I look at Esme, my breath held tight in my chest. I’m half-hoping she’ll refuse. Argue. Point out the dangers of what they’re proposing. I see the flicker of it in her eyes—a hesitation that tightens the skin around her mouth.
She glances at Dayn, a silent, unreadable conversation passing between them in a heartbeat. He glowers like he hates the idea. But then her shoulders straighten, the hesitation dissipating behind a mask of grim determination.
“I’ll do it,” she says.
The words tighten my chest, even though, naturally, nobody here is going to pin their survival on a dragon. Even if he wanted to prevent a war, chances are, a universal truce will fail. Which leaves us to our own devices, or… Helena’s words to Esme flicker back to me.
“Only you two together can prevent what comes. Only you and Dayn…You must complete your union.”
What did she actually mean? I try to reach for Helena now, a frantic mental probe into the spirit realm, but there’s nothing. Just a cold, echoing silence where her presence was. Typical.Where is she just when I need her?
Whatever she meant, it sounded like it involved Esme gettingtangled up even tighter with Dayn. Which, judging by their whole forced-marriage, smoldering-rage dynamic, I get why she’d want to avoid. If possible. Still… I can’t shake our ancestor’s words.
“There’s a lot more to discuss, obviously,” Corvin says, his tone shifting back to business as he gestures toward the open cells. “We will grant Dayn and his brother guest privileges within Darkbirch, for the time being.” He pauses, his eyes landing on the last occupied cell. “As for him…”
“He stays,” I say, the words ripping from my throat before I can stop them. All eyes turn to me. I square my shoulders, meeting Chad’s gaze through the bars. The anger is still a hot, solid thing inside me, burning away the grief. “He’s a traitor. He works for Rothmere. He stays right where he is.”
Chad doesn’t object. He doesn’t even look surprised. He just watches me… then finally speaks. “I’m more than happy to talk about this when you’re actually ready to listen, Brynn,” he says, his voice quiet but clear. The implication stings a little: that I’m not listening, that I’m just reacting. Maybe he’s right. But right now I struggle to care.
Dayn’s eyes move to the half-demon, and his lips part as if to speak—but then he closes them again, apparently having second thoughts.
Corvin nods slowly, backing my call, though the disappointment in his eyes is clear. One of his star students, gone.
“Valgrave remains in custody.” He turns, his expression grim. “Now. We have strategy to plan and a ritual to prepare. We must summon the Council. Esme, Brynn, Dayn, each of you will attend. We meet in the chamber in one hour.” He sweeps out of the dungeon, Blythe at his heels, leaving the five of us in the cold, echoing silence.
9
ESME
We wait in the Council Chamber. The academy’s inner sanctum. The heart of Darkbirch’s military institute. Still hard to believe I’m standing across from two dragons in my own school.
Brynn and I sit near the far end of the massive oak table that dominates the room, while Dayn and Byzu linger by the shelves of ancient tomes along the wall. Byzu, who apparently was not on Anees’s side. Still don’t trust the guy as far as I could throw him. Then again, I’m not sure Dayn deserves much higher marks.
Brynn fidgets with the sleeve of her hoodie, her gaze fixed on the still-empty chairs. I watch Dayn until he meets my stare, his expression a mask, but the space between us suddenly feels more charged than the military-grade wards humming in the stone.
Byzu, apparently immune to the crushing atmosphere, saunters over to my sister. “The Salem line has quite the reputation,” he says, his voice a low baritone—smooth,deliberate. His shoulder finds the stone pillar. “Though the stories failed to mention those eyes.”
Brynn glances up at him over the rim of her glasses, her expression utterly flat. “They’re gray.”
“They're lethal,” he counters, his smile a precise weapon. “A tactical advantage, I imagine.”
I position myself between them, arms folded across my chest. “This conversation is finished.”
Byzu's smile remains intact—widens, in fact, his perfect white teeth catching the chamber's low light. “Interesting. I wasn't aware she required an interpreter.” His attention remains fixed on Brynn, though he addresses me. “The protective instinct suits you... sister-in-law.”
The title presses like a pin. My jaw locks. “Don’t call me that.” Across the room, Dayn's stare burns, but I refuse to acknowledge it.
Brynn pushes her glasses higher on her nose. She gives Byzu a slow, analytical once-over, like he’s some kind of specimen under a microscope. “I'm fluent enough in draconic arrogance,” she says, her tone crisp. “It's a tedious dialect with limited vocabulary.”
A sound escapes Byzu—something between appreciation and surprise. “Touché, little witch.”
Before any of us can say another word, the heavy doors swing open. Corvin and Warden Blythe enter first, their faces grim, and take their seats at the head of the table. They’re followed by Director Reinhardt, his dark robes whispering against the stone floor. He avoids looking at any of us, his attention fixed on the scrolls he carries. Then more senior students and elders spill in—including Farrow and Reed, who were part of my original Heathborne debriefing—until finally my mother enters, and the air leaves my lungs in a rush.
Marie Salem looks older. The fine lines at her temples have deepened, her skin a shade paler than I remember. Her eyes are rimmed with shadows that weren't there before. My chest aches at the sight. She still carries herself the same way—spine straight, gaze steady—but when she sees us, her composure shatters.
She pulls us both into a fierce hug, and I breathe in the scent of her—sage and cloves and home—as my fingers dig into the fabric of her jacket.
“My girls,” she whispers, her voice breaking on the second word. I feel her body trembling against mine. Her eyes flick over my shoulder to Dayn, and I can feel her instantly stiffen, her heartbeat quickening against my cheek. “I'm so glad you're safe.”
