Days passed since the egg was born.
It remained cradled in velvet and light, resting in the sacred chamber beneath the castle, guarded day and night. No one but the inner circle had seen it. No one but Xenos and I could feel it breathing.
And yet, every time I looked at it, all I could think of was Smokey's warning:
Protect it. Find him. Tell no one.
So I smiled for the others. I gave updates. I trained with the guards and dined with Xenos. But the truth was—I'd begun my search.
In silence.
In shadows.
With only one guide by my side.
---
"You're awfully quiet today," Xenos said one morning, brushing a strand of hair from my face as we stood on the balcony.
I forced a soft laugh. "Just… tired. All this change. It's a lot."
He nodded, pressing a kiss to my temple. "If you need rest—"
"I'll be fine," I said quickly.
He didn't push.
But as soon as he left, I turned toward the garden where the moonflowers bloomed beneath the fading light—and whispered, "Ziri."
She appeared in the shimmer of dusk, her spirit forming like mist dancing in moonlight. Her presence was quiet today. Cautious.
"You've come to seek again," she said, not as a question, but a fact.
"I need to find Vyrmoth," I whispered. "Smokey said I had to. I can't just wait for fate to throw him in my path."
Ziri's violet eyes glowed faintly. "I cannot show you the way. But I can help you think."
She drifted forward, weaving around me like smoke.
"Then help me think," I said, breathless. "Where would a dragon cursed as an infant go? What remains of that time?"
Ziri didn't answer right away.
Instead, she hummed—and then whispered the first of many riddles.
"Cold breath in hidden fire,
A brother buried in silent choir.
Stone that sings and ice that cries—
Seek where ash and snow both lie."
I blinked. "What is that?"
"A path," Ziri murmured. "If you can read it."
Then she vanished into the air.
---
That night, I poured over old maps, candles burning down to their bones.
Ash and snow.
Fire and cold.
There weren't many places in the realm where opposites coexisted. But one name kept returning to me again and again.
Aether's Spine.
A mountain range older than any city—where lava once carved through ancient glaciers, and the ruins of a lost temple were said to rest. It was silent now. Forgotten.
But something about the name made my skin prickle.
A brother buried in silent choir…
What if Vyrmoth wasn't lost?
What if he was waiting?
The thought chilled me.
I folded the map and tucked it away. If I left the castle openly, they would question me. But I could slip away for a day—two at most. Enough to scout. Enough to look for a sign.
Enough to follow Ziri's next enigma.
Because I had the egg now. A beginning.
But somewhere out there… was an end that never got to become one.
And if I didn't find Vyrmoth first—someone else would.
The castle was quiet.
Only the soft clink of buckles and the rustle of cloth broke the silence in my chamber as I packed quickly, efficiently—throwing only what I needed into the leather satchel: a blade, the folded map, the enchanted compass, a few Brugmangia petals wrapped in silk, and a small vial of my own blood. Just in case.
I tugged on my cloak, hands trembling slightly at the thought of leaving. Of lying.
Of facing the mountain alone.
I had to do it. There was no other way.
The moment I turned toward the door, strong arms wrapped around me from behind.
Warm.
Familiar.
Anchoring.
"Going somewhere without saying goodbye?" Xenos murmured against my neck, his voice a low rumble that sent a wave of guilt crashing through me.
He kissed the spot just below my ear—soft, lingering. His hand brushed over my waist like he was memorizing it, holding on just a little too tightly.
"I didn't want to wake you," I said, my voice carefully even.
He chuckled, still nestled behind me. "I wasn't asleep."
I closed my eyes.
His presence was a balm and a wound all at once.
I couldn't let this stop me.
With a sharp breath, I twisted out of his arms and stepped away. "You shouldn't be here."
Xenos blinked, the warmth in his eyes faltering. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I snapped too quickly. "Just—don't cling to me, Xenos."
His brow furrowed. "Cling?"
"You act like I'm going to break if you're not beside me every second," I said coldly, wrapping the strap of the satchel across my shoulder. "But maybe you need to get a life of your own. I'm not your project. I'm not yours."
I saw it—the flicker of hurt that passed through his eyes.
Good. Let him believe it.
Let him hate me if it meant he'd stop asking questions.
"Sage…" he said softly, "where are you going?"
"It's none of your business."
Silence hung between us, thick and awful.
He took a step forward, but I held up a hand.
"I need space. I need to breathe. And I can't do that with you following me around like a shadow."
"I'm not trying to control you—"
"Then don't ask questions," I cut in. "Just let me go."
And with that, I turned and walked out of the room, not daring to look back.
---
The castle halls echoed with my footsteps, but no one stopped me.
The gates opened with a groan, and the cool night air kissed my skin.
Ziri shimmered beside me briefly as I stepped into the dark, her presence silent but steady.
"You didn't have to hurt him," she whispered.
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. "I did."
"Why?"
"Because if he knew… he'd come with me."
And I couldn't risk that.
Not with what was waiting in the mountains.
Not with the secret I had to keep.
The stars overhead flickered like warning lights in the heavens as I disappeared into the forest, Aether's Spine calling to me like a ghost in the wind.
I whispered one last word into the night, soft and broken.
"Forgive me."