{You have the heart of a leader and the soul of a dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together."}
The words hit like a blade through bone. "No—" I stepped forward. "There must be another way. We can find it again. We can—"
Gerod opened his eyes and fixed me with a look so ancient and calm that it rooted me where I stood. "Alpha Tor," he rumbled, voice softer now, like the sky before a storm. "You must let me go. The Island was never meant to survive what Ashanai has done. I have only delayed the inevitable. And now…" He lifted his heavy head, casting one final look across the dying horizon. "…the last of my flame belongs to you."
I turned to Freyr. He was trembling, barely keeping it together. The power that bound us to this realm felt fragile now. And Gerod the dragon, who had guarded Hanka Island for centuries, was choosing to fade so we could live.
