The final weeks were a blur of training and preparation.
Seraphina pushed herself harder than ever before, spending every waking moment honing her skills. Dragon riding, combat, blood magic—she absorbed everything Kestrel could teach her, and more besides. The bond with Pyre grew stronger with each passing day, until they could move as a single entity, thought and action merging into one.
But even as she trained, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. That there was some piece of the puzzle she hadn't found yet.
It was late one night, two weeks before the Conjunction, when the Sleeper reached out to her again.
The dream came without warning—one moment she was sleeping, the next she was standing in the vast chamber of sleeping dragons, the creature with red eyes before her.
"THE TIME APPROACHES," the Sleeper said. "ARE YOU READY?"
"I don't know," Seraphina admitted. "I've trained as hard as I can. I've learned everything Kestrel can teach me. But I still feel like there's something I'm missing."
"THERE IS." The Sleeper's ancient eyes seemed to pierce straight through her. "YOU HAVE LEARNED TO FIGHT, TO CHANNEL POWER, TO SEAL BREACHES. BUT YOU HAVE NOT LEARNED THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON."
"What lesson?"
"THAT THE BARRIER IS NOT MERELY A SEAL. IT IS A COVENANT. A PROMISE MADE BETWEEN DRAGONS AND HUMANS AT THE DAWN OF TIME." The Sleeper's form shifted, becoming more solid, more present. "THE VOIDWALKERS ARE THE ENEMIES OF THAT COVENANT. THEY SEEK TO BREAK IT, TO UNMAKE THE BOND BETWEEN YOUR KINDS."
"And if they succeed?"
"THEN DRAGONS AND HUMANS WILL BE SEPARATED FOREVER. THE BOND WILL BE LOST. AND THE WORLD WILL FALL INTO DARKNESS." The Sleeper lowered her massive head. "BUT THERE IS A WAY TO PREVENT THIS. A WAY TO STRENGTHEN THE COVENANT BEYOND ANYTHING THAT HAS COME BEFORE."
"How?"
"THROUGH THE ULTIMATE BOND. A UNION NOT JUST OF MIND AND POWER, BUT OF SOUL." The Sleeper's eyes burned into Seraphina's. "YOU AND YOUR DRAGON MUST BECOME ONE. NOT METAPHORICALLY—LITERALLY. YOUR SOULS MUST MERGE, CREATING A BOND THAT CANNOT BE BROKEN."
"What happens if we do that?"
"YOU BECOME MORE THAN EITHER OF YOU COULD BE ALONE. A NEW KIND OF BEING, WITH THE POWER TO FACE THE VOIDWALKER LORDS ON EQUAL TERMS." The Sleeper paused. "BUT THE PROCESS IS NOT WITHOUT RISK."
"What kind of risk?"
"IF THE MERGER FAILS, BOTH OF YOU WILL DIE. YOUR SOULS WILL BE TORN APART, YOUR BODIES REDUCED TO ASH." The Sleeper's voice was grave. "AND EVEN IF IT SUCCEEDS, YOU WILL NEVER BE FULLY HUMAN AGAIN. NOR FULLY DRAGON. YOU WILL BE SOMETHING IN BETWEEN—A BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS, FOREVER STRADDLING THE LINE BETWEEN YOUR KINDS."
Seraphina thought about this. The risk was enormous, the price even greater. But if the alternative was failure—if the alternative was letting the Voidwalkers destroy everything she loved—was there really a choice?
"How do I do it?"
"THE PROCESS BEGINS WITH THE CONJUNCTION. WHEN THE STARS ALIGN, THE BARRIER WILL BE AT ITS WEAKEST—BUT THE POTENTIAL FOR BONDING WILL BE AT ITS STRONGEST." The Sleeper began to fade. "AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CONJUNCTION, YOU AND YOUR DRAGON MUST JOIN YOUR ESSENCES. LET YOUR SOULS BLEND, LET YOUR BEINGS MERGE. IF YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH, IF YOUR BOND IS TRUE, YOU WILL EMERGE AS SOMETHING NEW."
"And if I'm not strong enough?"
"THEN YOU WILL DIE. AND THE WORLD WILL FALL." The Sleeper's voice was the last thing to fade. "CHOOSE WISELY, LITTLE FLAME. CHOOSE WITH YOUR HEART."
Seraphina woke with a gasp, her heart pounding. Through the bond, she felt Pyre's concern—the dragon had sensed her dream, the Sleeper's words.
You heard? Seraphina asked.
I heard. Pyre's consciousness was solemn. The ultimate bond. It is not something to be undertaken lightly.
I know. But what choice do we have?
There is always a choice. We could face the Voidwalkers as we are, hope that our training and strength will be enough.
And if it isn't?
Then we die. Pyre was quiet for a moment. But perhaps that is better than risking everything on a ritual we don't fully understand.
Seraphina considered this. The Sleeper had offered a path to power beyond anything she had imagined—but the cost was enormous. If she and Pyre merged their souls, they would never be the same again. They would be something new, something in between.
Could she ask Pyre to make that sacrifice? Could she ask it of herself?
Then she thought of Thornhaven, of the simple village she had left behind. Of her grandmother, who had always told her she was special. Of the Queen and Kestrel and all the people who were counting on her.
I have to try, she said finally. We have to try. The world is depending on us.
Pyre was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, her consciousness wrapped around Seraphina's, warm and accepting.
Then we try. Together.
Together. It was all they had. And perhaps, in the end, it would be enough.