stones, and the mail.
27:35She refused at first.
27:37So Kale had her hatchling brought in.
27:39Then she did it.
27:41She swallowed a great many shards.
27:43They worked her over until she was barely conscious.
27:45Then Kale had her drop beyond the outer borders.
27:47Swallowed shards.
27:49Face first.
27:50Every dragon who stood around watching you get hurt, every single one of them carries
27:53a mark on their wrists now, just for doing nothing.
27:55If you weren't my closest companion, I'd probably have one too.
27:58I gave her a flat look.
28:00The clan records were updated, but the only news that spread was about Rylan's faction
28:03being absorbed and dissolved.
28:05Every allied group in that clearing with border exposure, Kale absorbed it.
28:08Some were disbanded entirely.
28:09Some are still bleeding out.
28:12Rylan was supposed to go the same way as Lyra.
28:15But Lyra stopped it.
28:17Threw herself in front of the sentinels, bought him time to run.
28:22I think she made a deal with him.
28:24It wasn't hard to figure out.
28:25The hatchling.
28:25When a mother is running out of time, the one thing she'll trade everything for is her
28:30child's safety.
28:31Rylan must have promised her something about the boy.
28:33Lyra had swallowed shards and stones for the chance that her son would be alright.
28:37Kale was precise, and he was cold.
28:39But every time I so much as bruised my arm, he acted like he personally failed.
28:44He was brutal because he was afraid.
28:46Not of losing power.
28:47Of losing me.
28:48And Dre, my sweet, sharp, slightly terrifying cub, had been shaped by that same love.
28:54I'd been trying to counterbalance it.
28:56Clearly still working on it.
29:01Kale, can you grab my...
29:03Evara.
29:05It's me.
29:06His face was still swollen.
29:08He'd managed to find a decent cloak.
29:10The one I'd given him years ago.
29:12The one he'd told me was plain and unworthy of his rank.
29:15I stayed where I was.
29:17Last time I'd moved too fast, it'd cost me.
29:20He seemed to read that.
29:21I'm not going to hurt you.
29:23I just needed to...
29:25What?
29:29I still love you.
29:30His voice broke on it.
29:32Every time I think about you, I can't breathe.
29:35I know it's too late.
29:36I know what I did.
29:38But I can't just...
29:40Raelynn, you were with another female while we were still bonded.
29:43You let me humiliate myself.
29:45You abandoned me and destroyed me.
29:49And then tonight, when you had the chance to do literally anything else,
29:52you stood in front of my mate and told him I was devoted to you?
29:55You've had seven years and three more to figure out what you want.
29:58What you want keeps shifting based on what you can reach.
30:01That's not love.
30:03Ryland's jaw worked.
30:04He wanted to argue.
30:05I was always your contingency.
30:07And you were never mine.
30:09Not really.
30:10He looked at me for a long time.
30:11Then he looked at the cloak.
30:12You gave me this for the winter solstice.
30:15I told you it was plain.
30:19I know.
30:22I kept it.
30:23I didn't say anything.
30:25He left quietly.
30:26Kale came in with his hand newly wrapped.
30:28Dre right behind him.
30:29They both stopped when they saw I was awake.
30:31Then they were both in front of me at the same time.
30:33Ivara.
30:34Kale's voice was unsteady.
30:35You're up.
30:37Are you...
30:38Does anything hurt?
30:39Do you need...
30:39Father, she was fine two minutes before you got here.
30:43She was talking and everything.
30:45Kale ignored him.
30:46Are you okay?
30:46Tell me you're okay.
30:48I'm okay.
30:50You say that every time.
30:51Because it keeps being true.
30:53Dre tucked himself under my arm.
30:54Boke very quietly.
30:55Mom, are you upset that father raised his voice at me?
31:00Did he raise his voice at you?
31:02I am fine.
31:03He didn't yell.
31:05Dre said very firmly.
31:06Kale.
31:09He was scared.
31:11We both were.
31:12He wasn't really yelling.
31:14He was just...
31:15Loud.
31:17I kissed the top of his head.
31:20Protecting you is also my job.
31:22I'm not sorry.
31:25I know.
31:26I know, Mom.
31:32Soren eventually took Dre to find food, and it was just the two of us.
31:36Kale sat by the bedside, not quite touching, like he was still afraid something would break
31:41if he moved too fast.
31:42He wanted to look at my wrist.
31:44I let him.
31:45I'll do better.
31:46He said.
31:48You won't be alone like that again.
31:51Kale, this wasn't your fault.
31:53You were alone, and you got hurt.
31:55I was in a clearing full of dragons, and I got hurt.
31:58That's not the same thing as being alone.
32:00He looked up.
32:01I'm not made of glass.
32:03I'm also not leaving.
32:05You understand that?
32:06I'm here.
32:07I chose this.
32:09You chose it because your family arranged the alliance.
32:11I chose to stay.
32:14Every single day for three years, I chose to stay.
32:17That's not an arrangement.
32:19That's me.
32:20He didn't answer, but something in his face shifted.
32:23I thought about the hidden chamber behind the clan tapestry, his quiet, years-long devotion
32:29that he'd never once spoken aloud.
32:31The young, unblooded dragon eating alone at the edge of the training grounds every day.
32:36The young, unblooded dragon eating alone at the edge of the training grounds every day.
32:40While I stuffed a pouch of resource tokens into his pack, and told him he was my honorary
32:46younger clansman.
32:47He'd loved me before he knew what to do with it.
32:49Before I even knew his name.
32:51I reached over and took his uninjured hand.
32:55You want to know what I was thinking?
32:57Every time things got hard and someone told me I'd bonded with the wrong dragon?
33:01He waited.
33:02That they'd never seen you bring me warp stones when the cold fever took me.
33:06Or stay awake beside me through three full nights because I was homesick and couldn't
33:11sleep.
33:12Or look at me the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching.
33:15They were comparing you to whoever they assumed you were.
33:19I know who you actually are.
33:21Kale didn't show weakness easily.
33:23He was showing it now.
33:26I don't need you to be fearless.
33:27I just need you to stop assuming I'll leave.
33:32I'm not going anywhere.
33:33He brought my hand up and held it against his face.
33:36Didn't speak.
33:37Didn't need to.
33:38They kept me in the healer's den two extra days.
33:41The morning they finally let me return to our den, I walked back through the entrance and
33:46stopped in front of the bonding tapestry.
33:48We were both so young in it.
33:51I lifted the tapestry.
33:53And I found the wall behind it.
33:56Image after image after image.
33:59Etched in the old way.
34:01Dragon memory stone.
34:05Me at nineteen.
34:08Me at sixteen.
34:11Me at fourteen in a clan corridor.
34:14He'd loved me across a decade before I'd ever said his name.
34:18I heard the den entrance behind me.
34:21Kale froze in the corridor.
34:27Evira, I can explain.
34:28You noticed me first.
34:32I gave you resource tokens at the training grounds because I thought you couldn't afford to eat.
34:38I told you that you were my honorary younger clansman and I never even asked your name.
34:44I didn't know it was you until I found these.
34:46I'm a little upset it took us this long.
34:52Think about all the time you wasted.
34:55You're not...
34:56Upset about the stones?
34:57No.
34:58I'm glad.
35:00I'm glad you kept looking.
35:01Kale crossed the den in four strides and pulled me in before I could say anything else.
35:05I never thought you'd say that.
35:08I know.
35:09That's the problem.
35:10You've been waiting for me to leave since the day I arrived.
35:12I'm not leaving.
35:14I've told you.
35:15I'll keep telling you.
35:17For how long?
35:19I thought about it.
35:21As long as it takes for you to actually believe me.
35:24Dre appeared in the den entrance, took one look at us and silently backed away.
35:30Kale held on a little tighter.
35:32Outside, the ancient forests of the abyssal reach kept moving.
35:36Wind through the canopy.
35:38The distant sound of wings.
35:40The slow pulse of a territory that had stood for 10,000 years.
35:45And I stayed exactly where I was.
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