Ugo stood with them, too, though he at least had never shown me the same hostility the others did.
“Let’s kill some parasites,” Rory said, practically vibrating as she marched through the portal without hesitation. Calling wildweaver parasites didn’t seem incorrect; rather, it seemed appropriate. They were parasites that fed on and stole from dragons.
Professor Chen followed her, then several other Dragontail students filed in behind.
The whole atrium pulsed with urgent anxiety, fear radiating off every face, war hammering in the air like a second heartbeat. The dread weighed on my shoulders, heavy and inescapable.
I’d never been beyond the Veil. Dragon attacks escalated faster than anyone admitted, with wildweavers striking on both fronts, knowledge limited to the Solenhart court.
I peeked again from the door.
Dozens had already gone through.
Lorik was holding the portal open on his own, calm where fear should have taken over, never once faltering.
That urge inside me, reckless, pulsing, wild, and alive, rose like a tidal wave crashing through my ribs. My heart was pounding so fiercely it almost hurt, desire and terror tangled so tightly I could scarcely breathe.
I wanted to join them.
I wanted to see what we were actually facing out there.
My mother had ruled her entire life without ever stepping beyond the veil, never truly seeing with her own eyes what we battled every day with blood and sweat. She only heard the stories. First from my father, the Emberkeep general at the time, and now from Thalen’s father, General Barret. Like many monarchs before her, she believed queens and kings should rule only from the safety of the Glass Castle.
My father had been the first Solenhart general in history, commanding the Dragontail legion. He was ultimately permitted to lead only because he wasn’t Solenhart by blood but married to one.
I looked at the portal Lorik had created, clear as day with green-blue water rippling on the other side. I felt something inside me settle.
More Dragontail students have passed to the other side; only Lorik remains there now.
When he took his first step through the portal, adrenaline shot through my entire body like lightning. Terror and exhilaration collided, flooding my veins with a sweet, sick thrill. Now or never.
I sprinted.
I ran on the balls of my feet, trying not to make noise, pushing as fast as I could toward the portal. It was already thinning at the edges, closing quicker than I’d expected. Lorik’s form was fading, half on the other side, half still here.
I wasn’t going to make it.
I knew it.
So I jumped.
As if diving into the Glass Castle pools.
Reckless. Stupid. I knew that whatever waited on the other side might very well break my bones.
Cold magic swallowed me whole.
The world twisted.
Stones rushed up toward my face. But it never hit.
Shadows caught me.
Dozens of black, swirling ribbons wrapped around me, stopping my fall inches above the floor. They lowered me slowly and gently until my feet touched solid wood.
I breathed hard, tilting my head up just as the shadows retreated.
Lorik Draventh stood before me, fingers still faintly inked with his Moonveil magic as he absorbed the last shadow back into his palms. His face was unreadable. Too controlled. Too composed.
