Chapter 39

Kaan finds Raeve in a feral state after bonding with the dragon Líri, and attempts to draw her back to her human self through patience, song, and refusal to consummate their passion until she speaks actual words rather than acting purely on bestial instinct. After a prolonged struggle involving bathing and physical confrontation, Raeve finally speaks, acknowledging her pain and ultimately declaring Kaan as hers.

Kaan encounters Raeve emerging from the forest covered in blood and meat, feral and animalistic after her recent dragon bonding with Líri. He continues washing himself while humming a tune from their past, which triggers recognition in her. Raeve strips and enters the hot spring, initiating physical contact, but Kaan deliberately restrains their intimacy, insisting she use words rather than yield to pure instinct. Throughout their struggle—involving wrestling, bathing, and multiple near-encounters at the spring's edge and cliff face—Kaan maintains his resolve, even as Líri watches passively from a distance. He shows Raeve his camp, explaining he cannot abandon his responsibilities to follow her into the wild. Eventually Raeve speaks her first words, admitting "It hurts," revealing that bonding with Líri has surfaced unresolved grief over her fallen dragon Slátra. Kaan explains the bond has not yet settled and warns that abandoning her tender nature will make it irretrievable. After Raeve tearfully acknowledges her pain and agrees to stay and fight through it, Kaan affirms his love unconditionally. The chapter concludes with Raeve declaring him "Mine," a statement so powerful it shakes Kaan deeply, while Líri's attention shifts toward them both.