Page 72 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

I stilled.

The fire wasn’t just dark. It was void-black, consuming the light around it. It didn’t flicker like normal flames but moved unnaturally, shifting in silent, eerie waves.

It was hypnotic. And terrifying.

“What is that?” I breathed.

“Dark Flame,” he said simply. “It can consume anything, and it must be used with caution.”

He let the fire burn for a moment longer before closing his fingers around it, snuffing it out like it had never been there.

I stared at him. “That… wasn’t normal fire.”

“No,” Zander agreed. “It’s something far older.”

I swallowed hard, my pulse pounding as a realization hit me.

Hein wasn’t just any dragon. He was one of the oldest and most powerful in the horde.

And if Zander had struggled to bond with him…

“And my dragon?” I asked carefully.

Zander held my gaze.

“Even older than mine.”

The words sent a shiver through me.

“You will be extremely powerful,” he continued, his tone carefully neutral. “If you can get your dragon to accept the bond.”

I scowled. “And if I can’t?”

His lips quirked into something almost mocking. “Then you’ll die.”

“Well, that’s encouraging.”

He shrugged.

Silence stretched between us for a moment before I asked, “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Because,” he said, watching me closely, “ironically, you are my countermeasure.”

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

Zander tilted his head slightly, eyes glinting in the fading sunlight.

“Only one thing can quell a Dark Fire Storm,” he said simply.

I swallowed. “What?”

His gaze held mine, unwavering in its intensity.

“A Magical Tsunami.”

Chapter

Fourteen