But it doesn’t sound like him, and the figure stepping from behind a statue definitely isn't Dayn.
“Chad Valgrave?” I rasp, barely recognizing my former classmate. His once-green eyes now pulse crimson, and behind him?—
“Brynn?!” I scramble to my feet as my younger sister emerges, her expression a battlefield of determination and terror.
“Hey, sis,” she gasps.
Byzu halts, momentarily thrown by these unexpected arrivals.
Chad thrusts out blood-slicked palms. Nothing happens except a faint ripple in the air.
“Blood magic won't work,” I hiss. “The place is warded. What the hell are you doing here?!”
Chad's eyes never leave Byzu. “Darkbirch elite mission. Rescuing you. Obviously.”
Another fireball hurtles toward us. We dive for cover as I summon every scrap of shadow energy I possess, hurling it at Byzu with a primal scream. The darkness surges from my fingertips in a solid wave that slams into him with impossible force. He crashes to the ground, pinned beneath writhing shadows that coil around his limbs and torso like living restraints.
He will not touch my sister.
“What thehell!”Brynn practically chokes beside me.
The darkness seeps through golden plate armor, finding every seam and joint. Byzu's agonized roar echoes across the garden as shadow-needles pierce his flesh. Distant shouts and the clatter of armored footsteps grow louder—palace guards converging from all directions, already on edge from their missing prince.
“We need to go. NOW!” I release my grip on Byzu, the shadows reluctantly retreating into my skin. I grab Brynn's wrist and sprint toward the perimeter wall, Chad matching our pace. We vault over the stone barrier, landing hard on the other side.
33
ESME
We dodge dragon soldiers for what feels like hours before finding shelter in a narrow alley between two workshops. The scent of leather from the belt-maker mingles with the metallic tang from the jeweler next door. Both shops stand empty. It seems all of Draethys is still hunting for their missing prince.
Brynn slumps against the wall, panting. “That thing you did with the shadows. What the actual hell?”
“Shadow energy,” I correct her, pressing a hand to my thundering heart. Chad positions himself at the alley's edge, scanning for threats.
The stone walls around us bear climbing-friendly cracks, and a service path winds behind the buildings: escape routes if we need them. For now, darkness conceals us.
“Shadow energy,” Brynn echoes. “Fine. But how?”
Heat crawls up my neck. How to explain drinking dragon blood to my little sister? I take a steadying breath.
“Things at Heathborne got... complicated.”
“No sh?—”
“I discovered what Dayn really is,” I cut her off, then spilleverything: the blood exchange, the transformation, the wedding, his disappearance. With each revelation, Chad's expression grows more alarmed.
Brynn's too.
The story sounds impossible even to my own ears, yet here I stand, living proof.
Brynn squints at me in the dim light. “So drinking dragon blood gave you shadow powers? Just like that?”
“Simplified version, yes.” I rub my temples. “I'm figuring it out as I go. It's strongest when I'm...” I search for the right words, “...protecting something I care about.”
Chad shifts his weight, eyes never leaving the alley entrance. “Like when you shielded Brynn back there.”
A crimson flash illuminates his irises for half a second.
