But for what?
Kaelith’s wings snapped hard against the wind as she twisted mid-air, her gaze locking onto the movement atop the tower.
Severeth!I screamed into her mind.
I barely had the breath to shout before I saw it—the guard posted outside Elara’s door being ripped away from the threshold like a puppet cut from its strings. He didn’t resist. Didn’t even blink.
Because he wasn’t in control.
A twisted, blood-red shimmer clung to his skin as he pulled Elara from the door and pushed her toward the figure waiting on the rooftop.
Severeth.
My pulse slammed in my ears. Elara struggled, eyes wide with panic, but Severeth only smiled, slow, serpentine, and pressed a curved obsidian blade to the girl’s throat. Elara went still, the tremble in her limbs the only sign she hadn’t turned to stone.
Kaelith shrieked, her scales pulsing violet as I urged her upward. We soared toward the tower just as Severeth launched into the sky, wings like torn shadows ripping the clouds.
We have to catch her!
Kaelith gave chase, but Severeth didn’t flee, not immediately. She slowed just enough to allow me to fly beside her, like we were dancing mid-air.
“Let Elara go!” I shouted over the wind. “She isn’t the one you want!”
Severeth turned her head, and those bloodlit eyes met mine with a glint of cruel amusement.
“You’re right,” she purred, voice like velvet wrapped around a dagger. “She will be waiting for you, Ashlyn... in Veralin’s court. The Blood King is eager to meet his legacy.”
I gritted my teeth, magic surging under my skin. “You’re not leaving here with her.”
Severeth only chuckled.
“Oh, but I am. Come alone, Storm-born… or I’ll have a little fun with this one first.” She glanced at Elara, her smile sharpening. “I’m very skilled with blades. I know how to inflict… exquisite pain. Maximum damage. Without the pesky death.”
My throat went dry. “She’s just a child!”
Severeth’s eyes flashed, her voice dropping to a whisper I felt in my bones.
“There are no children in war.”
And with that, her wings surged and she vanished into the dark clouds—taking Elara with her.
The dark clouds parted as swiftly as they had gathered, vanishing like smoke on the wind.
But the silence they left behind was deafening.
The Blood Fae were gone.
And they had Elara.
Kaelith and I landed hard on the Ascension Grounds, my heart still slamming against my ribs, my body shaking from helplessness more than exhaustion. Zander dismounted before Hein’s claws had even stilled against the stones.
“What happened?” His voice was raw. Urgent.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came. My throat closed as the truth lodged like a shard of ice in my chest.
Theron burst from the castle doors, flanked by guards, his face a mask of fire and fury. “You allowed our sister to be abducted!” he roared. “I should have you put to death!”
The words cracked like a whip, but it wasn’t Theron’s voice that made me flinch.
