‘Everyone.’
‘They were lying,’ she huffed, rolling her eyes in theatrical exasperation.
‘And why would they do that?’
‘Pity, perhaps. Or maybe just good manners.’ She stuck her tongue out at him.
‘Careful, witch. I might slice it off.’
She waved a hand dismissively. ‘Terrifying. Truly. You keep making threats, commander, but never follow through. Tell me, do you offer the same false promises in bed? All bark and no bite?’
Kai’s grin was wicked. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’
‘I’d rather choke on my own bile.’
He threw his head back and laughed, the sound rough and warm. Sunlight struck his dark features as he glanced skyward, squinting against the relentless blaze of gold above.
‘You’re certain the dragons flew south?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘How certain?’
She hesitated. ‘Seventy per cent.’
His black eyes narrowed with restrained fury. ‘We’ve abandoned my army on a seventy per centcertainty?’
Dawn exhaled and blew a lock of silver-white hair from her brow. ‘Fine. Seventy-five.’
‘Incredible,’ he muttered.
‘You didn’t have to come with me,’ she shot back, her voice sharp. ‘You could’ve trotted off to the wall with the rest of them, not that it would’ve helped. They’re all still caged behind stone and spell.’
Kai came to a sudden halt, his shoulders drawn tight with tension. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face the witch.
‘And why,’ he asked, his voice low and cool, ‘are you so determined to unleash dragons upon the witches? They are your people.’
‘I don’t intend to burn anyone,’ Dawn replied swiftly. ‘But with dragons, I could stop Hagan. He’s the only real threat.’
‘If you say so.’
‘My people aren’t evil,’ she added, quickening her pace to walk beside him once more. ‘None of this is our fault!’
Kai spun around, so abruptly that Dawn nearly crashed into him.
‘No fault?’ he said, his voice sharp. ‘Then tell me, witch. Who murdered my sister? Who took Alina’s life?’
Dawn rubbed her bare arms, though the air was stifling, the land hot enough to blur the horizon in waves of heat.
‘Those were… unfortunate circumstances,’ she murmured. ‘Sometimes people die.’
Kai’s jaw tensed. ‘Are your hands clean?’
‘What?’ She blinked, caught off guard.
‘Your hands,’ he repeated, voice colder now. ‘Are they clean? Or are they steeped in blood like the rest of us?’
She froze mid-motion, her eyes drifting down to her fingers as if seeing them anew. A deep sorrow shone across her expression, fleeting as a shadow before it morphed intoanger.
