Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 131 - Chapitre 140

132 The afternoon at the villa felt deceptively peaceful. Sunlight filtered through the tall open arches, warming the stone floors and the low cushions scattered across the sitting terrace. Beyond the railing, the distant mountains shimmered in soft haze, their peaks lazily drifting between sky and cloud. Connor squealed with delight as he launched himself tiny wings beating furiously from Max’s outstretched arms toward Brie. Halfway across the space, his form shimmered and collapsed inward, wings vanishing as he tumbled into her lap as a giggling baby instead of a dragon. “Connor!” Brie laughed, catching him easily. “You are going to give me a heart attack one of these days.” Connor only grinned, completely unrepentant, then wiggled free and scrambled back toward Max. Two steps in, he shifted again, bones stretching, scales rippling until a tiny dragon bounded the rest of the way and leapt at Max’s chest. Max caught him smoothly, unfazed. “That was cheating,” he said mildly. “Y

134 The Draynor Council chamber was built to withstand dragon fire. It wasn’t built to withstand silence. The doors had been sealed for nearly ten minutes, the warding glyphs humming low in the marble veins of the floor. Outside, Squadron Five stood like statues, no chatter, no shifting weight, no casual glances. Even the air felt controlled, as if the room itself had been ordered to behave. Duncan sat at the center of the crescent table, fingers steepled, eyes fixed on the dais where Queen Brieanika stood beside King Trace. King Mikan was off to the side, arms folded, expression carved from stone. Captain Garrik occupied the lower tier with Commander Thomas, both still in uniform from Ashbarrie’s mobilization. Morgan and Chance stood in the shadows behind them present, but not part of the formal seating. And Cain stood at the far right, half in the hall, half inside the chamber as if his body refused to accept a room that wasn’t a battlefield. His bandaged arm was visible. His ja

136 The sky over Ashbarrie was the kind of clear that made decisions feel possible. Cain didn’t announce it. He simply took Avi’s hand, pressed his forehead briefly to hers, and said, “Come with me.” No rank. No Circle. No Keeper. Just come. They left without escort. The wards parted for them the way they always did, recognizing the bond, recognizing intent. The castle fell away beneath their feet as they shifted, skin giving way to scale, breath turning to heat and wind. Avi welcomed the change like a deep exhale she hadn’t realized she’d been holding for days. Her dragon stretched black and violet against the air, wings catching the sun. Cain rose beside her in a rush of ember and shadow, the familiar blaze of orange and coal threading his scales like living fire. No destination at first. Just flight. They climbed until Ashbarrie was a distant crown of stone and light, until the land softened into ridges and valleys and the pull in Avi’s chest, the Circle, the Council, Sereth l

138 Avi and Cain came back to Ashbarrie on the wind. Not the leisurely, entwined flight that left their heads quiet and their hearts steadier; this was a return with purpose. Cain’s wings cut hard through the air as if he could carve distance faster by force of will alone, and Avi stayed close at his side because the Circle had been silent for hours, and silence lately meant it was listening. Below them, the castle grounds spread out in clean lines of stone and torchlight. The gardens were dark, the training yard empty, the outer wall bristling with sentries. Squadron Five had doubled posts again. Even the air tasted tighter. They banked over the courtyard and dropped into the landing ring. As they shifted bones folding, heat sinking, the world snapping back into draynor form Avi felt Cain’s hand find hers automatically. Not romantic. Not gentle. Anchoring. “You feel it,” he murmured, more a statement than a question. Avi’s throat bobbed. “I feel… people.” Cain’s gaze lifted to

140 The room had been warded six different ways before Avi was brought in. Not because they didn’t trust her but because what lived with her had begun to answer to rules no one had written. Morgan stood near the window, hands clasped behind his back, watching the sky over Ashbarrie ripple faintly as distant dragons passed. Chance leaned against the stone table at the center of the chamber, expression tight, fingers tapping once every few seconds like he was counting something only he could hear. Cain stood beside Avi. Too close for comfort, if you asked either Morgan or Chance. Too far away, if you asked Cain. Avi felt the tension, the careful balance everyone was pretending wasn’t about to snap. The Circle was quiet, deliberately so, like a predator lying low in tall grass. That silence unsettled her more than the surges ever had. Morgan turned first. “Avi,” he said gently, “we need to tell you what we’ve learned.” Cain’s jaw tightened. Avi felt it through the bond, a low burn