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~Valerie's POV~
"From within."
Those words struck through like ice dipped in fire.
Before I could speak, protest, or even inhale properly, King Draco reached into the inner folds of his black jacket and pulled out a small, glowing gem—a deep scarlet stone veined with molten gold, pulsing like it had its own heartbeat.
The air around us twirled.
"Hold on," he commanded, and before I could ask 'to what', he clasped my wrist firmly, lifted the gem, and slamd it against his palm.
WHOOM.
Heat, wind, and pressure folded in on each other. Before was sothing like a vortex which swallowed us whole.
For a mont, everything seed noisy like a large gush of wind and then… Silence.
The ground steadied. The air changed. My senses struggled to catch up as I staggered forward, but King Draco's hand remained firm on my arm, keeping upright.
When I finally blinked the blur away, my breath caught in my throat.
We stood on a vast plateau of dark stone, surrounded by endless crimson mountains stretching into a horizon of burning gold.
The sky shimred with heatwaves and floating embers, thick with dragon magic. In the distance, ancient stone arches floated mid-air, glowing with runes older than any kingdom I'd known.
The Dragon Kingdom.
A land so far removed, so heavily protected, no wolf, fae, or human could ever stumble here by accident.
"Why… why did we co here?" I whispered.
King Draco released my arm, but his eyes remained fixed on with a stern familiarity that made sothing in my chest twist.
"Because," he said quietly, "this place will not burn if you lose control. And because you needed this years ago."
My pulse skipped. "Years ago?"
He stepped closer, not threatening, but with the authority of soone who had already decided the truth and expected to accept it.
"You have the bloodline of two ancient powers," Draco said. "Fire and earth. You should have been trained to command them long before they grew strong enough to overwhelm you."
The wind shifted, carrying heat like a dragon's breath.
"Your wolf alone cannot contain what you are."
I swallowed hard. "I don't even know what I am."
His violet eyes softened with sothing almost… regretful.
"That, Valerie Snow," he murmured, "is what we are about to fix."
He lifted his hand, and a fissure cracked open in the stone at our feet.
I could feel the control pulsing through him, through the earth and fire within.
It wasn't destructive, but intentional. The earth listened to him like a loyal beast responding to its master.
"First," he said, "we ground you."
He motioned for to step onto the circle of cracked stone. I hesitated, but he held my gaze firmly. King to princess, power to power, fire to fire.
I stepped onto it.
Instantly, warmth rushed up my legs, into my chest—then up my spine like a hot coil.
I gasped. "What…"
King Davion spoke calmly, though the energy around us vibrated.
"Earth is the first elent of stability. Let it clamp down on your fire. Feel it beneath your skin… deeper…"
I inhaled and tried channelling my thoughts and focus to the earth and then… to my…
I felt it.
My brows shot up. I never expected it to be this easy.
"You feel it easily because of where you are. The creation of dragons," King Davion explained and I nodded.
The sa feeling overwheld again—a heavy, thrumming pull beneath my feet, like roots trying to anchor themselves inside .
My breathing steadied. My fingertips tingled. It wasn't in warning this ti, but in resonance.
"That's it," King Davion murmured. "You are not fighting it. You're aligning."
I closed my eyes and allowed the pulse of the earth to ripple through .
The burning inside my chest slowly dulled. The sparks didn't vanish, but they settled, as if kneeling.
When I opened my eyes, King Davion was studying closely.
"Good," he said. "Now cos the second part."
He lifted both his hands, and a ring of swirling flas rising in a perfect arc erupted behind him. It didn't burn the air or scorch the ground.
It moved like it obeyed just the way fire ought to obey a dragon.
"This part," he warned softly, "will hurt."
My breath hitched. "Why?"
"Because fire responds to emotion. And yours…" His jaw tightened. "Yours is overflowing."
Before I could ask what he ant, he flicked his wrist.
FOOM!
The fire surged forward in my direction. Fear gripped , stealing my breath away. It was probably to test and not to burn , but that didn't change the emotions swirling inside .
Instinctively, I raised my hand and my powers answered.
Flas burst from my palm like a living creature, roaring through the air to et his. Sparks collided in a violent explosion of light.
I stumbled, but Draco's voice cut through the chaos.
"Again!"
Before I got the chance to steady myself, another burst ca from him.
My body moved on instinct, and all my past training manifested. I moved and thrust my fist forward, exhaling as the flas flowed from within, through my palm.
The flas collided once more, hotter, brighter, more vicious.
My chest hurt, my skin tingled painfully, and my emotions surged. Everything I had been holding back, jealousy, fear, anger, love, heartbreak, confusion.
Fire fed on all of it.
"Balance it!" King Davion barked. "Use the earth to ground the fla!"
I tried summoning my powers and controlling the earth. I felt a strong, steady pull. At the sa ti, the fire pushed back.
My body shook with both forces battling inside . And for a minute there, it felt like the flas liquefied around the molden earth in my mind.
My skin burned, my breath beca visible like smoke. Without a second telling, I knew I was losing control hard and fast.
"I can't—!"
"Valerie." King Davion stepped forward. The closer he got, the flas raged, as if being fuelled, and the heat between us felt like a living thing.
"You will not explode," he whispered. "You will transcend."
I shut my eyes tighter, too scared to look at him. I was too afraid to see the disappointnt in his eyes.
I was terrified of failing and exploding. Everything scared , and I felt my control—my hold slipping faster.
"Valerie Sapphire Violet Snow! You are a wielder of earth and fire. You control the elents and not the other way around. Let it flow. Accept all that cos with your elents and breath. You are one. You are earth, and you are fire. There is no you without them and no elent without you."
King Draco's words replayed in my mind over and over again.
My eyes tightened even more as I reached for the burning rocking within . And the mont my hands closed in on it, sothing in snapped.
My eyes opened and all I could see was flas. The fire shifted, spreading far and wide, but when I moved my hand forward, it moved, conforming into a shape and becoming mine.
A luminous ring of golden flas spiralled around my wrists and ankles, entwining with a soft green glow pulsing beneath my skin.
"Earth and fire." I heard a soft voice say in my mind. "Root and fla. Power and purpose."
King Davion exhaled in relief. "There she is."
I blinked, but my vision still pulsed with colour, and the heat still radiated off .
"What… what is happening to ?" I whispered.
I looked forward and saw him move closer. "You are becoming what you were always ant to be."
My breath trembled and I dared to ask. "And what is that?"
King Davion held my gaze. "A force that will either save this world… or burn it to ash."
The heat around finally softened, the flas on my skin dimming into faint gold threads that wrapped around my wrists like warm bracelets.
My chest rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath and co to terms with what having powers really ant as an heir.
King Davion watched with that unreadable, piercing calm of his. I hated and appreciated that all at once.
"You did well," he said quietly.
I only nodded, unable to trust my voice for fear of spitting flas.
He must have sensed my worry and chuckled. "You're fine. You can speak."
I hesitated for about five seconds before I voiced an "okay" to him.
He glanced at the horizon, at the floating runic arches and the swirling embers moving like lazy fireflies. Then his gaze swept back to .
"We are not done," he continued. "But your body needs rest. Sit. Breathe. ditate. Let the earth soothe what the fire strained."
I lowered myself onto the warm ground, folding my legs beneath . At first, I thought the scorching ground would burn but to my surprise, it didn't.
Draco took a step back, then another. "I will return shortly," he inford . "Do not suppress your magic. Let it flow through you."
I inhaled shakily. "And if it breaks out?"
His lips twitched faintly. It wasn't a smile. It was more of a warning softened with reassurance.
"It won't. Not while I am here, anyway."
Then he turned away, heading to the edge of the plateau where a shimring ward rippled like glass. He lifted the sa gem from earlier, only now it glowed brighter, responding to him.
And he made a call.
To my surprise, it was not a phone call. It was a call made through Dragonstone communication.
We were once taught in history class about the ancient ways of communication—an ancient fla sigil that opened like a tiny portal in the air, revealing a glowing image on the other side.
I peeked to see who it was he was calling when my gaze dropped on none other than Alpha Alexander.
My heart squeezed and all the air left my lungs as fear surged through .
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