"Alright, let's go."
Nox sighed, then with a bitter smile added, "But you'll have to carry me."
Zara blinked.
A faint red hue crept onto her pale cheeks. "W-what?"
"I can barely walk," he said flatly. "If you don't carry me, I'm going to collapse right here. Your call."
She opened her mouth to reply. Closed it. Then quietly turned away for a moment. She drew in a breath.
When she turned back, her expression was calm again—but her ears were still pink.
"…Fine. But don't get used to it."
Before Nox could respond, a flash of blue light enveloped her. Mist swirled, frost crackled, and in the next breath, her body began to shift. Bones stretched. Limbs extended. Wings sprouted.
In seconds, standing before Nox was a majestic frost dragon—sleek, powerful, and luminous. Her scales shimmered like ice under moonlight, and the long silver ridges along her back pulsed with faint mana.
Zara knelt low, motioning with one wing for him to climb.
