“She’s lost herself,” he murmured.
He looked back at Gabriel and Evander, then continued with renewed resolve.
“Every step from here must drive her back—bring us closer to the crown.”
Viktor slowed.
Amerei saw it then—the way his jaw tightened, his shoulders set.
The words pressed hard against his ribs.
“There’s something you need to know,” he confessed. “About what we’re really facing.”
Storne turned to him, gaze flicking between them.
“Tell her everything,” he said, ceding the space to Amerei.
“As if she were already your queen.”
Viktor’s chest tightened.
For a heartbeat, he wondered how to make the impossible sound real.
Then he bowed his head toward her.
“Lady Zrynon.”
A breath.
“Zeporah told me the dragons aren’t conjured beasts.”
His voice wavered—just barely.
“They’re born of covenants—men binding their souls for eternal life.”
He faltered.
“She didn’t say—”
Amerei’s sharp inhale cut him off.
Her eyes snapped to her father.
“You were right.”
Viktor turned.
The words tore out of him.
“You knew, Commander?”
The hard lines of Storne’s face darkened.
“Yes.”
The crash of water filled the silence.
Then Storne stepped closer.
