“Veylor was a general.” Auren pulls out another scroll, unfurling it across the table. Ancient text covers the parchment—symbols I don’t recognize, diagrams of artifacts that make my blood run cold. “Generals serve leaders. We’ve been fighting the army. We haven’t even glimpsed the commanders.”
Silence falls over the room. Heavy. Suffocating.
I lean into Drayke’s warmth, drawing strength from his steady presence. His lips brush my temple—brief, reassuring—before he addresses his brothers.
“What else do the reports say?”
Auren hesitates. That alone is enough to make my stomach clench. Auren never hesitates.
“There have been... specific threats. Targeted at individual members of the Brotherhood.”
Zyphon goes still. His shadows freeze mid-writhe, then explode outward in a violent burst that makes the torches flicker.
“Shadow creatures have been spotted in the eastern forests.” Auren’s gaze fixes on Zyphon. “Creatures that match descriptions of... your curse. They’re hunting something. Someone. Our scouts believe they’re hunting you.”
“Let them come.” Zyphon’s voice is ice and darkness. “I’ve killed my own shadows before. I can do it again.”
“It’s not just you.” Auren pulls out more reports, spreading them across the table. “Witch covens have been asking questions about the Brotherhood. About our locations. Our weaknesses. Our... vulnerabilities.”
“Vulnerabilities?” Rurik’s eyes narrow.
“Mates.” The word drops into the silence with the weight of a blade. “They’re looking for Fire-Bringers. Every coven we’ve tracked has been collecting information about bloodlines, dormant abilities, women who might carry the fire.”
“Then we find them first.” Rurik’s usual smirk is nowhere in sight. “Protect them before the enemy can capture them.”
“With what resources?” Auren’s practicality cuts through the heroic sentiment. “Our fifty dragons are spread thin across three territories. The threats we’re facing span continents. We can’t protect everyone with our current numbers.”
“Then we recruit.” I hear the words leave my mouth before I’ve fully formed the thought. “Expand the network. Train the Fire-Bringers we find. Build alliances with covens that aren’t corrupt.”
Four pairs of dragon eyes turn to me.
“She’s right.” Zyphon’s shadows have calmed slightly, curling around him with thoughtful intensity. “We’ve operated in isolation for centuries. It served us when the threats werescattered, disorganized. But if our enemies are coordinating, we need to coordinate too.”
“An alliance.” Auren’s tone is skeptical, but not dismissive. “Dragons, Fire-Bringers, potentially witches. It’s unprecedented.”
“So is having an enemy sophisticated enough to plant relics across four territories and coordinate attacks from the shadows.” I gesture at the map, at the overwhelming scope of what we’re facing. “Unprecedented threats require unprecedented responses.”
Drayke pulls me back against him, chin resting on top of my head. His warmth seeps into my back, his heartbeat steady against my spine. “Your brothers need what we have,” he murmurs, low enough that only I can hear. But he’s not talking to me.
I tilt my head back to look at him. “What?”
“The claiming.” His voice carries to the room now. “The bond between Fire-Bringer and dragon. It strengthened both of us—made our combined power enough to seal the Relic. If each of my brothers found their own mate...”
“Four claimed pairs at the head of the Brotherhood.” Rurik’s eyes light up. “Four sets of combined power leading our forces. That’s a command structure that could challenge any artifact. And with fifty dragons behind us, properly trained...”
“If we can find them.” Auren’s skepticism hasn’t faded. “Finding Fire-Bringers is one thing. Finding mates specifically matched to each of us? That’s not something that can be planned or strategized.”
“Fate has a way of arranging these things.” Zyphon’s voice is dark, almost bitter. “Whether we want it to or not.”
I wonder what that means. Wonder what shadows haunt him beyond the curse that writhes around his shoulders. But now isn’t the time to ask.
“So we have a plan.” I straighten, leaning forward to study the map with new purpose. “Find Fire-Bringers. Protect them from our enemies. Build alliances where we can. And when the time comes to face whatever’s coordinating these attacks...”
“We’ll be ready.” Drayke’s arms tighten around me. “All of us.”
The strategy sessionlasts for hours.
By the time we break, my head is spinning with territory names, artifact locations, potential Fire-Bringer bloodlines, and threat assessments. Auren has assigned scouts to track the witch covens. Zyphon has volunteered to investigate the shadow creatures himself—alone, despite Drayke’s protests. Rurik is already planning expeditions to the known Relic sites, mapping approach routes and escape paths.
