en's palm hadn't

lack and violet remained, pulsing faintly beneath the surface like a second heartbeat, like something alive that had taken root inside him and refused to let go. H

empty. You'

gh the laundry rooms where he scrubbed noble uniforms until his fingers bled. They followed him through the stables, where Solara watched him with th

their arms like living serpents. They made it look effortless, like breathing, like something that had always been inside them waiting to be unleashed. And Kaelen wo

ntil he would stand on that altar and find o

zero, it always did for Nulls-the fall would hurt that much more. He had seen it happen before. The moment of silence, the whisper

because her father was a lord and her mother was dying and they wanted to give the family something to hope for. She had stepped onto

ng ha

d crumbled. She had fallen to her knees and wept, and her father had turned his face away, and her mother had screamed. They h

ervitude, of suffering, of being told every single day that you were not

d

empty. You'

en felt something stir in his chest. Something small and fie

down before

e started

ceremony season. It was tedious work, but it was quiet, and quiet was rare in a place like Skyguard. No dragons. No nobles. Just

ve known it

immediately. Valerius, of course, his golden hair immaculate, his uniform pressed and perfect. And behind him, two of his cronies-Lucia

ce dripping with false warmth. "The N

sh. He kept his eyes down. "My lor

eaving scuff marks on the stone Kaelen had just cleaned

hed. Marcel

learned long ago that sile

ing for answers. He was

r circling prey. "I heard that you've been stealing mana crystals fr

about that. No one had ever noticed, never counted,

he st

nesses. I have proof. And I have a father who sits on the academy boa

ervants hanged for less-a loaf of bread, a copper coin, a moment of defiance that had been mistaken for insolenc

Kaelen asked, his vo

I want you to stand in the dining hall tonight and tell the entire academy that you're a thie

everyone. To admit such a thing in front of them would be humiliation beyond anything he had ever

at choice d

use?" Kae

I go to the board. And yo

eat in his throat, could feel the mark on his palm pulsing with something that might ha

none of t

dded. "Fine.

od. Tonight, then. In the din

us following behind him like shadows. The do

on his palm burned, hotter now, as if it were feeding on his despair. And somewhere d

the old man had sa

is eyes and tri

go to the

e went to

where near the library. The books were ancient and valuable and imbued with mana that could kill an unbonded person if they touched them. But Kaelen had learned long a

were in their quarters, the guards were patrolling the outer walls. Kaelen slipped through the

y a scholar who had come to the academy to study the bond system. Something about dragons

um Drea

it. He didn't know why. He didn't know what it meant

l, leather-bound, its pages yellowed with age. The title was written in a language he didn't recognize, but the illustratio

ions, in the common tongu

mana instead of breathing fire. They are the shadow of dragons. The void given

Then again. The words burned into his mind, se

pty. I

ad been telli

ng shift inside him. Something that had been sleepin

ipped it into his tunic,

he heard

r

orridors. He didn't know who was chasing him-couldn't see their face, couldn't hear their voice-but he kn

ner and nearly c

oulders, his grip surprisingly stron

"Someone's chasing me. I w

dened. "Kaelen, what were you

k from his tunic, showed Orin the illustration of the Dreadwing. "Look. They'r

moment, he said nothing. Then he sighed, a heavy, weary s

said. "I've a

blinked

riders. The last of their kind. And they died prot

hear them now, echoing through the corridor, a

eri

ut, sharp and triumphant. "I knew you'd

burned, hotter than ever, and he felt something rising i

he old man had said

s face, at the cruelty in his eyes, and for th

elt

Kaelen

e faltered. "Wh

light. Shadows curled around his fingers, writhing like living things. "I'm not going to th

ou'll regret this, Null. I'll make su

erly beyond his control. The shadows around his hand exploded outward, filling the corridor with darkness, and when the light re

s still there, pulsing, but it was dif

dragon roared again-closer now, lo

the old man had sa

ring at him with something that mi

done?" Kael

ead. "What you w

something answer. Something inside him. Something th

nd ran towa

ragon in the W

ing the cliffs, didn't remember the fall. All he knew was that one moment he was in the corridor with Orin

e pulsing in the darkness like a heartbeat, like a name he had for

older. Something deeper. Something that felt like the earth itself was

ed down int

he j

mark on his palm blazed with light-black and violet, shado

're inverted. And I am the dragon that has

eyes and let the

Whispering Abyss, somethi