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His gaze moves from Kylian to Eagan, then lands on me.

My skin tightens beneath my coat, and I fight the urge to reach for the mark on my throat. Because he watches me in a way that sets me on edge.

Kylian steps a fraction closer, blocking just enough of me to make his warning clear.

“Kaiser,” he says.

“Kylian,” Kaiser answers, his eyes still on me for half a breath longer before they slide back to him. “I assumed the next ship in my harbor would belong to Draven, not you.”

Kylian’s expression does not change. “Has Draven stopped here?”

“He left earlier today,” Kaiser says, his voice smooth and cold. “His ship delivered supplies and moved on, though I am expecting another shipment from him, so you can imagine my disappointment when your vessel cut through the fog instead.”

Kylian goes very still.

“What supplies?”

“Fuel, coal, machine parts, and a few luxuries he no doubt expects me to pretend to be impressed by,” Kaiser says, then tilts his head with faint interest. “Now tell me what you did to make him so eager to discuss your death.”

Eagan shifts behind me and Kylian’s hand tightens around mine.

“Killed a couple of his men,” Kylian says.

A small ripple passes through Kaiser’s guards, though their faces remain blank.

Kaiser gives a slow smile with no warmth in it.

“So that rumor is true.”

“If Draven knows what is good for him,” Kylian continues, “he will return my ship and my crew whole.”

Kaiser laughs softly, and the sound does not warm a single part of him. Kylian says nothing. Then Kaiser turns his attention back to me, and the cold focus of it makes my magic stir beneath my skin.

Kylian feels it through the bond. His thumb brushes once over the back of my hand.

“Not now. Calm down, you don’t need to fear him with me beside you, love,” comes Kylian’s voice in my head.

Kaiser’s eyes narrow slightly, and I realize he noticed the change in me even without understanding it fully.

“Why are you here?” he asks.

Kylian answers with the ease of someone practiced at lying to kings.

“I heard Fenrune’s shoreline has begun receding.”

I keep my face still, though every part of me knows that is not why we came.

Kaiser stares at him for a moment, then lets out another soft laugh.

“Fenrune’s shore,” he repeats, clearly amused by the lie. “Yes, come then. I will show you what the winter has done to mine, then perhaps we can barter if you have brought anything worth my time.”

Before Kylian can answer, another horn sounds across the harbor.

The sound rolls over the water, and the guards along the pier turn toward the mouth of the port.

A ship slips through the fog.

Its hull is dark, its sails heavy, and the dragon kingdom’s crest has been burned into the side with blackened edges that stand stark against the wood.