Chapter 21 Petition of The Dawnbound
Kalesh POV
Ironroot Crossing never welcomed anyone.
The air was colder here, even in summer. The trees were ancient and twisted as if they remembered every scream that had ever echoed through these mountains. The portal lay dormant at the heart of the forest, a ring of blackened stone veined with living root and faint gold light.
I pressed my palm to the stone.The portal recognized me instantly. Blood sang. Magic flared. The roots unfurled. Etheryn opened.
I stepped through and left Earth behind.
The fae world hit like a breath held too long and finally released.
Light here did not come from a sun. It came from the land itself. Gold-threaded leaves shimmered overhead, and the air thrummed with layered magic, old and sharp and watching. This was Etheryn, the Living Crown, and she knew me.
Hunter fae guards materialized from the trees with their blades already drawn. Their eyes glowed faintly as they scanned me.
“Kalesh Atrayu,” one said. “Hunter of the Solar Court.”
“I seek audience,” I replied evenly. “With the Thorn Queen.”
They searched me thoroughly, their hands brisk and impersonal, then stepped aside.
“Proceed,” the captain said. “The Solar Court awaits.”
The portal to the Solar Lands opened in a wash of heat and brilliance. I stepped through. And immediately ran into my past.
“Still walking like you own the path,” came a familiar, silken voice.
Lady Naralyth Thornevalis leaned against a pillar of living gold vine, with her arms crossed, and her smile sharp as glass. Pale blonde hair cascaded down her back, perfectly arranged and tucked behind her long pointed ears. Her blue eyes were cold and assessing as they dragged over me.
“Naralyth,” I said flatly. “Move.”
She laughed softly and stepped into my space.
“Decades pass, and you greet me like a stranger. You once begged me to stay.”
“I once mistook desire for destiny,” I replied. “I will not do so again.”
Her eyes flashed. “You found her, then.”
I stiffened.
“Don’t pretend,” she continued smoothly. “The Ravelyn. The whispers are already moving through the courts. I knew it would be you. Perhaps we could have an arrangement.”
She reached for me. I caught her wrist and shoved her back hard enough that her heel caught on the stone.
“Do not touch me.”
Her smile shattered into fury. “Where is your mark?”
Heat crept up my neck. “She has not chosen to mark us all yet.”
She stared. “Us all?”
“You will remove yourself from my path,” I snarled. “Or I will remove you.”
She scoffed, her eyes glittering. “You expect me to believe you found a Ravelyn and she hasn’t bound you? Absurd.”
I turned away and strode into the throne hall. The Solar Court rose before me in living splendor. Columns of sunstone and thorned gold arched overhead. Nobles lined the chamber, representatives of the five great houses murmuring as I entered.
At the far end, upon a throne woven of rose-gold vine and light, sat Queen Elanora, the Thorn Queen herself. Beside her stood King Aurelion, radiant and terrible, the Sun King of Etheryn.
I dropped to one knee.
“I come before you as First Fang of the Dawnbound,” I declared. “The last Ravelyn has risen and begun her first circle. She is hunted. I am one of her chosen. I petition the Solar Court for aid.”
The chamber erupted.
“A Ravelyn?”
“Impossible.”
“They were eradicated.”
Queen Elanora’s gaze sharpened. “Proof.”
I swallowed.
“I have none to present here.”
Silence fell, heavy and judgmental.
King Aurelion leaned forward. “Then bring her.”
I raised my head, my eyes burning. “No.”
A ripple of outrage surged through the nobles.
“Then we will not aid you,” Elanora said coolly.
My jaw clenched.
“I will not place her in danger to soothe your curiosity.”
The queen studied me for a long moment, then lifted her hand. “Five hunter fae. Temporary escort only. You will bring her to Etheryn.”
I bowed stiffly. “As you command.”
Naralyth’s laughter followed me as I turned to leave.
I stopped at the threshold and looked back.
“My Ravelyn is not benevolent,” I warned quietly. “If you threaten her safety, she will bring this court to ruin.”
Then I left. The five hunter fae fell in behind me, silent and deadly. Etheryn watched.
And somewhere across worlds, my heart-track waited.
I would not fail her.
~
Ysara POV
The Next Day...
I was laughing so hard my sides hurt.
Like, actually laughing, full-body, wheezing laughter, the kind that sneaks up on you after days of terror and reminds you that you’re still alive.
Rafe was standing behind Tharion, tugging at a black shirt that very clearly did not want to exist in the same universe as dragon wings.
“Hold still,” Rafe grunted, yanking the fabric down. “If you’d just fucking tuck them in...”
“I will not,” Tharion snapped, scowling. “We are not meant for shirts. I am dragon.”
Wyatt snorted from the couch. “Buddy, unless you want to start a global incident every time we leave the cabin, you’re wearing the shirt.”
Tharion’s wings flexed. “This garment insults me.”
I wiped tears from my eyes. “You look like an angry goth angel.”
His glare flicked to me, and softened just a fraction. “I endure this humiliation for you, my queen.”
Rafe finally gave up and threw the shirt at his chest.
“Fine. Figure it out yourself.”
Tharion caught it, glared at it like it had personally offended his ancestors, then sighed.
“Very well.”
The wings vanished. Just… gone.
Wyatt froze. “Wait. You can just do that?”
Tharion smirked. “Of course.”
Rafe groaned. “You could’ve led with that, you overgrown lizard.”
I was still giggling when the door flew open.
“Kalesh!”
The name burst out of me on instinct. I jumped to my feet, joy sparking through my chest, ready to launch myself at him. Then I saw his face. The laughter died instantly.
He stood in the doorway like someone who had crossed worlds on raw will alone, his eyes blazing emerald, his jaw clenched tightly, and his shoulders rigid. The hunter fae looked… shaken.
My heart dropped. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer. He walked straight toward me, then dropped to his knees so hard the floor thudded.
“Please forgive me,” he said hoarsely. “For before. For allowing others to speak over your heart.”
I stared at him for half a second, then swatted the top of his head.
“Get up,” I snapped. “I know that wasn’t you.”
He blinked.
“I know who made me cry,” I continued. “And it wasn’t you. Don’t you dare apologize for protecting me.”
Slowly, he rose. When he was standing again, he looked at me like I was the only thing in the room.
“I need you to mark me,” he said quietly. “My queen.”
The room went dead silent. My brain absolutely blue-screened.
“Wait what? Like you marked me?”
He didn’t look away. “The Thorn Queen and the Sun King will not aid us unless you come to Etheryn. I will not bring you there unmarked. You have not chosen me yet, fully.”
My mouth opened, then closed.
“You could’ve maybe mentioned this earlier?” I squeaked. “Why did no one fucking say anything?”
Wyatt rubbed his face. “In our defense, Ravelyns usually… know.”
“Well, I don’t!” I snapped. “I’m still learning what the hell everything is!”
Kalesh stepped closer. “You don’t have to. But I need you to know this is my choice. I choose you. Completely.”
My chest tightened.
“I love you,” I blurted.
His breath hitched. So I did the only thing that felt right. I put my hands on his chest, and kissed him like I meant it. Fierce. Claiming. No hesitation.
Power surged between us. Kalesh cried out, dropping to his knees again as silver light flared between us. When it faded, a glowing silver handprint marked his chest, right over his heart. He stared down at it, stunned.
“I suppose,” he said faintly, “you mark me just like that.”
I laughed through the emotion choking me. “Guess so.”
And then I turned.
Wyatt didn’t even pretend to be cool about it. “Oh hell yes.”
I planted my hands on his chest and kissed him hard, heat and certainty pouring through me. Silver flared again, and he groaned as the mark appeared over his heart.
Rafe was next. He laughed when I hauled him down, and his hands were warm and steady on my waist as the bond sealed.
Darken watched, his eyes dark and reverent. When I kissed him, the magic hummed low and deep under my palm, and he exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for centuries. I stepped back, looking at all of them.
“You guys gotta tell me shit,” I said breathlessly. “I am not psychic.”
Wyatt smiled. “Not yet.”
Rafe slung an arm around my shoulders. “But you’re learning fast, little queen.”
Kalesh pressed his palm over his mark, his eyes glowing softly. “We are yours.”
Tharion crossed the room, towering and proud, slipping an arm around my waist. “And you are ours.”
I looked around at them. My men. My chaos. My circle. And for the first time, the future didn’t terrify me. It felt… possible.
Packing felt surreal.
Not because of the bags or the clothes or the weapons Darken insisted were “just in case,” but because this was it. I was about to walk into a realm that had decided my existence was either a miracle or a problem to be solved.
Rafe shoved boots into a duffel and zipped it hard. Wyatt checked wards like he was triple-counting a heartbeat. Tharion prowled the room restlessly, his wings flickering in and out of existence like his dragon couldn’t decide whether it wanted the sky or blood.
Darken moved with quiet efficiency, slipping small objects into his coat pockets that hummed when he touched them. And Kalesh stood near the door, still and watchful.
“Five hunter fae are waiting outside the perimeter,” he said calmly. “Solar Court escort.”
My stomach twisted.
“Escort,” I repeated. “That’s… reassuring. In the way a shark smiling is reassuring.”
He met my eyes. “They are sworn to me. For now.”
For now. I folded a sweater with shaking hands. “Are they going to try to hurt us?”
The room went very still. Wyatt’s jaw tightened. Rafe glanced at the door. Tharion’s nostrils flared. Darken stepped closer to me without a word.
Kalesh answered carefully. “They will not touch you without cause.”
“That’s not a no,” I said.
“No,” he agreed. “It is not.”
My chest burned. Something stirred under my skin, hot and sharp and furious. The silver light flickered at my fingertips, uninvited and very much awake.
Tharion noticed first. “Ysara,” he murmured. “Breathe.”
I did. Once. Twice. The cabin lights dimmed anyway.
I zipped my bag and slung it over my shoulder. “Okay,” I said too lightly. “Good to know.”
Kalesh reached for me, hesitated, then rested his palm over his mark. “They will test you with words. With doubt. With entitlement.”
My smile was thin. “They can try.”
The power coiled tighter, listening.
As we stepped toward the door, my heart hammered, not with fear, but with a feral, focused clarity. I wasn’t walking in as prey.
I was walking in marked, and chosen. Surrounded by men who were mine. And if the fae court thought for one second they could threaten me or my circle, or if they tried to take what I had fought and bled and bonded for...
I would fucking burn their gilded thrones to ash.
I was done being small.