We scrambled back to our dragons. Kaelith launched into the sky with a roar that was swallowed by thunder. I leaned into the curve of her neck as we rose above the chaos, wind tearing at my leathers, rain stinging like tiny blades. Around me, the rest of Thrall Squad emerged through the churning clouds—Remy astride his green-scaled dragon, Zander high on Hein’s back, the two moving as if their wings beat to the same rhythm.
Above the storm, the world was still. A false kind of calm. The clouds roiled beneath us like smoke trapped in a bowl, hiding the twisted island that waited below. I couldn’t see the Blood Isle. But I could feel it.
Zander lifted one hand, fingers splayed, then brought it down sharply.
Now.
Kaelith tucked her wings. We dove through the mist, the others close behind. Lightning danced across the sky, illuminating our descent in jagged, white flashes. My heart thundered in time with the storm.
The clouds parted just enough for me to see the beach—a crescent of black sand tucked into a claw-shaped cove, shadowed by overhanging cliffs. Kaelith’s talons struck the ground with barely a sound, sand skidding under her weight. I slid off her back the moment she stilled, landing in a crouch. My boots sank slightly into the damp sand.
The others followed, landing one by one with practiced grace.
Zander dismounted and walked toward the edge of the jungle that loomed beyond the beach, all twisted vines and gnarled trees. “Luthias, you and Lowborn hold this position. Eyes on the sea and skies. No one follows us onto this island.”
Luthias nodded and gave a loud whistle. His dragon, a stocky green Clubtail, curled around the rocks like a living barricade. The rest of the Lowborn riders spread out, silent and ready.
We pressed forward into the jungle. The rain thinned, but the air grew heavier, laced with the metallic taste of old magic.
Just beyond the first line of dead trees stood a stone monolith.
It was easily ten feet tall, carved from black rock that shimmered under the Stormlight. Strange symbols coiled around its base like serpents, some glowing faintly, others completely dead. I didn’t recognize the language, but I didn’t have to.
The monolith pulsed with power.
“It’s a marker,” Zander said, stepping closer. “They’re used to guide enemy patrols away from the sanctuary boundaries.”
“Then we’re in the right place,” Remy said quietly, brushing his fingers along the edge of a rune.
I stared at the monolith, heart pounding.
Remy’s hand hovered a moment before settling against the monolith’s surface. The moment his fingers made contact, the symbols carved into the stone ignited with silver light racing through the runes like lightning finding dry ground.
The air crackled.
Kaelith rumbled behind me, her claws digging into the black sand. Hein stiffened beside her, his wings spreading ever so slightly. I felt Kaelith’s unease crawl down my spine.
“What did you do?” I asked, stepping closer.
Remy didn’t look at me. His gaze stayed locked on the glowing monolith. “It’s connected to the map. Whoever created it… they had the same power I do. Wraith’s Caress.” The light pulsing through the runes danced across his skin like veins of moonlight, ethereal and terrifying.
“Can you deactivate it?” Zander asked, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.
Remy shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. It recognizes me. Accepts me. The moment I touched it, it began cataloging the magical signatures of those near me. Once we cross the threshold, it’ll imprint you… each of you. That’s the trade.”
Imprint.That word felt too final.
“And after that?” I asked, my throat tight.
“You’ll be able to enter on your own,” he said. “You won’t need me to open it again. But no one else gets through. Not unless they have my power.”
“This is some kind of private entrance,” Zander said, glancing around the jungle that encased us in shadows and dripping leaves. “A secret way in.”
Remy nodded. “Yes. Hidden, ancient… and almost forgotten. Which means whatever is on the other side of this stone, wasn’t meant for the Blood Fae.”
My stomach twisted as the monolith split with a hiss of magic, the center unraveling like silk to reveal a pitch-black tunnel behind it.
Not forgotten,Kaelith whispered in my mind.Just waiting.
