Chapter 60

Under moonlight in the Dragon Court, Medra meets Blake. Attraction overwhelms her until Blake bites her neck without consent. When confronted, Blake claims their prior blood exchange completed a mate-bond, asserting he can feed only from Medra and her body will answer his call. Medra condemns the deception and his past manipulations, including sending Visha after her.

Blake doubles down, insisting the bond is unbreakable. As Medra tries to leave, he commands her to stop; she freezes, realizing this is not thrallweave but compulsion from the bond. He feeds again, pleasure dulling pain as her strength ebbs and he nearly takes too much.

A massive quake erupts, hurling them to the ground and tearing black stones from the courtyard. The House Avari dragon statue fractures and collapses, revealing a living black dragon beneath. The dragon, Nyxaris, unfurls and roars, blotting the moon as debris rains down. Blake shields Medra from falling stone.

Nyxaris speaks mind-to-mind in Classical Sangrathan, thanking Medra for severing his soul-binding months earlier. Medra, terrified of the consequences if he leaves, attempts flattery and formal pledges to initiate a rider bond. Nyxaris rejects rehearsed oaths, cautions her to lie to survive if needed, and spares her only out of fleeting gratitude for his awakening.

Nyxaris ascends over Bloodwing Academy toward Veilmar, his roar echoing across the campus. Medra and Blake, bloodied and shaken, face the irreversible aftermath: an exposed, coercive bond between them and a freed dragon whose return will not be on anyone’s terms.