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Storm landed on the earth, making the ground tremble under his weight.
I slid off and pulled my sword out of my scabbard simultaneously, ready to strike down the Teeth that rushed me.
But nobody came.
The kingdom was abandoned.
Ian continued to fly above, to provide aerial protection as I walked through the buildings and approached the gate. The wall should be manned with guards and archers, but I found no one. I took a torch off the wall, lit it with Storm’s snout, and then searched the kingdom alone, opening unlocked doors, looking for evidence anyone had been there at all.
When it was clear it was abandoned, Ian landed and slid off Pyre. “No one’s here.”
I stood and surveyed the reflection of the fire on the buildings, searching for a sign of life.
“Could they be hiding in the mountains?”
I’d come here to save my daughter—but I knew she was gone. “They left the second we turned our backs.”
“Because they knew…”
They knew I would discover the truth the second I returned to Delacroix.
“But where could they have gone? There’s nowhere to hide that many people in our lands.” Ian walked beside me, armed with his sword with no one to fight.
“East.”
Ian finished surveying a building before he looked at me. “There’s no way to cross the mountains except by flight.”
“They didn’t go over the mountains—they wentunderthem.”
Ian’s cheeks paled to the color of snow. “If that were true, that tunnel would have to be hundreds of miles long.”
“Yes. And it would take decades to complete…” As I said the words, I knew they were true. That from the moment we’d won the war, they’d been planning this revenge.
“Why take Harlow if they’re just going to flee our lands?”
My mind worked furiously, knowing that my daughter’s life was at stake. “They must have taken her as leverage against me.”
“Yes, but why?” he snapped. “What does he want from you?”
“To surrender our lands to the Teeth. And if I refuse…he has allies to help him.”
“What allies?”
“Whoever lurks in the east,” I said. “Like I said, this plan has been in motion for a very long time…the moment Harlow was born…the moment I became vulnerable.”
Ian stared, the cold winter breeze blowing his hair back. “Let’s fly there in the morning.”
“They’re making the journey on foot, so it’ll take a very long time for them to complete that journey in a tunnel.”
“Then we prepare for battle with the dragons.”
“They’ll anticipate that, so there must be a reason they’re unafraid of that outcome.”
“Huntley, we need to save Harlow—”
“You think I don’t know that?” I snapped, nostrils flaring. “You think I’m not dying inside this very fucking moment? But I’m responsible for more than just my children, but my wife, my people, and our dragons. If we execute this, it must be done right, because my daughter’s life depends on it. Rushing into it blindly is exactly what Rancor and his allies want. If they capture me, the Kingdoms will fall. Ivory will be unable to lead if she loses us both. Atticus will think irrationally as well. I’m the only one capable of doing this—so it must be done right.” The tears burned my eyes when I didn’t know they’d formed. Now my face was hot, my eyelids burning like pepper seeds had been rubbed into the creases. I’d taken back the Kingdom that was stolen from my father, and now the past had repeated itself. But I’d lost something I couldn’t afford to lose—my daughter.
Ian watched me, and once the emotion in my face became too much to withstand, he averted his gaze.
