35. Everen: The Return

Everen prepares to reenter the Veil, this time deliberately, with provisions strapped to his spines and an escort of elite dragons led by Cassia. Queen Naccara, riding Mace in preterit despite her wound, promises not to follow. After the dragons repel an initial surge of wraiths, Everen confronts the political rift with his mother and publicly vows to bring about dragon–human harmony, effectively issuing a challenge to her authority.

As the rip widens, Everen senses he may not return. He enters the storm, following the faint golden bond to Arcady through burning, freezing rain. Far below, he beholds the Dreamer as a colossal serpent; its charred, glowing wound mesmerizes him, and drifting closer awakens danger.

Smoke from the wound coalesces into wraiths whose clicking begins to stir the Dreamer. Realizing the wraiths are the Dreamer’s nightmares, Everen flees upward but loses the golden thread and risks dissolution in the storm. He calls to Arcady, receiving no answer as the wraiths close in and his sense of self frays.

Focusing on the bond, Everen finally perceives Arcady’s sleeping, star-lit form, which mouths the warning not to wake the Dreamer and utters the spell. Answering the beckon, Everen is drawn out of the Veil’s storm and into Arcady’s summoned refuge, escaping the wraiths at the last moment.