Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
The voices in my mind silenced all at once.
The buzz of thoughts, the current that had bound every dragon in the clearing was gone. I stood alone in that quiet, unnerved by the sudden stillness. Kaelith? I asked.
A faint hum answered, like static crackling against my thoughts.
What’s going on?
You’ve been removed from our communications, Kaelith said calmly, her tone unreadable.
What does that mean?
It means Siergen is communing with those not in the clearing, she replied, eyes on the distant peaks that rimmed the isle. The unbound. The wild. Those still considering whether this pact is wise.
I glanced around the gathering. The dragons were unnaturally still, like statues carved from ash and shadow.
Do you think it’ll take long? I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Kaelith didn’t respond at first. Her gaze held the sky.
Then her wings unfurled, slow and deliberate. Her scales shimmered in the rising moonlight, streaks of violet catching silver.
We rise together, she said, the words heavy with finality, or we die as one.
My chest tightened. They agreed?
Yes, she said. But it was close.
I swallowed hard as she turned her head to look at me fully.
Get on my back, Ashe. I must return you to the Ascension Grounds. The unbound are not fond of riders remaining on the isle.
I nodded and moved quickly, scrambling onto her back, gripping the ridges at her neck.
The wind rushed over us as she leaped skyward, the gathered dragons watching with eyes like burning coals. We flew fast, her wings slicing through the darkness like blades.
Kaelith circled once, her wings cutting clean through the moonlight before lowering us to the quiet expanse of the Ascension Grounds.
Only one figure waited in the dark.
Remy.
He stood alone, arms crossed, the edge of his cloak rippling in the wind Kaelith stirred as she descended. His eyes never left me.
I slid from Kaelith’s back, my boots crunching against gravel. She took to the skies again without a word, her massive form swallowed by shadow. As soon as her wings vanished beyond the towers, Remy stepped forward.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
I didn’t stop walking. “There’s not much to say, Remy.”
He kept pace beside me, his jaw tense. “We’ve been friends a long time, Ashe. I deserve a little more than being ignored.”
“You were the one who said Zander and I shouldn’t be together. That we’re dangerous. You basically accused me of enslaving the dragons.” I turned to him, voice as sharp as flint. “So no, I don’t feel like having a heart-to-heart right now.”
Remy’s eyes narrowed. “You think that’s what I meant? I said it because I care, dammit. Because you don’t realize what your power does when it’s unleashed.”
“I didn’t mean to call the lost horde,” I snapped. “But they came. And maybe that means something.”
“Or maybe it means they’re desperate. Like us.”
The silence between us crackled.
What is going on with Katama’s rider? Kaelith’s voice slipped into my mind like a thread of cold air.
I don’t know, I answered, closing my eyes briefly. He’s… angry.
Kaelith’s presence sharpened. I am coming back.
Kaelith, no, I can handle—
You shouldn’t have to.
She was already turning in the skies.
And as I opened my eyes again, Remy was staring at me, as if he somehow knew I wasn’t alone in my head anymore.
Neither of us spoke.
But the space between us had never felt farther.
The wind curled around us, the last whispers of Kaelith’s wings still lingering in the night air. Remy’s eyes, sharp and restless, searched mine as if he were looking for a version of me he could still sway.
“Zander has lost credibility with Crownwatch,” Remy said, voice low but edged with fire. “Most of the guild questions his loyalty. Even Cade turned on him.”
I crossed my arms. “So you think I should just walk away?”
He took a step closer. “I think you’re smarter than this. Zander isn’t just a rider, Ashe. He’s a prince. And you—” his words caught, like they hurt coming out, “you’re a commoner. No matter how powerful you are, no matter what you’ve done—this realm won’t ever see you as his equal.”
I stared at him, trying to keep the tremble from my voice. “You really don’t know me at all, do you?”
Remy’s jaw flexed, but he pressed on. “You know what the royal council is saying. That he must take a sanctioned bride. It’s not just politics—it’s succession. Bloodlines. Stability.”
I scoffed. “So they want him shackled to someone with a crest on their cloak and a family name carved into castle stone.”
“Exactly,” he said. “That’s how it’s always worked. Marriages are alliances. Not fairy tales.”
My stomach twisted, because I knew he wasn’t wrong. Zander had defied every rule just by choosing me—and the world around us was tightening like a noose.
“The kingdom needs heirs with legitimacy. Ties to noble houses that can secure military strength and economic alliances. That’s not romantic, but it’s how crowns are kept from falling.”
His words were iron bars around my chest.
But I lifted my chin anyway. “Then maybe it’s time someone burned down the damn system.”
He looked at me as if I’d already set the first flame.
Kaelith’s roar split the night, and a streak of violet fire tore across the sky, crackling like lightning before fading into smoke. The force of it made Remy flinch, instinct dragging him back a step as she descended like fury made flesh.
She landed hard, claws digging into the stone of the Ascension Grounds, tail coiling, wings flared wide. Her eyes locked on Remy with pure, ancient rage.
“Kaelith, no—” I started, but it was too late.
She lunged.
Remy barely managed to dive and roll out of the way, scrambling to his feet with a hand on his dagger, though he didn’t draw it. Not even he was foolish enough to try to fight her.
I darted between them, palms up. “Kaelith, stop! Don’t do this—to Katama, not to me.”
She growled, steam curling from her nostrils, but she didn’t strike again.
“He may be a jerk,” I added, stepping closer to her, “but he’s a powerful one. And we need him fighting with us.”
Remy stood, hands raised in surrender, breath ragged. “I’m not trying to hurt her,” he snapped. “But you are a target, Ashe, until Zander chooses someone else. And the realm knows it.”
Kaelith’s growl deepened, a low rumble that shook the stone under our feet. Then her voice curled into my mind like thunder wrapped in silk.
Tell the imbecile that if anyone touches you, the Unifier himself will burn this treaty to the ground. And every dragon will return to the lost continent—with or without their riders.
I turned on her, heart pounding. You can’t mean that.
I do. Her eyes locked onto mine. You and Zander would leave Warriath with us. Hein and I know this. But should this kingdom turn on you first…
I swallowed hard. We will… but the hatchlings. The Dragon Isle. The others—
We have relocated before, she said simply. And we will again if needed.
Remy said nothing. He waited for me to explain what she said. When I did, he looked as if I had slapped him.
Kaelith stepped back, one massive wing folding protectively between me and him.
Warriath might not know it yet… but the dragons had already chosen. Their allegiance was not to the crown. It was to me and Zander.
The silence between us was taut and trembling.
Remy’s jaw clenched. “How can you do this?” he demanded. “How can you put your personal life above the protection of Warriath?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
His voice cracked, not from weakness—but from fury barely held in check.
“You talk about love and choice and rebellion like they’re virtues.
But this isn’t a story, Ashe. This is a war.
And your choices, they have consequences.
You know what Zander’s role is, what your bond means.
You’re choosing your feelings over the entire realm. ”
I didn’t speak.
Because there was nothing to say to that. He was wrong. He had to be.
“You’re right,” he said, breath sharp. “I don’t know you anymore. The Ashlyn I knew… she wasn’t capable of this kind of selfishness.”
The words hit like a slap.
But I stood tall, chin high. “I guess you’re finally seeing me for me.”
My voice didn’t shake. Not even a little.
“But then… I see you, too. And honestly?” I let my gaze sweep over him, cold and cutting. “I’m not impressed.”
Remy’s face twisted, raw and furious. “You’ve changed,” he hissed. “And not for the better. You’ve let power twist you. You’ve let him twist you.”
I didn’t flinch. Not even when he added, “Maybe Theron was right. Maybe you’re the threat.”
That one hurt.
But I held his gaze as he turned on his heel and stormed away, his boots crunching over the gravel like thunder in the night.
I didn’t stop him.
Because if Remy wanted to see me as the villain… so be it. I had people I trusted and he was no longer one of them.