The sound that tore from the dragons wasn’t relief so much as release, a harsh exhale that echoed like armor unclasping.
And that was when I understood what Sahfyre was. What it meant. Not a word. Not just a place.
Smoke broke from Ronan, shadow wrapping the horses like cloaks, lifting the saddles and reins, whispering in their ears. “To Sahfyre,” he commanded.
And then they were gone.
Wells lunged forward before he could stop himself, hand outstretched as if he might still catch hold of his unlikely companion. But in a blink, all four had dissolved to mist, galloping in a haunt, racing back to what called them.
The tension eased among the others, but not in me. Because now I knew.
Sahfyre was their sanctuary, their stronghold. Theirhome.
That was where Ronan’s wraith would finally bleed. And that—thatwas where I would hit him. Not with steel. Not with fang. But with the one thing not even a dragon prince could shrug off. And when the time came, I would be waiting.
Above us, the raven cut into the sky, a slip of black against the grey. It vanished into the mouth of the cave, wings slicing into the hush. It returned quickly with a sharpclick-click-clickof its beak.
Nezra’s hand steadied it, fingers brushing the raven’s crown. She listened, the sound of a language only she could decipher, then she nodded once. “Clear.”
Ronan’s stare cut back to the mountain, his stride smooth. “Let’s move.” Heat surged, a wave of fire flaring across the path, forcing him to still mid-step. Turning, his predatory glare locked on Callum. “Problem?”
Callum’s jaw clenched, an evident glow burning beneath his skin. “Seems bold, waltzing into an unfamiliar mountain. What secrets lie in wait for us?”
A sound rumbled from Ronan’s chest, not quite a laugh. He said nothing as he turned back to the fire, exhaling once, the wall of flame collapsing into smoke.
His voice came calm, the kind that sent knives rushing up your skin. “Unless you know another path, one that doesn’t lead to enemy forces, or worse,” my stomach tightened when he didn’t expand on theor worse, “the cave is our only way.”
Callum crept forward. “Perhaps. But even in your territory, prince, no leader drives their warriors blind into the dark. You want to search for the heir in there? Then we send a scout in first.”
Oh gods, here we go.
Killian folded his arms across his chest, amusement sparking in his eyes as Elysian shifted a step closer to Ronan.
Ronan closed the distance to Callum in a heartbeat. “If you knew how to lead,commander,” he spat the title, “you wouldn’t have rotted in that dungeon.”
The rage came then, blazing hot in Callum’s glare. Ronan’s smirk only grew broader.
“Alright—" I shoved myself between them. “Let’s put the egos away.” My eyes found Callum and I reached for him, through the dying threads of our bond, but they had already melted. He had shut me out completely. “Cal…we’re in Ryuu. I think we should trust Ronan here. Just this once.”
He didn’t look at me, his eyes stayed locked on Ronan, gilded fury burning hotter. I rolled my own, exhaling, catching Ronan’s arm, and dragging him with me toward the mountain’s gaping maw. “Fine,” I muttered. “Lead us into the godsdamn creepy cave.”
The cavern's mouth loomed before us, vast enough to swallow dragons side by side and still have room to spare.
Claw marks scarred the stone around the opening, deep, jagged, undeniable proof of what had once passed through.
It was hard not to balk. Hard not to feel so immensely small compared to the grand power that Ryuu claimed.
I stopped, reaching for Elva behind me and squeezing her wrist gently. “If anything happens,” her fingers folded over mine as she moved close enough to hear my whisper, “run.”
Saying nothing, she tapped my hand in understanding before I dropped her wrist and continued forward.
Ronan didn’t comment or even glance at the scars covering the walls.
Ford, however, whistled low. “Nothing screams trap like a cave big enough to feast on three dragons and my dignity all at once.”
Ronan just adjusted his pack, walking on.
Ford threw his hands up as he scoffed. “See! Very reassuring.”
