Page 36 of Fire’s Resonance (Hearts on Fire #1)

“Why not tell Raak directly?” I challenge. “Why let him continue believing he was defective?”

Blaze’s expression darkens with genuine regret. “My position as clan leader constrains my actions in ways you might not understand. Direct support without council approval would have exposed him to greater danger.”

“From whom?” Raak asks, voice sharp with suspicion, as he enters the chambers behind me.

“From those who benefit from the current hierarchy,” Blaze answers carefully. “From those who fear what Guardian Bonds represent—a power outside traditional clan authority, answerable to dragonkind’s survival rather than council politics.”

He moves to a carved stone cabinet, removing a small object wrapped in protective silk. When he unwraps it, a crystal tablet glows with ancient text.

“Three council members have disappeared in the past decade—all after accessing these records on Guardian flames and elemental bonds,” Blaze reveals, his voice lowered.

“I’ve been investigating quietly, gathering evidence, trying to understand why anyone would want to prevent Guardians from emerging when our collective power wanes. ”

The implication hangs heavy in the air between us—conspiracy at the highest levels of clan leadership, deliberate suppression of knowledge that could save dragonkind.

“So you let me believe I was defective,” Raak states, his tone flat despite the tension in his shoulders. “To protect me.”

“To keep you alive until the right time,” Blaze corrects. “Until your Guardian appeared and the bond could protect you both from those who would prevent its completion.”

“But you knew!” I can’t keep the accusation from my voice. After years of being treated as lesser, the thought that the clan leader had information he didn’t act upon stings like betrayal.

“Not until recently,” Blaze clarifies, regret evident in his expression.

“My father kept certain historical records sealed—accessible only to clan leaders. When I found them after his... change... I began to understand what gray flame truly signifies.” His jaw tightens.

“But by then, clan politics made it impossible to act openly.”

“So you just let everyone continue treating Raak as defective?” My protective instincts flare, indignation on my mate’s behalf burning hot in my chest.

“The council is divided,” Blaze explains, frustration evident in his tense posture.

“Half believe my father’s teachings about flame purity without question.

The others fear change of any kind. Without proof—without an actual Guardian Bond manifesting—I couldn’t challenge decades of established doctrine. ”

“Politics,” I spit the word like a curse.

“Politics that have kept our kind alive for centuries,” Blaze counters, though without heat. “I needed evidence before I could act. And now—” his eyes move between us, noting our transformed appearances, the visible manifestation of our bond, “—you’ve provided exactly that.”

“Then you also know about this.” I produce the crystal storage device with the surveillance evidence. I place it on his desk, touching it with a spark of copper flame. The holographic display springs to life between us, projecting images of the evidence we obtained in the secret sanctuary.

Blaze’s expression remains carefully neutral as he watches, but I catch the subtle signs of his emotional response—the tension in his jaw, the flare of his nostrils, the way his claws momentarily extend before he forces them to retract.

When the footage shows Varen clearly stating his intentions to “eliminate the Guardian female” and “access the central core,” Blaze’s golden eyes flash with barely contained fury.

“My father.” His voice comes tight with controlled rage. “Working with human hunters against his own kind. Against his own son.”

“He lost his human mate to the Purification Edict,” I explain, the knowledge flowing naturally from the sanctuary’s historical archives now imprinted in my mind. “Serena Ellis. She was pregnant when the council forced their separation.”

Blaze’s eyes snap to mine, genuine shock breaking through his controlled facade. “How could you possibly know that? That history was sealed by council order. The records show I am his only heir and the offspring of two dragons.”

“The Guardian Bond.” Pride colors my voice, unexpected but genuine.

“It’s giving us access to knowledge, to abilities, that have been forgotten for generations.

Varen is planning something at the central core.

” I focus on the immediate threat, pushing aside my concern for Raak.

“Something called the Final Purification. It involves capturing me for my ‘essence’ and accessing Emberhold’s power source. ”

“The reverse of the Ancestral Flame Protocol.” Understanding dawns in Blaze’s golden eyes. “Not restoration, but final destruction. The end of dragonkind as we know it.”

“Will you help us stop him?” I meet his gaze directly, unflinching.

Three days ago, I would have cowered before this powerful dragon leader.

Now, with copper fire flowing through my veins and Raak’s strength resonating within me, I face him as an equal—not human, not exactly dragon, but something new and necessary.

Guardian.

Blaze studies me for a long moment, his golden eyes assessing what I’ve become. Then he straightens, decision made. He reaches for a communication crystal on his desk, his decision sending a wave of relief through me.

“I’m calling the loyal warriors. It’s time to end my father’s betrayal.”

Triumph surges through me, flowing outward to Raak, his answering relief and determination enveloping my consciousness. We’ve found an ally in the clan leader, a chance to expose Varen’s treachery before his plan can come to fruition.

“Raak,” Blaze says, “Orrath needs to be contained while I call an emergency council meeting. Otherwise, Varen will have him running interference.”

Raak turns toward the door and is gone within a heartbeat.

“Spark,” the clan leader says, “come with me. It’s time to reveal what is going on in our home.”

The battle is far from over, but for the first time since discovering the sabotage, hope flares within me—not just for our survival, but for the future of an entire species I now consider my own.

No longer human. Not fully dragon. But completely, perfectly Guardian.