Chapter 31

Raeve searches for climbing boots while Kaan watches anxiously from the sidelines, aware that Raeve is about to attempt a dangerous free-climb up Líri's pillar to bond with a dragon. Kaan offers Raeve Mah's well-worn boots and extracts a promise that Raeve will attempt the bond alone, without interference, then privately struggles with the weight of that commitment.

Raeve rummages through a basket of boots lent by Siharna, unable to find a proper fit as her knee bounces with restless energy. Kaan, watching from across the room, is gripped by anxiety about the imminent climb. When conversation turns serious, Kaan warns Raeve that bonding with a mature dragon can stretch the fae mind, forcing confrontation with deep psychological baggage—a veiled reference to Raeve's past trauma. Raeve dismisses the concern with overconfidence, insisting she'll be back before the aurora falls. After Raeve rejects the idea of visiting a craftsman (fearing Líri will leave before her opportunity arrives), Kaan leads her upstairs to a bedroom decorated in soft pastels—Mah's old room, preserved for the daughter Mah never lived to see grow. There, Kaan retrieves a pair of pale-brown ankle boots that belonged to Mah, broken in from her youth spent climbing the local ranges. Raeve hesitates to accept them, but Kaan insists Mah would be honored. The moment becomes tender and weighted. Raeve extracts a crucial promise: Kaan must not intervene, no matter what happens during the bond. Kaan agrees, though the words taste bitter. After Raeve leaves to prepare, Kaan steps outside into the snow and vomits, unable to contain the fear and protective instinct she must suppress.