Someone must've been listening to Sebastian's prayers because House Doragon had exactly one Stormkiller in their ranks. And it was currently being housed within Koishi. His luck picked the perfect time to present itself.

There was only one issue: the dragon wasn't tamed.

They kept it locked in a cave enchanted to take on the appearance of a frozen wasteland—fitting with icicles, snow, and the works. Sebastian nearly broke his neck navigating the frosty cave in hopes of luring the creature out. He'd brought Dorian along, leaving everyone else behind at Castle Braexus. If anyone could help him communicate with the animal, it was the man who could turn into one. Besides, he practically begged to come along.

Deep in his soul, Sebastian knew the werewolf needed to be included. The prophecy called him a guardian. He wanted to test that theory.

Entering the frozen cave deep in the forests surrounding House Doragon's hidden city was one of the scariest things he'd ever done. And his life was chock full of scary moments. Battling his father, getting poisoned, visions of Mauvorin, battling his father again. But nothing compared to walking into the den of death itself.

It took every ounce of courage he had to venture deeper into the dragon's pit.

The first part of the Stormkiller he saw was its eyes. They were the purest form of blue he'd ever seen. They sparkled like sapphires and stood out against its scaly, white body. When the dragon poked its head through the shadows, Sebastian nearly screamed. But he didn't. He held his nerve and looked it right in the eyes. He swallowed his fear—and his pride—and dropped to his knee.

Upon arriving in Koishi, House Doragon's dragon experts gave him and Dorian a crash course on how to potentially tame a Stormkiller. The teleporting beasts didn't respond to the usual forms of dragon coercion. Food, gifts, and shiny objects meant nothing to them. They were extremely intelligent. And rather finicky.

For these reasons, the dragon riders opted to steer clear of them.

But Sebastian needed the dragon.

The creature was the only thing that could get him to Makaela and his father. Dragons could fly at nauseating speeds, but Stormkillers were in a class of their own. To navigate the tempests they hunted in, they developed the ability to teleport using the magical essence of their flames. They'd unleash a torrent of blue fire large enough for them to fly through and use it to jump through storms.

Sebastian planned on using this ability to shorten the trip from Japan to Nepal by a few hours. He knew it'd take a while, but it would be significantly faster than flying straight across.

To ride the dragon, he had to submit to it.

So, he kneeled there in that cave, with ice digging into his kneecaps, waiting for the dragon to make a move. Dorian stood a few feet behind, his eyes wider than boulders as he watched the scene. Sebastian hissed at the werewolf to follow suit. He did.

The Stormkiller crept forward, sniffing the air as if trying to latch onto the fear emanating from their tiny bodies. Its sapphire eyes scanned his body, combing through his very soul. Sebastian gulped and prayed to the gods to save him. The dragon's face stopped its face inches away from his, its rotten breath pouring from its half-open mouth. Flesh and blood were all he smelled. His nose scrunched at the scent, but he remained rooted to the spot, never breaking eye contact with the creature.

The dragon needed to know his life was in its hands. Or, rather, claws.

"Why is it looking at you like that?" Dorian had asked him.

"Shut up," he hissed.

After what felt like eons, the Stormkiller tilted its head upward. It opened its mouth and blasted blue fire toward the stalactite-covered ceiling of the cave. Rolling waves of azure surged across the ceiling, the bright flames licking downward like the tongues of monsters. It flapped its wings, creating torrents of air that nearly knocked the two cowering young men off their feet.

The flames ceased.

The dragon's face returned in front of Sebastian's.

Its lips stretched into what he could've sworn was a smile. He carefully reached a hand toward the dragon's head. A nervous laugh left his lips once his fingers touched the dragon's freezing cold scales. Seeing as how his hand hadn't been chomped off yet, he deemed it safe enough to pet the Stormkiller a few times. The dragon purred like a cat, but the sound was more like a machine gun firing.

Behind him, Dorian gave him a thumb's up.

Sebastian stared the dragon right into its eyes. There was no time to rest on their laurels. He and Dorian had a dragon to ride, a friend to save, and an evil magician to kill.

#

The Stormkiller was faster than he could've ever imagined. It wasn't a mystery why they were so hard to capture—let alone tame.

Sebastian still wasn't quite sure how he did it. He also wasn't sure how he managed to get it out of the cave. Part of him was convinced he hadn't really done anything. The dragon simply chose to help them out of the kindness of its own heart.

Or perhaps hearts? He wasn't fully educated on the anatomy of the ancient, reptilian species. Either way, he appreciated its help.

Once he and Dorian mounted the dragon, they began their journey to wherever Lumi's tower was. Sebastian had no other information on where to go besides "head to Nepal". Fortunately for them, Stormkillers had an affinity for chasing storms themselves. If this tower was in a storm, the dragon would find it.

It only took them thirty minutes to cross the ocean separating Japan from Asia's mainland. They rocketed through the grey sky, passing through bursts of blue fire that launched them forward thousands of feet at a time. The flames passed around the dragon's uniquely shaped skull, warping around its body before turning to smoke.

He had no control over the creature once they approached the Himalayas. It wouldn't have mattered either way, as he didn't know where the tower was. He thought he'd see it peaking over the mountains, but he never saw it. The dragon continued onward, teleporting them through the vast mountain range as it embarked on its own journey.

Sebastian could barely see anything as they hurtled across the sky. They must've looked like a shooting star to anyone from the ground. Using every muscle in his neck, he lifted his head a few inches to peer around. His eyes widened.

In the snow beneath them, broken chunks of quartz and other stone jutted from the ground. From their height, it looked like a piece of a broken toy a child might play with. The debris went on for miles in either direction, eventually culminating in an area marred by pillars and shattered glass.

Four people stood in the snow.

Two of them sprinted east with a miniature storm lingering behind them. Lightning spouted from the clouds, which originated from an orb one of the people wielded. The others were directly across from each other—one standing and one hurt on the floor. Sebastian didn't recognize the pair near the storm, but he knew exactly who these two were. The Stormkiller dropped from the sky, tucking its wings in close to its body. Sebastian's stomach fell with it.

"Hold on to something!" he shouted.

"What do you think I've been doing?!" Dorian yelled back.

His screams intertwined with Dorian's, which mixed with air speeding past their ears. The dragon pulled up just before hitting the ground—and before Sebastian's breakfast jumped out of his stomach and onto the snow. Head spinning, he did his best to breathe in as much oxygen as possible. He removed his helmet and tried not to hyperventilate. But the removal of his helmet brought his eyes straight to his father's.

They were solid black. Dark, bulbous veins ran up from his neck and stopped near his eye sockets. Across from him, Makaela's eyes did the exact opposite. They were the perfect antithesis to Thorian's. They were pure gold, rich and brighter than ingots melting in a burning furnace.

The two were different. He didn't know how, but he knew they were. The air moved differently around them. A foreign energy signature radiated from their bodies. He could feel it pressing against his skin. The hairs on his arms and neck stood at attention. Clenching his jaw, he summoned his vayrir and pointed it at Thorian.

"Enough!" he bellowed.

The man's black scythe materialized in his hand. Dorian slid off the back of the dragon and shifted immediately. Sebastian jumped down as well, landing feet-first in the hard snow. The Stormkiller remained behind them and bared its teeth. Makaela got back to her feet. The four of them, plus the dragon, formed a loose circle around the dark magician.

Thorian spun around slowly before running a hand through his wild hair. He spoke, but Sebastian couldn't hear him over the current of magic rippling through the air.

An invisible force smacked into his chest, sending him flying over the snow. He landed hard on his back and wheezed. Ahead of him, Dorian lunged at Thorian. The Black Lotus used the long handle of his weapon as a shield before hitting the werewolf with a quick, purple shock of magic.

Dorian jumped backward, whimpering as blood trickled from the wound in his black fur.

Sebastian got back to his feet and conjured a shield charm. Black fire spread around him, melting the ice near his feet and revealing the dead grass beneath. Groaning, he fortified his charm and waited for the flames to stop. Once they did, he shadowjumped to where Makaela stood.

A million different emotions sprinted through his head. There was so much he wanted to say to her.

"Are you okay?" was what his dumb brain settled on.

Her hand was bleeding and her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. Yet, she nodded. She pointed a trembling finger at the pair fleeing in the other direction.

"Don't let him get the Andhis," she told him.

The Andhis?

Then it clicked. House Vaya's artifact. Nodding, he reverted his attention to his father. The man moved on from fighting Dorian and ran toward the wielder of the Andhis. Magic poured from his palm, but the raging storm separating him from the two retreating magicians absorbed the attacks.

Sebastian sprung into action. Lashing his arm out, he created a rope made of shadows and flicked it forward. The end wrapped around his father's leg. He yanked hard, bringing the man down into the snow. Surging forward, he threw another spell. The blast of green energy cut through the air before hitting Thorian in the back. The dark material of his sleeveless tunic burned away, giving way to singed skin. He cried out in pain, his hands reaching toward his new wounds.

"Dorian!" Sebastian shouted. He pointed at the magicians carrying House Vaya's artifact. "Get them! Take the dragon!"

Nodding, the werewolf leaped across the snow in their direction. He barked commandingly at the dragon, and to his surprise, the winged beast trotted after him, haphazardly flapping its wings.

Thorian picked himself up. His face was the very definition of rage. He threw his hands to the earth. Dark energy rippled through the ground straight toward Sebastian. He lifted his arms, preparing for his body to get thrown through the air again.

Makaela arrived at his side and pushed outward with her hands. Light surged beneath their feet, repelling Thorian's spell. She crouched into a dueling stance. He did the same. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder now, finally fighting on the same side after what felt like years apart from each other. This was the way it should've been. A lot happened during their separation. Before, he wasn't sure if they'd ever be able to fix what had been broken. Trust, hearts, and spirits were shattered the day she decided to join the Shades. But as he stood there, watching her ready herself to battle Thorian for what couldn't have been the first time that day, he knew what happened before didn't matter.

It never did. All that mattered was this single moment.

She would always be with him no matter what.

Because she was The Light.

And he was The King.

They were destined to fight together. They were destined to defeat the Black Lotus and save the world.

Thorian snorted at them. "Two traitors fighting side-by-side. How poetically pathetic."

"This ends today," Sebastian retorted. "Right here, right now."

"Yes, it does."