ISLA POV
My scream shattered every window in the ice palace.
Not a normal scream. This one carried POWER—raw, uncontrolled Heartweaver energy that exploded outward in a golden shockwave. Wolves yelped and scattered. Theron's ice throne cracked down the middle. Kael and Rhydian were thrown backward.
But I didn't care about any of that.
I was already running toward Draven's fallen body.
"No, no, no, NO!" I crashed to my knees beside him, my hands pressing against his chest. His core was completely black—darker than night, darker than death. "You don't get to die! I just met you! You don't GET to—"
"Isla." Kael's hand touched my shoulder gently. "He's gone. His core is—"
"I don't ACCEPT that!" I poured every bit of power I had into Draven's chest, but the corruption was different this time. Stronger. It wasn't just spreading—it was ALIVE, fighting back against my healing like it had intelligence.
Morana's poison. This was her work.
"His heart stopped," Theron said quietly, checking Draven's pulse. "Even if you purify the corruption now—"
"Then I restart it." I pressed both hands over Draven's heart and PUSHED. Not gentle healing energy. Raw, desperate, furious LIFE.
His body jerked.
"Again!" Elder Kora commanded, suddenly beside me. Her staff glowed with ancient magic. "Your power can't stabilize without a bond, but his dragon nature might be strong enough to survive temporary contact. PUSH!"
I pushed. Again. Again. Again.
Draven's core flickered. Just once. A tiny spark of amber light in the ocean of black.
"He's fighting," I gasped. "He's FIGHTING to come back!"
"Because you're giving him something to fight for," Kora said. "But this will kill you if you continue. Your power is burning through your life force without bonds to sustain you."
"I don't care."
"Isla—" Kael started.
"I said I DON'T CARE!" I screamed at them all. "Draven has been alone for TWO HUNDRED YEARS! He finally came out of hiding, finally trusted someone, and she KILLED him for it! I won't let that be his ending. I WON'T!"
My vision started going dark at the edges. My hands were shaking. Every cell in my body was screaming for me to stop, rest, breathe.
I pushed harder.
The spark in Draven's core grew. Slowly. Painfully slowly. But it GREW.
Black corruption burned away in patches. His chest moved—just barely. A tiny breath.
"Impossible," Rhydian breathed. "She's pulling him back from death itself."
"Not impossible," Kora corrected. "Just unprecedented. And unsustainable. She has maybe thirty seconds before her own core burns out."
Twenty seconds.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Draven's eyes snapped open—glowing red-gold with dragon fire.
He grabbed my wrist, and suddenly I wasn't pushing power INTO him. He was pulling it FROM me in a controlled flow, taking only what he needed, giving back his own dragon energy to stabilize the exchange.
An incomplete bond. Temporary. But enough.
The corruption shattered like glass, and Draven's core blazed pure gold.
He gasped and sat up, pulling me against his chest as we both struggled to breathe.
"You..." His voice was rough, shocked. "You brought me back."
"Wasn't going to let you die," I panted. "Not after everything."
"She just performed a resurrection," Kora said, and for the first time, the ancient Shaman looked AFRAID. "Do you understand what that means? True Heartweavers could only heal the living. But she just—"
"Evolved," Theron finished, his silver eyes wide. "Her power is evolving beyond historical records."
"Which means Morana will come for her even harder now," Kael said grimly.
A howl echoed from outside. Not from Theron's pack. This howl was celebratory, triumphant.
Then another. And another. Hundreds of voices raised in chorus.
"Oh no," Theron whispered.
"What?" I asked, still clinging to Draven.
"Your resurrection just sent out an even BIGGER energy signature than the temple purification." Theron moved to the shattered window. His face went pale. "Every male in the surrounding territories just felt it. And they're coming."
I forced myself to stand, to look outside.
The ice plains were COVERED with approaching figures. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. Shifters of every type—wolves, bears, tigers, eagles, serpents, creatures I didn't even have names for. All moving toward the palace.
All moving toward ME.
"This is bad," Rhydian said, his wings flaring defensively. "This is REALLY bad."
"Can you fight them?" I asked desperately.
"Fight THOUSANDS of males?" Kael shook his head. "We're strong, but we're not suicidal."
"They won't fight," Theron said quietly. "They'll challenge. Formally. For mating rights."
"But I don't want—"
"Doesn't matter what you want," a booming voice called from outside. "In the Beastworld, unmated females are claimed by the worthiest males. And the only way to prove worth is through trials!"
The massive bear-shifter from before—Tormund—stood at the front of the approaching army. Behind him, hundreds of males roared their agreement.
"She's not unmated," Kael snarled, stepping forward. "She's claimed by—"
"By WHO, Nightshade?" Tormund challenged. "I see no mating marks. No completed bonds. She's free territory until someone proves strong enough to keep her."
"I'm not TERRITORY!" I shouted.
"Then bond with someone," Tormund replied simply. "Choose your mates and formalize the claim. Until you do, you're fair game for any challenger."
My stomach dropped. "And if I refuse to choose?"
"Then we fight until only the strongest remain, and THEY choose for you." Tormund's expression wasn't cruel—just matter-of-fact. "That's how it's always been done."
"That's barbaric!"
"That's survival." Tormund gestured to the assembled males. "You see a mob. I see hundreds of desperate warriors who've been watching their brothers go feral from corruption, who've been dying slowly for years, who finally have HOPE in the form of a Heartweaver who can save them. You think they'll walk away politely?"
He was right. I could see it in their eyes—not just lust or possessiveness, but desperate, aching NEED. They weren't monsters. They were dying men seeing their only chance at life.
And I was that chance.
"How long do I have?" I asked quietly.
"Traditionally, we'd give you three days to choose your mates," Elder Kora said. "Then the trials would begin."
"Three days to decide who I'm magically bonding my SOUL to forever?" My voice went shrill. "That's insane!"
"Welcome to the Beastworld," Rhydian muttered.
A commotion erupted at the edge of the crowd. Males were shouting, fighting. Something was pushing through them—something that made even the biggest warriors scramble out of the way.
A serpent. But not a normal snake. This one was HUGE, with scales that shimmered like oil slicks and eyes that glowed toxic green.
It shifted into a man who was beautiful in a dangerous way—sharp features, dark hair, cruel smile.
"Zephyr," Theron hissed. "Poison Master of the Death Swamps."
"I heard the most delicious rumor," Zephyr called out, his voice smooth as silk and twice as deadly. "A Heartweaver who can cure corruption. But can she cure POISON?" He held up a vial of black liquid. "Because I've got something special here. A toxin that spreads through mating bonds. Bond with the wrong male, little Heartweaver, and you'll kill everyone connected to you within hours."
My blood turned to ice.
"You wouldn't," Kael growled.
"Wouldn't I? I've been dying of corruption for five years. If I can't have her healing, why should anyone?" Zephyr's smile widened. "So here's my challenge, little female. Bond with ME, and I'll destroy this poison. Refuse, and I'll make sure NOBODY gets you."
He raised the vial.
And Morana's voice whispered from the shadows, carried on corrupted wind:
"Do it. Kill the bond-poison maker before he ruins everything."
Wait. Morana wanted me to STOP Zephyr?
"Or," Morana's voice continued, "let him poison the bonds, and watch your precious mates die screaming. Either way, you'll learn what I learned: love in the Beastworld is just another word for loss."
Zephyr started to throw the vial.
And I had exactly one second to decide: save the vial and protect future bonds, or let it shatter and eliminate the threat forever.
Both choices felt like traps.
I chose anyway.