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My mother comes back with her arms full of supplies and Lauren beside her in scrubs. “This isn’t a good place to treat either of them,” Lauren says as she looks from me to Valek. “We have a medical building in the clan where we train and treat our own. Let’s get them moved.”

The dragons around us get to work. My mother steps aside to give them room. I hiss when they take my weight across the burns on my back. I reach for Aya, who walks at my side out of the clearing.

“Stay with me,” I tell her.

She squeezes my fingers. “I’m not going anywhere, Ezra,” she says. “Even though I could kill you myself for the stunt you just pulled.”

I can’t help but smile. My baby is full of it. They carry me into a low building where antiseptic and herbs sting my nose. I stop caring about the rest of it when they put Valek on the far side of the room and Aya stays on mine.

Kenya sits glued to her mate with his hand clutched in hers. Sam, Lauren, and my mother move between the beds to clean us up. Valek is out cold, but I can hear his heart beating steady.

“We’ll get a temporary cabin set up for you two,” my mother says as she applies ointment to a burn on my side.

“No,” I snap. “Absolutely not. I am not staying.”

My mother freezes. “What?”

Everyone stops moving, even the male nurses helping Sam with Valek. They all stare at me, and I don’t give a damn.

“You have been declared alpha of Ash Clan.” Sam spaces out every word for me. “You cannot leave.”

“I didn’t fight him for the alpha position,” I argue. “I fought him for Stormscale.”

“Ezra.” Aya tugs on my hand.

I ignore her. “I’m not staying.”

My father comes in with fresh clothes for Valek and me. “Okay, son, we hear you,” he answers. “But could you not outright reject the clan that raised you?”

I grunt at him and shut my mouth. He’s not wrong, and I hurt too much to argue. There’s still no sign of my dragon.

My father hands Sam Valek’s share and comes around to me. My mother keeps working on my wounds. Deep as they are, they’re already closing. Thank Mother Fate for dragon healing.

He sits in the chair beside my bed. I don’t look at him.

“The conflict between you and Valek,” he says, “reminds me of binary stars. Those are two stars caught in each other’s gravity. They pull on each other constantly, and neither one can break free. But that same pull is what keeps them both in orbit.”

“I love the stars just as much as you do, Father,” I say, “but where are you going with this?”

He lays his hand on my shoulder where there are no burns. “This is a very emotional moment, and I’ve taught you not to make decisions when you’re upset.” He leans closer. “You want to make this decision with a clear mind.”

I’m about to tell him that’s final when Aya turns my face to hers. She kisses me with her lips salty from crying. She breathes against my mouth, “Listen to your father, baby.”

I groan. “Goddammit.”

Aya and her love spell strike again. I cave and wince at a thick needle in my leg.

My mother peeks up at me from her stitching. “Sorry, baby,” she says. “The cuts are very deep and could take days to fully close, a week tops. Me sewing them up will help speed your recovery.”

I turn to my father. Aya rubs my arm. I love that she can’t keep her hands off me.

“Okay, Father, I’m not giving up on Ash Clan,” I agree. “But I need a break.”

My father hums his approval. The nurses around us go back to their work.

“I don’t know how long,” I add, “but I need one.”

“You’ll need to retrain your wings to help them mend,” my father says. “I will help you with this, and while we’re working on your recovery, we’ll also continue our Stormscale training.”