Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
I stormed toward the gate, fury buzzing beneath my skin. Gerane stood tall at his post, but there was something uneasy about the way his hand twitched toward his sword when he saw me.
“Did anyone pass through here with a rider?” I asked quickly.
Gerane nodded. “Yes.”
“Why did you let them through?” I stepped closer, and Zander flanked my side like a storm about to break.
Gerane hesitated, his eyes flicking to Zander. “They had a missive. Said it was from the king.”
My stomach sank. “From the king?”
He gave a single nod.
“Were they Varnari?” I pressed.
“No.”
My eyes narrowed. “Members of the Crimson Sigil?”
His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
I didn’t need them. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
His shoulders straightened. “I don’t question royal guards.”
My jaw clenched. “Royal guards?” I echoed, my voice a low growl.
“Yes,” he said, quieter this time, like he knew just how much he’d messed up. “They wore the colors. Had the sigil and the king’s seal.”
“They took a guild rider,” Zander said darkly. “And you let them through.”
Gerane’s face paled. “I didn’t know he was in danger. They said they were escorting him from the castle for questioning. Something about tampered records—”
“Bullshit,” I hissed. “Cordelle wouldn’t betray the kingdom.”
“Where did they go?” Zander demanded.
Gerane swallowed. “They said to the eastern outpost. But I didn’t follow them. It’s not my job to track court business.”
I stepped in close, close enough that my magic crackled between us. “From now on, if anyone passes this gate with a rider, any rider, you get confirmation from the major himself. Do you understand me?”
He nodded, fast. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
Zander’s Dark Fire coiled around his wrists like serpents. “We’re done here.”
I turned on my heel, fury burning through my veins. Hold on, Cordelle, I thought, fingers tightening into fists. We’re coming.
We ran for the Ascension grounds, boots slamming against the stone as our dragons wheeled overhead. The sky was streaked with silver mist and rising panic. I didn’t wait for a signal. I just reached out.
Kaelith, I called through the tether.
She was already on her way. Her enormous form burst through the clouds and dropped like a thunderclap, wings flaring as she landed with a tremor. Hein, Katama, and Zola followed in quick succession, their wings slicing through the air with practiced grace.
Then Kass landed.
The little green dragon’s scales bristled as he growled low in his throat, tail lashing the earth with frustration. His claws scraped against the stone as he paced, nostrils flaring, throat hitching with panicked chirrups. The sound of it broke something loose in my chest.
I approached carefully, my hand outstretched. “We’ll find him, Kass,” I said, my voice thick with the weight of a promise. “I swear it. But I need your help to do it.”
Kaelith’s voice surged through my mind like a gust of wind.
You have the power to track someone who is bonded to a dragon.
How? I asked, swallowing hard.
Think of the hatchlings, she said, calm but firm. You connected with them without effort. You felt their fear, their hunger. You soothed them. They responded to you.
Yes, I whispered, but Cordelle’s not a dragon.
No, she agreed. But he is bonded. His magic flows into Kass just as Kass’ flows into him. That bond leaves a trail in the air. An echo. You can feel it if you try.
I inhaled sharply and moved closer to Kass. He didn’t snap or pull away; instead, he nudged his head toward me, eyes burning with desperate intelligence.
“Okay,” I whispered, sinking to my knees beside him. “Show me.”
I pressed my palm to Kass’ scaled forehead and let my magic slip forward, not forcing it, not summoning a storm, but letting it listen.
And it was there.
A shimmer in the air. A pulse of something faint and frantic. Like a heartbeat carried on a distant wind. Not Cordelle exactly, but the absence of him. The hollow where he should have been. The tether that had stretched too far and snapped taut with longing.
There, Kaelith said. Follow it.
“I can feel him,” I breathed, standing. “It’s like a current…pulling me east.”
Zander met my gaze. “Then let’s move.”
I vaulted onto Kaelith’s back, the wind already whipping around us in tight, anxious spirals.
Zander mounted Hein beside me, his jaw set, eyes dark with fury.
The others followed without question. Remy astride Katama and Riven atop Zola, rippling with anticipation.
Kass flapped fiercely behind them, fueled by raw, aching desperation.
There, Kaelith whispered, her voice threading through my mind. Do you feel it?
I did. That same thrum, like a pulse through the bones of the realm. I let it pull me, not outward as I expected, but quickly left.
They’re not fleeing to the outpost, I messaged Zander, They’re headed toward the edge of the village.
He responded instantly. You’re sure?
I can feel him, I whispered back. Cordelle’s close.
The thrum pulled tighter, and I guided Kaelith in a dive. A long, slate-roofed building came into view—too large to be a home, too isolated for coincidence. It appeared to be a large storage house.
I angled Kaelith into a sharp descent and landed behind it, wings tucked tight. The others followed in a thunder of claws and wind. We hadn’t even gotten our boots on the ground when the shouting reached us.
A side door burst open, and a dozen men surged from the building, all wearing crimson sashes twisted around their arms or painted across their chests. Crimson Sigil.
“AMBUSH!” I shouted.
Zander already had Dark Fire coiling over his fists. Remy vanished into mist. Riven’s eyes crackled like fireflies in the night.
Kaelith growled, a sound that shook the earth beneath us. But I held her back with a thought.
Not yet. We need to find Cordelle first.
But that didn’t mean we wouldn’t burn our way through to him.
The clash of steel rang through the air as the Crimson Sigil surged toward us. Kaelith’s wings flared behind me, her growl reverberating through the earth like a war drum. I ducked under a swing of a curved blade, spun, and drove my elbow into the attacker’s temple. He crumpled without a sound.
Kass let out a piercing roar as he launched into the air, wings catching the light of his glowing emerald fire. With a single breath, he scorched the roof of the building, it exploded into flame and smoke curling upward like a beacon of vengeance.
A crimson-cloaked man charged at me. I raised my hand and wind exploded around my fingers, lifting him off his feet and flinging him backward into the wall with a bone-snapping crunch.
There was a popping sound and a shimmer of movement beside Kaelith. Remy stepped from the mist, cradling Cordelle in his arms. Cordy’s head lolled to the side, groggy and pale, but alive.
Remy set him down gently beside Kaelith and turned to rejoin the battle. “Did you Phantom Step to get him?” I shouted over the clamor.
“Yeah,” Remy grunted, driving a dagger into the thigh of a Sigil guard before twisting it free and pivoting to strike again.
“But don’t you need to see where you’re going?”
He smirked as he parried another blow. “Kass gave Katama the layout of the place after he took the roof off. Dragons are handy like that.”
I let out a short laugh and turned, just in time to slam my boot into a guard’s chest. He staggered, then dropped. The smell of fire and blood was everywhere.
“Move away from the men,” Zander called out, his voice a command wrapped in Dark Fire. “Now.”
We all obeyed, backing up to our dragons, weapons still raised.
Then Hein opened his jaws, and fire erupted across the line of Crimson Sigil. The heat blasted back against us, but we stood our ground as men screamed, and ash filled the air. Kass joined from above, his flames engulfing the roof and swallowing the last remnants of the stronghold.
Cordelle groaned from where he lay beside Kaelith, and I dropped to my knees beside him.
“You’re safe,” I whispered. “We’ve got you.”
His lips twitched, barely conscious, but his fingers curled weakly around mine.
And around us, the enemy burned.
We stood back, giving Kass room as he circled low, his massive wings beating a slow rhythm through the scorched air. Ash drifted like snow around us. When his claws finally touched the ground, the little dragon’s snarl had quieted into something soft… protective.
I knelt beside Cordelle. “Can you fly?”
He nodded weakly, his face pale and streaked with soot. “They drugged me… I couldn’t connect to Kass. It was horrible.”
My throat tightened. I offered my arm, and with Zander’s help, we lifted him onto Kass’ back. The moment Cordelle settled in, he slumped forward and pressed his forehead to Kass’ warm neck. His fingers curled on the green scales like a lifeline, and Kass rumbled deep in his chest in answer.
“I would never leave you,” Cordelle murmured, voice cracked and barely audible. “I’m alright.”
Zander gave me a look and mounted Hein, and I scrambled onto Kaelith, her body still coiled with the energy of battle but steady now. Riven and Remy followed, ready.
Kass lifted off first, his flight unhurried as if every wingbeat was a promise not to jostle the rider curled on his back. The rest of us rose behind them, forming a protective arc around the pair. The wind tugged at our hair and cloaks, but Kass didn’t falter.
The smallest dragon in the squad was carrying the most precious burden. And we would keep them both safe.
A horn shattered the stillness as we approached the castle, its mournful wail echoing off the stone towers.
The sky had begun to bruise with the first hints of twilight, and the castle grounds below were swarming, guards sprinting, guild members shouting over one another, steel flashing in the fading light.
But as our dragons descended, their powerful wings stirring the dust into miniature storms, the chaos changed.
People scattered like leaves in a gale, diving behind posts and archways, scrambling to clear the field.
They weren’t just making way.
They were afraid.
Kaelith landed first, her body humming with leftover energy, claws scraping against stone. I swung off her back as Zander eased Cordelle down from Kass’ back. Our smallest dragon remained crouched, still guarding his rider like a living shield.
Major Ledor was there in seconds, his bald head slick with sweat, his eyes bloodshot and wild.
“Where were you?” he barked, scanning us with disbelief.
“Cordelle was abducted,” I said, my voice biting. “We tracked the Crimson Sigil to an old warehouse on the edge of the village. We fought them and rescued him. Kass set fire to the building.”
The major sucked in a quick breath. His eyes snapped to Cordelle, who sagged against Remy, still pale. “You were only gone a short while. That won’t clear you.”
“Clear us?” I asked, the weight of his words coiling in my chest. “What’s going on?”
The major looked like he might be sick. He turned his gaze toward the castle as if dreading what he had to say. “Theron’s bride… Lady Belana of Prina… she’s been murdered.”
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