“That’s what worries me,” Lincatheron called back, but there was humour threading through his words now.
I adjusted my grip on the handles. “So tell me, how many other technically non-existent military units are you running? Do you have phantom cavalry? Invisible archers? A secret society of battle-ready bakers?”
His laugh was caught by the wind, but I saw his shoulders shake with it. “You’re assuming I’d tell you about all of them.”
“Fair point.” I let the wind whip through my hair, feeling gloriously, recklessly alive. “But seriously, how long has this been going on? The unauthorised dragon squad, I mean. Because watching you try to justify an all-female unit that doesn’t officially exist is going to be entertaining as hell.”
“They’ve been training for about six months,” Lincatheron called, guiding his twilight dragon in a smooth banking turn. “Started as a request from a handful of female soldiers who wanted to try for the dragon corps. Officially, I told them we’d consider applications once we expanded the program.”
“Unofficially?”
“Unofficially, I’ve been working with them every few weeks. And they’re some of the most naturally gifted riders I’ve ever seen.”
Something fierce and proud flared in my chest. “That’s what happens when you stop treating women like they’re fragile.”
“You don’t have to convince me,” Lincatheron said, and there was steel beneath his words now. “I’ve been fighting for integration for decades. But there are... traditional elements in the command structure who need more persuasion.”
“Traditional,” I repeated, letting all my disdain bleed into the word. “Is that what we’re calling stubborn male bullshit now?”
Kaelen rumbled with amusement beneath me.“Females have been bonding with dragons since before his precious military structure decided they were suitable for combat roles.”
I patted his neck affectionately. “Not everyone can be as enlightened as dragons, apparently.”
“I can hear you talking to him, you know,” Lincatheron said, though there was the faintest trace of amusement in his voice now.
“Good. He agrees with me. You’re outnumbered.” I grinned at him across the space between our mounts. “Does Fenric know you’ve been organising rebellious female dragon squads?”
“Isara.”
“What? I’m just enjoying learning the secrets of the stoic military commander.” I adjusted my grip on Kaelen’s neck, letting the wind whip through my hair as I savoured the way Lincatheron’s jaw went tight. “I promised to keep the secret, not that I wouldn’t mock you.”
Lincatheron’s dragon banked sharply to the left, and I caught the way his knuckles went white where they gripped the reins. “Can we focus on the mission instead of my personal?—”
“Oh, this is perfect,” I called across the space between us. “The great Lincatheron, terror of battlefields, reduced to a blushing mess by one pretty male. Does he make you nervous, Commander? Does your heart race when he calls you sir?”
“I’m going to throw you off your dragon myself,” Lincatheron growled, but the threat lacked heat. He was too busy looking mortified.
“This is highly entertaining,”Kaelen purred in my mind.“Please continue tormenting the uptight commander.”
“You’d have to catch me first, and something tells me you’re too busy thinking about catching Fenric instead.”
That’s when the screaming started.
The sound ripped through the sky. It came from ahead of us, from the direction of the camp that should have been a controlled military operation.
Lincatheron’s dragon snapped into a steep dive without warning, and Kaelen followed suit, both of us suddenly focused on the horizon with single-minded intensity.
“What the fuck?”
Then the camp came into view, and the words died in my throat.
Dragons filled the sky like a plague of locusts, their scales black as midnight, eyes burning with sickly green fire. Below them, the camp was chaos incarnate. Tents burned, soldiers scattering like ants from a kicked hill, the bright flash of magic crackling through smoke-thick air.
But these weren’t Lincatheron’s dragons. These weren’t anyone’s dragons that should have been there.
“Fuck,” Lincatheron’s voice cracked across the wind, every syllable dripping with rage that could level mountains. “Those are Nyxarian war beasts. The entire camp is under attack.”
“Wildfire.”Kaelen’s entire body tensed.“Hold tight. We’re going to war.”
