Chapter 2 #2
Because change is not gentle, she whispered. And neither am I. But you have never needed me to speak to know I am with you.
My breath hitched. Relief bloomed brightly through my heart.
I will rise again, Ashlyn, she said. And when I do, things will be different.
Then I’ll just fall in love with you all over again, I thought, smiling through the sting in my eyes.
Of course. I am magnificent.
And with her presence coiled around my soul like a lullaby, I drifted into sleep with a smile softening my lips.
We rose and got ready the next morning, heading for the dining hall immediately. We were all seated and inhaling our food before I glanced around, feeling a shift in the air.
Breakfast was louder now.
Our squad, once barely enough to fill a corner, now claimed an entire table. Plates clinked, laughter mingled with curses, and the scent of spiced eggs and roasted root filled the air. It was chaos, yes—but it was ours.
I liked it. The camaraderie. The way Tae elbowed Jax for more jam, or how Naia swatted Cordelle’s hand away when he tried to steal her last slice of honeybread.
Even the Lowborn Squad had eased into the rhythm, Kaila’s legs swung casually off the bench as she taught Ferrula a new card game between bites, her red curls bobbing with every animated word.
Riven and Camus traded dry commentary, as usual.
It felt like a family. A sharp-edged, weapon-wielding, deeply sarcastic family.
But the moment Stormforge entered, the warmth thinned like smoke before a coming blaze.
They filed in like they owned the air—armor polished, expressions impassive.
Their leader, Lirane Rowna, stood tall and broad at the head of her group, flanked by one of her lieutenants, a severe woman named Aylen who never blinked long enough to be trusted.
They grabbed their food and took a seat at one of the open tables.
Iron Fang followed a beat later, just as shrewd but twice as loud.
“We’re eating now.” One of the Iron Fang riders sneered as he passed Stormforge’s table. “Didn’t realize treason worked up such an appetite.”
Stormforge rose from their bench almost in unison, chairs scraping across stone with a sharp screech. Aylen’s lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Coming from the squad that harbored Crimson Sigil loyalists in their ranks? That’s brave.”
“Better traitors than cowards,” growled Perin from Iron Fang’s end of the table. “At least we don’t play lapdog to Dorian.”
A loud thud cut through the growing clamor—Lirane, the Stormforge leader, slammed her hand down on the table. “Watch your tongue,” she warned, her voice raspy and dangerous. “I won’t be accused by someone who couldn’t protect their own from infiltration.”
Chairs scraped again.
Lowborn Squad had gone tense, eyes tracking every shift.
Cade stood from a nearby table, as if ready to step between the two factions. “That’s enough,” he said, voice like stone on steel. “We’re supposed to be on the same side.”
“Tell that to the ones who keep picking the wrong side,” Perin muttered darkly.
Tae leaned closer to me, whispering, “So... anyone else feel like we’re one spoiled egg away from a full-blown civil war at breakfast?”
I didn’t answer.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
Lines were being drawn, whether we liked it or not. Squads were choosing who to stand behind—Theron or Dorian, honor or ambition, truth or survival.
And the worst part?
The war hadn’t even started yet.
The rest of breakfast passed in strained silence.
Our squad kept to ourselves, low conversation threading through mouthfuls of eggs and charred meat, but the tension at the far end of the table was palpable—so thick it felt like it settled in the back of your throat.
Stormforge and Iron Fang hadn’t said another word, but their glares did more damage than blades ever could.
Aylen watched Perin like a predator cataloging weaknesses, and he didn’t bother hiding the disgust curling his lip every time he looked her way.
No one dared speak of it, but we all felt it, the crack forming beneath the guild’s foundation, splintering further with every breakfast, every mission, every lie unspoken.
By the time we cleared our plates and stepped into the cool morning air of the Ascension Grounds, I was almost grateful for the shift.
Almost.
The ring was already humming with anticipation. Training dummies lined the outer edge, targets had been freshly re-marked, and squads began filtering in like clockwork. The stone circle in the center gleamed with dew and promise.
Ferrula was the first into the sparring ring, already rolling her shoulders and drawing her blade with that deadly, casual elegance only she could pull off.
Tae grinned as he followed her in, twirling his short sword once before settling into a loose stance. “Try not to stab me in the face again,” he called over his shoulder to Naia, who only smirked.
“Don’t tempt me,” Ferrula shot back, stepping forward and swinging fast.
Her blade sliced through the air with purpose, a series of tight, efficient arcs. Tae blocked the first, dodged the second, but on her third lunge, she overextended, just slightly, just enough.
And that’s when Tae’s eyes flickered.
A shimmer of blue threaded through the air like a ripple in glass.
Ferrula’s arm halted mid-strike, frozen in place as if caught by invisible chains.
“What the—” she snarled, yanking her arm free with a feral twist and stumbling back two paces, eyes blazing. “Did you just use your mind to stop me?”
Tae blinked. “I—uh… yeah.”
“During a friendly sparring match?”
“It was instinct!” he said quickly, raising both hands. “I wasn’t trying to win. You were about to clip my jaw. I panicked.”
“Damn right I was,” she growled, pacing away from him like a caged storm. “Next time, let me hit you. Maybe you’ll learn to dodge instead of cheat.”
Naia stepped between them before it escalated, holding a hand out to Ferrula, her tone calm but firm. “Okay, okay, he used the spooky brain thing, it’s annoying—we get it. But let’s not pretend you wouldn’t have tried the same if your reflexes could read minds.”
Ferrula glared at her, then at Tae, then let out a long, stunted breath.
“Fine,” she muttered. “But next time, I’m going for the knee.”
Tae grinned. “Only if you can catch me first.”
The tension eased, laughter bleeding back into the edges of the circle as the rest of us settled in to train.
But beneath it all, I couldn’t shake the truth—
Even here, even now, we were dancing on a blade’s edge. One spark, and everything could ignite.
Naia stood between Ferrula and Tae, her voice controlled and steady as she smoothed the last of the tension between them.
Ferrula still looked like she might take a swing at someone just to prove a point, but Tae had the good sense to keep his hands behind his back and his grin slightly less obnoxious.
I retreated from the sparring ring, letting the morning breeze cool my cheeks. The Ascension Grounds buzzed around us, swords clashing in the distance, dragons wheeling overhead, but I was wrapped in my own thoughts, still half tethered to Kaelith’s lingering silence.
That was when I felt him… before I saw him.
Remy moved like shadow and silk, smooth steps and quiet confidence. He came to stand beside me, not too close, but just enough that I knew he wanted to be noticed.
He didn’t speak at first. Just followed my gaze across the grounds… to where Zander stood on the far side, arms crossed, eyes fixed on me like I might disappear if he blinked.
Remy gave a soft chuckle, but there was no humor in it.
“He doesn’t know what he has,” he said quietly. “I did.”
My breath caught. My heart didn’t.
I didn’t look at him, not yet.
“You lost it anyway,” I replied, voice calm, almost gentle.
His lips curved into something sad and far too familiar. “Because I let it go. Doesn’t mean I didn’t see it for what it was.”
I turned then, slow and steady, meeting his gaze fully. “Then why say it now?”
He shrugged, eyes glancing toward Zander. “Because someday he’ll understand what it feels like to lose you. And I want you to remember that someone already did.”
He walked away before I could answer, leaving nothing behind but the weight of things unsaid.
And across the grounds, Zander’s eyes narrowed, because he’d seen. All of it.
Click HERE to find out what happens next in the Fourth Guild series by reading A Court Of Curses And Queens.