I shoved my nightclothes into my satchel with more force than necessary. Shayde glanced at me from across the room, hisexpression indecipherable. For once, there was no trace of the Shayde I’ve come to recognize—no look of indifference, no sarcastic jab waiting on his tongue.
Right now, he’s just looking at me. Like he’s trying to figure out what this is. Like he doesn’t know either.
The fear of becoming vulnerable with him clogged my throat. And I did the only thing I know how to do when I feel myself connecting to someone in a way that would give them power over me—the opportunity to hurt me.
I shut down. I armor up. Itake backmy control.
And I hurt them first.
“Last night cannot happen again.”
I was ready for a stoic agreement, but the look of utter confusion on Shayde’s face stole my breath. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it.
“You were working for the enemy, Snake.” I forced venom into my voice, but it burned my throat to call him that. “You delivered my sister to the Grim. To Tyria. How would it look if I came home suddenly okay with your existence? I’d be a fraud. A joke of a warrior for our people.”
Shayde flinched at the nickname. Still, he said nothing.
I inhaled sharply. “And you? You pursued Scarlet last year. How would it look if you were now pursuing me—someone who looks exactly like her? You’d look like a fool.”
My breath hitched. My hands shook. I turned away and started packing, trying to hide it.
“That’s the difference between us.”
His voice stopped me cold. I spun back.
His eyes—open and vulnerable a moment ago—had gone hard. Cold. The edge in his tone had returned, rough and ragged like before this mission.
I scoffed. “And what’s that?”
Shayde closed the distance, but not completely. He stopped a foot from me, leaving a space I itched to fill. “I don’t care what I look like anymore. Not to the people around me. Not to the world. Not even to myself. But you—do.”
His words slammed into me like a final blow.
His voice turned cruel. “I thought I’d found another tortured soul that matched my own. But I guess I was wrong. You hate me. Got it.”
He turned and opened the cabin door.
“I will never forgive you for what you did to her,” I rasped.
Morning light poured through as he stepped over the threshold and dropped his head. “You’ll have to get in line,” he said. “Because that makes two of us.”
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rattled the walls.
We rushed outside, and my stomach twisted at the sight. The tavern was engulfed in flames. A figure stumbled out of the front door, completely ablaze, and collapsed just beyond the entrance. From an upper-level window, the barmaid screamed for help—thick black smoke poured out behind her.
Another explosion rocked the ground, and I clapped my hands over my ears as the cabin-rental building was reduced to rubble—this time thanks to the massive gray dragon that tore through it. We dove for cover as it released a torrent of silver fire. The flames stretched for hundreds of yards and set the surrounding trees ablaze.
“We have to help!” we shouted simultaneously, both of us blinking in shock at the other’s words.
We rushed to the village center, guiding frantic civilians away from the dragon now circling above, preparing to dive again and unleash more destruction. Screams echoed through the square, and smoke stung my eyes.
My gaze locked on a small boy—no older than six—his leg pinned beneath a charred beam. He cried out, his face streaked with soot and tears. I sprinted toward him, lungs burning, heart pounding. But the dragon was already diving, its maw glowing with silver flame. It would reach him before I did.
Suddenly, a flash of white fur burst from the treeline. One of our wolves lunged, massive jaws clamping around the beam, while another used brute force to shove it aside. The boy was yanked free just in time, and the three vanished into the trees before the dragon’s flames scorched the ground where the child had been.
A piercing screech split the air, and I clutched my head—then realized it wasn’t a sound at all but a voice, amplified and everywhere.
“Tyria, it has been reported that two Aryan soldiers are among us. They have stolen an invaluable item from our leadership and must be brought to justice.”
