Page 26 of Tempest Blazing (The Dragonne Library #3)

Tess

The sound of massive wings beating overhead sliced through our conversation. Everyone went silent, heads tilting toward the windows as a familiar presence slammed into my consciousness.

"Little one."

Relief flooded through me so completely I nearly sagged in my chair. "Thalon."

Through the kitchen window, I could see him landing in the clearing beyond the house—forty-five feet of obsidian and gold scales gleaming in the morning light. His eyes found mine through the glass, ancient amber burning with protective fire.

"I need to speak with you. Alone."

"He wants to talk," I said, pushing back from the table. "Just us."

Mason's hand tightened on mine, the mate bond flickering with reluctance. "Everything okay?"

"I don't know yet." I squeezed his fingers before releasing them. "But I need to find out."

Ciaran was already moving toward the door, shadows sliding around him like living things. "I'll portal everyone back to the library grounds. Give you privacy."

"Makes sense you'd have a warded house," Draven said, standing and stretching. "Being a literal legend and all."

Kane nodded thoughtfully. "Safe house, neutral ground, protection from scrying—strategic positioning."

"Plus," Mason added with a rare hint of humor, "probably gets pretty lonely being the only dragon shifter in existence. Good to have somewhere to retreat."

Something flickered across Ciaran's face—too quick to interpret, but it made my chest tighten with unexpected sympathy. How long had he been alone? How many centuries had he spent isolated, caught between worlds, belonging fully to neither?

"The wards will hold," Ciaran said simply. "Take all the time you need."

He gestured, and shadows began pooling near the doorway, forming into what looked like a shimmering portal. One by one, the others stepped through—Mason last, pausing to catch my eye.

"Find me when you get back?"

"Always."

The portal snapped shut, leaving me alone in the suddenly quiet house. Through the window, Thalon waited with the patience of mountains, his massive head tilted slightly as he watched me approach.

Whatever he needed to discuss, whatever had brought him here with that weight in his mental voice—I had the feeling it was going to change everything.

Again.

I took a deep breath and headed for the door.

Cool air bit my face as I stepped outside, carrying the scent of pine and something deeper—ancient magic that hummed from the very bones of Ciaran's sanctuary. Thalon rose gracefully to his feet, his enormous form somehow managing to seem both imposing and gentle as I approached.

"Is it okay for us to be wandering around like this?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at Thalon as we walked. The question came out sharper than I intended.

Thalon's scales shifted from obsidian to gold in the filtered light, his massive presence reassuring behind me.

"Ciaran has made this a safe place for you," he said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to harmonize with the soft hum of magic rising from the earth itself.

"And if he hadn't..." His tone darkened slightly. "I would have."

The certainty in his words steadied me. Our bond pulsed beneath my ribs—a connection that felt more precious now after nearly losing it.

"When that demon had me..." I swallowed hard, the memory still too fresh. "I've never felt so helpless, Thalon. All that power you've been teaching me, all those hours of training—none of it mattered. I couldn't even scratch him."

My hands balled into fists. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm worth all this—the risks you all took, the effort to save me. What good is a dragon rider who can't even defend herself?"

Thalon's mental presence wrapped around me like a warm embrace. "You are worth everything, little one. Every risk, every moment."

"I'm trying to believe that," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "To trust in these bonds, in all of you who keep saying you care. But it's hard when I remember how useless I was."

The collar. The void. That awful silence where our connection should have been.

My throat closed up. I pressed my lips together, trying to find words for something that felt too raw to touch. My hands trembled as I curled them into fists, nails biting into my palms. The physical pain was nothing compared to that memory scraping at my bones.

"I couldn't feel you," I said finally, my voice rougher than I intended. "Not even a flicker."

The words hung between us like a blade. I felt Thalon's presence shift behind me, his massive frame settling closer. The warmth of his body radiated against my back, but it was the gentle press of his snout against my shoulder that nearly undid me.

" I know, little one. I felt it too—that terrible silence where you should have been. " His telepathy flowed through me, warmer than any physical heat, but I could feel the thread of anguish woven through it. The way his mental voice caught, like even thinking about our severed bond hurt him.

I turned toward him, jaw clenched against the emotions threatening to spill over.

"I can't be that vulnerable again, Thalon.

There has to be something—some way to make sure I'm not just dead weight when it matters.

" My voice cracked halfway through, but I forced myself to continue without flinching.

"I won't be some decorative hostage again. "

The admission tasted like copper. I'd been so helpless, so utterly useless when it mattered most. The memory of that magical void still made my skin crawl, made my magic recoil like a wounded animal.

" There is a way, Tess. The Draconis Heart can change you—make our bond unbreakable, even by the darkest magic. But the transformation… " He paused, his mental voice growing heavy. " It cannot be undone. "

My hand drifted unconsciously to the pendant resting against my chest—the Draconis Heart I'd been wearing for weeks.

"How did Dominick not find this?" I asked, lifting the pendant slightly.

Thalon's eyes fixed on the Heart, and his mental voice carried ancient reverence.

"The Heart recognized your soul, little one.

It wove itself into your very essence the moment you first touched it—became part of your magical signature, invisible to those who would use it for darkness.

Dominick saw only a simple pendant because the Heart chose to show him only what a simple pendant would be.

Ancient artifacts do not merely hide—they judge.

And you, Tempest Whittaker, were found worthy. "

The fire opal at the pendant's center pulsed with sudden warmth, as if acknowledging Thalon's words. I could feel something stirring within the stone—not just magic, but intelligence. Purpose. It had been protecting me. Waiting.

"Change me how?" The question barely made it past my lips. This felt bigger than convenience, bigger than just protection. This was about becoming something new. Something more. But what if I wasn't strong enough? What if the transformation broke me?

" It will merge the essence of an ancient dragon with your own magic, little one.

You will still be human, but you will also be something more.

Our bond will become part of your very soul—impossible to sever, no matter what forces try to tear us apart.

" Thalon's tone carried a reverence that made my skin prickle.

His molten eyes locked with mine, waiting, giving me the space to truly understand what he was offering.

Doubt clawed at me. What if this changes me beyond recognition? What if I lose the parts of myself that make me human? What if the dragon essence swallows everything I am?

My mother's voice echoed with cutting clarity: "You're too impulsive, Tempest. You never think things through. You just charge ahead and expect everyone else to clean up your messes." Was this another reckless decision?

What if the transformation failed entirely? What if my human soul couldn't handle dragon essence and I died in agony? What if I became something monstrous?

My pulse hammered against my ribs. The pendant felt heavier against my chest, its warmth almost scorching now. Part of me wanted to rip it off, to run back to the safety of being ordinary, powerless but predictable.

But then I remembered the suffocating void where Thalon should have been, the helpless terror of being cut off from the most important connection in my life. I remembered Dominick's satisfied smile as he watched me struggle against bonds I couldn't break, magic I couldn't touch.

Some risks were worth taking.

Even if I wasn't sure I was brave enough.

I reached out slowly, fingers trembling as they brushed against the fire opal.

The stone was scorching, pulsing with heat that reminded me of Thalon's breath.

Something deep in my chest responded immediately, my core magic stirring and reaching toward the pendant with desperate recognition.

Gold and purple light flickered beneath my skin, wild and eager.

The sensation made me dizzy. I could feel the potential thrumming through the stone, could sense the vast power waiting just beneath its surface.

But more than that, I could feel how it called to something fundamental in me—not just my magic, but my very essence.

What if I wasn't worthy? What if the Heart rejected me?

"I'd rather risk becoming more than stay small and helpless," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Do it."

Thalon's massive head dipped toward me, his molten gaze softening as it swept over my face. A low rumble vibrated deep in his chest—not quite a purr, but something deeper, more reverent. The sound resonated through my bones.

His wings spread wide—not for flight, but to create a shield around our glade. Shadows and golden light rippled outward from his massive frame, weaving together into a dome of protective resonance that made the air itself hum with power.

" Then we do this together, as we do all things. " His mental voice carried such fierce love and determination that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. " Trust in us, little one. Trust in what we can become. "

I closed my eyes, grounding myself in the feel of earth beneath my knees, in the steady warmth of Thalon's presence surrounding me.

My core magic stirred more insistently now—that familiar gold and purple fire that had always felt slightly wild, slightly beyond my complete control.

But here, with Thalon's power wrapping around me, it felt less chaotic.

More purposeful. Though my hands still shook.

With unsteady fingers, I lifted the Draconis Heart and pressed it against my chest, right over my sternum. The warmth seeped through my shirt, through my skin, burning into my breastbone. My breath came in short, anxious bursts.

"Tempest," I whispered—not my given name, but the truth of who I'd become since bonding with Thalon. The name felt right. Like claiming something that had always been mine.

The pendant flared to life.

The light didn't explode outward—it imploded. Searing inward through the silver filigree. Into my skin without burning. My back arched. Every breath stolen. Magic flooded my senses. Fire and shadow. Light and darkness. All of it threading through me. Weaving itself into my bones.

I could feel Thalon's essence mixing with mine—his ancient wisdom, his fierce protectiveness, his unshakeable strength. But more than that, I could feel something uniquely my own rising to meet it, something that had always been there but had never been fully awakened.

Thalon's roar split the air. Not pain—pure resonance. Recognition. Completion. I felt it in my bones, in the marrow of me, as our bond deepened beyond anything I'd thought possible. The world seemed to hold its breath.

My magic twisted. Reformed. The familiar gold and purple fire was still there, but now it was threaded through with something darker, more primal. Dragon fire. Shadow flame. Power that tasted of centuries and starlight.

The pendant began to liquefy against my chest, fire opal and silver filigree melting into something that felt like liquid starlight. Not burning, but consuming. I could feel each drop of molten metal threading through my skin like veins of pure fire, seeking my heart with deliberate purpose.

It moved with its own intelligence, flowing deeper and deeper until it reached the very core of my being and settled there like a second heartbeat, pulsing in perfect synchronization with my own.

Overwhelming. Caught between ecstasy and terror. Every cell singing with new possibility. New strength. I could feel Thalon not just beside me now, but within me, our souls intertwined in a way that made separation impossible.

When the transformation finally ended, I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air that tasted different somehow—richer, more alive. My sternum glowed beneath my shirt, pulsing with my heartbeat. The light was subtle but unmistakable, a visible sign of what we'd just done.

I could feel everything—the ancient magic flowing through Dracara's soil, the whisper of wind through leaves that hadn't stirred before, the steady pulse of Thalon's massive heart just feet away.

But most of all, I could feel him inside me now, not just connected but truly merged.

No collar, no magic, no force in any realm could sever this bond.

The realization hit me like a physical blow—relief so profound it nearly broke me. Never again would I feel that terrible silence. Never again would I be cut off from the most important connection in my life.

With effort, I lifted my head, hair clinging to my damp forehead. When I met Thalon's molten gaze, I saw my own wonder reflected back at me, along with something that made my chest tight with emotion.

I pressed a hand to my sternum, feeling the warm pulse of light beneath my palm—steady, unbreakable, eternal. The glow flared brighter at my touch, then settled back into its gentle rhythm.

This was what we'd become. What we'd always been meant to be.

Unbreakable.