But not at me.
Raze’s head snaps upward at the last instant, and the flames blast straight through the ceiling in a column of heat so intense it turns stone to slag. Timber ignites, support beams collapse, and the entire roof shudders once, twice, then begins to cave inward in slow, inexorable destruction.
With a roar that shakes my bones, Raze launches skyward through the hole his fire carved, wings beating once with enough force to send debris scattering in every direction. Then he’s gone, vanished into the gray morning sky with speed that defies his massive size, leaving nothing behind except destruction and the echoing thunder of wings that could blot out the sun.
Silence crashes down in his absence.
For exactly three heartbeats, no one moves.
Then Scar spins toward me, his expression carved from fury and something dangerously close to fear. “You need to—”
But before he can finish, the witch’s hands lift again. Magic gathers around her fingers with the same terrible inevitability, the room tightening as if the world already knows what comes next. And when those ancient eyes settle on me, something inside my chest twists hard enough to steal the breath from my lungs.
I know. Not logically, not from anything she’s said, but some deeper part of me understandsexactlywhat she’s about to do.
“No!” I stumble backward, my hands rising in useless defense, the word ripping out of me before I can stop it. “You said… the price was paid! He got his fire back, you can’t—”
“The price for keeping you alive washiscontrol,” she says calmly, like she’s reciting a rule carved into the bones of the world long before either of us existed. “He failed. While the law remains absolute, I can see the rest of these supernatural beings vouch for you. I amnotheartless. Only a keeper of whatmustendure.”
Her gaze holds mine.
There is no anger in it.
No satisfaction.
Just something vast and immovable that hurts worse than crueltyevercould.
“I willnottake your life,” she continues quietly. “But you arenotpermitted to remember this world… this place… or the dragon who believed contentment could outlive three centuries of rage.”
The words land like stones dropped into deep water, and something fractures inside me.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something heavier…
A grief so sudden and violent it steals the strength from my legs.
My throat tightens, my vision blurring as if my body understands the loss before my mind can even grasp it.
“You can’t,” I whisper, though the plea sounds weak even to my own ears. “Please… don’t—”
Her hand lifts and violet light blooms at her fingertips first, soft and almost beautiful, before threads of dull gold runes coil through it, tightening like chains being drawn through liquid shadow. The air crackles, static sliding across my skin as obsidian sparks fall from her palm and dissolve before they touch the floor.
Then the magic hits.
Not pain.
Pressure.
It crashes into me in a wave of amethyst force threaded with molten gold, folding around my skull and pressing inward with terrifying precision. My vision fractures at the edges, color draining except for the witchlight burning through everything, violet veins streaking across the air as if reality itself is being rewritten.
Her power doesn’t ask.
It doesn’t wait.
It reaches.