The battlefield had changed.
And Theron could feel it slipping through his fingers.
The prince regent turned from the podium, his words like glass as he faced Zander.
“My youngest brother will attempt to return Dorian to the kingdom,” he said, voice loud enough for the gathered crowd to hear. “Let’s see what he has to say.”
There was a flicker of something in his tone—too sharp, too smug. A barb hidden beneath formality.
I frowned. “That’s… good, right?” I asked, glancing at Zander.
But his jaw had already tightened, shoulders locking into a posture I’d come to recognize as restraint just barely held.
“Not really,” he muttered. “I won’t be able to find Dorian. And Theron knows it. But I’ll still have to go through the motions.”
I stared at him. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
Zander looked away, his gaze drifting toward the fading horizon. “Yes,” he admitted. “But it’s family politics. Not about this squad. Not about our mission to find the sanctuary.”
He turned back to me, eyes softer now. “I’ll return tomorrow morning. Hein won’t leave Kaelith for long right now.”
I hated the idea of him going alone. Of walking into whatever game Theron had laid for him, with only blood ties as his armor.
“You’ll explain soon?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t answer with words.
Instead, he stepped closer and kissed my cheek, light, lingering.
“I will,” he whispered, “when it’s safe.”
Then he slid the signet ring from his finger, the one engraved with the Rayne family crest, heavy and cold with centuries of power, and pressed it into my palm.
“Take this. Wear it around your neck. With your pendant,” he said. “I want it very clear toanyonewhat happens to them if they come near you in my absence.”
I raised a brow. “Like Remy?”
Zander sighed, half-exasperated. “While I am not a fan of Saulter,” he muttered, “he won’t hurt you. I’m more concerned with those who would try to take your life… not your virtue.”
A smirk tugged at my lips. “I don’t have much virtue.”
He winked, that familiar glint flashing in his eyes. “You mean more to me than you realize.”
And without another word, he turned and walked away—straight into the vipers’ nest that was his family.
I stared down at the ring in my palm.
It was heavier than I expected, warm from his skin, the crest of House Rayne pressed into the metal like a mark that refused to fade. A symbol of lineage, power… and protection.
It was a kind gesture.
But why did it feel like goodbye?
I turned it over, the ridges catching the light. My other hand brushed the pendant at my neck. Kaelith’s scale, still warm with a magic I barely understood anymore. And now this. One mark of fire. One mark of storm. One from my dragon. One from him.
But something in the way Zander had kissed my cheek lingered too long. In the way his voice softened when he promised safety.When it’s safe,he’d said.
Notif.
