“Still what?”
One night, he asked me to sleep on his bed. Said he didn’t want to be alone. I climbed up without thinking and—A soft, rueful sound escaped him.My weight crushed the entire thing. I’m heavier than I look. And Zander… he took the brunt of his father’s wrath for it.
Before I could respond, Kaelith’s voice cut into my thoughts, her tone almost annoyed.
If you share any more of those stories, Hein is going to incinerate the king’s bedroom with him in it. I’m barely keeping him in line, and I’m not sure I can protect the king if Hein gets serious about his demise.
Siergen’s voice unfurled across the bond like thunder wrapped in silk, quiet but carrying ancient command. It didn’t just reach Hein—it filled the space between us all, heavy with power he no longer tried to veil from me.
Hein, if you touch the king, I will be very displeased. There are few things in this life I truly love… and I have given you two of them.
The air seemed to still, Kaelith’s breath catching as Hein’s answer rumbled low and cold.
I am eternally grateful for Kaelith and Zander. But he was a child, Siergen. How could any parent do such things to their own offspring?
Humans can be cruel,Siergen replied, calm but not kind.So can dragons, under the right circumstances. I protected your rider. I protected your mate. But we need the king alive. His life is the only thing keeping Theron from taking the throne fully—and once he does, the treaty crumbles. The chaos will spread.
There was a pause, and then his voice cracked like heat against bone.
Do you not think I wanted to scorch Emlem the moment I found Zander broken and bleeding on the stone floor of his chamber?
I sucked in a sharp breath.
But such action would have nullified the treaty. And if the treaty falls, so do we. We need Zander. His magic… your magic… it’s the only thing that will hold this realm together when the wards collapse completely.
Silence echoed. Then Hein’s voice came, lower, steadier.
I am sorry for my outburst, Siergen. You have given everything.
And I’d heard that phrase before—given everything—but it was only now, with those visions still hanging on my shoulders, that I understood it.
The image of the silver dragon dead at Siergen’s feet rose behind my eyes like smoke.
The howl of pain. The fire. The grief.
He had paid a price no one else ever saw. And still, he remained. For us.
For the future of a world we were all just beginning to realize was already cracking.
Hein’s voice sliced into our minds, forged from tension.
Return. Now. Something’s happening. The squads are fighting.
I didn’t hesitate. “Kaelith, let’s go.”
You are the slow one,she growled.
I mounted her sleek back, and we launched skyward in a rush of wind and wings. The flight was short—too short—and as the Ascension Grounds came into view, the chaos below sharpened like a knife’s edge. Two squads—Iron Fang and Crownwatch—were squared off, voices raised, postures tense, fists clenched.
But something was wrong.
One of the Crownwatch riders was standingwithIron Fang.
I slid off Kaelith before she’d even fully landed, boots hitting the packed earth hard as I sprinted toward Thrall Squad. My heart was already pounding, unease twisting like wire through my gut.
“What’s going on?” I asked, breathless.
Cordelle, face tight with concern, pointed toward the growing confrontation. “Looks like one of Crownwatch’s own had a change of heart. Asked for a transfer… to Iron Fang.”
