“Tybalt?” he called out, bursting into his uncle’s study.
But it was empty. He wasn’t here.
He tried his office at the castle, finding that space empty too.
Who could she be working with? Someone who came with her on the ship? Or did she find someone when she got here? Had she had a contact here for decades, somehow finding a way to communicate? It could be done, although the cost to get around the Wards was great. That was proven time and time again, most recently with King Tethys’s death.
He tried the offices near the warriors’ barracks next, sending a message with his magic. Those offices were empty too.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The training arenas were next, many of the warriors cursing at his sudden appearance.
“Where is the Commander?” he growled at one of them as the male passed. He was young, and Razik’s demeanor clearlyscared the piss out of him because he stumbled back, falling onto his ass. He couldn’t even speak. Just opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish.
Useless.
He turned to find another, but a senior warrior was already making his way over.
“The Commander. Where is he?” Razik growled again.
The male frowned. “He’s in Everfall with the king and queen. The Cadre went with them. Left this morning when the lord sent word of the creatures of old waking.”
Razik said nothing else, Traveling to Everfall. He didn’t know where they’d be exactly. The creatures of old in these parts tended to stay in the Olwen Mountains. He’d gone to the city center, hoping to pick up some gossip about the whereabouts of the royals.
The royals.
Equal footing and equal power.
Power that would?—
His next realization made his overheated blood run cold.
Because they were bound by a Lunar Marriage. But it hadn’t always been known as such a thing. It had once been called a Lunar Bonding. A few small details had been altered for marriage unions, but the original bond had been between other beings during one of the decades of the Everlasting War. It wasn’t well-known, which is why Tybalt and the other advisors had the reactions they did when Cethin announced it. Many knew the term but not what it all entailed. Not even Selinya and Tethys had invoked a Lunar Marriage.
There were several components to the bonding, but the biggest one was their power. The beings who’d created the Lunar Bonding were losing the war, and in an effort to keep their power not only from being lost but also to keep it from the gods they were fighting, they’d created the bonding. If either party ofthe Lunar Bond died, their power was transferred to the other party. All of it. Every facet of their magic. The catch was that if one party killed the other, both powers were lost to the chaos between the stars.
Which meant if Kailia killed Cethin, she’d lose her power. But if she truly knew what the Lunar Marriage was and someone else killed Cethin, she gained all of his power. All of this hinged on exactly how much Kailia had learned, and Razik didn’t know. She’d never seemed bothered by it, which had led him to believe she didn’t fully understand what a Lunar Marriage encompassed, but if she did…
A screech echoed. A sound Razik hadn’t heard in decades.
Thestryxwere awake.
He didn’t have time to wait for Tybalt’s response anymore.
Razik shifted as he leapt into the darkening night. He’d cover more ground faster this way, and he’d be able to spot them from the sky.
Kailia had used him. He’d fucked things up with Wren. Tybalt was losing faith in him. He wasn’t about to lose his kingdom—the only home he’d ever known—too. He refused to look his uncle in the eyes in failure again.
Powerful black wings beat, pushing him hard and fast. He let loose a roar that answered the call of thestryxas he went to save his home.
Chapter 42
Cethin
The sound of a dragon’s roar had him grinding his molars as they moved. The terrain was getting steeper as they went deeper into the Olwen Mountains. He turned, reaching for Kailia’s hand to help her over a ledge as they climbed a steep embankment. Ariadne and Draven were with him, while Tybalt, Jarek, Fallon, and Bram had accompanied Corveth.
