I leaned forward, heart thudding.Siergen, if the Varnari are building something…
They’re not building, he cut in.They’re awakening something. Digging it up. Magic this old doesn’t just hum. It remembers.
I shivered.
What do you need me to do?
There was a long pause. Then his voice softened.
Stay alive, little storm cloud. You’re more important than you know.
Then—static.
A jagged pulse of magic crackled across the bond like lightning, and then the thread went dark.
“Siergen?” I whispered aloud, standing so fast my cot groaned. “Siergen!”
Nothing.
Just silence.
And the sound of my heart pounding in the hollow of my chest.
He was gone.
And I feared that something had found him first.
Chapter
Fifteen
The morning sun crept high above the peaks, washing the Ascension Grounds in a golden light that felt too bright, too cheery for what my gut was already bracing for.
We walked as a squad, our boots echoing in rhythm against the worn stone, but I could feel something was wrong before we even cleared the inner gates.
Then I saw her.
Inderia stood beside Theron on the raised platform, cloaked in ice-blue silk that shimmered with metallic threads, each fold of the gown flowing like liquid silver. Her golden hair was twisted into a crown of braids, pinned with elaborate jewels. A smile played on her lips, calculated and smug.
She looked like the court had been waiting for her return. And that sheknewit.
Theron stood tall next to her, draped in a formal storm-gray regalia that clung to his broad frame like armor laced with politics. The black sash of his station crossed over his chest—an heir’s insignia gleaming at the center of it. He didn’t look like a prince anymore.
He looked like a king in waiting.
We moved into formation, our squad finding our assigned position near the front, just as the rest of the Fourth Guild filled in around us. Zander stood across the courtyard with Crownwatch, eyes narrowed. He hadn’t noticed me yet, but his gaze was locked onthem.
The major stepped forward, voice booming once the last pair of boots found ground.
“We have the pleasure of announcing a royal union,” he said, crisp and loud enough to silence the murmurs.
The cheers came instantly, mostly from the nobles and the high-ranked riders. Whistles, clapping, scattered shouts of celebration.
But Zander… didn’t move.
He stood stone-still, staring at Theron like he was trying to peel back layers. Like something wasn’tright.
And I knew that look. It was the same one he wore in battle when everything looked too clean, too easy.
