Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The sun was beginning its descent, casting long golden shadows over the Ascension Grounds.
Most of the cadets had either drifted off toward the barracks or were still watching the aftermath of the last trial with wary eyes.
The scent of scorched stone and blood still lingered in the air, curling in my lungs like smoke.
Major Kaler’s voice cut through the silence like a whip. “Rebec. Rayne. To the podium.”
Zander stiffened beside me, his brow furrowing as he stepped forward. “What is this about, major?”
The major didn’t even blink. “It’s not your place to question an order, Prince.”
I exchanged a quick glance with Zander as we stopped before the podium, the heat of the afternoon still clinging to the stone underfoot. My stomach twisted, not in fear exactly, but in that way it always did before something important happened. Or something dangerous.
The major turned to face us, expression unreadable. “Call your dragons.”
Zander’s jaw tightened. “Why?”
Kaler’s gaze hardened like ice sheathed in steel. “Now.”
Zander sighed through his nose, then lifted his chin, closing his eyes just briefly before the call rang out across the bond.
Hein, he whispered through the tether, reluctant.
I did the same, but slower. Kaelith?
Her response was instant, and sharp.
What does he want now?
To see you, I answered, feeling her irritation coil hot beneath my ribs. It wasn’t my idea.
No, she growled. It never is. But I go anyway, don’t I?
A shadow swept across the sky moments later, followed by another. Hein’s silver wings tore through the clouds like a storm descending, and Kaelith followed, her sleek amethyst form cutting across the light like a blade of violet fire.
They landed hard. Kaelith first, her claws carving shallow trenches into the stone as she touched down, wings flaring before she tucked them in with a twitch of visible annoyance.
She didn’t roar. Didn’t snarl.
But she radiated displeasure, her tail snapping like a whip, her eyes narrowed to glowing slits that locked onto Major Kaler with the full weight of ancient disdain.
What is this nonsense? she muttered in my mind, her voice like thunder wrapped in velvet.
Hein said nothing, but the way he stood behind Zander with his spine straight was obvious.
And on the podium, between them, the major smiled.
But it wasn’t the kind of smile that made anyone feel safe.
The major’s hands were clasped behind his back as he paced in front of the podium, the echo of our dragons’ landings still hanging heavy in the air. Every cadet still lingering on the Ascension Grounds watched with wide, wary eyes.
Kaelith’s breath was low and ragged behind me, steam curling from her nostrils as her wings twitched with barely-restrained fury. Hein stood beside her, his scales darkening shade by shade, his head angled like a predator waiting for the first sign to strike.
Zander sensed it too. “Whatever this is,” he said tightly, stepping forward, “you’d better start explaining. Fast.”
The major stopped, turning to face us with that unreadable mask of composure. “You and Rebec will be sent on opposing missions,” he said simply.
I blinked. “What?”
“Kaelith and Hein will be separated,” he continued, as if he hadn’t just dumped oil on a fire. “I need to ensure they remain loyal even when apart.”
Zander’s head snapped toward him. “Have you lost your mind?”
Kaelith let out a growl that shook the stone beneath my boots.
“We don’t even know how a mating bond affects dragons!” Zander shouted, his voice climbing with fury. “You separate them now, they’ll do more than just resist. They’ll kill you.”
And he wasn’t exaggerating.
Kaelith was already moving, her tail lashing against the cracked stone, her head lowering. Fire curled in her throat, and Hein let out a warning rumble that rattled my teeth.
I jumped off the podium, sprinting toward her as Zander moved for Hein, both of us shouting their names.
Kaelith—Kaelith, stop!
But she wasn’t hearing reason. She was hearing threat.
He wants to separate me from him, she growled, eyes locked on Kaler. He wants to test us like we’re cattle. Does he think his petty treaty can save him from my wrath?
I skidded to a halt in front of her, placing myself between Kaelith’s massive head and the major’s very flammable body.
Her nostrils flared inches from me.
I know, I said, panting. But you can’t kill him.
Why not?
Because then they’ll replace him with someone worse, I pleaded. Because I am asking you.
She dropped her head further, so close her breath scorched across my cheek.
You are mine, she said darkly. And I will not be ordered to leave what is mine.
I nodded slowly, never lowering my gaze. Noted.
Behind me, Hein let out a short, guttural breath, something between reluctant agreement and warning, before Zander exhaled hard, his hands still raised in calm restraint.
The major stood utterly still. Watching.
Judging.
Alive.
For now.
But even he seemed to know just how close he’d come to being turned into ash.
The ground trembled as a deep, thunderous roar echoed across the Ascension Grounds. Heads turned. Conversations died. The shadows stretched long as something massive descended from the sky, wings slicing through the fading light.
Mysan landed first.
The major’s red Striker was massive. Almost as big as Kaelith, his wings still half-spread in a show of power as his claws sank into the cracked stone.
The ridges of his spine pulsed faintly with fire beneath the scales, and his tail lashed once behind him.
His eyes, glowing molten gold, locked onto the major.
Major Kaler’s jaw tightened.
And then Siergen landed.
His red scales caught the last of the sun, glowing brighter than Mysan’s, like liquid flame molded into flesh. The air around him seemed to ripple with pressure, and for a moment, the sky itself held its breath.
Kaler’s face went pale.
I stepped forward instinctively, my voice a whisper. “What’s going on?”
Siergen’s mind touched mine like a whisper wrapped in fire. Calm. Absolute. The major has been informed that should he choose to interfere with a mated couple again, I will break the treaty, have his dragon break its bond… and kill him.
I stopped cold.
So did Zander.
“You ordered his own dragon to kill him?” I asked aloud, stunned.
Siergen’s response was matter-of-fact. Yes. He has no right to interfere with the reproduction of our species. It was part of the treaty formed when dragons agreed to serve riders. His actions have just broken it.
Major Kaler seemed to finally find his voice. “I did not intend—”
Mysan growled.
It was deep, bone-rattling, and utterly final.
The major sputtered, turned toward us, his expression caught between disbelief and humiliation.
“I… I have made a mistake,” he said tightly. “Hein and Kaelith cannot be separated from now on.”
He exhaled, avoiding Siergen’s gaze. “It appears Prince Zander will need to be reassigned… permanently. To Thrall Squad.”
My mouth parted, a smile already tugging at the corners.
But it vanished just as fast.
Zander had just been demoted.
Stripped from Crownwatch.
Thrown to the lowest-ranked squad in the kingdom.
Ours.
And he didn’t flinch.
Not once.
The moment the words “permanently assigned to Thrall Squad” left Major Kaler’s mouth, Kaelith growled.
Not a warning growl.
A promise.
Hein answered her immediately, his deep, rumbling snarl shaking the stone beneath our feet. The air grew hotter, the tension crackling like lightning just before it hit. Flames flickered at the edges of Hein’s mouth, his wings twitching like he was ready to take flight, not to leave, but to strike.
Despite Siergen’s very clear warning, they looked like they still wanted to kill the major.
And the worst part?
Mysan didn’t look like he disagreed.
The massive red Striker, Kaler’s own dragon, turned his head toward his rider, and stared at him like he was something worth scraping off his claws. His nostrils flared. A thin stream of smoke curled from his maw.
Major Kaler took a step back.
He felt it too.
Major Ledor moved quickly, stepping between us all with a raised hand. “This has gone far enough.” His voice was clipped, authoritative, trying to mask the tension rippling through him. “Major Kaler has made an error in judgment, but that does not give license to ignite a rebellion.”
He turned to me, then Zander. “Cadet Rebec. Lieutenant Rayne. Please… rein in your dragons.”
But before I could even move, Siergen’s tail whipped through the air, a blur of red scales and fury.
It cracked against the stone and swept inches from Ledor’s chest.
The major had to lunge to the side, stumbling hard, his eyes wide with shock. Dust rose where the tail struck, and the whole courtyard stilled.
Siergen’s voice slammed into all our minds like a command from the gods.
Do not speak of breaking treaties you had no hand in forging.
Ledor stared at him, stunned, chest rising and falling with each shallow breath.
Do not beg for peace while defending ignorance. Major Kaler overstepped. He nearly cost this realm the alliance of its strongest weapon.
Hein and Kaelith moved then, not toward Kaler, but to Siergen’s side. Slow. Deliberate. Their shoulders brushing as they took positions at his flank.
And it wasn’t about defense.
It was loyalty.
They stood not just as bonded dragons, but as sentries to the one who had drawn the line in fire. As if to say, You will not touch him either.
I stepped toward Kaelith carefully, hand pressed to my chest to calm my own heartbeat.
This wasn’t a trial.
This was a warning.
One I knew the court wouldn’t forget.
The courtyard was silent. So silent I could hear my own pulse drumming in my ears.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Even the dragons watching from cliffs had stilled, their wings folded tight, eyes locked on the glowing presence of the crimson-scaled courier.
Siergen stood in the center of the Ascension Grounds like a god among soldiers.
The smallest dragon.
But the most dangerous.
His red scales shimmered with a light that pulsed from within, as if molten power lived just beneath the surface.
The ground beneath his claws had begun to crack, not from fire, but from pressure.
From the weight of his magic. Kaelith, Hein, and Mysan stood just outside that aura, affected by it. Reverent of it.
Zander was frozen beside me; his eyes locked on Hein as if uncertain if even he could hold his dragon back right now.
Siergen’s gaze scanned the courtyard.
And then his eyes landed on me.
There was no warmth in them. No rage either. Just power. Endless, ancient, terrifying power that made the hair on my arms rise.
I swallowed, stepping forward before I could second-guess the storm in my chest.
“Siergen,” I said, my voice quieter than I intended. “Tell me what we need to do.”
His head tilted slightly, like a predator studying prey, but his gaze softened, just slightly, at Kaelith’s side.
Kaelith and Hein need to leave, Siergen said, his voice deep and layered, every word vibrating in my bones. For a little while.
I felt Kaelith bristle in my mind.
Leave? she snapped. We have never left you. I will not—
Only for a little while, Siergen repeated, this time to both of them, his voice curling through the bond like a thread of smoke and flame. There are things they must understand before the sanctuary can be breached.
Zander’s hand brushed mine, fingers tightening slightly.
We both understood what Siergen wasn’t saying.
This wasn’t just a request.
It was preparation for war.
And even our dragons weren’t safe from what was coming.