Page 2 of A Court of Darkness and Dragons

Veyna met my gaze, calm and unwavering. “It’s alright.” Her voice was softer than usual. “I wouldn’t trust me either. Not if I were in her place.”

“But you’ve never given me a reason not to.”

She smiled meekly, that sad sort of curve that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Give her time. You’re important to her. That kind of love always comes with teeth.”

I exhaled, something loosening in my chest. “It’s not fair to you.”

“It’s not about fair,” she said. “It’s about surviving. And I know what I look like to them. A fae-born stranger from a blood kingdom. But I’m not here to prove anything. I’m here because of you.”

I looked away, throat tightening. Before I could respond, the heavy footfall of boots interrupted us.

“Sorry to intrude,” Remy’s voice drawled, a little too casual. “But… Ashe, may I have a word?”

Not now. The words lodged behind my teeth, but I forced them out, anyway. “Not now,” I said. Then paused. “But… would you walk my sister back to our barracks?”

His brows lifted in surprise, but only for a breath. “Of course.” He offered his arm to Veyna. “Milady?”

Veyna glanced at me as if unsure.

I nodded once.

She accepted the offer, and he guided her down the hall, his stride slow to match hers. I watched until their shadows disappeared around the corner.

Then I turned and walked back toward the others. Toward the tension. The politics. The broken pieces, we were still trying to keep from collapsing. My footsteps were quiet, but my mind wasn’t.

Solei may not trust her… but I’d burn the kingdom down before I let them destroy her.

My gaze moved to Zander. I knew the look in his eyes.

He stood at the edge of the grounds, arms crossed, the collar of his riding coat flaring in the wind like a banner of defiance. Hein landed behind me with a gust of air and a low growl that vibrated through my boots, but Zander didn’t flinch. His eyes were fixed eastward, toward the horizon where storm clouds churned in the distance.

“Solmia,” he said at last, voice clipped. “We need eyes on the encroaching army. Just a small squad. A quick in and out. No confrontation unless absolutely necessary.”

I stepped up beside him. “Who’s going?”

“Me. You. Jax, Ferrula, Naia, and Tae.” His gaze swept across the rest of Thrall Squad, each of them stiffening like drawn arrows. “If we meet resistance, we come back. We’re not there to win a war, we’re going to assess what’s coming.”

Tae gave a low whistle. “Guess I better be prepared to light some minds on fire.”

Zander’s brow lifted.

“With my power,” Tae clarified, holding up both hands. “You know, the whole Dominion of the Mind thing? If I pass out midair, maybe remind Kieren not to drop me.”

Naia snorted. “We’ll tie a rope around your waist and drag your sorry ass if we have to.”

Just then, a roar split the sky.

It was unmistakably Kieren’s. Deep, indignant, and vaguely threatening.

Tae slapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry,” he muttered, wide-eyed. Then shrugged. “I guess you don’t joke about your dragon dropping you.”

Zander’s lip twitched, the faintest flicker of a smirk. “They’re a bit defensive about their flying abilities.”

“Noted,” Tae mumbled as Naia elbowed him in the ribs.

“Everyone grab your saddles,” Zander ordered, stepping back as the sky above darkened with the shadows of wings. “We tie in for this one. If the winds over the mountains shift, we need to be ready to land hard or hold steady.”

Ferrula cracked her neck. “Hard landings are the only kind I seem to get lately.”