“Byzu, you utter fool!” he hisses and walks out.
“Wait!” I call after Bemmar, but he’s already gone.
Following closely behind are the guards he had stationed outside my door. My now still… very widely open door. I need a moment to grasp what just happened, aside from Bemmar’s emotional revelation. I can only imagine what’s going through his head or how he intends to deal with this level of treachery.
It will lead to turmoil.
It will put me in danger unless I find Dayn or a way out of here, first.
“He left the door open,” I murmur to myself, the pieces of this puzzle clicking into place. King Bemmar left the door open for me.
On purpose.
It’s my cue to vamoose out of this palace, sooner rather than later, so I wrap myself in my shadow cloak and step into the hallway, already planning my next move.
31
DAYN
Anees knew exactly what he was doing when he prepared this wine cellar. I trace my fingers over the intricate warding symbols etched into the stone walls, feeling the magic pulse against my skin. Three layers deep in some places. My brother left nothing to chance—he's seen what I became after tasting Esme's blood. He witnessed the shadow-laced power that now courses through my veins, a power he clearly fears enough to craft these elaborate precautions.
My fist connects with the wall, sending blue-white runes flaring across the stone like lightning. I snap my fingers, conjuring a small flame that dances above my palm, casting eerie shadows as I search for any weakness in my prison. With each strike of my glowing knuckles against the ancient stone, the warding retaliates—a magical current that reverberates through my marrow.
“Clever bastard,” I mutter into the darkness.
“You called?” The voice slides through the shadows a moment before torchlight illuminates the hallway beyond.
Anees peers through the small barred opening at the top of the cellar door, golden eyes catching the light. His face betrays nothing but cool calculation. I cross the distance between us with measured steps, mind racing for the right words to turn this key.
“This is your doing,” I say. “A betrayal of the crown.”
“I prefer to call it salvation from extinction,” he counters, voice steady and unapologetic. “Surely you remember how it once was—dragons ruling the open skies, humans trembling at our shadows. Kingdoms offering tribute: livestock, harvests, treasures, knowledge. They'd prostrate themselves for mercy.”
“Until they learned not to fear us,” I counter.
“And we answered with fire,” he says, something primal gleaming in his eyes. “We razed their cities to ash.”
“Yet here we are, brother,” I say with a pointed look. “Hiding beneath the earth. Did you forget what drove us here?”
“History won't repeat itself with proper guidance. We're wiser now.” His gaze hardens. “I might have included you, if not for your... sympathies. For them. For her.”
“Her?”
“Your darkblood.”
The mask slips then—his features contort with revulsion, no longer bothering to conceal his true nature now that his scheme is exposed. The sight of my brother transformed by such hatred turns my stomach to ice.
I stare at my brother through the bars, remembering the wide-eyed hatchling who once followed me around everywhere, his wings still too weak for proper flight. The way he'd mimic my hunting stance, made sure to learn everything I learned. He used to worship me.
“When did this happen, Anees? You were the first to champion my journey to the surface.”
“And relieved when you left,” he says, eyes glittering. “I half-hoped the humans would finish you off.”
“Yet you waited to push your war agenda.”
His jaw tightens. “Father was thoroughly under your spell, and he saw value in Mother's words.”
“Mother would despise what you've become.”
