Page 48 of Song of the Heart Scale (The Dragon’s Ballad #3)

CAT

T he air in the chamber plunged into stillness, laden with the implications of what just happened. Azareth was gone. Thorne was dead. The war was over. And yet, there was no peace in my chest.

I stood by the arched window overlooking what was once a battlefield, now blanketed in the smoky remnants of war.

After a few moments, I curled up in a plush chair and tucked my legs beneath me as I watched Damien with quiet understanding.

Royal Prince Bai stood at the center of the room, his arms crossed behind his back and deep in thought.

“I want to leave,” Damien said finally, his voice low but resolute. “With Cat. To her world.”

I straightened just a fraction and held my breath.

His uncle turned to him, his face unreadable. “You mean... for good?”

Damien nodded. “But there's something I must do first.” He moved to a writing desk in the corner and scribbled a quick message. Sealing it, he stepped into the hallway and handed it to a guard. “Send this by raven immediately. It must reach the warlock Garrick.”

The soldier nodded and rushed off.

When Damien stepped back into the room, Royal Prince Bai and I were still where he'd left us, both of us watching him expectantly.

“I need to know Elaria is in good hands,” he said. “Someone who knows this land and its people. Someone the council will trust. Someone who doesn’t crave power, but who knows how to wield it.”

Royal Prince Bai frowned. “Damien... don’t say it.”

“It should be you ,” Damien said firmly.

His uncle shook his head. “No. I was never meant to rule. My place was in the shadows. As advisor. Protector.”

“You’ve led better than most kings ever have!” Damien shot back. “You’re fair. Objective. Strategic. The people respect you. So do the clans. And the council already listens to you.”

Royal Prince Bai was silent for several long moments, the tension mounting.

Then the door opened.

Prince Julian stepped in, his appearance surprising us all. He looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in days, but his voice was strong. “Uncle Bai should take the throne.”

We all turned to him, stunned.

Julian strode in confidently, stopping just beside Royal Prince Bai. “There is no one more qualified. Not me, and certainly no one from the other houses. He kept this realm from falling apart even when he had no power to command. Imagine what he could do if he did .”

Royal Prince Bai opened his mouth, but Julian raised a hand. “You once told me to find the path of most honor. This is yours.”

“Didn’t you always want the throne?” Royal Prince Bai questioned with a raised brow.

Julian sighed as he ran a hand through his messy hair. “Yes, I did. But after spending the past few days under house arrest and threat because of Thorne, I think I’ve come to my senses, thank you very much,” he grinned dryly.

Damien snorted and rolled his eyes. “Scared that easily, brother?”

“Not scared, brother, just know when to do the right thing.”

The older man looked between us all, then slowly bowed his head.

“Then I will accept. But only if you stay to help me, Julian.”

Julian smiled faintly. “Of course.”

Julian must have been scared shitless of his brother these past few days to have been scared straight. Damn.

“Send word to the council. I want everyone assembled in the throne room in one hour,” Royal Prince Bai commanded Julian.

Julian nodded and left.

Malachar cleared his throat to catch our attention. “Since you want to leave, now is prime time.” He pointed up. The rain pelting the roof and thunder cracking the skies was evident. “The storm will last twelve hours.”

I sighed. “Thank god.”

“Make the most of it,” Malachar said as he bowed to Damien. “Until we meet again, Your Highness.”

“Until next time, Malachar.”

As the seer walked out of the throne room, I wondered what would happen to him. Would he stay with Royal Prince Bai or seek his fortunes elsewhere?

I turned to Royal Prince Bai. “Your Highness... there’s one more thing. Maeve died because of me.”

Royal Prince Bai’s eyes flickered, pain flashing in them.

I stood, steady despite the tremble in my voice. “Please give her a proper burial. She was brave. She never once left my side.”

Royal Prince Bai solemnly nodded. “She will be buried in the royal garden, beside the magnolia tree. Where heroes rest.”

I wiped the tears from my eyes. Damien took my hand and squeezed it. I squeezed back.

A knock sounded at the door.

Garrick stepped in, looking as roguish as ever with his cloak draped over one shoulder, his armor bloody, and a smirk barely veiling the concern in his single eye. “You called for me?”

Damien stepped forward. “I need a favor.”

He arched a brow. “Don’t I always deliver?”

Damien didn’t smile. “I want you to bind my life to Cat’s.”

The room went still.

I spun toward him. “Damien— what ?!”

Royal Prince Bai stared, his mouth agape. “That’s not something to joke about.”

“I’m not joking,” he said. “I’ve lived long enough. Centuries more stretch ahead of me, but she only has one life. I want to spend it with her, and when it ends, I want to die with her.”

My eyes filled with tears. “You don’t have to do this.”

He turned to me. “Yes, I do. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that time without meaning is no time at all. You gave my life meaning.”

I shook my head. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”

Determination shone in his eyes. “It’s not a sacrifice. It’s a choice. One I’m finally free to make.”

Garrick looked between us, the levity gone from his face. “This kind of binding isn’t easy. Nor is it reversible.”

“I know.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness?” Garrick said, looking at me for confirmation.

“No he’s not!” I shouted. “And Garrick doesn’t do anything without something in return. Since you won’t be here to pay him back, he won’t be able—”

“My uncle will guarantee him a place on the council,” Damien said quickly. “How does that sound, Garrick? You no longer need to carry the name ‘Garrick the Betrayer’.”

Garrick’s one eye widened. “That…” He looked at me as if this was one deal he couldn’t pass up.

I sighed and realized there was nothing I could do at this point. If Damien was this determined, then he would make it happen regardless of what I said. “Fine,” I muttered.

Garrick exhaled and nodded. “Then let’s do it.”

I buried my face in my mate’s chest. Damien wrapped his arms around me, grounding me as much as himself.

Royal Prince Bai looked away, misty-eyed.

For once, there were no thrones, wars, or titles.

Just love.

And the choice to live it fully, no matter how long—or short—that life might be.

Thunder cracked like a war drum above us, echoing across the valley in rolling booms that shook the sky.

Rain pelted down in heavy sheets, soaking my cloak and turning the dirt road beneath our boots to thick sludge.

Still, we pressed on. Damien’s hand was warm and steady in mine as we climbed the rocky ridge that overlooked the River Elara.

The river churned violently under the storm’s assault, a silver serpent slicing through the valley with wild, frothing teeth.

Lightning illuminated the landscape in strobe-like flashes, casting the jagged cliffs and dripping trees in stark relief.

The air was thick with the scent of wet stone and pine, and the hiss of rain over water drowned out nearly all other sounds. Nearly.

I could still hear my galloping heartbeat.

Damien’s cloak flared behind him as we came to a stop at the river’s edge, where the current thrashed just inches from our toes.

This place—the mouth of the River Elara—was said to be ancient, older than even the first dragons.

And hidden within its depths, as I had learned from Malachar, was the portal that tethered this world to mine.

Earth.

Los Angeles.

“Are you sure?” I asked, my voice barely audible over the storm.

Damien’s obsidian eyes met mine, steady and searching, and he nodded. “There’s nothing left for me here. Not without you.” He reached up and brushed a wet strand of hair from my face. “We go together.”

We stood there for a moment, caught in the eye of everything we were leaving behind. Elaria, filled with all its scars, shadows, and magic. His past, his pain. The war-torn remnants of a realm we helped save.

I took a deep breath. The storm filled my lungs with cold, clean air that felt almost like a baptism. “Ready?”

He grinned that lopsided smile I had memorized. “After you, my love.”

Hand in hand, we stepped forward. The cold water rushed around our ankles, biting through leather and skin like knives.

Each step into the river was a battle. The current pulled at us and tried to drag us under, but Damien held me upright, his grip unyielding.

The deeper we went, the stronger the pull became, as though the portal itself sensed our presence and sought to claim us.

Waist-deep now, the rain mixed with river spray and the world around us became nothing but gray haze and rushing sound.

“Damien!” I shouted when my foot slipped on the slick riverbed.

He caught me immediately, wrapping his thick arms around my waist. “I’ve got you!”

I looked up at him, shivering, drenched, but alive. My heart ached with how much I loved him.

And then I felt it.

A pull—not physical or magical. Celestial.

The water shimmered around us in a widening ring of light. Beneath the surface, something began to glow and pulse with a soft golden hue. The portal.

Damien looked down, his eyes wide. “It’s opening!”

The glow spread, encircling our legs before rising up our bodies like we were being consumed by starlight. My breath hitched as warmth shot through my chest, through the twin flame mark on my forearm.

“This is it,” I whispered.

The storm around us seemed to still. For one breathless moment, the thunder faded, the rain slowed, and the river cradled us like a womb.

And then the world tipped.

We were yanked downward—not drowning, but traveling . Through light. Through time. Through worlds.

My body went weightless, but my hand stayed locked in Damien’s.

And then we were falling—falling up —out of the water and onto solid, wet pavement.

I gasped and coughed violently as air rushed back into my lungs. Damien rolled beside me, groaning.

I blinked through the pouring rain.

Streetlights.

Billboards.

The metallic tang of car exhaust.

Car horns honking in the distance.

Los Angeles .

We lay on the ground in the middle of a raging storm, surrounded by the slick asphalt of some forgotten backroad behind the hills.

No… this was the road that wound near the lake where I performed the stunt that took me to Elaria.

The once wide, churning River Elara had become a narrow, glimmering stream behind us on this side of Earth.

Damien pushed himself up with wide eyes as he stared at the concrete jungle beyond. “By the Immortals!” he muttered.

I nodded, tears mixing with the rain on my face. “Welcome to my world,” I whispered.

He reached over and brushed a hand along my cheek. “Then let’s make it our world.”

And for the first time in a long time, I believed we actually could.