"Treasure what you have," Iskra said simply. "True bonds like yours are rarer than dragon tears and twice as precious. Don't let anyone convince you that duty matters more than the choice to love and be loved in return."
With that, she was gone, disappearing into the forest with the fluid grace that had once been as familiar to Callum as his own heartbeat.
The four mates stood in the aftermath of the confrontation.
The immediate threat had passed, but Iskra's parting words about the Inner Council's inevitable response hung in the air like a promise of future complications.
"Well," Marcus said finally, breaking the contemplative silence that had settled over them, "that went significantly better than expected. Though I suspect our troubles with dragon politics are far from over."
