Chapter 40

Raeve and Kaan consummate their bond at a hidden spring, a moment of intense passion interrupted by Líri's departure in flight. As Raeve watches her dragon take to the sky, she experiences a crushing sense of abandonment that she buries beneath emotional walls, while reassuring Kaan of her presence even as she fractures internally.

Raeve and Kaan share an intensely passionate encounter at a spring in a meadow, their physical connection marked by playful dominance, vulnerability, and declarations of possession. Midway through their lovemaking, Raeve catches sight of Líri, her dragon, finishing a meal and then launching into flight toward the moons. The sight triggers a panic in Raeve—a fear that Líri is leaving her—despite Kaan's reassurances that the dragon will return. Internally, Raeve responds by constructing emotional barriers, mentally stacking stones over a "silver splinter" of grief and loss that has haunted her since her imprisonment beneath a mountain phases ago. She acknowledges Líri's presence calcifying within her like a cold weight, then refocuses on Kaan, reassuring him that she remains present even as she retreats psychologically into self-protection. The chapter ends with Raeve kissing Kaan's forehead and whispering that she has him, masking her internal devastation.