Page 125 of Fury of the Bound
“I tapped into the others' life force, just enough to keep your stubborn ass alive.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Others?”
That couldn’t be right. Xarothar was supposed to be the last—my impossible, one-in-a-billion miracle. Dragons were extinct. Long gone. Wiped out during the Ashen war. The idea that there were others out there? It didn’t make sense.
I mean, come on—how the hell do you hide a bunch of giant, fire-breathing beasts? They’re not exactly subtle.
“You’re lying.”
“Don’t insult me, Raven.”
“But it doesn’t make sense.”
Annoyance flared through the bond.
“I am not here to coddle your denial,”I roll my eyes, well, whatever you do when they are closed.“They’re alive. Hidden in Ignarith. And they lent me their strength. Without it, you and I would be dead.”
This is all so confusing.
“They just… gave it to you?”
A pause.“I can be persuasive.”
“Uh-huh. Meaning you threatened them.”
“Strongly encouraged their cooperation.”
“Which is just a fancy way of saying threatened.”
He didn’t deny it, which meant I was right. Xarothar exhaled sharply in my mind.“I will let you rest. For once in your reckless existence, don’t go looking for trouble.”
“That’s asking a lot.”
“I know.”There was dry amusement in his tone, but it faded quickly.“I will explain all of it to you soon, when it is safe.”
I barely registered the hand brushing my cheek—shaking me out of the tunnel I’d fallen into while talking to Xarothar.
“I need you awake.” Ronan’s voice stirred through my haze, rough with desperation. “It’s been nearly two weeks. I can’t… I just can’t.”
His tone cracked, like he’s been holding himself together on grit and guilt. “Malrik says you’re fine—but I have no idea what that lunatic considers fine.”
I wanted to laugh because I don’t think anybody understood that. Malriks' version of fine was like asking a viper for a hug. But knowing they are together, and haven’t killed each other yet, makes me feel… happy.
“Wake up for me,” he whispers. “Not because the realm is going to shit without you—though it is. Not because we can’t take on Vespera or stop the war that’s coming.”
He exhales hard.
“Wake up because I need you. Not your power, not the fire in your blood, not the saviour the realms are waiting for. I need you. The real you. The stubborn, reckless, impossible woman who drives me mad and somehow makes me feel like I can finally fucking breathe.”
A tear drops onto my cheek, warm even through the fog of my unconsciousness.
“I’m in love with you, Ravena.” His voice cracks on the words, like they're tearing out pieces of him on the way out. “So in love, it terrifies me. It's drowning me. And if you don’t wake up… if you don’t open your pretty eyes and hear me, say it for real—I don’t know if I’ll survive it.”
My heart shatters at the sound of him breaking—the ragged, guttural sniffle that tears down every wall I've fought so hard to build. I want to—no, need—to open my eyes, to find him, to throw myself into his arms like holding him is the only thing keeping me tethered to the world.
The last time I saw him, I thought he was dying. Thought that was it—goodbye. I thought I’d never get the chance to tellhim how much he means to me, never see him standing beside me instead of lying broken, bleeding on the floor in Vesperas' dungeons.
I need to open them. To tell him I love him. To make sure he’s still here.
