Page 117 of Only Flames Remain

“Sorin?” This made Kallias laugh. Really, truly laugh. He threw his head back, not even attempting to mask his booming voice as it echoed off the vaulted ceiling. “Is that why you won’t come with me? You’re enamored with the princeling?”

Kallias reached for me once more, but I flinched back as if burned.

This wasn’t Kallias. This wasn’t the prince I knew. The prince I fell in love with. What had happened to him in the mere weeks I had been gone from Myros? Or was I simply seeing him unmasked for the very first time?

If that were the case…he was more like his mother than I ever imagined.

I turned back toward the library. I needed to find Enora.

Kallias’s hand came around my mouth to silence me. He held a cloth to my skin, forcing me to inhale the sickly sweet vapors.

“You’ll thank me for this one day,” he whispered into my ear as I fell to the floor.

Kallias…how could he…

A silhouette against the wall caught my attention as my vision blurred. As the figure came into view, I immediately recognized the strawberry blonde hair. Her pink dress was covered in soot; her fingernails digging into the stone column as she watched on in silence.

The pungent smell of the divarica flower was the last thing I remembered before I descended into darkness.

CHAPTER 35

Sorin

My brothers followed closely on my heels as I took to the streets of Southgate, my wings open and ready at my back.

“They aren’t entirely undefended, Sorin. Rensford has an entire army of Vireth at his back in Gothryn! The king’s army! There simply aren’t any dragons. In no realm would the Ashbournes ever be able to sneak an entire army through Scaldrithor or the mountains of Ravenwood undetected,” Emrys said.

For once, I agreed with him.

“Then what?” Valerian asked. “What was their intention when they drew us away from the castle?”

Godsdammit.

Realization hit me like a brick and threatened to drag me to my knees. Only a few fae could have made it into Gothryn unnoticed. They would not be sending a contingent of Veytari to take down Gothryn or kill its king.

But rather, they had been sent to take something back.

Something nobody would notice was missing, except the three of us.

Aveline.

I thanked the old gods for Rensford’s presence at the castle, though Aveline wasn’t his favorite person. Knowing that she was my fated, he would do anything in his power to protect her.

Rensford’s letter to Myros must have arrived. Kallias must have finally found out about what Queen Dyata had done. He must have sent his men to bring her back to Myros.

I needed to get back to the castle. Now.

Sweat licked at my brow as I took to the sky without preamble, morphing into my dragon form as soon as I had cleared the rooftops of Southgate. We were hours from the castle, and the thought made me sick with anger.

I beat my wings as hard as I could, uncaring if I was too exhausted to truly fight when I finally arrived back at the castle.

Slow down, Brother, Emrys urged down the bond. It could be nothing…a deception of another nature.

There is no way we were lured out of the castle for nothing. She is my mate, Emrys. I will protect her at all costs, I barked.

I understand—

You understand nothing! My anger flowed down the bond and Emrys cowed beneath it, allowing himself to fall behind me as I made haste toward Castle Gothryn.