Page 98 of Tempest Blazing
My chest tightened, but not with panic this time. With something warmer, more dangerous. Flashes of the peoplewho'd stood beside me—not because of my ranking, not because of my points, but because they'dchosenme.
Kane, his calculating gaze softening when he looked at me. Those rare moments when his walls came down. Draven's hand on my shoulder, steady and warm. Anya's quiet understanding, the way she saw through masks because she wore so many herself. Ciaran, always supporting me from the shadows. And Mason—my mate, solid and unshakeable.
They saw me—truly saw me. Not the desperate girl trying to prove herself worthy. Not the broken thing my mother had tried to shape. They saw Tess, with all her flaws and fears and stubborn determination, and they'd chosen to stand with her anyway.
The realization struck like lightning. Every time I'd stumbled, they'd been there. Every moment of doubt, they'd answered with faith. Not because I was perfect. Because I wastheirs.
None of them had chosen me because of points on a scoreboard. They'd chosen me because of who I was—messy, imperfect, human me. The thought sliced deep: if I kept playing this game the way the Guild wanted, if I kept chasing their approval at any cost, I was betraying them. I was betraying myself.
A warm pulse answered in my chest—Thalon's bond. Not urging me to fight harder or win faster, not demanding victory or dominance. Just a quiet promise that resonated in my bones:I'm here. No matter what happens, I'm here.
I forced myself to look up. To really see what was happening around me instead of fixating on my own failure. And what I saw made my stomach turn.
The left-behind. Injured applicants slumped against walls, their magic burnt out and their spirits broken. People caught inelaborate traps, their amulets glowing red with penalty markers. I recognized one of them—a young mage I'd baited into a snare earlier, part of my "strategic" gameplay. She was curled against a broken pillar, tears streaming down her face as she stared at her amulet's crimson glow.
Nausea rolled over me.I did that. I helped create this mess.Ice water in my veins—I'd been so focused on surviving, on proving myself worthy, that I'd become part of the very system crushing people beneath its weight. I'd even gone so far as to reject my own friend, Anya, the one who had been with me the whole time.
My gut twisted with shame so sharp it was almost physical. This wasn't competition—it was culling. A systematic elimination of anyone who wasn't ruthless enough, clever enough, powerful enough to survive the Guild's idea of worthiness. And I'd been playing along, telling myself it was necessary, that this was just how things worked.
But weren't the Dragon Riders supposed to stand for something better than this? Weren't we supposed to protect people, not abandon them when they needed help most?
I stopped measuring the trial in points. The scoreboard became meaningless noise, the Council's approval a distant concern. The Riders I'd dreamed of joining—the ones I'd read about in ancient texts and heard whispered in legends—they didn't just guard their own wins. They lifted others. They protected the vulnerable. They stood between the darkness and the light, no matter the cost.
If I was going to fail, I'd fail doing the thing I actually believed in.
The Draconis Heart stirred—light and shadow threading together in my veins like molten gold and liquid starlight. The ancient artifact embedded deep within my chest pulsed with warmth, more alive than I'd ever felt it before. My handtrembled as I braced against the wall, and a spark flared at my fingertips, golden-white edged in violet flame.
This isn't the shield. It's... different.A thrill shot through me, mingled with a sharp edge of fear.What is this?
Not my Golden Shield. This was something else entirely, something that hummed in my bones and sang in my blood.Purifying Fire.A healing flame that could mend what was broken, restore what was lost, cleanse what was corrupted.
I'd never been able to access this power before—not in training, not in practice, not even when I'd desperately needed it. Purifying magic was supposed to be one of my bonded abilities, but it had always remained frustratingly out of reach. Until now. Until this moment when everything I believed in hung in the balance.
The realization hit me like lightning—this wasn't just about accessing dormant power. This was about becoming who I was meant to be.
I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath, letting the light swell within me. For the first time in my life, I didn't fight the magic or try to control it. I simply... let it be.
The fire spread through my body like liquid warmth, not burning but healing. The sharp agony in my ribs began to fade, the bones knitting back together with tiny pops and clicks. My breathing steadied, the painful hitch disappearing as damaged tissue repaired itself. The throbbing ache in my skull receded, leaving only clarity in its wake.
When I opened my eyes, my hands were still aglow with that impossible fire, ready to turn outward instead of in. Ready to offer what I'd just received—healing, hope, a second chance.
I pushed myself up from the wall, my body moving with renewed strength and purpose. No more hiding.
The trial was still raging around me, applicants still fighting for points and position and the Guild's approval.
But I wasn't playing that game anymore.
Chapter 40
Tess
The arena had descended into chaos. Flags changed hands every few seconds, alliances shattered like glass, and the metallic tang of blood mixed with the acrid smoke of overused magic. Somewhere in the distance, someone screamed—pain or rage, I couldn't tell.
I stood at the edge of a rocky outcropping, watching it all unfold below me. My team was probably wondering where the hell I'd gone. Part of me knew I should rejoin them, help them rack up points, play the game the way it was meant to be played. I could check my score—see how badly I was losing—but the numbers felt meaningless now.
The whole thing. Points, ranking, proving myself through competition. None of it mattered anymore. The warmth in my chest—that purifying fire that had healed me—still pulsed steady and sure. It wasn't demanding anything from me. Wasn't pushing me toward victory or glory. It just... existed. And for the first time since arriving at these trials, I knew exactly what I needed to do.
The next hour blurred together. A young fae trapped behind thorned vines that pulsed with dark magic—their team nowhere to be seen. My fire dissolved the barrier like morning mist. They thanked me quickly and headed back toward the main arena,either to find their teammates or to quit entirely—I couldn't tell which.
