23. Everen: Licked Wounds

Everen, in dragon form and aching from a bite wound, allows Cassia to apply a poultice while he broods over killing one of his own before all of Vere Celene. Cassia frames the death as a mercy, but Everen remains heartsick, fearing Arcady sensed enough of the act to know its weight.

They turn to the Queen’s condition. Cassia admits the Queen sleeps often, shares little with healers, and has quietly shifted responsibilities to her, implying serious decline. On the recent challenge, Cassia says Everen proved he does what must be done despite pain, which could attract followers and incite rivals; Mace and Miligrist would bury him again if they could.

Everen recognizes the implications: with the Queen weakened and fate speaking to him, he could lead dragons through the Veil where the Queen failed, reclaiming loyalty and perhaps a crown. He and Cassia acknowledge that makes him dangerous to her inheritance, straining their bond as Everen questions whether love bound by chains is love at all.

Cassia counsels survival: keep his head down, avoid more challenges, scry, hunt, fight wraiths, and wait for the Night of Locked Tombs when Arcady will draw him to the human world. When Everen asks about humans, Cassia confesses she cannot hate them; her visions immerse her in their lives, breeding understanding, while the Queen clings to hatred.

Everen argues the Queen would turn on him and raze humanity once dragons return, whereas Cassia might seek peace. Cassia, alarmed at the treasonous edge of this talk, insists there is still time for their mother to unlearn hate and abruptly leaves, carrying Everen’s unsettling prophecy with her.