“You’re not afraid of the dark,” Nevaeh whispered, voice so close that Viola could almost feel him. It would seem the dark not only took her sight but her sense of reason. She wanted nothing more than to lean closer into that touch and burn. “You’re afraid of what you might become in the darkness.” He paused, carefully caressing her jaw. “Now hold your head high and walk out of here alive. There’s nothing waiting for you back there anymore.”

Viola’s chest shuddered, his words cracking open the wall she’d so meticulously built around her emotions. “I know. But it's just… It hurts.” Everything hurts. She gripped the front of her shirt, squeezing the fabric against her chest like that would mend the gaping hole Alessandro Valentino, Nevaeh’s brother, put there when he cheated on her. He’d stolen more than just her first experiences at love. A piece of herself was simply gone in his absence.

Her heart dropped into her stomach as everything came flooding back to the surface.

Five years of their relationship wasted in a single moment. Not to mention the heirloom she stole in return for her broken heart, lay in her front pocket and now Alessandro was hunting her—fifty feet below the Valentino residence in an underwater prison. How Nevaeh even found her, she didn’t know. “I was such a fool to trust him.”

“No,” Nevaeh countered fiercely. The bite in his voice grounded her, pulling her back to the present. “He’s the one that fucked up. He ruined everything. And for that I swear… I’ll put a bullet in him myself, so get out of here, Viola. You are not a victim. You are strong, stubborn, and beautiful. And you were wronged,” he said with calm intensity, like telling her this was all that mattered. “But that doesn’t mean you have to accept it.”

For a moment she wondered whether she was talking to the same person. He never said so much to her before, never got overly emotional, but to keep her from breaking apart, he did. She knew how much that honesty cost him. Her defenses cracked a second time, hands curling into fists as her throat bobbed.

He stepped closer, giving her a moment to breathe.

Her eyes widened as he pressed the heirloom into her side as though checking it was still there.

He paused with a quiet breath of relief. “Live for tomorrow.”

Her heart stopped at the double meaning behind his words. He knew about her plan… He wanted her to free the dragons, even though that went against his own family.

“You save lives, Viola,” he said, pulling away. “Now save yours. The person you were before deserves that.”

He was right.

Fuck him… He was right and she hated him for that.

Even before the incident, he’d warned her about his crazy brother—that the Valentino family carried secrets—and she’d followed him anyway. The person that died that day she found Alessandro fucking another woman in their bed, did deserve better. And maybe for that reason, out of spite alone, she would survive today.

Nevaeh’s answering breath told her that he also knew his words hit home. His warm fingers wrapped around the back of her neck, drawing her closer as though to kiss her, but the kiss never came to pass. He pulled away sharply like the very idea felt wrong. “Run, Viola,” he said softly—too softly. “I’ll deal with him. I promise.”

His silver blue flames sparked into existence like a match, swirling around them and filling the entire cave with such velocity that any magic wielder would be put to shame. His familiar coal black hair and calm red eyes greeted her. Tattoos of the Valentinos’ signature rose swirled along the side of his neck. He seemed different. The crimson ink appeared more like chains than the power she once associated with it.

Power. His power was exquisite.

Nothing like his family, who built their legacy on caged dragons.

The first time she saw him use magic was during such a simple, mundane moment.

He’d ‘opened’ the door for her to enter his house. Tired and alone, she ended up at his doorstep one night, injured from saving people against endangered monsters—her job, though she couldn’t claim to be that good. She didn’t have empathy for the humans that hunted them.

Ever since that incident, Nevaeh bought her the special tea she liked, sold at the corner store. And quite recently, carried her on his back during another mission that went poorly. Griffins don’t take well to people they don’t trust.

Nevaeh’s words that night were still fresh in her memory.

“I will not become dependent on you,” Viola told him after being carried to his couch.

“I know you won’t,” he said, kneeling before her with a gauze. He lifted her right leg over his shoulder to reach the wound on her inner thigh. “That’s not why I do things for you.”

That same man, who never knelt to anyone, made her a promise.

And despite all her stubborn pride, she believed him. Alessandro would not survive the hour. So, she abandoned her grievances and ran deeper into the tunnel, making a promise of her own.

When all this was over, she would find Nevaeh again, refusing to let him say goodbye first.

Through sleepless nights, they constantly found something to argue about, like their little game of going back and forth was enough to keep each other alive, but as his steadfast magic flickered out behind her, that resolve crumbled.

The darkness returned, seeming to claw at her neck, but this time, for an entirely different reason.

Her body moved before her mind had fully decided, turning back the way she came.

Blood flowed cleanly from her palms as she sliced into them with a blade. She didn’t feel the pain, already used to this ritual and too focused on saving him.

Dark magic heated beneath her skin as she chanted the spells that she’d taught herself as an orphaned child. If not for her magic, she never would’ve survived. People feared monsters but Viola knew humans were far worse.

Her blood shifted into glowing red mist. It curled around her legs, enhancing her speed while the rest surged forward upon command, reaching into that crippling darkness for one person.

“Come on,” she whispered, knees nearly buckling from grief when she didn’t find him. She’d never been here before, nor knew where to start looking for him.

Not there either.

Her nails sank into her palms, ensuring they continued to bleed.

“Please don’t be dead,” she repeated. Her feelings were irrational—and so incredibly stupid after she swore away love, but gods be damned, she couldn’t lose him after he tried to kiss her.

She turned on her heels to look in the other direction, letting more magic flow out of her than she probably should. Dark magic always had a cost—one she limited herself to using until now.

“Little, Viola,” Alessandro crooned somewhere up ahead. “You certainly love to make a show.”

At the sound of his grating voice, she laughed humorlessly. “We both know I’ve never been a good girl.”

“Yes,” he said with mild lust. “I’m aware.”

Fuck him… This wasn’t going anywhere. “What have you done with Nevaeh?”

Alessandro inhaled sharply. The sound was close—too close. “Viola,” he pleaded, saying her name like a prayer yet to be answered. “I made a mistake.”

“How observant of you.”

He sighed, sounding anguished. “What I’m trying to say is that… I’m sorry.” He stepped forward into the light, and she flinched at her desire to trust him. Not long ago, she’d fallen in love with that mouth—begged him to devour her. And gods knew he could with that height and well-defined body that had warmed her bed, shadowed her during missions, making her feel safe.

Now she shuddered at the sight of that golden hair she’d once run her hands through, took a step away from those intense blue eyes that called to her with familiarity. “Are you for real? After everything you’ve done?”

He took another step towards her, closing the remaining distance. “I couldn’t be more serious.”

Her magic flared, throwing a shield between them. This wasn’t about winning her back.

He stiffened, clearly disappointed. “Viola, give me the heirloom.”

“No,” she said, flashing him a smile. “Unlike you, my convictions don’t waver so easily.”

He clicked his tongue, tracing his index finger along her shield. “You don’t know what you want. Choosing my brother is evidence enough."

“If you think for one second that I’m going to—"

Her shield shattered against a shock wave, sending her flying backwards.

The cold stone slammed against her head. Her vision blurred, pain quaking through her.

Despair slipped from her hold, knowing she couldn’t beat him in a fight.

He was a Valentino—someone with power so vast that even the royals, who could wield the sun and stars, didn’t dare challenge.

The medallion heirloom in her pocket pressed into her side, hot enough to make her flinch.

It was reacting to her blood.

The quake below the prison told her they also felt it, or more specifically, her anger.

Dragons were not monsters, yet they were treated like something to be caged.

And this medallion… It took away their ability to fly, draining their magic, making them shrink.

She knew being caged quite well. Whether from living in an illusion of love for the past five years, or just being a woman, having to live carefully, small—prove she was worth something to keep her head above water.

Wordlessly she rose to her feet, wiping the blood from her bruised mouth. Glowing red mist poured out of her palms, brighter than before, revealing a bottomless pit of power that she unleashed entirely upon Alessandro.

He stumbled backwards, a wall of wind whipping into existence between them, splitting the cave in half with a loud crack.

Water gushed in from all sides, flooding around them like a storm. She could barely see through the saltwater stinging her eyes.

The cave floor quaked again before she was swept off her feet by the current.

She grabbed a rock, holding on tight.

Alessandro was distracted, trying not to drown.

That’s when she moved, wrapping red mist around his person, pulling him down.

The weight of the heirloom in her pocket slowly dissolved.

Nevaeh flew from the water, seated upon a gigantic ebony dragon.

Fleets of dragons followed suit, soaring into the vast sky—Nevaeh holding back the waves for them. His dragon hovered, staying beside her with a beat of those mighty wings.

Water trickled down her brow, knowing she couldn’t leave. Alessandro wasn’t dead.

“Viola!” Nevaeh shouted, reaching for her.

Her magic ceased, accepting Nevaeh’s outstretched hand.

He pulled her to sit in front of him, holding her waist as they soared into the sky, joining the other dragons. Air balloons floated in the distance, steam engines roaring faintly, and golden towers disappeared through the clouds.

A cool breeze filled her lungs, caressing her damp skin, and a part of her shifted, feeling at peace.

She was free.

Alive.

And so were the dragons that offered her the same freedom in return.

Far below them, those shunned by society gathered at the spectacle—and they cheered.

Her head fell back against Nevaeh, wanting to be closer to him, relieved he was alright.

Nevaeh tensed and then relaxed, holding onto her tighter, and somehow that said more than words ever could. Freeing the dragons might have been a revolution for the world, but for Viola, her revolution was finding a home again.

As they soared into the star flecked horizon—a fleet of dragons in their wake, she reached up, playing with Nevaeh’s dark hair and smiled when he nuzzled her hand.

And to think she was once afraid of something so beautiful.