Page 365 of Elemental Becoming

Thane requested we fly close to Xaroth, and Calryx executes his request without even being asked.

I glance to my right and catch a glimpse of him astride his dragon. His expression is focused, unwavering. The wind tugs at his dark hair, but nothing about him bends. He looks born for this.

I draw in a breath.

“This is my first battle,”I say to Calryx.

Her voice answers through the bond with the weight of something ancient and all-knowing.

“Then we make it one they never forget.”

“Calryx,”I whisper into the bond as the wind screams pastus.“I’m scared.”

Her answer comes swiftly, solid as stone and warm as flame.“You are ready, Virelya. You’ve already proven that.”

“When?”

“At the ball.”There’s no softness in her tone, only certainty.“You fought when no one else could. You held the line. You are the reason the death toll wasn’t greater.”

My grip tightens on the saddle horn as we drop behind Xaroth, his obsidian wings cutting through the air ahead.

“That was different,”I tell her.“That was an ambush. An attack. I didn’t think. I just reacted. I was surviving.”

My next words come out quieter.

“This is war. This is planned. Deliberate. It feels . . . heavier.”

Her voice remains unwavering.

“But that doesn’t mean you are any less ready. You fought when it was chaos. Now you fight with purpose. That makes you even more dangerous.”

I release a slow breath. Her words anchor me, even as the wind rips around us and the sky grows darker ahead.

“I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“Then don’t.”

That familiar spark flashes through the bond, fierce and sharp and uniquely Calryx.

“But don’t let yourself down either. You are not just surviving anymore, Virelya. You are rising.”

I swallow hard, blinking against the sting in my eyes.“But what if I make a mistake? What if I—”

“You won’t.”

The certainty in her voice leaves no room for doubt.

“You’ve trained. You’ve bled. You’ve burned. You’ve faced things that would have broken others. This? This is simply the next fire you walk through. And you walk it beside a magnificent and extraordinarily powerful dragon.”

I close my eyes for a moment, drawing strength from the bond between us as the wind howls past.

“They’re going to come at us hard, aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

There’s no hesitation in her answer. No sugarcoating.

“They will try to break you. But they don’t know who you are.”