Again, I may not know everything about the Starlit Court, but one thing is well known: Galla Vividari’s lords are vicious. They would never willingly part with their prized eagles.
Quickly assessing the threat from the vampyrs and judging that the threat of my fire will keep them at bay for now, I veer sharply to my right.
Slowing my pace, I approach the dark channel’s edge cautiously, scanning the riders in the sky, as well as the Iron Fae guarding the tower top, watching in case I’m spotted.
The approaching rider gives a shout, gesturing to one of the eagle riders, who immediately breaks formation. When the captain—assuming I’m correct about his rank—gestures to the ground, both riders descend, landing on a spot in the tower’s shadow.
A perilous space to stop so near to the bloodlands’ darkness, but the captain lands his eagle there, and it means I can see both riders clearly.
Even if they can’t see me.
I crouch low to the ground and remain very still as the two men dismount, only ten paces from each other.
“Evron,” the newcomer says, his voice low as he meets the other man halfway.
The man named Evron is visibly younger with dark-blond hair, and also clearly highborn.
But it’s the blood splatter across the older man’s armor that draws my attention, sticky, dark splashes that Evron clearly doesn’t miss.
“Captain, what happened?” he asks, confirming my guess of the newcomer’s rank. “Where’s your eagle?”
“Dead,” the captain replies, dragging the back of his hand across his forehead.
“How?”
The tension around the older man’s eyes increases. “Antony, King of Iron, has gone missing.”
The younger man jolts. “Our king is missing?”
“He was last seen flying into the bloodlands.He was chasing after the Oracle. She escaped him and fled into the darkness.”
When I saw Thyra within the magic of the thread that connects us, Stellen had her. It was clear from the snowstorm around them that they were in the Frost Kingdom. Now I have some clues as to how Antony lost her.
The younger man lurches toward his eagle. “We need to find the king.”
The captain claps his hand on Evron’s shoulder, halting him. “Listen to me carefully. The king’s brother Prince Hadrian is making a claim for the throne. He has placed Galla Vividari under guard and declared she is no longer mistress of the Starlit Court. He has also imprisoned his brother Prince Victor.”
The younger man pales. “What about Princess Cassia? Is she safe?”
“She disappeared earlier today. Nobody knows where she went.”
He peers at Evron, but the younger man shakes his head.
“She didn’t fly this way.”
The captain gives a heavy exhale. “I was hoping you might have seen her.”
He scans their surroundings, focusing on the eagles in the air for a moment before he continues. “There’s more. Prince Hadrian controls iron dust.”
The younger soldier’s response mirrors my disbelief. “That’s impossible. No Iron Fae has ever controlled iron dust. The consequences would be?—”
Horrific.
Worse than my fire.
“I’ve seen it,” the captain interrupts, wrenching up his sleeve, exposing his forearm.
Twin iron burns sear across his skin, parallel to each other but one shorter than the other. Each scar is thick and ropey.
