Something shifts in Chad's eyes—calculation replacing desperation. Before I can reposition my blade, he spins and bolts down the corridor.
“After him!” Brynn lurches forward.
I let the shadow blade dissolve back into my skin and catch Brynn's arm as she lunges forward.
“Let him go,” I say, my voice low. “Draethys will hunt him down. This realm doesn't tolerate outsiders.”
Dayn's eyes narrow. “You never suspected?”
Brynn's shoulders sag. “The coven paired us. He was my—” Her voice breaks. She takes a step back. “I trusted him.”
The tremor in her voice tells me more than her words. And a bitter laugh escapes me. The hypocrisy stings. I infiltrated Heathborne with the same calculated precision. I wore masks, built false connections, earned trust only to betray it.
But there’s no time for that now. I glance at Dayn, at the prison we just escaped. Beyond these tunnels waits the dragon city, another kind of prison. And beyond that, the slow heartbeat of a coming war.
A war already shifting in the dark.
36
BRYNN
Acold weight sinks through my chest like I've swallowed a chunk of ice. I stare at Chad's retreating form until he disappears around the corner. My fingernails dig crescents into my palms. How could I have been so blind? The way he'd memorized Darkbirch's security rotations after just a few visits. His convenient appearances when sensitive information was discussed. That weird little hesitation before joining combat drills, like he was calculating whether to hold back. Of course, hindsight is a bitch. I'd welcome her with a shot of tequila and my best smile if she'd just show up before everything goes to hell instead of after.
I force my attention to Esme and Dayn, though the tension crackling between them hardly improves my mood. She stands too close to him for someone who claims to hate her captor-turned-husband. And he—ancient dragon, kidnapper, whatever he is—watches her with something way beyond possession.
“Anees...” Dayn leans against the wall, hands raking through his disheveled hair. His voice breaks on the name. “No...”
Esme's fingers twitch toward him but stop short. “I'm sorry.”
The news about King Bemmar hits him visibly. His shoulders curve inward, momentarily revealing something vulnerable beneath all that power. I've read enough in those dusty archives to glean thatdespite their differences, both Dayn and his father had advocated for coexistence with the surface world.
“He's determined to do this, then,” Dayn mutters, eyes fixed on nothing. “No matter the cost.”
“But with what plan exactly?” Esme asks.
“Anees knows about the clearbloods' weapons, their wartime magic. What they harvested from me.” His jaw tightens. “He'll target strategically, the major covens on both sides.”
My blood turns to ice. “Starting with Darkbirch and Heathborne?”
“Then the structures next door,” Dayn replies. “Yes, the dragons will come back, but there’ll be no peace talks, no bargains. Only blood, fire, and ashes.”
“We’ll fight with everything we have,” I counter.
Esme shoots me a dark look. “What do we have? Our spiritual reservoir is barely recovering. We’ve got traitors among us—I’d bet Chad isn’t the only Heathborne mole. And two Salem witches are still trapped in Draethys as we speak.”
“I was trying to be optimistic,” I murmur and turn to Dayn. “At least one dragon is on our side… right?”
“One dragon,” he repeats. “Not nearly enough to take on my entire kingdom.”
“Then what do we do? Esme, they’re coming to kill us. How can we stop them?”
Dayn exhales sharply and steps away from the wall, determination setting his jaw. “You can’t stop them. But maybe I still can.”
“Wait, Dayn—no,” Esme grabs his wrists. “Anees just murdered the king—your father. Byzu is allied with him, and I’m sure Arrynth has joined too. We saw Brutus Meraxis among them. Major figures from every noble House are involved. You can’t just march into the palace and seize power. They won’t let you.”
“They were gearing up for the next stage of a coup,” I add. “A military assault on our world, and a plan to take Draethys now that the king is… gone.”
“I may not be able to stop Anees alone,” Dayn says, “but not everyone in Draethys supports this invasion. The people loved ourking… He ruled the dragons fiercely and respectfully for over a thousand years. I can’t let this travesty stand. Draethys deserves the truth: how Anees got this far, and then they can choose to back him or oppose him.”
