Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Kaelith’s wings stretched wide, catching the rising wind as we climbed higher, farther from the rotting shores of the Blood Isle. Elara clung to my waist, and Veyna knelt behind her, silent and tense, her lavender eyes scanning the clouds as if she expected them to open up and devour us.
That was when I felt it.
A shimmer of magic curled around us—warm, radiant, protective. It wrapped around our bodies like silk, but thicker, deeper, more ancient than anything I’d ever touched.
“What are you doing?” I asked Kaelith, confused by the sudden surge of power.
Your sister’s magic is dark, she said quietly, her voice echoing in my mind like a hum of thunder. It’s the only kind she knows. If the wards detect her taint, they will reject her—possibly kill her. I must shield her until we pass the outer ward.
My throat tightened. “Thank you,” I whispered aloud.
Kaelith didn’t answer with words. Her wings angled and we descended, skimming the sea until the familiar cliffs of Warriath rose ahead. As we crested the final ridge, the Ascension Grounds came into view, and chaos had already claimed them.
Dozens of dragons lined the grounds. Healers moved swiftly. Riders dismounted in tight groups. Someone shouted for a status report, and two lieutenants sprinted toward the barracks.
Then I saw him.
Zander.
He stood beside Hein, both of them statuesque as we approached. But where Hein’s eyes blazed with restrained fury, Zander’s gaze darted between me, Elara, and the unfamiliar girl seated behind her.
His eyes met mine, and I knew the questions were already forming.
Kaelith touched down with a powerful thud, wings folding as the last trace of her magic shimmered out of sight. I dismounted first and helped Elara down.
Zander took a single step forward, his hand reaching instinctively toward his sister. His voice was soft but ragged with emotion. “Elara…”
She ran into his arms.
He caught her, pulling her against his chest, burying his face in her hair. Her small fingers curled into his tunic, and she whispered something I couldn’t hear.
Then his gaze shifted—to Veyna.
To the bruises on her face. The quiet storm behind her eyes.
To me.
“You went alone,” he said, barely more than a breath.
“I had to.”
His jaw tightened as Hein took a single step toward Kaelith, his massive form tense with held-back rage.
Not now, Kaelith warned him, her tone deadly. We all did what we had to do to bring her back.
Hein hesitated, the muscles along his jaw twitching before he glanced away. His wings flexed once as if to shake off the frustration simmering beneath his scales. I knew that wasn’t the end of it. Kaelith might’ve spared him in the moment, but that conversation between mates was far from over.
Zander released Elara gently, his hand brushing back her hair before turning his full attention to me. His gaze held concern, and something else, something bordering on disbelief.
“What happened?” he asked, voice low but urgent. “Why did you go alone?”
Before I could speak, Veyna slipped from Kaelith’s back, her bare feet soft against the stone. She looked fragile, battered, and yet when she spoke, her voice was steady.
“My grandfather would not have allowed anyone but Ashe near the castle,” she said. “It was the only way to save Elara.”
Zander blinked, confusion flickering across his face. “Your grandfather?”
I stepped beside Veyna, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Her eyes, so much like mine, met his.
“This is my sister,” I said, my voice soft. “Veyna. She’s been imprisoned on the Blood Isle since she was a toddler. My mother was pregnant with me when the Blood Fae… acquired her.”
Zander’s expression shifted, surprise giving way to something tender. He nodded once and stepped forward, placing a hand to his chest and bowing his head in the faintest gesture of reverence.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Veyna,” he said. “Welcome to our family.”
A small breath escaped her lips, maybe relief, maybe disbelief.
The rhythmic thud of boots cut through the moment, and Thrall Squad rounded the corner of the barracks. Riven reached me first, pulling me into a hug tight enough to knock the breath from my lungs.
“Don’t let Zander’s composure fool you,” she said into my ear with a smirk. “He just about made a shishkabob out of Theron’s last messenger.”
I laughed, though it came out a little shakier than I’d meant.
“I believe it,” I whispered back. “What did Theron do this time?”
Zander’s arms folded across his chest as he stood beside Hein, his gaze still flickering between me, Elara, and Veyna. The tension in his shoulders hadn’t faded, but now it simmered just beneath the surface—controlled but only barely.
“While you were gone,” he said tightly, “Theron thought it would be an excellent time to send another marriage proposal. This time with a letter addressed to ‘His Royal Highness’ that promised lineage preservation and political unity.” His eyes darkened.
“The guards have been informed that any further interference with my personal life will be met with… more painful resistance.”
A smirk ghosted over Riven’s lips nearby, but she wisely said nothing.
I stepped closer to him, heart pounding. “I’m sorry. If I worried you—”
Zander moved before I could finish. His hand slipped to the small of my back as he leaned in, his lips brushing against the curve of my ear. His voice was low, roughened by something more than anger—something desperate and raw.
“Worried me?” he murmured. “I just about burned down the entire godsdamned castle when I realized you left me.”
“I didn’t leave you,” I whispered, turning toward him, eyes stinging. “I would never—”
“Never again, Ashlyn.” His fingers tightened ever so slightly at my waist. “You don’t face danger like that alone. Not anymore.”
My breath caught.
Not as heirs. Not as riders. Just as us.
I nodded to Zander, grounding myself in his gaze for a heartbeat before I turned to Veyna. Her arms were wrapped around her middle like she was trying to hold herself together.
“I think my sister could use a healer,” I said gently.
Veyna shook her head almost immediately. “I have healing ability. The longer I go between beatings, the quicker I heal.” Her voice was too calm—detached in a way that made my chest tighten.
Tae swore low under his breath, the word edged in fury.
Ferrula didn’t speak, but the glance she shared with Riven was sharp enough to slice stone. If given a moment and a clear sky, she would fly to the Blood Isle herself and torch every last one of them.
I cleared my throat. Focus, Ashe.
“Zander,” I said, forcing my voice steady, “why don’t you take Elara back to her room? She needs to rest. I’ll get Veyna situated in our barracks. Veralin told me he has a spy here. It’s likely our spell caster, but we can sort that out later.”
Zander hesitated, clearly not liking the idea of separating, but Elara clung to his side with a weariness that cut deep. After a beat, he nodded.
“Only if you let Jax or Tae stay close,” he said, his eyes flicking protectively to Veyna. “She shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised.
He bent down to scoop Elara into his arms, holding her as if she were glass. She murmured something into his neck, and he nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead before walking toward the castle.
I turned to Veyna, stepping closer. “Come on, sis. Let’s get you home.”
I led Veyna across the grounds toward the barracks.
The stars above were muted behind passing clouds, but the torches lining the paths still burned steady.
Tae and Cordelle flanked us silently, their presence comforting but unobtrusive.
The others didn’t follow—probably sensing Veyna needed space more than anything.
Tae moved ahead when we reached the door, pushing it open with a soft creak. “Take any of the open bunks,” he said, his voice gentle but firm.
Veyna stepped inside, her gaze sweeping the room as if it were a foreign land.
She lingered near the fire pit for a moment before walking past the empty beds and settling on the one closest to Tae’s.
“Thank you,” she murmured, fingers brushing the blanket as if she wasn’t sure it was real.
“I don’t remember the last time I had a bed. ”
Tae’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t say anything. The anger in his eyes wasn’t for her—it was for whoever had stolen those years from her.
“Do you want to wash up first?” I asked.
Veyna shook her head as she sat down, then lay back slowly. “Can I just… rest? Just for a bit.”
I nodded, even though her eyes were already drifting closed. Within seconds, her breathing deepened, and her chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm. The tension in her body unraveled, thread by thread, until she looked almost peaceful.
I turned to Tae and Cordelle, lowering my voice. “Will you watch her? I want to check on Elara too.”
Cordelle gave a soft nod, already moving to adjust the blanket draped over Veyna’s legs. Tae didn’t speak, but the look he gave me was all the answer I needed—protective and unyielding.
I slipped out of the barracks quietly, heart still heavy, but grateful. My sister was safe.
I made my way toward Elara’s room, my boots soft against the stone floor. The castle halls were quiet, the kind of quiet that always made me feel like I was trespassing in someone else’s life. I rounded the last corner, just in time to see Zander step through her door.
“Is she okay?” I asked, heart already braced.
He nodded. “She’s asleep. She told me… Veyna took a beating from one of the guards so she wouldn’t have to.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly, the word catching on something in my throat. “I’m aware. Veyna is so used to it…” My voice trailed off, shame and fury coiled in my chest like a second pulse.
Zander stepped forward, his hand settling gently on my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s head to the balcony.”
I followed him in silence, our footsteps echoing down the corridor until we slipped out onto one of the high balconies that overlooked the Ascension Grounds.
The wind was cooler here, brushing past us like a whisper from the mountains.
Below, the torches burned low, their flickers casting golden halos across the empty grounds.
Zander wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me against him until his chin rested on my shoulder. His voice was low and warm in my ear. “Hein and I were frantic, Ashe. We only realized what you had done an hour ago, and by that time, Hein could already sense you were returning.”
I closed my eyes. “I imagine Hein is having a chat with Kaelith right now.” I exhaled, letting the guilt creep into my voice. “But it’s my fault. I asked her to take me.”
Zander chuckled softly, brushing his lips against the shell of my ear. “You do not have the power to force Kaelith to do anything. And Hein knows it.”
I turned my head slightly, catching his profile. “You sure about that?”
“Positive,” he said. “Right now, he’s probably cuddled up to her, just reminding himself she’s still his. Dragons don’t scream when they’re angry, not like people do. When threatened, their love scorches the world around them.
I let my head rest against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. We stood like that for a while, the two of us above the world, letting the silence speak for us.
A sudden shimmer rippled across the Ascension Grounds, like moonlight cast upon disturbed water. But there was no water here. Only stone and soil—and something unnatural pressing into our realm.
A gray mist slithered across the ground, uncoiling in elegant, unnatural tendrils. It moved as if it had purpose. Like it had eyes.
Riders scattered. “What is that?” someone shouted.
Kaelith’s voice hissed into my mind, coiled and tight. I feel dark magic.
A horn blared. Another rider’s dragon roared in warning as the mist gathered into a thick veil that hovered mid-air. Sparks of violet and silver laced through it—beautiful in the most terrible way.
I took a step forward, pulse thrumming like a war drum. “What is that?” I asked again, my voice louder this time.
No one answered.
Even the dragons had gone still.
And then Kaelith murmured again, her voice lower this time.
Severeth.