The door to Zander’s chamber slammed open so hard it rattled the hinges.
Remy stormed in, his eyes blazing, his breath short as if he’d run halfway across the kingdom. “What the hell was that?”
I froze, still kneeling where Zander had caught me. “You—you couldn’t have seen that.”
“I felt it,” he snapped. “As did every bonded rider. And before you ask—no, I wasn’t the only one. Hein is making damn surethat if anyone shares that disturbance with a non-rider, they understand he’ll eat them alive.”
Zander stood slowly, his body still coiled with tension, but his gaze narrowed at Remy’s intrusion.
“I called the dragons,” I said quietly, rising to my feet. “I didn’t mean to, but… they responded.”
“Yes,” Remy said, stalking forward, “but you forced it, Ashe. You didn’t ask them. You didn’t summon a few—you pulled on something ancient. You made them respond. They had no choice.”
My breath caught. “No. I didn’t mean to?—”
“How did it happen?” His voice cut like a sword.
“I scratched myself,” I said, holding out my hand, “on Zander’s ring. It triggered… something. A spark.”
“The icon of his power,” Remy said, his voice low with realization. “You touched the core of his magic, through a blood oath sealed with yours. Gods, you two—” He took a sharp step back. “You’re dangerous together.”
I flinched. “Remy?—”
“You have to stop being… intimate. You’re blending your power in ways it was never meant to.”
Before his words could fully settle, Zander moved.
Fast.
He grabbed Remy by the collar and slammed him back against the door with enough force to make it groan.
“Don’t ever tell me what I can or cannot be with her,” Zander growled, his voice pure, crackling Dark Fire. “You don’t get to dictate how we love, or how we fight.”
Remy didn’t fight him. Didn’t flinch.
But his voice was as cold as ice. “Then be prepared to burn the continent down with you.”
A sharp chill ran through my spine as Zander and Remy locked eyes, fury hanging heavy in the air between them, like a storm seconds from breaking.
But then—Kaelith stirred.
Her voice brushed against my thoughts, low and ancient, deeper than usual. It wasn’t just a whisper. It was arumble, like thunder echoing from the bones of the world.
They come.
My breath caught.Who?I asked silently, bracing myself.
The lost horde,she said, and her tone held something I’d never felt from her before—reverence… and warning.
My blood turned to ice.
“Kaelith just spoke to me,” I stated, moving away from the standoff between Zander and Remy. “She says… they’re coming.”
Zander turned toward me, his grip loosening on Remy. “Who’s coming?”
I looked up, my voice barely more than a breath.
“The lost horde.”
