“Of course.” Riah crouched down beside Saber then glanced over his shoulder. “Orathain, would you?”

The gold eagle flew over and landed on Saber’s shoulder then nuzzled its head full of gold feathers against her face. She ran her trembling fingers over the eagle’s feathers. I had a lot of questions but was helpless to watch with everyone else. Riah pushed his hands into the man’s chest, silver magic billowed out around his skin. The black ash and smoke faded away until all that was left was a very human-looking bloody wound. A gnarly, hole in the chest kind of wound.

The man’s eyes flew open. Warm, chocolate brown eyes scanned all of our faces. Black lines spread across his face. His eyes rotated through every color in the rainbow before settling back on the brown. He sighed and closed his eyes again. “So that’s what this vision meant.”

Bentley snort-laughed. He walked over and crouched down across from Saber and beside Silas. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I told you so.”

The man grinned and looked up to Bentley. “You’re too young to be that wise. It’s unnerving.”

“Excuse me?” Jackson snapped his fingers in the air. “Who the bloody hell are you? You’re not Elan.”

All of the dragon guys nodded and pointed to Jackson while keeping their glares focused on not-Elan.

“You’re Elan . . .” Koth shook his head and scowled. “But you’re not. I don’t understand what I’m sensing⁠—”

“Don’t.” Riah held his hand up. “The Unseelie magic forced you into your natural form, I cannot heal you entirely and you know that. For many reasons. That wound is too severe for you to shift or change forms.”

The man sighed. “Riah⁠—”

“Do not fight me on this, little one.” Riah crouched down again. “I know you had other plans, but you made a choice today in taking that hit for Everest and now this is where we are.”

He spoke in a strange language.

Riah nodded then spoke the same language back. Thorne and Everest nodded with Riah, like they also spoke that language. No one else seemed to have any idea what they were saying or what was happening.

The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath then reopened them and looked straight to Saber. Those brown eyes glistened. He reached up and cupped her face in his big, tan hand. She burst into tears and dove for his face. The others looked to Everest, especially Braison and Malik—-who I hadn’t realized were even here until this moment. When Saber broke their kiss to cry and bury her face in his shoulder, the man looked over her head to Everest.

Everest shook his head. “What were you thinking? There was a better chance I survived that hit than you⁠—”