The words land casually, as if he’s said them offhand. But they cut through her like a blade. Elyssara is Queen of Dravara and for the first time, it settles in her chest like a destiny enacted.
But Rubi interrupts her thoughts. “We need Melders in The Underbelly right away,” she says, hair tied back in a practiced braid, eyes sharp from sobriety and purpose.
Saana nods, forcing herself to be steady despite the fear etched all over her face. “Revryn has evacuated the people to The Underbelly. The streets are empty. We’re ready.”
One piece of the board secured.
Seren shifts beside her, quieter than usual, her eyes distant for a moment before sharpening again.
“When it turns,” she says, “when the Skyfire starts, I’ll take to the skies on Tarrakai.”
Elyssara looks at her. “Seren?—”
“This is what my people do. We ride dragons. It’s how it’s meant to be.” She lets the words hang there for a heartbeat. Then adds, “I won’t stay grounded while they tear through us.” Resolve threads through her voice. “If Tarrakai is the difference, then I’ll be part of that difference.”
For a moment, Elyssara sees it.
Not the girl she met. The one forged in everything that has come since. Elyssara holds her gaze, then nods once.
A beat passes.
“That’s not the only advantage you have,” Thalmyr announces.
All eyes flick to him, his voice somehow drawing attention without effort.
“You have two Lightbornes.”
His eyes fix on Elyssara, pinning her in place like a butterfly behind glass.
“I will fight. I will do what I can to keep Caeloria from breaching the castle walls. And when Nyrielle arrives… when she starts to unleash her stolen power…” he trails off.
“I will kill you,” Elyssara finishes.
“And I will funnel his power to you,” Daphinia adds.
The weight of everything lands like a warhammer, brutal and unmistakable.
Ronyn throws a hand to his hip, and the other through his hair. “So we have a bit going on then?”
Then Jax asks the one question Elyssara was desperate to avoid. The one she cannot bear to face.
“And Kael? What’s the plan?”
Fuck.
Elyssara can’t feel him. Hasn’t for days. No sign he’s still alive. No sign he’s still in there. She can’t feel his absence either, though. Not dead, then. Just… caught somewhere between dead and alive.
“The plan is…” she begins, though she can’t find a way to end it.
“We reach him,” Teddy steps in, voice unwavering and clear.
Thank the fucking Stars for Teddy.
Elyssara lets out a sigh.
“They’ll use him against you,” Thalmyr says, not cruelly, just stating a fact.
She knows it. Gods, she knows.
