Kaelen’s wings beat harder, and we arrowed through the sky like vengeance given form.
24
Iwas off Kaelen’s back before he’d fully touched down, my boots hitting the ground hard enough to jar my teeth. The moonsilver daggers strapped to my thighs felt reassuring in a way that let me ignore the odd hum they carried. I’d grabbed them on instinct before leaving the castle this morning.
Around me, the others were dismounting. Brynelle moving like water, Shaelith all controlled violence, Fenric’s movements economical and precise.
Three figures emerged from the tree line before we’d taken ten steps.
Darian looked like he’d been through a war already, hair dishevelled, blood on his leathers that might or might not be his own. His eyes found mine immediately, and something complicated flickered across his face—concern mixed with what looked suspiciously like resignation.
Beside him, Cindrissian stood with that eternal smirk firmly in place, though he tracked everything with predatory focus.
And Lincatheron.
The Master of Arms looked exactly like someone who’d been hunting for two days straight—dark wings mantled, scarredfeatures set in lines that suggested extreme violence was not just possible but imminent. Those dark eyes swept over our group, cataloguing, assessing, calculating.
When his gaze landed on me, one eyebrow rose fractionally.
“There’s a cave system through those trees,” he said without preamble, gesturing to the dense forest behind him. His voice was that same deep rumble I remembered from the castle. “Two access points. We’ll need to split up and search.”
He looked at Darian, Brynelle, and Shaelith. “You three take the northern entrance.” Then his attention shifted to Fenric and Cindrissian. “We’ll take the south.” Finally, he turned to me. “You should stay with the dragons. Keep watch from?—”
“No.” The word came out harder than I intended, and I saw Lincatheron’s jaw tighten.
Every instinct screamed at me to shut up, to accept the dismissal, to stay invisible and underestimated the way I’d learned to survive. But Varyth was in there. Captured. Possibly hurt. And these people were wasting time trying to bench me like I was some helpless human.
“I’m going,” I said, forcing my voice to stay level even as my hands curled into fists at my sides.
Lincatheron’s expression didn’t change, but his posture shifted, a subtle hardening. “This isn’t a training exercise. If you slow us down?—”
“I won’t.” The words tasted like ash, because agreeing meant revealing more than I wanted to reveal. Meant showing cards I’d been keeping close since the day I arrived.
But what choice did I have?
Darian cleared his throat, and when I looked at him, his expression was almost apologetic. “Lincatheron. She can handle herself.”
Lincatheron’s attention swung to Darian with the force of a weapon. “Based on what assessment?”
“Based on the fact that she’s beaten me in hand-to-hand combat at least a dozen times.” Darian’s mouth quirked into a half smile. “And I’m not exactly easy to put down.”
Fuck.
So much for keeping that particular skill set quiet.
Lincatheron’s attention returned to me with uncomfortable intensity, reassessing. I could practically see him recalculating whatever assumptions he’d made about the ‘helpless human’ who’d stumbled through the Veil with two children and desperation.
“You’ve had training,” he said. Not a question.
“Some.” The lie felt thin even as I said it, but I forced myself to hold his gaze. Let him think I’d picked up a few tricks, learned some basic self-defence. Nothing that would make me interesting. Nothing that would invite questions about where and how and why.
Nothing that would make him wonder what kind of life required that level of training.
Lincatheron was quiet for a long moment, dark eyes boring into mine like he could excavate truth through sheer force of will. Then he sighed, the sound of someone choosing their battle.
“Fine. You’re with us.” He unsheathed a glaive from his back—massive, brutal, the kind of weapon that’s primary purpose was removing limbs. “But you follow orders. No heroics. No running off. And if I tell you to do something, you do it without question. Understood?”
Relief and resentment warred in my chest. He was letting me come, but only because he thought he could control me. Manage me. Keep the liability contained.
