Fin watched horrified. Again. As Onyx dove rapidly towards the earth. So rapidly that air cracked around him. The field erupted with gasps, and it looked like Nova was going to crash.
Fin sprinted in that direction, his wolf again pushing to the surface.
But instead, the dragon pulled up at the last second, and soared parallel across the field, leaving a wind that knocked the frontlines back a step.
They all stared.
Fin eyes were on Nova, his heart pounding. Her cloak snapped behind her like a banner, her silver-blonde hair catching the light.
Then, shouts rang out, orders were being given, soldiers scrambling to regroup. But Fin's focus locked in on one thing.
"Formation hold!" came a sharp voice behind Fin.
He turned—and there he was.
Rex Redmoon.
Their eyes met across the chaos. No words exchanged. No smiles. Just locked gazes—sharp, unreadable.
Rex's armor was scuffed, his expression grim—but his eyes flicked once to the sky, then back to Fin. Calculating. A flicker of something passed between them.
Possession. Challenge. Respect. And beneath all that—jealousy.
Then Rex broke the silence, raising his voice just enough for his riders. Eyes not leaving fin.
"Hold position! Riders to high formation. Be ready to intervene if she needs cover."
One of the riders laughed, and called back. "I don't think she needs it."
Fin and Rex looked away from one another back at the sky, just in time to see Onyx spin midair. Nova was still standing at his crown like gravity didn't apply to her.
"Onyx is such a little show-off," Rex muttered with a rare smile.
Another rider called out grinning, "He's not the only one!"
Laughter rippled through the group.
Fin's jaw tensed. He didn't laugh. His eyes never left Nova.
Neither did Rex's.
Unspoken, but clear neither of them had any intention of backing down.
Jax's pained voice rang from behind as he ran towards Fin. "Gods Nova! Can you try to not put yourself in a life or death situation every five seconds?"
Onyx flew by them again in a blur of speed. All dragons roared in unison. Then, they bowed.
Nova's eyes—still glowing gold. Her body hummed with raw power. Her hair flowed around her. Beneath her, Onyx banked hard, curving into a wide horizontal arc above the battlefield.
He was showing her off. No—presenting her. Like a god would present his chosen.
Every head below followed them.
For the second time, even the enemy mages, beasts, and shifters paused.
Then, a glowing orb had formed between her palms, hovering, spinning with impossible speed.
"Keep channeling!" Aeron shouted from the ground, his voice tight with awe.
Hyran echoed him, raising both arms toward her. "Now! Channel everything—like she's the conduit!"
Mages flung their hands skyward away from the earth, power rushing up in shimmering trails of blue, green, red, and gold—feeding into Nova like rivers pouring into a single point. Nova's dragon stood still wings flapping in the center of the field.
And Nova took it all.
Jax, Fin, and Rex felt it. It wasn't a pleasant sensation by any means. It was painful, but she took it.
Jax and Fin both flared gold before they realized it was happening. Rex looked away from Nova, eyes flickering to Fin and then to Jax. His expression was blank. As if he already expected something like that. Rex's eyes went back to Nova.
All the armies below her yelled loudly in her honor for a second time. Everyone felt it again. The feeling that history was unfolding and they were the witnesses.
Her eyes blazed gold, brighter than the sun, and her expression was calm—terrifyingly calm, as if she were born for this. Then Onyx began to glow gold, and turned sharply. His body twisted but Nova stayed on his head, not moving.
"Again? What the fuck Onyx!" Rex roared, now actually pissed.
Fin at this point was just trying to keep his emotions calm and focus on Nova. He didn't feel tired but he could sense that she was through their mate bond and the magic being channeled into her was too much. His wolf answered his train of thoughts.
Xeon: Keep steady, I'm afraid if we stop she'll lose consciousness.
"I'm going to need a whiskey after this." Jax said through gritted teeth.
The growing orb in front of Nova pulsed. She raised her arms—And for a heartbeat… silence. Everyone held their breath.
Then—
BOOM.
A golden shockwave erupted outward. Everyone was thrown back two feet and tents flapped wildly. All dragons roared in unison. Again.
Twin streams of searing golden light burst from her palms like spears of the sun, arching through the sky and slamming into the open rift. The power struck with such force that time seemed to pause. A shockwave rippled through the sky, cascading like a celestial thunderclap.
The void shrieked as the golden net caught fire. The golden light continued to pour out of Nova, and engulfed it, curling inward, collapsing under its own darkness. The beasts within that had not touched the net yet began to howl in agony, their forms reduced to ash and splinters of shadow. The dark mages, those who had escaped into the field, writhed and screamed as the light overtook them—until there was nothing left but scorched silence.
Eyes blazing. Breathing steady. A goddess draped in midnight velvet and gold.
And no one—not Redmoon, not Darkhowler, not Lunaris —could deny what they'd just witnessed.
Onyx let out one more proud, roar and turned in a wide arc, banking gracefully, his wings slicing the wind as he returned to the center of the field. Nova still stood atop his head—golden, blazing, divine.
He landed with a slow, thunderous grace. Her entire body shimmered with golden light, not flickering, but steady—as if the sun itself had taken residence within her. Her hair glowed like silver fire, her crown glinting with an ancient weight. And her eyes—those once-verdant eyes—now gleamed gold with no pupils, no irises. Just light.
She stepped down Onyx's bowed head as if it were regular steps.
The entire field had gone silent.
No one moved. No one breathed.
The glow from her hair and skin dimmed almost back to normal and her silver eyes flickered back to green. She took a step towards Fin, and he felt her wanting to get to him. But he, along with everyone else, was frozen for a moment. She fell to her knees and wiped some blood from her mouth, panting hard.
Onyx nudged her up with his head pulling her up, and she leaned on it. Clearly exhausted.
Only when Fin saw Jax already moving to her did he snap out of his daze. He ran at alpha speed towards her.
They heard rustling all around them and froze.
Like ripples breaking the surface of still water—one knee hit the ground. Then another. And another. Dozens. Then hundreds.
One by one, Beta after Beta, mage, soldier, rider, emissary—all of them knelt.
Rex and Alpha Redmoon followed.
Bloodmoon kneeled, and lowered his head.
Then all Alphas followed kneeling, Darkhowler, Moonfang, Lunaris, Wolfric, even the once-doubtful Darkfang.
Every man on the field was on one knee, heads bowed.
"To the Queen of the North!" came the voice of Alpha Ragnar Redmoon first, rising like a drumbeat.
Alpha Darkhowler, eyes wide with conviction, followed. "To the Queen of the North!"
Alpha Renwick Lunaris bowed his head, a slow grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "Gods save us. A queen worth kneeling for."
Fin and Jax both stared in shock. Never had either seen an Alpha bow to another. Yet, here they were all bowing to Nova.
Jax turned and continued towards her leaving Fin still stunned.
Without a word, he pulled her into his arms. He seemed to not care if anyone saw.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get back to help you with Starfang. I was so worried." He finally choked out.
"It's okay. I'm so glad you're alive." Nova said with a sad smile, swallowing.
Fin felt her body fading and that jolted him out of his shock. He ran forward to her, pulling her out of Jax's arms and into his.
He kissed her head and pressed his forehead to hers, not trusting himself to speak.
"Thanks for the arrows." She said with a weak smile.
Fin let out a defeated sigh and shook his head, lips twitching.
Nova pushed him away gently, stepping back from them both and turned her face away, as she coughed blood. A wave of nausea went through her.
Both Fin and Jax stepped towards her but before either could reach her, Onyx's wrapped his wing around her, scooting them both back. He let out an annoyed huff.
He gave Fin a pointed glare, before grabbing her cloak with his teeth and throwing her on his back.
She collapsed forward onto him. He pushed off the ground immediately, not letting anyone see Nova.
She felt herself lose consciousness when they were airborne. Rex, Fin, and Jax felt it too.
A roar of unity echoed across the valley for a moment longer.
Then, Alphas and their soldiers began to rise.
Rex didn't linger. Without a word, he turned sharply, a hand lifted in a precise signal. "Prepare for orders at dawn."
His voice carried like thunder, and his soldiers obeyed instantly, filing out in formation, murmuring among themselves.
But Rex didn't follow.
Instead, he turned on his heel and vaulted onto another dragon— a sleek black drake with glowing emerald eyes. The wind blasted outward in a gust as the dragon surged skyward.
Fin's jaw ticked watching Rex chase what was his, while he was unable to do anything.