I may not have liked Lady Belana, most days I couldn’t stand the way she smirked like she owned every man in the room, but she was a figurehead. A puppet draped in silks. She had no real political pull, no power over dragons or crowns. Whoever killed her… they weren’t trying to silence her.
They wanted to hurtTheron.
The prince regent’s eyes locked on mine, and in them, I saw no grief—only opportunity.
“If he does not take responsibility for his actions…” Theron said slowly, deliberately, “then his daughter will.”
Kaelith’s roar tore through the air above us.
Without warning, a spiral of gold flame exploded across the courtyard, arching through the clouds like a god’s judgment. It streaked toward the balcony with violent precision—not to hit, but to warn.
Stone cracked. Heat shimmered.
Guards ducked. Nobles screamed. Theron stumbled back, his cloak catching a spark before Kaler doused it with a flick of power.
Kaelith roared behind me with a seismicboom, wings half-flared, her tail lashing like a whip of lightning.
She didn’t speak, but the message was clear in the guttural snarl that rattled the bones of the fortress.
Threaten me again… and your kingdom burns.
Major Kaler leaned in close to Theron, whispering something behind the veil of a raised hand. Whatever he said made Theron pause, his expression tightening, not with grief this time, but frustration.
A breathless beat of silence passed.
Then Theron straightened and turned back to the crowd. His voice was quieter now, but no less dangerous.
“The major has assured me,” he said, “that both my youngest brother and Ashlyn Rebec will take responsibility for uncovering the truth. They will bring the assassin to me.”
My pulse throbbed in my ears, but I didn’t look away.
“Family ties,” Theron continued, gaze flicking to me like a challenge, “will be irrelevant once Lady Belana’s killer lays at my feet.”
Inderia shifted beside him, the perfect image of mourning, and placed a gloved hand on his arm. Together, they turned and disappeared through the arched doorway at the back of the balcony, their cloaks trailing like blood in the wind.
I exhaled slowly. “Did you tell Major Kaler that we would bring in my father? I have no idea if he is really behind this.”
Zander didn’t answer right away. His jaw worked as he stared after his brother, then finally shook his head. “No. Hein told Mysan to pass a message to his rider. One that included a threat about your safety. I don’t think Theron wants to know what it’s like to die from dragon fire.”
My brow lifted. “And Mysan was more eloquent?”
Zander huffed a dry laugh. “Hein said,We’ll find the bastard. And if Theron moves against Ashe, then he will burn.Mysan translated it into something that wouldn’t get him arrested.”
“So now we’re in charge of finding the assassin.”
“Seems that way.”
“And if that assassin is my father?”
Zander looked at me then, eyes steady and unreadable.
“Then he’ll be beheaded on these very grounds.”
His voice didn’t waver.
And Kaelith didn’t disagree.
I felt the shift in the air before I saw them.
