POV: Ravenna
I was sitting on my bed that evening, staring at nothing.
Just—sitting. Not fidgeting. Not ranting. Not throwing things or pacing like a caged dragon.
Just sitting.
The door opened. Morgana's voice: "Rav? You all right?"
I blinked. Focused. "Oh. Morgana. I didn't hear you come in."
"Clearly." She moved to sit beside me. "You've been sitting here for an hour. I know because I checked on you three times and you were in the exact same position."
"Have I?" I looked at her, surprised. "I didn't realize."
She studied my face with that expression that meant she was about to go into best-friend-therapist mode. "Talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"
"I'm engaged." The words came out flat. Shocked. "I'm actually engaged to Theron. We're getting married in three weeks. This is—this is real."
"You just realized that?"
"No, I—" I stopped. Started again. "I think I've been in shock since the Dragon's Choosing ended. My brain keeps trying to process that I just publicly bonded with someone. That I chose him. That this is my life now."
Morgana studied my face. I probably looked overwhelmed. Stunned. Like someone who'd just jumped off a cliff and was still falling but hadn't hit the ground yet.
"How do you feel?" she asked. "Truly. No deflection. No sarcasm. Just—how do you feel?"
I was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Overwhelmed. Terrified. But not—" I paused. "Not regretful."
"No?"
"No." I looked at her. "I keep waiting for the regret to hit. For the panic. For the part where I realize I made a terrible mistake and want to run." I shook my head slowly. "But it's not coming. I'm scared, yes. But I don't regret choosing him."
Relief flooded her face. "That's good, Rav. That's really good."
"Is it?" My voice came out small. "Or am I just fooling myself? What if the bond is making me think I'm okay with this when really—"
"Stop." She took my hands. "We've talked about this. The bond doesn't create feelings. It creates foundation. What you're feeling? That's real. That's YOU."
"But how do I know—"
"Did Solace know?" Morgana asked. "From the beginning? Did your dragon recognize Theron before you did?"
I went very still. "Yes."
"And did she try to tell you?"
"For weeks." My voice was barely above a whisper. "She's been humming approval every time he was near. Preening when he looked at me. Getting agitated when we were separated." I looked down at our joined hands. "She knew. From the very first moment she sensed Havoc. She knew he was ours and she spent three weeks trying to get me to stop fighting it."
"So your dragon chose him long before the ceremony," Morgana said gently. "And you—the human you—chose to trust her judgment. To accept what she already knew."
"Yeah." My throat worked. "I guess I did."
"That's not the bond forcing you into anything." She squeezed my hands. "That's you making an informed choice. Scary? Absolutely. But yours."
I nodded slowly. Some of the tension left my shoulders.
"I knew too," Morgana added softly.
"Knew what?"
"That Solace would choose him. That you were falling for him whether you wanted to admit it or not." She smiled. "I've been watching you, Rav. I've seen the way you look at him. The way your whole face softens when he's near. The way you defend him without hesitation."
"That obvious?"
"To someone who's known you for sixteen years? Yes." Her smile widened. "To the oblivious warrior who's equally smitten with you? Probably not."
"He's not—we're not—" I stopped. Swallowed. "Am I really that obvious?"
"Only to me." She brushed a strand of white hair behind my ear. "But I know you better than anyone. I can see past the walls and the sarcasm to the truth underneath."
"What truth?"
"That you're falling for him." She said it simply. Matter-of-fact. "That you have been for weeks. That every moment you've spent with him has just made it worse." She paused. "Are you falling for him, Rav?"
Silence.
Long, heavy silence.
Then: "I think I might be." The words came out so quietly I almost didn't hear myself. "And it terrifies me more than anything else."
"Why?"
"Because loving someone means vulnerability." My voice cracked. "It means potential loss. It means trusting someone with pieces of myself I've kept guarded my entire life." I looked up, eyes wet. "What if I let him in and he leaves? What if I open up and he decides I'm not worth staying for? What if—what if I fall completely and he breaks me?"
"Oh, love." She pulled me into a hug. "Those are all valid fears. Real fears. Loving someone IS terrifying."
"Then how do people do it?" My voice was muffled against her shoulder. "How do they just—open themselves up like that? Risk everything?"
"Because the alternative is worse." She held me tighter. "Being alone, being safe but hollow, building walls so high nothing can get in—including joy, including connection, including love." She pulled back to look at me. "You've been doing that for twenty-one years. Has it made you happy?"
"No." I admitted. "It's made me lonely."
"Exactly." She wiped a tear from my cheek. "So maybe—just maybe—the risk is worth it. Maybe letting someone in, being vulnerable, falling completely—maybe that's better than staying safe and alone forever."
"What if he hurts me?"
"Then you survive it. Like you've survived everything else." Her voice was firm. "But Rav—I've watched Theron. I've seen how he looks at you. How he waited patiently while you fought the bond. How he took an arrow for you without thinking. How he's endured court judgment and Lucien's attacks and never once complained." She paused. "That man isn't going anywhere. He's survived five rejections. He knows what loss feels like. He's not going to throw away what you have together."
"You don't know that."
"I know him well enough." She smiled. "And more importantly, YOU know him. Deep down. Your dragon knows him. That's why you're falling. Because he's proven over and over that he's worth it."
I was quiet for a long moment. Then I said, "I told him earlier—after the ceremony—that I was glad he was mine. And he looked at me like—like I'd just given him everything he'd ever wanted."
"Because you did." Her voice was soft. "That man has been rejected five times, Rav. Told five times he wasn't enough. That being with him was worse than death." She squeezed my hands. "And then you—you chose him. You accepted the bond. You declared in front of the entire court that he was worthy. Do you have ANY idea what that means to him?"
"I—" I stopped. "I didn't think about it like that."
"Of course you didn't. You were too busy being terrified of your own feelings." She smiled gently. "But he's falling just as hard as you are. Possibly harder. Because you're the first person in ten years who looked at him and chose to stay."
"Gods." I put my face in my hands. "I'm falling for him and he's falling for me and we're both terrified and this is a disaster."
"Or it's beautiful." She pulled my hands away from my face. "Stop catastrophizing. You're allowed to fall in love. You're allowed to be happy. You're allowed to trust someone."
"Even if it's terrifying?"
"ESPECIALLY if it's terrifying." Her voice was fierce. "Love is always terrifying. That's how you know it's real. If it didn't scare you, it wouldn't matter." She paused. "But it's also worth it. Being seen. Being known. Being loved. That's worth every moment of fear."
"You sound very sure about that."
"Because I am." She smiled. "I've watched enough bonded pairs to know. The ones who fight it, who keep walls up, who refuse to be vulnerable? They're miserable. But the ones who lean in, who choose each other daily, who are brave enough to fall?" She squeezed my hands. "They're happy. Actually, genuinely happy."
"I want that," I whispered. "I want to be happy. I want—I want him."
"Then have him." She made it sound simple. "Stop fighting. Stop overthinking. Just—let yourself feel what you're feeling. Give yourself permission to fall completely and trust that he'll catch you."
"What if I don't know how?"
"Then you learn." Her smile was warm. "Together. That's what bonded pairs do. They figure it out as they go. They make mistakes and forgive each other. They learn each other's languages." She paused. "But first, you have to stop fighting. You have to actually TRY."
I nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'll try." My voice was stronger now. "I'll stop fighting it so hard. I'll—I'll let myself feel what I'm feeling without trying to logic it away." I looked at her. "I can't promise I won't panic. Or that I won't try to sabotage this out of fear. But I'll try. For him. For me. For—for us."
"That's all anyone can ask." She pulled me into another hug. "I'm proud of you, Rav. This is brave. Scary as hell, but brave."
"I don't feel brave."
"Bravery isn't not being scared. It's being terrified and doing it anyway." She pulled back. "And you—you're terrified. But you're choosing him anyway. That's the bravest thing I've ever seen you do."
I laughed shakily. "Braver than facing assassins?"
"Much braver." Her voice was serious. "Anyone can face external threats. It takes real courage to face your own heart."
We sat together in comfortable silence for a while. I felt my mind shift from overwhelmed to thoughtful to something that looked almost like hope.
"Thank you," I said finally. "For—for pushing me. For not letting me spiral. For believing in this even when I couldn't."
"That's what best friends are for." She stood, pulling me up with her. "Now. You should probably sleep. Big day tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?"
"The day you stop running from your feelings and actually start building something with that warrior of yours." She smiled. "Scary, I know. But also exciting."
"Terrifying and exciting," I corrected. "In equal measure."
"The best things usually are."
She left, closing the door softly behind her.
I stood there for a moment, processing everything she'd said.
I was finally letting myself fall. Finally admitting what had been obvious for weeks. Finally brave enough to try.
And Theron—gods, that man was so far gone for me it was almost painful to watch.
We were going to be fine. Maybe not immediately. Maybe not without stumbling. But eventually, we'd figure it out.
And Morgana would be there every step of the way. Pushing when I needed pushing. Catching me when I fell. Making sure I didn't let fear steal what could be the best thing in my life.
Because that's what best friends did.
They made sure you didn't fuck up the good things.
And Theron was definitely a good thing.
Maybe the best thing that had ever happened to me.
Now I just needed to let myself believe it.