Chapter 68 – Azaria
AZARIA
It felt like forever since I’d last sat through a Captains’ meeting.
In truth, it had only been five days, but between the collapse, Myrin’s warnings, and the constant Dravareth pressure, time had started to blur.
I’d been cleared for full duty three days ago, and already the routine felt oppressive.
Kalias’s wolf had tried to follow me inside, but I asked him politely to wait outside. He might be a wolf, but Kalias the man was listening too. Squadmates shouldn’t be privy to these sessions.
I took my seat, Captain Rylen beside me. Across the table sat Captain Torik, with Veshar next to him.
“The wolf doesn’t leave you alone for a heartbeat, does he?” Torik said, his tone almost fond.
“He likes me. I give him belly rubs.”
Rylen chuckled just as footsteps echoed behind us. Captain Serah slipped in, damp from the rain. “The wolf’s waiting outside again,” she observed, sitting down next to Torik.
Veshar snorted. “Another pet to add to your collection, Sylvenhart. Perfect for a squad of misfits like yours.”
The same sneering as always. Tiresome, after all these years.
“Careful, captain,” Tywin’s voice cut across the room as he entered. “That ’pet’ could snap your spine in two before you blink.” He turned to me. “How is the shifter faring, Azaria? Judging from how he shadows you everywhere, he seems well-adjusted.”
“Yes. Both man and beast are settling in fine. We’re still working on his request in the evenings. We have made some progress, though much is left to uncover. And the children adore him. They wait for us on every patrol just to touch him.”
Tywin smiled faintly. “That is good to hear. Your instincts haven’t failed you, as usual, Captain Sylvenhart.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
The rest of the meeting passed without incident. Routine reports, patrol updates. Dravareth came up often. Since Torven’s disappearance and my imprisonment, they’d been swarming Kareth. Our squads had been stretched thin, pushing them back.
I was about to leave when Tywin stopped me. “A word, Captain.”
I waited until the others had filed out before turning back. “Yes, my lord?”
“Torven is exerting influence in the northeast. These Dravareth patrols are no coincidence. He’s moving against you.
I’ve reason to believe he’s planning something larger.
You must be careful, Azaria. Keep the wolf close—and Quinton.
Dravareth knows a shifter prowls Tempest, and they’ll have guessed his link to you.
And Quinton—you know as well as I do he was high in their ranks.
Now that you’re together, he’s twice the target. If they get Quin, they get you.”
I swallowed hard. “Quin had a target on his back the moment he defected. He was meant to be one of Malphyr’s generals.
” The words still tasted bitter. What he’d been.
What they’d wanted him to become. He’d walked away from all of it, and Malphyr had gone on a rampage when he learned of his defection.
Quin had been running from that ever since.
“That kind of betrayal isn’t forgotten.”
Tywin nodded. “True. But now they’ve more reason to strike at you both. And if Kalias were to be taken, the consequences would be catastrophic, not just for your squad, but for any chance at diplomacy with the shifter lands.”
“I understand. I won’t let that happen.”
“Good.” His expression tightened. “Dravareth is preparing something big, Azaria. Use your network. Find out what. And when you do, you come to me immediately.”
“I will.”
Tywin’s hand pressed briefly to my shoulder. “Now go. Your shadow will wear a rut in the floor if you make him wait much longer.”
I left the chamber with Tywin’s warning circling in my head: Dravareth pressing harder at the borders, Torven pulling strings in the northeast. And inside me, his binding slowly cracking apart. He wasn’t done with me, not even close.
The signs had been there for weeks: more attacks, more beasts slipping across from Dravareth.
They were building toward something larger.
And I knew where I stood in their sights.
I’d been number one on their list for a long time.
Quin was high up there too, but together, we’d only painted a bigger target on our backs.
I needed to see Korr soon. If anyone had whispers from the underground, it would be him.
The training ring was already alive when I stepped in: steel clashing, laughter cutting between blows, the steady rhythm of fists on padded shields. My squad looked up, then kept going.
I rolled my shoulders, scanning the field until my gaze landed on Kael, lounging against the railing like he owned the place.
“You’re up,” I called.
His grin spread, slow and wicked. “Hand-to-hand with the Captain? Stars above, you’re spoiling me.”
I stepped into the ring. “Don’t get excited. You’ll be flat on your back before long.”
“Can’t say I’d mind that either.”
Lyra groaned from across the field. “He never stops, does he?”
“Nope,” Reyna answered, grinning.
Kael pushed off the railing, rolling his shoulders as he sauntered in. “Although from what I hear, you’ve been doing plenty of tumbling with Thornvale lately.”
Heat prickled across my cheeks before I crushed it. “I am not discussing my sex life with you.”
“You wound me, Captain.”
Then he was moving. Mist uncurled around his boots, spilling across the dirt in ghostly tendrils. In a blink, it swallowed the ring, wrapping us in pale, swirling gray. The noise of the squad dulled. Shapes blurred, then dissolved.
I crouched, steadying my breath. Kael’s laugh echoed, twisted by the gray. “What now, Captain?”
I closed my eyes. Sight was useless here. Instead, I tilted my head, listening for the shift of air, the faint scuff of boots on grit. I drew in a breath; under the tang of training dust, there it was. The gray carried his scent—cool stone, moisture, something sharper when he moved too fast.
My muscles tensed, and I pivoted just as he lunged from the left. His fist grazed my ribs. I twisted, grabbed his arm, and shoved back, but he slipped away into the mist.
“You’re learning,” he teased, voice everywhere and nowhere.
“Better hope I don’t catch you.”
The mist thickened. For a moment, nothing. Then I caught the barest shift of air behind me. I ducked, sweeping my leg low, and caught him half off balance. He grunted as he hit the dirt, mist unraveling around us. The squad erupted in laughter and whistles.
Kael lay on his back, grinning up at me. “Told you I wouldn’t mind this view.”
I planted my boot on his chest, leaning just enough to keep him down. “Yield.”
“Gladly,” he said with a wink.
I shook my head, stepping back as the gray dissolved completely. The others were still chuckling, and Kael pushed to his feet, brushing dust from his leathers.
“Not bad, Captain. Not bad at all.”
Training carried on like any other morning.
The squad rotated through sparring pairs, laughter ringing out between the grunts and clangs.
By the time I called an end, the air was thick with sweat and dust. Everyone peeled off in pairs, grabbing water skins or collapsing on benches.
I stayed back, stretching out my shoulders.
Strong arms slid gently around me from behind, drawing me back against a familiar chest. “You did well,” Quin murmured near my ear, his voice soft and warm in a way that still caught me off guard.
I leaned into him, letting my head rest briefly against his shoulder. “You think so?”
“I know so.” His lips brushed my temple, lingering there. For a moment, everything was simple. Just us. Then he said it, almost idly, “Though you should guard your left more. That hit Kael landed could’ve been worse.”
I stilled. My heart gave a hard thud.
That hit.
It had barely grazed me. And no one could have seen it through the mist—Kael’s illusions wrapped everything in a blur, muddying even the sounds. My squad hadn’t even known it happened.
So how had Quin?
I forced myself to breathe, nodding as if it were nothing. But inside, unease curled low and tight.
Before, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.
Quin always noticed things, more than most of the squad.
It was just him: observant and careful. But lately?
Lately, it felt different. His magic brushed too close, circling me like smoke.
And every offhand remark, every perfectly timed word—I’d started to wonder.
I’d watch him and see if it happened again. And if it did, we’d have a conversation.