Elara's POV
The blade never touched my throat.
Silver fire exploded from my chest—so hot and bright that Adrian screamed and stumbled backward, his hand blistering where he'd touched me.
The Dragon Cage's suppression shattered like glass.
I didn't understand how. The Cage should have killed my magic completely. But somehow, the Starfire blood had burned through the suppression, erupting with a fury I couldn't control.
"Impossible!" Father's voice rang across the camp. "The Cage should have—"
His words cut off as Cael descended from the sky like vengeance itself.
Full dragon form. Massive. Terrifying. Wreathed in flames that turned night into day.
His roar shook the earth.
Guards scattered. Tents caught fire. The entire camp dissolved into chaos.
Cael landed beside me, his tail sweeping out to knock away anyone still standing. Then he shifted partially, one clawed hand reaching for me. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay," I gasped. "But Seraphine—"
"I see her."
He launched toward where Seraphine was still trapped, breathing fire that melted the corrupted net. She burst free with a roar of her own, immediately attacking the guards who'd captured her.
Kiran groaned, pushing himself up. "What happened? I thought the Cage—"
"It failed." I helped him stand, though my hands were shaking. "My magic broke through it somehow."
"Because you're Starfire," a new voice said.
We spun around.
A woman stood at the edge of the firelight—old, bent, wearing tattered robes. But her eyes were sharp and knowing.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Someone who knew your mother." She moved closer, unafraid of the battle raging around us. "She told me that if anything happened to her, I should watch over you. I've been watching for seventeen years, child. Waiting for you to awaken."
"You knew about my heritage? About what I am?"
"I helped hide it." The old woman's expression was sad. "Your mother begged me to suppress your magic until you were old enough to control it. To protect you from those who would use or destroy you." She glanced at my father, who was rallying his guards for another attack. "I see we didn't hide it well enough."
"Can you help destroy the Cage?" Kiran asked urgently.
"She doesn't need to." The woman pointed at me. "You already broke its power when your magic burst through the suppression. Now you just need to finish it. Touch the Cage and purify the corruption. End this."
I looked at the massive device still glowing with sickly green light. Even broken, it radiated wrongness.
"It'll hurt," the woman warned. "More than anything you've felt. But you're strong enough. Your mother was strong enough to heal a dying kingdom. You're strong enough to destroy one cursed weapon."
Cael appeared beside me in human form, his hand finding mine. "You don't have to do this. We can just destroy it with fire—"
"No." I squeezed his hand. "If we destroy it with fire, the corrupted magic will spread. Contaminate the land. I need to purify it properly."
Through our bond, I felt his fear for me. His desperate wish to keep me safe.
But I also felt his trust.
"Together," he said. "I'll anchor you. Keep you from being overwhelmed."
I nodded.
We approached the Cage hand in hand. The corruption grew stronger with each step, making my skin crawl. By the time we reached it, I was fighting not to vomit.
"On three," I whispered. "One... two..."
I pressed my palm against the Cage.
Pain exploded through every nerve in my body.
It felt like my blood was boiling, my bones were melting, my soul was being torn apart. The corruption fought back—dark, twisted magic that wanted to consume me, corrupt me, turn me into something monstrous.
I screamed.
Cael's arms wrapped around me from behind, his chest pressed against my back, his hands covering mine on the Cage. His warmth flooded through our bond, anchoring me to something real and good.
"I've got you," he murmured against my ear. "Hold on. You can do this."
I reached deeper into the Starfire magic, pulling up every bit of power I possessed. The silver flames poured from my hands into the Cage, burning away the corruption piece by piece.
It felt like dying slowly.
But I didn't let go.
The Cage began to crack. Green light flickered, replaced by pure silver. The bone and metal started disintegrating, turning to ash under my touch.
"Almost there," Cael encouraged. "Just a little more."
With a final surge of magic, the Cage shattered completely.
The explosion of pure energy knocked everyone in the camp flat. When the light faded, there was nothing left but a circle of scorched earth where the weapon had stood.
I collapsed backward into Cael's arms, too weak to stand.
"You did it," he breathed. "You actually did it."
Around us, the battle had stopped. Guards stared in shock. Even Father and Adrian looked stunned.
Seraphine landed nearby, shifting to human form. "Well. That was impressive."
"We need to leave," Kiran said urgently. "Before they recover and—"
"No." I pushed myself upright, though every muscle screamed in protest. "Not yet."
I walked toward my father on shaking legs. Cael stayed close, ready to catch me if I fell.
Father raised his sword, but his hands were trembling. "Stay back, abomination."
"I'm not an abomination." My voice was steady despite my exhaustion. "I'm your daughter. The one you tortured. The one you left to die. The one who just saved three hundred innocent dragons from the weapon you helped build."
"I did what was necessary—"
"You murdered my mother!" The words exploded from me. "Because she carried the same blood I do. Because you were afraid people would find out. So you killed her and blamed illness. Then when you discovered I had her magic, you destroyed my life to cover your crimes."
Silence fell over the camp.
Adrian stepped forward. "She's lying. Lord Thorne is a hero—"
"Who traffics baby dragons to foreign kingdoms," the old woman interrupted, pulling documents from her robes. "I have seventeen years of evidence. Every illegal deal. Every murdered dragon. Every covered-up crime."
She handed the papers to Cael, who scanned them quickly. His expression turned murderous.
"You sold dragon hatchlings," he said softly. Dangerously. "Babies too young to defend themselves. For experimentation."
Father's face went pale.
"Seize them both," Seraphine ordered. "They're coming before the Dragon Council to face justice."
Guards moved to arrest Father and Adrian, but Adrian pulled something from his coat—a small crystal that pulsed with dark magic.
"If I can't have victory," he snarled, "then no one survives this night!"
He crushed the crystal.
The old woman's eyes went wide. "No! That's a—"
The explosion of dark magic erupted from where Adrian stood, spreading outward like a wave of corruption. It turned the ground black, twisted trees into grotesque shapes, and anyone it touched started screaming as their bodies warped.
"Death curse!" the woman shouted. "He released a death curse! It'll consume everything within a mile unless—"
She stopped, looking at me.
"Unless what?" I demanded.
"Unless a Starfire purifies it. But a curse this powerful..." She shook her head. "It would take everything you have. Your magic. Your life force. Everything."
Cael grabbed my shoulders. "No. Absolutely not. We'll evacuate, run—"
"The village," I whispered. "Thorndale is half a mile away. The curse will reach them in minutes."
Through the spreading corruption, I could already hear screams from that direction.
"Elara, no—"
I kissed him. Quick and desperate and full of everything I couldn't say.
Then I pulled away and ran toward the center of the corruption before he could stop me.
"ELARA!" His roar shook the sky.
But I didn't stop.
I reached the curse's epicenter and slammed both hands into the corrupted ground.
Silver fire erupted from my body—every bit of magic I possessed, burning outward in a wave of purification. The corruption fought back, trying to consume me, corrupt me, kill me.
I felt my magic draining away. Felt my life force following it.
Felt Cael's panic and rage and desperate love through our bond.
I'm sorry, I thought toward him. But I can't let innocent people die. Not when I can stop it.
The curse shattered.
Pure silver light flooded across the landscape, burning away every trace of corruption. The twisted ground returned to normal. The screaming stopped.
The village was saved.
But I was falling.
The last thing I felt before darkness took me was Cael catching me, his voice breaking as he screamed my name, and the bond between us flickering like a candle in the wind.
Going out.