THUD.

The space shifted. Haze of soul-deep flames occupied everything as the sound of smashed stone echoed.

Castor found himself slammed against the wall adjacent to the shattered window. Hands still firm on the hilt of his blade.

The blade was red-hot. Cutting edge glowing. Only the hilt remained cool—dragon-forged steel refusing to melt even under intense heat.

What Is she? Minor noble. No dragon blood. No contracts I know of. Yet silver fire pours from her like she’s been blessed by gods themselves.

Castor’s eyes narrowed.

How does a woman with no lineage, no power, no claim to magic—

—burn like this?

He looked past her again. Toward the wounded prince behind her.

That bastard killed my son. He took him from me

Castor pushed off the wall. Got back to his feet. He wasn’t defeated nor was he giving up.

His grip tightened on his sword. His stance reset. Ready to unleash a technique that should cut through even this inferno.

"I’ll not be denied." His voice was steel. "You killed my son, you scum."

He took a step forward. Single grip on his outstretched blade. Ready to cleave a path to his target even if unwanted casualties arose.

SNAP.

The arrow’s shaft broke. Castor’s eyes widened as Auryn’s body began to change.

Crimson flowed like liquid metal around his limbs. Across his injured chest, forming armor with scales rippling into existence.

Dragon transformation.

Even wounded. Even dying. He still—

"In there!" The gruff, determined voice of Borin came from down the corridor. Heavy boots running and getting louder.

The odds were stacking against him and quickly too but Castor didn’t stop.

"I will have my way" He swung his blade.

Eclipse of the End.

Orange light swept through the space like dawn breaking through night. A controlled arc of fire channeling through steel, moved through the space.

"No!" Lyra’s voice echoed even in her disheveled state.

The silver fire condensed. Collapsed inward and met his slash. The collision canceled the slash completely and the raging flame kept expanding.

Castor’s breath hitched. His precision strike had failed.

Should have used raw power instead of finesse.

Regret constricted his throat but he didn’t hesitate. He was out of time, swiftly he launched himself back through the broken window he entered with and fled.

Borin arrived at the corridor entrance. He saw the flames, the blood, the chaos.

"Damn," Castor cursed under his breath as he disappeared through the courtyard with his team. He’d taken a shot at the devil and missed.

Auryn struggled. Groaning even as Intense pain radiated from his chest. The arrow shaft, now broken but its tip still buried deep.

Auryn’s vision blurred. Cleared. And blurred again. Blood soaked his shirt. His breath short and shallow.

Can’t breathe properly. It punctured something. Lung? Artery?

He tried moving but his body refused.

Scales rippled across his arms and chest. Crimson armor forming instinctively. Dragon transformation activated.

It was more instinctual than anything else.

But amidst this, the arrow was still inside.

Have to stay still. Can’t move too much

But suddenly Lyra screamed. Not out of pain but something else.

Terror.

His head turned In her direction. She stood between him and where Castor had been. Arms still spread wide. Silver flames pouring from her entire body.

The fire wasn’t responding to her will. It was responding to her emotion.

Her fear. Love. Desperation.

She awakened it due to her dragon bond. But she can’t control it yet. It’s going to consume her.

"Lyra—" His voice came out weak and strained. "Stop—"

She didn’t hear him. The flames roared louder and brighter. Expanding in waves that crashed against stone walls.

Heat washed over him but didn’t burn. The bond recognized him. Protected him.

Lyra’s knees buckled. Her entire body crumpling like paper.

"No—"

The flames surged one final time. Then collapsed inward, all at once like a star imploding.

Lyra’s body went limp and she fell. While she she fell, Auryn’s arm shot out purely from instinct as his clawed arm caught her waist.

He grunted loudly feeling the arrow tip drive deeper. Puncturing his lung completely.

But his grip didn’t falter.

"I got you" He pulled her toward his body as momentum carried them both down.

They collapsed together. Her weight on his chest. Arrow buried to the hilt now.

"Damn," he cursed. Vision fractured into shards. But he held on. Arms wrapped around her. Crimson scales against silver hair.

Blood spreading between them.

You’re safe...

"Lyra!" Borin’s voice cut through the haze. Boots pounding closer. "Lad! Where—"

Auryn’s eyes wanted to close but he fought it. He had to know...

Her chest rose and fell.

She’s breathing. He thought, then relief crashed through him while he barely held his eyelids open. His mind assessed everything.

Castor attacked me. That’s treason. I’ll live. I’ll demand compensation.

Even now. Even dying. Even holding the woman I—L

I’m still scheming. What am I ?

Finally darkness pulled him in and he stopped resisting but his arms never loosened their hold on her.

Moments earlier, inside the silver flames...

"What’s this?" Lyra’s burdened voice asked.

She felt like she existed inside fire itself. Neither burning nor consumed.

The fire wasn’t external. It was internal. Pouring from somewhere deep inside her chest where their bond lived.

She could feel Auryn behind her. Wounded. Dying maybe.

No. Not dying. Won’t let him die.

Won’t let anyone take him.

The flames responded to the thought. Surged outward. Wall of silver between her and the threat.

Castor’s blade met the fire. The Metal screamed. Glowed red and stopped.

Good.

But the flames now had a mind of their own. They wanted more. Wanted to spread. Protect by destroying everything that wasn’t Auryn.

No. Stop. I don’t want— She begged but the fire didn’t care what she wanted. It cared what she felt.

And she felt terror, love, desperation and rage.

Too much. Can’t control. It’s too—

Heat built inside her chest. It was so much pressure her ribcage felt like it couldn’t contain what was trying to escape.

It hurts. She cried inside her mind. The raw, unfiltered and unrestrained power overwhelming her.

Her knees buckled. " I can’t—*

And just then, the flames collapsed. All at once. Pulled back into her chest like water down a drain.

Lyra’s vision went dark. She felt herself falling but couldn’t catch herself.

Auryn— Is he—?

Even as she fell, something caught her. The arms were scaled and strong.

That’s him. She thougt.

This was the warmth she waiting for. Not fire. His chest beneath her cheek. His heartbeat. Uneven but present.

Alive.

Relief flooded through her even as consciousness fled.

You’re alive. Her eyelids finally gave up.

---

Borin heard the explosion two corridors away.

He rounded the corner at a dead run. He arrived to see the corridor was destroyed. Windows shattered, Stone walls scorched black. Smoke thick enough to choke on.

And in the center— he found them.

Auryn on his back. Arrow buried to the hilt. Blood pooling beneath him.

Lyra collapsed on top. Silver hair spread across his crimson-scaled chest. His arms wrapped around her. Clawed hands gentle despite their shape.

Both unconscious and barely breathing. Borin’s breath caught.

Even while dying, he held onto her.

Damn fool.

He knelt beside them. Quickly checking their pulses. Both weak but alive.

"Hold on, both of you."

Borin started barking orders to guards arriving behind him.

Just hold on.