“We don’t have much time.” His gaze flicked to the door. “You must understand something. You are the Dragon’s Heart. They hear you, Nienna. All of them.”
“I tried–”
“And they answered. Ronan is calming them now.” His hand tightened on mine. “Tomorrow you must call again. You need to be near a window. Somewhere I can reach you. The dragons cannot tear through the palace before the Velli cut you down.”
Tomorrow.
One more day.
I searched his eyes, those tormented depths. He would trade places in an instant if fate allowed it.
“A window, Nienna. Get close enough for Gyrak to break through without risking you.”
He knew what he asked of me—he’d seen the marks they carved into me. But there was no other way. If I wanted freedom, I had to endure one more sunrise. I had to follow the man who had led countless battles to victory.
And right now, I was his soldier.
“I can’t get you out of here on my own.” He winced, tilting his head toward the corridor. “There are too many and they know–”
I cupped his cheek and drew him back to me. “I trust you.” The curve of my mouth felt real for the first time in days. He needed me to be strong. And I would give him that.
Just one more day.
“I am Draconis. We do not break.”
His lips flattened. A snarl flared, wicked and harsh, and full of self-loathing. His fist knotted in the sheets, knuckles white. He hated leaving me here. And that hatred steadied me. I was not alone in this burden. He had a plan. He washere. Kallias would get me out.
The wounds still burned. My bones still ached. My stomach churned. But hope—this fragile, delicate kernel—made it easier to bear.
A distant thud echoed through the corridor.
His head snapped toward the door.
“Go.” I pulled him down for one last kiss. Pain lanced through me as our mouths met, but I held him there for a heartbeat. “Tomorrow, I’ll stand under the open sky and call them. Stay close.”
He cradled the back of my head, a sense of urgency in the motion, a harsh need in the grip of his fingers.
“I will come for you, Nienna. I swear it.”
With a strangled breath, he tore himself away. My body leaned after him, chasing the warmth he left behind, the space he vacated. The door clicked shut with cruel softness.
And I was alone.
Chapter Sixty
Nienna
The king of Radaan moved through the vast halls of the Velli palace. An enemy hiding under Deimos’ nose, blinded by their arrogance and ignorance.
Vellos knew Kallias as the man who never recognized the value in crossing the Craggs. His life’s mission had always been to protect his people, never to conquer. He dealt in preservation, in life—but they had made a catastrophic miscalculation.
He had something to pursue. Kallias Sunspear was not the same man they fought before. He had my heart, a taste of love.
And now he would deal in death, spending it like currency, the royal coffers thrown open, his wrath unbound.
When Aida roused me to eat, I tore into the plate. Each bite clashed with my stomach, rebelling against the richness, but I forced it down. Every morsel fueled the strength I would need. I wouldn’t make him carry me. When Kallias came for me, I would run beside him, match his stride, not drag behind.
With lips pressed together, she tried to offer a smile—a meager gesture of comfort. “He will be pleased,” she murmured.
