Dev nodded slowly, like he’d already known that would be the answer.
“That tracks,” he said. “You’ve never been very good at doing what you’re told. I know Kieran thinks so.”
There was the faintest pull at the corner of his mouth.
I rolled my eyes and glanced at him. “Is that a compliment?”
“On your better days.” The hint of amusement faded, something more serious settling in. “They’ll push. You know that. They know what you can do, Seph. They won’t let that go.”
“I know.” I leaned over the railing. “That’s what worries me.”
He studied me in the dark, his expression unreadable. “If you decide to run,” he said, “tell me first.”
My chest tightened. “Why?”
“So I can pretend I tried to stop you,” he said lightly. Then, quieter, “And so you don’t have to do it alone.”
Warmth spread through me, tingling my skin. The air felt weighted with each breath.
“Dev?” I spoke.
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
He didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was rougher.
“Any time, Seph.”
Somewhere in the distance, I heard a low call echo across the valley — deep, rolling, unmistakable.
Sy.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding.
Dev smiled faintly. “Your dragon’s back.”
“Yeah,” I said. “He always comes back.”
I straightened, the cold biting at my skin, and for the first time that night, the quiet didn’t feel quite so empty.
Chapter 6
Jess
I wandered the compound halls, flicking my lighter in my hands.
Click. Click. Click.
I hadn’t been able to light a fire since Darkmoor. I felt my power bubbling under my skin, desperate to get out.
But these godforsaken hallways just kept going!
I rubbed my face with my hands, overwhelmed with tiredness. I couldn’t sleep.
I wouldn’t.
Not until I lit something.
