Chapter 4: Toward The Same Place

A black claw broke the surface at dawn. It scraped helplessly against the rocks before slipping beneath the waves again. Another wave crashed against the shore, and the claw emerged once more, shaking violently, blood covering every scale. This time, it found enough purchase, and Ravynne dragged herself onto the shore one broken breath at a time, every movement painting the rocks crimson.

Now that the Red Moon had disappeared, the Dragon fell silent. The Dragonbane bullets were gone, but the Dragonsteel wasn't. Jagged fragments still remained buried beneath her flesh.

Her body convulsed. "...No..."

With trembling claws, she dug into her own wound. The first shard came free, and pain exploded through her body. She screamed, but the sound vanished into the empty coastline. Another shard remained. She tore deeper, blood splashing across the stones as she searched for it, but the final fragment refused to move. Her claws slipped.

She cried out. "Come... out..."

With one desperate pull, the last piece finally came free and clattered against the rocks. Immediately, her dragon blood surged through the wound, and her skin began knitting itself back together. Only the pain remained.

Her breathing slowly steadied. Her vision blurred, and the crashing of the sea became distant as darkness finally claimed her.

Morning came quietly. The blood-red moon faded from the sky, and one by one, the soldiers stationed around the palace lowered their weapons. The alarm ended, and the kingdom began to breathe again. Inside the palace, someone couldn't.

Leander hadn't slept. Not even for a minute. No one had seen Ravynne since yesterday afternoon, and the longer the hours passed, the more certain he became that something had happened to her.

He stood alone inside her office, staring at the desk, the books, and the papers she had left behind. Everything remained exactly where she'd left it. Her notes were still stacked beside the lamp, her cup was still on the corner of the desk, and even the chair was pushed back at the same angle she always left it. It looked as though she had simply stepped away and would return at any moment.

"...Where are you?"

Silence answered him.

A knock shattered it, and the door flew open.

"Your Highness." A Royal Guard entered, breathing hard.

"We've received reports from Oakhaven."

Leander turned immediately. "What reports?"

The guard hesitated, his eyes wandering around the room before settling on the prince.

"...Witnesses claim they saw a dragon."

Leander froze. The color drained from his face.

The television mounted on the wall flickered to life. Morning news appeared on the screen, and the anchor spoke calmly beneath the image of the Red Moon.

"Good morning, Valdris. The Red Moon has passed, but one question remains."

Grainy footage filled the screen. A massive creature flew beneath the crimson moon, its enormous wings cutting through the night as fire erupted from its jaws. The footage shook violently before cutting to another angle.

Leander's blood ran cold.

'Ravynne.'

The creature looked exactly like the one hidden throughout her journals. Sketch after sketch. Notes, questions, observations. She had been studying it for years.

'Why did you never tell me?'

"...Witnesses from Oakhaven insist the creature was real," the anchor continued. "Government officials continue denying the existence of dragons while investigations remain ongoing."

Leander barely heard another word. His eyes drifted back toward Ravynne's desk, where one drawer remained slightly open.

He frowned. Ravynne never left drawers open. He pulled it open. Inside rested a carefully wrapped package with a small handwritten note attached.

For Prince Leander.

Don't open until your birthday. His birthday was next week.

For one brief moment, Leander smiled. Ravynne always remembered his birthday. Even when he was buried beneath meetings, reports, and royal duties, she somehow remembered the things he forgot about himself. Then the smile disappeared. She had wrapped this expecting to be here next week. She hadn't planned to disappear.

His fingers slowly closed the drawer. "...You promised."

His voice cracked. "You promised you'd give it to me yourself."

He stood, and determination replaced the fear that had been tightening around his chest. "Captain."

The Royal Guard straightened immediately.

"Seal every gate."

"...Your Highness?"

"Search every road between the palace and Oakhaven." His voice dropped an octave lower.

"Find Ravynne."

Leander took a deep breath and closed his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm. He had spent years watching Ravynne stand beside him through every political battle, every royal gathering, every decision that left him wondering whether he was becoming the kind of ruler his father expected him to be. She had never asked for anything from him, never demanded a place beside him, and perhaps that was why her absence felt so wrong now.

He opened his eyes. "...Alive."

Without another word, he walked out.

---

Meanwhile, far from the capital, Ravynne opened her eyes. A familiar ceiling greeted her, and for one impossible moment, she was fourteen again.

Smoke spread rapidly through the air. Fire erupted everywhere. Screaming echoed through the village as she watched everything burn. She blinked, and the memories dissolved.

Her hand drifted instinctively to her chest. The warmth on her lips refused to disappear. "...Idiot."

'Why did you keep chasing me? Why... did it hurt you every time I was hurt?'

Her fingers curled against her chest. Then another thought came, quiet and immediate.

'Leander.'

She swallowed.

'No. I have to go back.'

She pushed herself upright, but the room immediately spun around her. She gritted her teeth and waited for the dizziness to pass. The blanket slipped from her shoulders. She was wearing simple clothes that weren't hers. Someone had changed her while she was unconscious.

She looked around the room and immediately recognized the cottage. Seven years ago, she had awakened here after destroying the village.

Someone moved beside the fire. It was the woman who had saved her. Grey was threaded through her hair now as she quietly stirred a pot over the flames.

Without looking up, the woman said, "...You're awake."

She placed another bowl onto the table."...Eat."

Ravynne remained silent. The woman resumed stirring as though she had said nothing at all.

"When you're strong enough... leave."

Ravynne frowned. "...Why?"

The woman kept stirring. "...Because you needed saving."

"You don't even know me."

The spoon stopped. A long silence filled the room before the woman finally looked at her.

"Neither did the child I found seven years ago."

Ravynne froze. There was no judgment in the woman's eyes. No fear. No questions about what she was or what had happened to the village.

"...Eat."

For seven years, this woman had never asked her name, what had happened to her, or why she was the only one alive among the village that burned. She had saved Ravynne seven years ago, and she had done it again now without ever asking for anything in return.

"...Thank you." The words came out barely above a whisper.

The woman said nothing.

Ravynne stood, but her knees immediately buckled beneath her. She caught herself against the wall, breathing through the pain.

"You need another day."

"I don't have another day."

'Prince Leander is waiting.'

The thought tightened something inside her chest. She knew what she was to him. His advisor. His friend. Someone he trusted enough to keep beside him, but never someone she had any right to ask for more. She had known that for years, and she had learned to keep the rest of her feelings where they belonged—quietly inside her.

But now she had disappeared without a word. He would be waiting.

She swallowed the ache in her throat. "...My friend might think I'm dead."

The woman watched her quietly. "You'll collapse."

"I know."

Ravynne reached the door and opened it. She looked toward the distant coastline, toward the place where she had fallen, and her hand drifted to her chest again.

Pain flared beneath her ribs. The Dragonbane wounds were still healing, and the strange ache from the bond refused to disappear. Neither could wait.

She pulled the door shut behind her anyway. "Leander is waiting."

She started walking toward the distant palace, even though every step stole another breath from her.

---

Somewhere closer to Oakhaven, the sound of fire crackling filled the room.

Leif opened his eyes. The smell of herbs filled the air. He pushed himself upright, and pain immediately answered the movement.

"Don't." An old healer pressed him gently back onto the bed.

"You've been unconscious for nearly a full day."

"...Where?"

"Oakhaven. The healer's cottage."

"They found you beside the road."

Leif's eyes moved toward the window. "...Onyx?"

"Your horse? He's alive."

Relief came, then disappeared just as quickly. Leif pressed a hand against his chest. He felt nothing. Only the emptiness remained.

"...Good."

The healer folded his arms. "You have no wounds. I checked three times."

Leif didn't answer.

"No poison. No broken bones."

The old man frowned. "But your pulse keeps collapsing."

Leif looked at him.

"I've treated soldiers. Cursed men. Plague victims." The healer's eyes narrowed.

"I've never treated someone who looked like he'd lost the will to live without losing a single drop of blood."

Leif looked away. He had no answer. His hand unconsciously pressed against his chest again.

'Why... does it feel so empty?'

He closed his eyes. He saw her again. The woman who kissed him at the tower. The massive dragon on the red sky. And the tears as it fell.

A sharp knock echoed through the cottage. Three Royal Guards entered, and the healer frowned.

Leif didn't look up. "What is it?"

"His Majesty requests your immediate return to the palace."

Leif's expression didn't change. "I have no business there."

The guards exchanged uneasy glances. The captain slowly took a phone from inside his coat. "...His Majesty anticipated that answer."

He offered it forward. "He wishes to speak with you personally."

Silence settled over the room. Leif stared at the phone before finally taking it.

"Leif." The King's voice came through immediately. "I assume you intend to refuse."

Leif looked toward the window. "I don't belong in the palace anymore."

A long silence followed.

Then the King said, "The people know."

Leif frowned.

"The footage spread faster than we expected. They know a dragon appeared. They know someone fought it and brought it down."

Leif closed his eyes. "So?"

"So now they want a hero."

"I don't."

The King's voice remained calm. "They already chose one."

Silence.

"Commander Leif Morvain. The man who slew the dragon."

Leif laughed quietly. There wasn't a trace of amusement in it. "You always did know how to use people."

The words hung heavily between them. For a moment, the King said nothing.

When he finally spoke, his voice had changed. "...I know."

Leif's fingers tightened around the phone.

"I wasn't there. I failed your mother."

Leif's breathing stopped.

"I failed you."

The room became painfully quiet.

Leif remembered a warm hand stroking his hair. His mother smiling.

"Your father loves you, Leif. One day... you'll understand."

"I miss you, my son." The King's voice became softer than Leif had ever heard.

His chest tightened.

"I'm getting old. I've already lost your mother... Don't make me lose my son while I'm still alive."

Leif shut his eyes. His anger was still there. It always would be. But beneath it, there was something else.

He exhaled slowly. "...I understand."

The King remained silent.

"I'll come."

He took a deliberate pause.

"But don't expect me to become the prince everyone wants."

A faint chuckle came from the other end. "I stopped expecting that years ago. I only expect you to come home."

The call ended. Leif lowered the phone slowly. The room was silent, and the captain waited without speaking.

Finally, Leif handed the phone back. His eyes drifted toward the Morvain Mk-IV resting against the wall. For one impossible heartbeat, he didn't move. Then he reached for it.

He buckled the sword belt around his waist, his movements automatic and emotionless. Only when everything was in place did he speak. "...Let's go."

The captain nodded.

Outside, Onyx was already waiting. Leif climbed into the saddle and looked toward the distant palace. Then he rode toward it. Toward the king who had abandoned him. Toward the kingdom that wanted a hero.

And toward the woman he had just tried to kill.