Xaden's sharp gaze swept across the courtyard, locking onto the gilded monstrosity standing amidst the chaos—a cannibal, dark-scaled and grotesque, claws slick with fresh gore. But it wasn't the abomination that made his breath catch. Beside it was a gleaming dragon, scales glinting like hammered gold under the fractured daylight.

"Is... is that Y/N?" Violet's voice trembled at his side, wide eyes reflecting disbelief.

Xaden clenched his jaw, shaking his head grimly. The bond with Skyel thrummed faintly in his mind, a flicker of tenuous life. He reached for it, pushing urgency through the connection. Skyel? Are you doing alright?

The response came sluggish and ragged. Ugh, yes—but my belly's nearly ripped open. I can't fly. Pain seethed beneath her words. You'll have to do this on your own.

His stomach sank, but there was no time to wallow. Below, the scene unraveled like a nightmare. Y/N, a shimmering force of defiant gold, flung themselves at the cannibal with a savage snarl.

Their jaws clamped around the beast's thick neck, powerful teeth sinking deep. The cannibal bellowed in rage, slashing furiously with talons that gleamed like obsidian knives. Jagged marks opened along Y/N's golden hide, ichor welling up in glistening rivulets.

But Y/N shook off the attack with a primal fury, slamming the cannibal against the stone wall. The impact reverberated through the courtyard, sending cracks splintering through ancient masonry. Dust plumed into the air, swirling around the combatants like a shroud of ruin.

Tairn's voice thundered through Y/N's mind, as commanding as the roar of a tempest. Just what do you think you're doing? Get away from him, Y/N—you'll die!

And so will you, Y/N shot back with a guttural growl, eyes blazing with defiance. They heaved the cannibal into the wall again, masonry crumbling like brittle parchment.

Heat coiled in Y/N's throat, molten and relentless. They opened their jaws wide, and fire erupted in a torrent of searing destruction. The flames danced wildly, licking at the stone and consuming everything in their path. The cannibal shrieked, blackened flesh curling away as it writhed in agony.

But it wasn't enough.

"Y/N, stop!" Xaden's voice cut through the chaos, sharp with desperation. He stood atop the turret, shadowed by the gnarled branches of the ancient tree. His presence burned in Y/N's vision like a beacon.

"Run!" he shouted, voice raw with command.

Y/N's lips curled back, revealing rows of glinting fangs. Their dragon instincts surged forward, primal and unyielding, resisting reason.

That hesitation proved costly.

The cannibal, wreathed in ash and fury, lunged with terrifying speed. Its jaws clamped around Y/N's neck, serrated teeth digging deep. Agonizing pain exploded through Y/N's body as scales and sinew tore beneath the savage grip.

A shriek ripped from Y/N's throat, raw and desperate. Black spots danced across their vision, and nausea twisted their gut. Their strength faltered, limbs trembling under the weight of agony.

Don't you dare give up, Tairn's voice snarled through the bond, fierce and unyielding. I'm coming now.

But I wasn't listening.

Pain lanced through me, wild and searing, igniting every nerve until coherent thought fractured into shards of agony. My body spasmed uncontrollably, muscles refusing to heed my desperate commands. Wings hung limp against my sides, shattered and useless.

The cannibal grunted—a guttural, savage sound of triumph—before his grip loosened. I felt the sudden absence of his crushing jaws, and for a heart-stopping moment, I hovered in the sky, suspended in a cruel mockery of flight.

Then I fell.

Air rushed past me in a screaming torrent, the fractured courtyard below rising fast to claim me. The world twisted and blurred as I hurtled downward, gravity pulling with merciless resolve.

My wings flailed uselessly, ragged and torn, incapable of catching even a whisper of wind. Panic surged briefly, but it was drowned by the numb acceptance that settled over me like a shroud.

"Farewell," I muttered, the word hollow on my tongue, carried away by the wind.

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the inevitable.

SCENEBREAK

Tairn's fierce gaze locked onto the golden-white dragon plummeting toward the unforgiving ground, limbs lifeless, wings trailing uselessly behind. His bonded—his Y/N.

No.

The thought tore through him, raw and desperate, as he clenched his claws. Breath came ragged through his flared nostrils, black smoke curling with each exhale. Blood slicked the scales of his chest, seeping from wounds he scarcely registered. None of it mattered.

With a guttural roar, he dove after her, the wind battering his wings as he strained against gravity's merciless pull. Faster. He had to be faster.

The ground loomed closer, jagged stone and shattered rubble waiting to claim her. Tairn's jaws snapped together in fierce determination, teeth grinding as he pushed his powerful frame beyond its limits.

At the last possible moment, he caught her, wrapping massive forelimbs around her limp form. His muscles burned with the effort, teeth gritted as he strained to hold her weight. Her shimmering tail dangled limply over his forearm, lifeless.

With a savage beat of his wings, he leveled out, the impact shock reverberating through his body as he dug his back talons into the earth, carving deep gouges to slow their descent. Dust and debris billowed around him as he landed heavily.

Xaden, Violet, and Rhiannon burst from the courtyard, sprinting toward him with wide eyes.

Tairn ignored them all, his attention solely on Y/N. He lowered himself gently, cradling her broken form against his chest. Her head lolled to the side, golden scales dulled by ash and blood.

"Wake up," he snarled through their bond, his voice trembling with fury and fear. He gripped her dragon head in his talons, desperate to reach her.

But there was nothing.

Only a vast, impenetrable black wall where their connection should have thrived.

Tairn's heart thundered, rage and terror twisting into something primal. He roared defiantly into the sky, shaking the earth beneath him.

"Y/N," he growled hoarsely, forcing the bond to pulse stronger. "Come back. You will come back."

A rasping laugh cut through the heavy stillness, jagged and mocking, like shattered glass dragged across stone.

"She won't survive this, Tairnach," the cannibal wheezed, thick blood bubbling at the corners of his twisted mouth. "And you and I both know it."

Tairn's chest heaved, each breath trembling with fury and anguish. His golden eyes, usually fierce and unyielding, now shimmered with unshed tears. The dragon's bared teeth glinted menacingly, saliva flicking from his maw as his tail lashed violently against the earth, carving deep scars into the blood-streaked dirt.

His instincts screamed at him to reduce the creature to ash, but grief tangled with rage, making his limbs heavy with despair.

Skyel had hauled herself from the trench, battered and bleeding, her sleek blue scales dulled by grime. She limped forward, wings dragging limply behind her, each step more unsteady than the last.

Her eyes, wide with horror, locked onto the broken, golden form of Y/N cradled in Tairn's trembling talons. The sight of her friend—the vibrant, fierce dragon who had never bowed to anything—now lifeless and unmoving, struck Skyel silent.

"No," she breathed, the word fragile and disbelieving.

Tairn's talons tightened around Y/N's dragon head, his bond throbbing painfully with desperation.

"She will survive," he snarled, voice raw and broken.

But deep inside, doubt clawed at his resolve like a poison, threatening to unravel him entirely.

Tairn exhaled a shuddering breath, his heart heavy with grief as he gently lowered Y/N's limp form to the ground. His talons trembled as he released her, eyes lingering on her unmoving body.

Nearby, Xaden scrambled up the dragon's massive frame, determination burning through his weariness as he tried to reach Y/N.

Tairn's massive head swung slowly, golden eyes narrowing as they fixed on the cannibal. The creature's knobbly hide twitched, and a crazed gleam flickered in his bloodshot eyes.

Didn't think this old bag of bones had any fight left, the cannibal's expression seemed to sneer, his warped thoughts striking through Tairn's sore, exhausted mind like thorns.

But Tairn wasn't finished. And neither was the fight.

The cannibal lunged suddenly, muscles coiling as he hurled himself toward the Morningstar-tailed dragon. His claws gleamed with brutal intent, aiming for Tairn's vulnerable throat.

But Tairn was faster.

The great dragon roared, tail slashing through the air like a streak of gold lightning. His claws arced upward in a savage swipe, catching the cannibal in the throat.

The sound was visceral—wet and raw—as talons ripped through thick scales and sinew.

The cannibal gagged, a strangled scream tearing from his ruined throat. Dark blood sprayed into the air, glistening as it caught the fractured sunlight. His green eyes flared wide in agony before dimming, the light fading like a snuffed ember.

He collapsed, writhing and clawing at the dirt in a futile attempt to rise. His dying body carved a long trench in the blood-soaked earth before he finally stilled, the last shudder of life leaving him.

Silence hung heavy over the battlefield, broken only by the ragged breaths of dragons and riders alike.

Tairn stood over the fallen enemy, chest heaving with exertion and triumph. But his gaze drifted back to Y/N, despair creeping through his triumph.

The victory meant nothing without her.