Zander’s voice rang out, clear and commanding. “Prince Theron Rayne, my brother, is missing.”
The squads stirred. Murmurs swept like dry leaves across stone.
“He may be impulsive. Ambitious. But he is still a prince of Warriath. We do not abandon our own, no matter our differences.”
He looked across the assembled riders, his voice steady. “We have reason to believe he left the castle without escort. Whether by his own will or someone else’s, we don’t yet know. But we will find him.”
Zander turned slightly, motioning to the dragons that had begun to circle low above the grounds. “Use your dragons’ night vision. Search the perimeter. The forests. The cliffs near the eastern reach. Report back in an hour.”
The squads began to move, mounting their dragons, their wings unfurling in rhythmic bursts. A dozen at a time they lifted into the sky, gray and blue and green shapes disappearing into the darkening horizon.
I stood beside Zander as Kaelith landed behind me, the wind from her wings tugging at my braid.
He didn’t say it—but I could feel it through the bond between us.
If Theron didn’t want to be found, we weren’t just looking for a lost prince.
We were hunting a traitor.
We took to the skies with the rest of the horde.
The moonlight silvered the wings of the dragons, their shadows stretching across the landscape like ghostly banners ofwar. So many had taken flight that the night sky shimmered with movement. It would’ve been beautiful if not for the knot in my chest.
We searched every ridge, every cliff, every scrap of land around Warriath’s perimeter. But there was no sign of Theron. No broken trail. No disturbed trees. No answers.
An hour later, Kaelith touched down with a soft thud beside Hein. I slid from her back just as Zander dismounted. The moment our boots hit the earth, we heard the shouting.
Iron Fang and Crownwatch were nearly nose to nose, weapons drawn, dragons growling low in their throats, their eyes like coals under starlight.
Zander stepped between them, voice sharp. “What is going on?”
A Crownwatch rider, Olin, shoved a finger toward Perin. “They attacked us. We were patrolling over the North Hollow when we crossed paths. We asked if they had seen Theron. They accused us of ambushing him.”
Perin’s face twisted into something between rage and righteous conviction. “You have him. This is all just a ruse because Dorian knows Theron has more support. He’s hiding. He’s plotting.”
I took a slow breath. The squads didn’t know about Dorian’s condition. About Foran’s silence.
“You think Dorian is behind his brother’s abduction?” I asked, incredulous. “Are you insane?”
Perin turned on me, eyes burning. “I asked Coldrath to reach out to Foran. He refuses to answer. Dorian’s dragon will not confirm his innocence.”
The world tilted beneath my feet.
This was why Dorian was poisoned. Why he stayed hidden. Why he avoided the horde. Not just to protect them… but because he was being set up to fall.
I agree, Zander messaged back.But we will find him and put an end to this shit show.
Zander’s jaw clenched, but his voice was calm. “That is enough. Stand down, all of you. Before someone says something they can’t take back.”
But it was already too late.
The seed of suspicion had been planted.
And I had a feeling we were only just beginning to see how deep it would grow.
Above us, the sky split with the sound of clashing wings.
Two dragons broke from their patrols, twisting in a deadly spiral above the Ascension Grounds. One was a sleek blue Palisade from Crownwatch, its silver-tipped wings shimmering like forged steel in the moonlight. The other—a green Clubtail from Iron Fang—was bulkier, built for brute strength and tail strikes. Their roars collided like thunder.
