“Then let’s finish eating this poisoned food and get to work.” I winked.
At my words, Callan grimaced and brought his plate to his face to sniff.
“It’s not poisoned,” Finley told him, her smile growing.
“Could your sense of smell even detect if it was?” I asked.
“Kass accidentally poisoned all of us on her first attempt at cooking,” he said. “It had a sour smell to it.”
“You say first.” My brows shot up in question. “Does that mean you ate other food she cooked?”
“Kass is . . . stubborn.” He pushed a piece of meat on his plate before he took another bite. “When she decided she wanted to cook for us, we all had to abide by her wish. Thankfully, she’s left that task to others on our island.”
Finley’s giggle coursed through me, sparking along the place where her magic slept in my chest.
“How did humans come to live in Vistos with the dragons?” I asked, hoping Callan would be more inclined to answer than his sister.
Callan shifted from where he sat on the grass, grabbing a dagger that he inspected with care. “Humans have always lived alongside dragons on Vistos,” he said. “When the gods shaped the realms, our island was marked as their shield. Every generation of human and dragon has trained together to keep the realms from destruction.”
Something tightened in my throat. “If that’s true, why didn’t you come when Leanora tried to destroy the human realm? When she threatened ours?”
His jaw ticked, but he kept his attention on his dagger. “We would’ve intervened had Elias fallen.”
A snarl ripped out of me before I could stop it, my canines pressing sharp against my lips. He didn’t flinch.
“We have watchers who track threats across all the realms,” he said, tone even. “If we answered every looming catastrophe, we would never know peace. We only interfere if there is no other choice.”
My retort burned at the back of my throat, but Finley stepped in before I could speak.
“How did Kassidy come to lead Vistos?” she asked. “She doesn’t seem very old.”
For the first time, Callan’s expression eased. “Kass is my younger sister. Not my blood, none of the boys on the island are.” A hint of a smile twitched at his lips. “Boys are brought from other islands when we’re young. We’re raised in families sworn to honor and protect a sister. It’s the greatest duty we have.” He paused, putting his dagger away while something dark loomed behind his eyes. “Our parents, or her parents who raised me, answered a catastrophe years ago. They didn’t return.” He drew in a quiet, steady breath. “Kassidy was twenty when she stepped into our mother’s role. She’d trained her whole life for it, but . . . she was still young. I mourned what we lost, even as I was proud of who she became.”
Finley reached out, brushing her fingers lightly against my arm. Tension in my chest loosened, not at Callan’s story but at the gentleness with which she listened.
Callan looked past us, his posture straightening. “Vistos survives because we stand as one. Dragons, riders, and those who lead us. Kass carries that weight well.”
The mood shifted to something steadier, quieter.
Then Alastor set his plate aside and rose. “Right then. Shall we get started before the poison kicks in, then?”
Nodding, Finley pulled her shoulders back and rose. Unease settled in me, but I stood too, leaving the dishes and the easy camaraderie behind. Together, we followed Alastor through the thick jungle until he stopped.
He faced us, his face expressionless as he leaned on a tall coconut tree. As I’d seen him do hundreds of times, he pricked his finger, but without his white bowl, he caught the three drops of blood with a leaf on his outstretched palm.
The air vibrated with his magic, a thread of green curling at his hand. When he pulled, I felt the bond inside me twist with the threads straining where Finley and I were connected.
She gasped, pressing a hand across her chest.
My magic lashed out before I could think to hold it in, as the urge to shield her burned through me. Wisps of smoke tore through Alastor’s magic, across his chest, and he staggered back a step.
I drew in an uneasy breath, an apology sitting heavy on my tongue when Alastor laughed.
He wiped a streak of blood from his arm and shook his head. “Possessive fae.” He grinned, unbothered by my loss of control. “Seems when your mate is in danger, your magic doesn’t adhere to rules either.”
But it was that same possessiveness, that same loss of control that had cost many fae their lives at the human compound we’d raided over a year ago. It was why Hayden, one of our strongest warriors, now had only one arm.
“Don’t hold back that need to protect her,” Alastor said. “Tie it to your bond, and nothing will be able to get to her magic.”
