But he didn’t.
Instead, he stood frozen, dethroned not by blade or army, but by the will of creatures older and wiser than any crown.
The dragons had spoken.
Zander took a steady step toward his sibling, every line of his body radiating tension. He didn’t stop until he stood just in front of Theron, face to face with the brother who had threatened everything we were fighting for.
“Theron,” Zander said evenly, “you have to give up your bid for the throne. It’s Dorian’s. You know that.”
Theron stared at him like he was nothing more than a fly buzzing too close to his ear. “Our oldest brother refuses to take up the mantle. I haven’t had a report from him in days. For all I know, he could be dead.”
Zander tapped his temple with two fingers. “He’s fine. His dragon stays in communication with the horde. They won’t reveal his location, but he is well.”
Theron’s lips curled into something like disgust. “And tell me, little brother—who is running Warriath? The dragons, or us?”
“There is no us, Theron,” Zander said, his voice low but cutting. “You don’t want to protect the realm. You want the crown for yourself.”
“I want the continent safe!” Theron barked.
“And your siblings dead,” Zander countered. His voice dropped to a razor’s edge. “Except for Elara. You’ll keep her alive so you can sell her off like a prized broodmare.”
Theron’s expression twisted into something crueler. “Not sell, brother. Marry. She will be a beautiful bride one day… to a husband ofmychoosing.”
“You are a pig,” Zander growled, fists clenched at his sides.
And in that instant, every rider on the grounds knew this wasn’t about politics anymore.
This was personal. A kingdom split by blood, brothers, and betrayal. And it was only getting started.
Hein landed with a thunderouscrack, claws gouging furrows into the scorched stone of the Ascension Grounds. Wind lashed outward from the force of his wings as they flared wide, blocking the sun for a heartbeat before folding against his sides. His snarl was guttural, primal, and aimed straight at Theron.
Theron didn’t flinch, not outwardly, but his fingers twitched toward the hilt of his blade as he stepped slightly behind Major Ledor. Hein took a step forward, molten fire glowing in his throat, smoke curling from his nostrils.
“You really shouldn’t have threatened Elara,” Zander said, his voice biting. “The dragons love her.”
Theron scoffed, his eyes narrowing on Zander. “She’s a child. They don’t even know her.”
Zander’s jaw clenched, and he moved beside Hein, eyes like tempered steel. “She’s flown on Hein’s back more times than you’ve deigned to speak to her. She doesn’t need you. She’s already chosen.”
“You can’t know a dragon will choose her,” Theron said.
“I do not know what her power will be,” Zander added, his voice quieter, “but it will come. And when it does, she’ll be a rider.”
Theron’s face twisted with something sour, disgust or jealousy, I couldn’t tell. “I’ll never allow it. She will not?—”
Hein surged forward with another rumblingroar, smoke erupting from his throat in a warning burst. Fire trembled at the edges of his bared teeth, restrained only by Zander’s presence.
“She will notwhat?” I asked coldly, stepping to Zander’s other side.
Theron’s lip curled. “Your dragon does not rule here.”
Hein’s tail snapped through the air like a whip, slicing a gust of wind between us. Zander didn’t move, didn’t even blink as Hein stepped forward again, heat radiating from his scales.
Kaelith’s mind brushed mine.Hein is ready to burn him where he stands. Say the word.
I didn’t. Not yet. But the thought was tempting.
“Then maybe it’s time someone who actually gives a damn about this realm did,” Zander said quietly, his voice full of quiet thunder.
