ELARA POV
My feet hit the courtyard stones, and the world exploded.
Light erupted from beneath me—ancient runes carved into the foundation, hidden for who knows how long, blazing to life the instant I made contact. They formed a pattern I recognized from my mother's journal: the tamer's cage, a prison specifically designed to contain our bloodline.
A dome of shimmering energy shot upward, trapping me inside.
"No!" Kael's roar echoed across the courtyard. I saw him break free from the dragon he'd been fighting, saw him launch himself toward me.
But he slammed into the barrier and bounced back, the magical wall repelling him like he'd hit solid stone.
"ELARA!"
I pressed my hands against the dome from the inside, trying to break through, but my tamer power just slid off the surface uselessly.
"Kael, I'm okay!" I called, though my heart was hammering. "I'm—"
"Not okay at all, I'm afraid," a voice said from the shadows of the throne room entrance.
