“Kaelith,” he said. “She burned Inderia’s family’s ship. In the port.”
Gasps echoed down the corridor.
I turned, and in the corner, through a window, smoke twisted into the sky over the harbor, a pillar of fire casting its glow into the early dawn.
Zander’s voice dropped lower, deadly.
“This is just a warning.”
Zander stepped closer to Inderia, his voice dropping into something low and piercing, honed with royal authority and dragon fire.
“You will leave Warriath,” he said, “and you willneverreturn. If you do, both Hein and Kaelith will rain fire on your kingdom until not a stone remains.”
Inderia’s face paled, but her chin lifted defiantly, lips curling. “You have noproof.Just the word of your little commoner.”
Zander didn’t flinch.
“You should’ve studieddragons,Inderia,” he said, his voice cold steel, “instead ofchina patterns.Maybe then you’d know they don’t need proof. They only needpermission.”
She stepped back as the windows behind us rattled from a roar in the distance, Kaelith’s fury still echoing across the harbor, a sound that promised more if provoked.
But before Zander could take another step, Theron moved between them, eyes flashing.
“That’s enough,” he barked. “Back down, Zander.”
Zander’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t move.
He just looked at his brother with a storm in his eyes and fire licking at the edges of his restraint.
And for the first time, Theron didn’t look certain.
Not of anything.
Zander didn’t blink. Didn’t move. Just stared at Theron like he was tired of dancing around the inevitable.
“I willnotback down.”
His words struck like a hammer. He turned slightly, just enough to glance back at Inderia, who stood rigid near the window, the flickering orange glow of her family’s burning ship casting long shadows across her face.
“Kaelith is bonded to Ashlyn,” Zander said evenly. “She sees and hearseverythingher rider does. Hein speaks with Kaelith. And he intends tomateher.”
The color drained from Inderia’s face.
Whatever icy control she held onto cracked like glass beneath his words.
“I want nothing to do with you,” she spat, her voice trembling. “I wantno partof this barbaric madness.”
Theron stepped between them like a final line of defense, his voice icy. “That’s enough. Inderia is well-respected. Her family is noble. She willnotbe forced to marry mylowbornbrother?—”
Zander laughed once, cold, humorless. “You thinkIever wanted to marry her?”
Theron’s nostrils flared, his mask of composure slipping just enough to reveal the truth?—
He was losing control.
Theron stepped closer, his expression a polished mask of calm, but the threat simmered just beneath.
He wrapped a possessive arm around Inderia’s waist, drawing her against him with the ease of practiced power.
