The silence stretched long enough that the second cub—Kael—made a small sound in his sleep, and Ripple shifted in the nursery cavern, and somewhere on the ridge a wolf called once and was answered.
"What it looks like from where I'm sitting," Drakar said finally, "is a young male bearer who survived things that should have killed him by choosing people rather than power. Who built a sanctuary on cursed land and called it home. Who is currently sitting in the dark with four newborn cubs and a recovered System and the weight of a threshold decision, and is asking a thousand-year-old dragon if he wants to be here." A pause. "The answer is yes. The answer has been yes for longer than I have been willing to say it plainly."
[BONUS OBJECTIVE INITIATED,] System noted, in a voice that was quieter than its notifications usually were. [Awaiting formal declaration.]
"I don't need a formal declaration," Alex said. "I don't need the words. I know."
