Page 376 of Elemental Becoming

Then his voice comes back, controlled and unwavering.

“Youarepart of this. You’re here. You’ve earned your place. But you donottake on the Gorganthe alone. You’ve done enough with the Kethraki.”

Xaroth adjusts his position in the air. Calryx mirrors the movement automatically, keeping our formation intact.

“That isn’t me protecting you, love. That’s me making the call that keeps my entire squadron alive.”

His words land with the weight of command.

“You are not a lone force. You are part of a unit.”

The lesson from training echoes through my mind.

Move as one.

Strike as one.

Survive as one.

“Act like it.”

The words feel like a slap across my knuckles.

He’s right. He’s not holding me back. He’s leading, and he’s thinking about everyone, not just me.

Shit.

The shame flares fast and hot, but I don’t let it linger. There isn’t time for that. The formation is already shifting around us, diving, banking, preparing to strike. I tighten my grip on the saddle horn, ready to fight with purpose as part of something greater than myself.

The wind tears past us as the battlefield spreads below, chaos and fire consuming every direction.

Thane raises his arm. To the riders on his right, he signals two fingers forward, then down in a cutting arc.

Flank the Gorganthe from the right.

Rian and four dragon riders break formation immediately, wings angling into a sharp descent. They dive low and fast, disappearing into the smoke trailing along the edge of the keep.

Thane turns to his left and mirrors the signal.

Strike from the left.

Another cluster peels away, banking hard toward the ruined towers. Their dragons roar as they lose altitude, disappearing between fractured spires and crumbling battlements.

Then he raises his hand again, directing the remaining dragons behind the central line. His arm sweeps toward the far end of the battlefield, where the fighting is thickest and the soldiers are barely holding.

Reinforce the eastern front.

Support the outer line.

Jarek and three more riders break away and angle toward the last wall of defense, where the enemy is pressing hardest.

They go without hesitation.

Then he turns to me.

A sharp flick of his hand pulls two fingers toward his chest before casting them outward again.

Stay with me.