The Bond That Burns by Briar Boleyn

Here is a summary with spoilers for The Bond That Burns

Minutes after the last book ends, Medra and Blake are still looking to the sky where the dragon, Nyxaris, is flying. Everyone from the school and the council comes running to find out what happened. Viktor is proud and pleased that Medra brought the dragon back, but no one else on the council shares his enthusiasm. Medra is forced to lie, claiming she has control over Nyxaris and can communicate with him—though she doesn’t. The council decides she must stand trial to determine what to do with her. The problem is, not everyone is present yet. In the meantime, Medra is locked in her room for two months until the trial. She only speaks to Blake once a week, when he comes to feed from her.

The trial day finally arrives, and all the houses have differing opinions—some want her killed, others want her set free, and some think she should stay under observation. After much deliberation, Medra is allowed to speak for herself. She explains there is no soul bond yet, but expresses her desire to be a link between all four houses, rather than be claimed by just one. To prove herself, she summons Nyxaris, with whom she has been communicating over the last two months. Though they still have a lot to learn and don’t understand why the dragons were turned to stone or how she was able to bring Nyxaris back, Medra promises to help him however she can.

Meanwhile, Blake is struggling with his feelings. He still loves Medra but doesn’t understand her perspective. He doesn’t realize his actions have caused problems for her; he behaves like a true highblood, believing Medra should feel honored to be bonded with him. When she doesn’t, he becomes defensive. He starts making changes to ensure she’s uncomfortable, showing up in her classes to embarrass her—everything he did the previous year has escalated. Medra tries to enjoy time with her friends: Florence (now in another house), and Visha and Theo (both highbloods who have been loyal to Blake). But when Blake’s bullying begins to affect Visha and Theo, the two finally take a stand and side with Medra. During a training class, things get worse—Blake arranges for Medra to be beaten up, but Nyxaris arrives just in time to save her. Nyxaris and Blake have a tense standoff, which ends when Blake begins to feel scales forming on his skin. Later, when he’s alone, he sees the scales have appeared and are now fading.

Visha confronts Blake and tells him if he’s trying to win Medra back, he’s doing it all wrong. She calls him out on his behavior and tells him to check his attitude.

A week later, it’s time again for Blake to feed on Medra. She visits his room early, hoping to get it over with quickly, but stumbles in while he’s undressed. One thing leads to another, and Medra lets him feed from her while they’re intimate. Just as Medra starts to believe Blake might not be so terrible, he ruins it by saying that this is how they should always feed, and that it should be her job. Medra puts him in his place, telling him she still hates him and that sleeping together won’t undo everything he’s done—especially in the last week. She leaves, while Blake convinces himself she’ll come back to him.

Medra is furious and ashamed for sleeping with Blake, and the guilt deepens when she runs into Kage, another house leader. She wants to be friends with him but feels a spark of attraction as well. Kage offers his help with her dragon studies and warns her that Blake has been acting strange. Medra continues her studies, sneaking around to learn more about the history of the dragons. During a one-on-one history session, she discovers that her professor has been hiding information—Nyxaris was frequently punished in his past life, and the council is grooming her to soul bond with him. If she refuses, they plan to kill her. When she tells Nyxaris, he agrees to help her make it appear that she controls him, since she’s trying to help him.

Blake then warns Medra that during her upcoming evaluation, the council plans to push her hard—and they intend to use Florence against her. This revelation finally breaks Medra, and Blake sees the toll it’s taken. When she runs to her room, it finally hits him that he’s sorry, and that he was part of the problem. He goes to comfort her, and she accepts. They end up spending the night together. Blake promises to protect Florence as best he can.

The evaluation day arrives. The council wants to see how Medra and Nyxaris work together and test her control. Viktor is present, and he brings Aenia—Blake’s “little sister”—to keep him in check, while Florence is there to test Medra. Medra and Nyxaris make a dramatic entrance, and thanks to their plan, Nyxaris obeys all commands—until he’s told to submit and bow. Instead, he uses his fire and forces Medra to speak for him: he will never bow, never be owned, and if they hurt her or her friends, he will find and kill them. The evaluation ends with Medra being escorted into a carriage with Florence, Theo, and others, but they’re ambushed on the way. Medra is injured, Nyxaris returns to protect her, but Blake has already neutralized the attackers. Just when they think they’re safe, they return to the carriage to find Aenia draining blood from an unconscious Theo.

Medra wakes in the healer’s room, fully recovered a day later. Theo, however, remains unconscious. Kage appears and tells Medra his house is willing to let her switch allegiances from Blake’s to his. He also believes he found an ancient ritual that could break her bond with Blake. She has one day to decide. Medra chooses to switch and becomes roommates with Florence.

Meanwhile, Blake begins investigating the truth about the dragons and the war. In his uncle Viktor’s library, he finds shocking information: everything they’ve been taught is a lie. The wars were actually a rebellion among dragons. Highbloods developed a way to merge their souls with dragon riders, giving them control over the riders—and thus the dragons. The dragons felt everything their riders did, and this unbearable bond was part of why they revolted. Blake shares this with Medra, who opens up about her past life as a princess from another world. He’s stunned.

Medra realizes Nyxaris needs to know the truth. He’s furious. Meanwhile, Blake’s strange scales keep appearing and disappearing, and now even Theo has seen them. Blake is summoned by Rodriguez, the human teacher, and finds Kage there too. Kage speaks of a rebellion against the vampires and dragons, and says a ritual must be done to turn Nyxaris back to stone—for everyone's safety and to prevent civil war. Blake is torn; he knows this will devastate Medra, and he’s forbidden from warning her. Kage stops him afterward, implying Blake is changing, and urges him to talk to his uncle for answers.

As term ends, the winter ball approaches—the night Blake plans to betray Medra by delivering Nyxaris to the council to be turned back to stone. The ball begins pleasantly, and Blake and Medra spend quality time together. But then Blake asks Medra to summon Nyxaris to the place where he was reborn, at midnight. Medra is suspicious but does it. While waiting, Blake is summoned by Viktor, who reveals that Aenia has escaped. Blake is shaken further when he learns why his father committed suicide—he had unknowingly drunk from a half-rider, and it started a transformation into a dragon. Blake begins shifting in front of Viktor. This time, the transformation completes—Blake becomes a full dragon. A battle erupts, and despite losing an eye, Blake kills Viktor with a final burst of fire.

At the dragon court, Medra and Nyxaris sense a trap as Rodriguez and Kage arrive and shoot poison-tipped arrows, quickly bringing Nyxaris down. Meanwhile, Florence, Theo, and Visha are searching for Medra and Blake. They discover a horrifying scene—Aenia has killed one of Visha’s flings, and then attacks Florence, forcing Theo to kill her. Blake arrives right after, shattered and injured from his transformation and battle.

Blake leads them to the dragon court, where a ritual has already begun—meant to turn Nyxaris back to stone and use necromancy to resurrect another dragon. Kage holds Medra back, and Florence is shot. During the chaos, Kage reveals his own power—he can shift into a massive wolf. The first ritual is completed, and Molindra, the golden dragon, is revived. But something is wrong. Medra is told to stab her using a knife that holds her mother’s spirit. Blake fires an arrow into the dragon, giving Medra the opening she needs to stab it—releasing her mother’s spirit. Medra speaks to her mother one last time. Her mother says it’s time—she can save them all, but she must go. With those parting words, her mother subdues and kills the dragon before disappearing forever.

With the battle over, Medra runs to Florence, who is slowly dying. A possible solution arises: combining Medra’s and Nyxaris’s blood might save her. But Nyxaris refuses—he doesn’t want to be bound and doesn’t trust anyone after their betrayal. Blake offers himself in exchange for Florence’s life, even saying Nyxaris can kill him. Nyxaris almost accepts, but Medra steps in and claims Blake as hers. At that moment, Neville, the fluffin who adores both Blake and Florence, appears. Nyxaris is shocked—fluffins were once sacred healers to dragons and riders. Realizing this fluffin cares for Florence, Nyxaris agrees to try and save her.