Viktor looked up.
“Dragonfire.”
Gabriel dropped onto the edge of the bed, the weight of it knocking the breath from him.
“You saw one?”
Viktor nodded once.
“Massive wings. Scythe-shaped claws. It took to the sky with a scream. It doesn’t kill to eat. It kills to destroy.”
He let out a slow breath.
“I have to get to Glaston before it’s too late.”
Gabriel turned, rummaged through his belt, then pressed a blade into Viktor’s hand.
“Then you’d better take a sharper knife… so we can make sure you get there.”
They clasped forearms.
“You’re insane,” Gabriel muttered, half a laugh in it.
“Fast, remember?”
Viktor gave a tired smile.
“Layaran, o valen.”
(Thank you, brother.)
Chapter Two
And Then, He Saw Her
He was trained to feel nothing. And then he saw her—and felt everything.
The moon hung luminous above the elven camp, its silver light catching the flame at the gate. Smoke from the eclipse feast had drifted away, leaving the grounds hushed and sleeping.
Elves indulged in all things, especially rest—and most had surrendered to it. Only a few humans lingered, still moving through the shadows.
Viktor passed beneath the watch of the same guards he’d met earlier.
“Leaving us already?” one called down.
“With any luck,” Viktor said, hands braced on his hips as he waited for the gate to creak open, “I’ll be back by dusk tomorrow.”
“Do you ever sleep, Captain?” the guard asked, half-grinning.
Viktor’s mouth curved. “When there’s peace to guard.”
He tipped a salute and vanished through the gate.
Sleep was a discipline, not a need—something he could summon when duty allowed.
Tonight, it wouldn’t come.
His body was too alive. His thoughts, too loud.
