Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
The wind stung my cheeks as we flew, the sky darkening with the coming dusk. Kaelith didn’t speak, not a flicker of acknowledgment across our bond. But I’d stopped expecting it.
I was getting used to being her personal plague.
She didn’t throw me off her back, didn’t resist my touch—but she didn’t welcome it either. We were bound, tethered by fate or blood or prophecy, but there was no warmth in it. Not yet.
Still, I felt… stable.
Whatever chaos had lived in my veins during the trials was quiet now. My magic no longer surged wild or reckless. It was still mine. Still waiting. But for now, it obeyed.
We touched down on the Ascension Grounds, the stone echoing beneath Kaelith’s claws. The moment my boots hit the ground, she launched into the air again without a word, her wings blotting out the setting sun as she disappeared beyond the cliffs.
I didn’t watch her go.
Instead, I turned to Kass, who had landed more carefully, cradling Cordelle’s injured body between his shoulders. I rushed forward, reaching up to help him down.
Cordelle’s face was pale, teeth gritted, his shoulder stiff and wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage. He didn’t complain, just leaned against me as I wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“Come on,” I murmured. “We’ll get you to Meri.”
We made our way across the field toward the healers’ quadrant, the golden light fading behind the towers. I pushed the door open and guided him inside, the scent of dried herbs and warm poultices wrapping around us like a promise.
But Meri didn’t smile when she saw us.
She stepped forward from the back room, hands already clenched at her sides.
“Meri,” I said, guiding Cordelle toward the nearest cot. “He took an arrow high in the shoulder. It’s deep.”
She didn’t move.
“I can’t help you,” she said quietly.
I froze. “What?”
She glanced toward the door. “The healers have withdrawn support for Thrall Squad. Effective immediately.”
I stared at her. “That’s ridiculous. He needs stitches and internal salve. You know that—”
“It’s not my decision,” she cut in, voice tight. “It’s an order. From the crown.”
Behind me, Cordelle said nothing, but I felt the way his body went rigid against mine.
“We nearly died out there,” I said, stepping forward, anger simmering. “You’re telling me that because of some, some political bullshit, we don’t get treatment?”
Her jaw flexed. “It’s not me, Ashe.”
I could see it in her eyes then.
She was furious. Not at me. Not at Cordelle.
At him.
She glanced quickly around the room, then stepped closer, slipping a small pot of pale green paste into my hand. “This will slow infection. Reduce fever. Don’t use too much. And don’t let them see you have it.”
I stared at her, stunned.
She didn’t wait for thanks.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Truly. But this… this is Theron.”
And the last of my hope that this was some administrative mistake cracked like ice underfoot.
He wasn’t just targeting Zander anymore.
He was targeting us.
I helped Cordelle through the gardens and over the Ascension Grounds, his weight a sluggish drag on my shoulder, but he tried to walk as upright as he could, still proud even with blood crusted down his arm and exhaustion hollowing his face.
The door to our barracks creaked open, and the moment we stepped inside, the squad shot to their feet.
“Why isn’t he healed?” Jax demanded, moving toward us fast, eyes flaring with fury.
I guided Cordelle to his bed before answering. “Because Meri wasn’t allowed to treat him.”
“What?” Naia snapped, pushing past Ferrula. “Why the hell not?”
I grabbed the salve Meri had given me and peeled back the bandage on Cordelle’s shoulder. The wound was raw, angry, the skin around it red with the start of fever. I said nothing at first, just smeared the paste gently across the open gash. Cordelle winced but didn’t make a sound.
“Because the healers were ordered to withdraw their support from us,” I finally said, voice low and bitter. “From Thrall Squad.”
There was a beat of silence before Jax exploded. “What?!”
He slammed a fist into the wall, making the wooden panel rattle.
“I swear to the gods, I will gut that bastard myself,” Ferrula growled. “Order or not.”
Riven muttered something venomous under her breath. Even Tae looked deadly serious, no trace of his usual humor on his face.
Cordelle opened one eye, his voice soft but calm. “It’s okay. The salve’s working. I can already feel it. I just… need to sleep.”
I nodded, tucking the blanket around him. “Your power—Flourish—it connects to nature. Maybe the ingredients in the paste are helping soothe the wound.”
He gave me a small smile before drifting into unconsciousness.
But my fury didn’t fade.
It deepened.
The others began murmuring, quickly shifting from shock to strategy. What to do, who to speak with, how we could push back against this, but I could barely hear them over the rush in my ears. All I wanted was to storm the castle and shove this injustice in Theron’s face.
I stood, my hands clenched into fists, already turning toward the door.
And that’s when she spoke.
Not yet.
Kaelith’s voice dropped into my mind like a whisper of thunder.
There is much you don’t know. Kass’ rider will heal by morning. Let it be.
She was gone before I could respond, quick as lightning, cold as frost.
A knock sounded at the barracks door, loud and deliberate.
Jax moved to open it, his shoulders squared in case it was another insult sent by the crown.
But it was Remy.
He looked tired. Focused.
“Come to the Ascension Grounds,” he said, voice tight with urgency.
Something was happening.
And I wasn’t sure if it would bring answers, or start a war.
I fell into step beside Remy, my boots crunching softly on the gravel path leading to the Ascension Grounds. The sky above was steel-gray, matching the mood boiling beneath my skin.
“Did you know?” I asked, not bothering to hide the edge in my voice.
He glanced at me. “Did I know what?”
“That Theron pulled healer support from Thrall Squad,” I snapped. “That we’re on our own. It’s only a matter of time before one of us dies because of it.”
Remy stopped just shy of the open grounds, his brows pulling together sharply.
“He did what?”
“You’re not deaf, Remy,” I said, stepping in front of him. “You just pretend you are when you don’t like what you’re told.”
His jaw flexed, and for a moment I saw the guilt flicker behind his usual calm. “I’ll get this sorted out. No monarch, acting or not, can withdraw healing rights from a squad of bonded cadets. Even criminals are afforded basic medical support.”
“So we’re criminals now?” I asked quietly, the words cutting harder than I intended.
He ran a hand through his hair, fingers raking through the dark strands. “That’s not what I meant.”
But I didn’t get the chance to respond, because shouting erupted ahead of us.
We both turned.
The Ascension Grounds were chaos.
Stormforge and Iron Fang were facing off across the sparring circle, squads split down the center with swords half-drawn and tempers already flaring. The major stood between the two squad leaders, arms raised, his voice lost under the rising heat of the argument.
At the heart of it all stood two figures.
Elordon, Iron Fang’s leader, was a mountain of a man, broad-shouldered, thick-necked, his armor etched with dark crimson and burnished steel. His short blond hair was sweat-damp, and his hand gripped the pommel of his sword like it belonged drawn.
Across from him was Lirane.
Leader of Stormforge.
I’d never spoken to her directly, but I knew her name, and her reputation. Noble from Kruisaan. Tall, athletic, with long braided black hair coiled like a whip across her back. Her gray-blue eyes were flint-hard beneath her brow, and though she was stunning, there was nothing delicate about her.
She held a blade in one hand.
Relaxed. Ready.
Her voice sliced through the air.
“You ambushed my cadets during a sanctioned trial. That is not a misunderstanding, that’s sabotage.”
Elordon sneered. “They broke formation and encroached on our sector. My orders were clear.”
“You’re lucky I haven’t challenged you to blood,” she snapped. “Only reason I haven’t is because your dragon’s too dumb to find you if I send your head rolling.”
The major looked like he was one breath away from bellowing an order that would shake the walls.
I glanced at Remy.
And I couldn’t help wondering…
If Dorian’s intended was already here, sword in hand, ready to spill blood—how much longer until the rest of the kingdom followed?
As the tension on the Ascension Grounds crackled like a powder keg, Lirane stalked closer to Elordon, her blade glinting faintly in the dull afternoon light. The standoff was moments from igniting, no matter how loudly the major shouted between them.
I thought back to Cordelle mentioning, while we were cleaning gear, that Lirane was promised to Dorian. I hadn’t known anything else about their relationship. Had never even spoken to her myself. But seeing her now, I wondered what kind of match that really was.
She was fire contained in steel.
And right now, that fire was pointed at Iron Fang.
Warborn and Crownwatch lingered on the outskirts of the fray, their squad leaders positioned between their people and the threat, trying, visibly, to remain neutral. But their squads were tense, hands on hilts, eyes darting from one side to the other.
One wrong move and the training field would become a battlefield.
“This is what they want,” I said under my breath.
Remy turned his head toward me, brows tight. “Who?”
“Whoever’s behind all this dissension. The sabotage, the whispering between squads, pulling the healers, starting rumors.” My voice lowered further. “I used to think it was just the usual power plays, factions jockeying for advantage.”
I shook my head.
“But now I’m not so sure.”
Remy’s gaze narrowed. “You think one person is behind all of it?”
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t need to.
We were both thinking the same name.
Theron.
But it didn’t make sense.
Why? Why would he orchestrate this chaos, pit squads against each other, withdraw medical support, weaken his own kingdom? It wasn’t just a power grab. He was risking everything.
Before Remy could speak again, the major’s voice bellowed across the grounds, cutting through the noise like a blade.
“All training is HALTED until further notice!”
His words echoed as silence finally fell, the tension hovering like a blade that hadn’t yet dropped.
Then—
Teren approached.
His uniform was streaked with travel and dust, his expression unreadable as he broke through the crowd and made a direct line toward me.
Whatever came next…
It wouldn’t be rest.
And it wouldn’t be peace.