Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
J ax’s snoring was loud enough to shake the rafters.
Naia groaned, rolled over, and flung her pillow across the room, smacking him square in the face.
Jax grunted, struggling with the pillow before prying it off his head. Then, with an annoyed huff, he chucked it back at her.
“Give a man a break,” he said.
“You sound like a sow with twelve piglets!” Naia shot back, rubbing her eyes.
Jax flipped his covers back, grumbling. “It’s time to get up anyway. If we miss our time slot at the dining hall, we’ll be eating with the warders.”
“Yeah, that’s new,” Tae said, pulling his shirt over his head.
I glanced over at him. “How so?”
Tae shrugged. “Fourth Guild always had the last slot. It went healers, infantry, warders, then dragon riders. This year, the last two are reversed. I assume it’s because of the existence of commoners in the guild.”
“But there are commoners in every guild,” I pointed out.
“True. Maybe we have more,” Tae said. “But you’d have to ask command about that.”
“Zander might tell you,” Riven mused, her face perfectly straight.
Jax grunted. “Not likely.”
We finished dressing quickly, strapping on our belts and boots before heading to the dining hall as a group. The air outside was crisp, the sky still tinged with the soft hues of dawn as the castle stirred to life.
As we neared the building, my attention snapped to the right.
A guard passed a piece of parchment to another, the royal seal pressed into the wax.
Interesting.
I slowed my pace, then leaned toward Riven. “Give me five minutes. Grab me some food.”
Riven barely blinked. “Got it.”
As I broke off, I heard Naia ask, “Where is she going?”
“Ashe has a thing for one of the guards,” Riven said smoothly.
I almost laughed, but kept my steps quiet as I moved to the side of the building, slipping around the corner to get close enough to hear the conversation.
I pretended to inspect one of my daggers, angling my body away from them, my ears keenly attuned to their voices.
“I’m telling you,” the first guard muttered, his voice low and tense, “the king has some kind of beast down there.”
“It’s not a beast,” the second guard scoffed. “That prisoner has been there since before my father worked for the castle.”
A prisoner?
My fingers tightened on my dagger.
The first guard snorted. “Then what is he?”
“Some kind of rebel,” the second said. “Though he has to be in his eighties by now.”
“You’ve never seen it, though,” the first one pressed.
“Nobody but the king is allowed in that part of the dungeon,” the second muttered. “And I’m not about to get myself killed trying to find out who it is.”
My pulse quickened.
A prisoner kept in the castle dungeon for decades?
A rebel?
What in the name of Charrem was the king hiding?
I stiffened as Zander stepped up beside me, his presence a sudden weight in the air.
I had been so focused on the guards’ conversation, so intent on every word, that I hadn’t even noticed him approaching.
Solei would have ripped me a new one if she had seen that mistake.
“Something interesting?” he asked, his tone smooth—too smooth.
I willed my pulse to steady, keeping my face carefully neutral as I turned to him. “Kind of.”
His lip twitched, just the faintest hint of amusement. “Care to enlighten me?”
I shrugged, slipping into the first excuse I could think of.
“I’m in a bit of a dry spell,” I mused, crossing my arms. “I was thinking of asking out the guard with the beard.”
Zander coughed, as if trying to hide a laugh.
His expression remained composed, but his lavender eyes gleamed with barely suppressed mirth.
“I’m willing to introduce you,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “but I am unsure Theo’s boyfriend would be willing to share him.”
I barely managed to suppress a groan.
Man, I was going to kill Riven.
I sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to my chest. “Well, you can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“Of course,” Zander said easily. “But you should know that you will be encouraged to seek a partner with compatible bloodlines.”
I narrowed my eyes. “As in fae blood?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “You are a dragon rider. There are responsibilities that?—”
“Stop.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care.
His brows lifted slightly, but I pushed forward.
“If my commoner fiancé were still alive, there would be no decree that could have kept me from him,” I said, my words coming out colder than expected.
The reaction was immediate.
Zander’s face paled, his jaw tightening—not in anger, but something else.
Shock.
For a brief second, his carefully constructed mask cracked, and I saw it?—
Riven was right.
I had hit a nerve. He was mad.
Had the mighty Prince Zander Rayne fallen for a commoner?
I kept my expression calm, but my thoughts raced.
Elara had lavender eyes.
That meant she would have fae power.
If she were his daughter, then what had happened to her mother?
The guards went silent as a shadow loomed over us.
Siergen.
The red dragon strode forward, his scales gleaming like burnished copper in the light. He moved with fluid grace, his wings folding neatly against his body as his golden eyes locked onto me.
How is my little rogue princess today? Siergen purred into my mind.
A second voice—not mine, not Siergen’s—cut through my thoughts.
Rogue princess? Zander’s voice echoed inside my head with incredulity.
I snapped my gaze to him, shock slamming through me like a bolt of lightning.
He was staring at Siergen, not me.
I was talking to her, Royal. Siergen’s voice was laced with amusement. And watch your tongue. Don’t forget who rescued your ass when you decided you were old enough to take down a wilderbeast.
Zander’s jaw ticked. I was ten.
Siergen grunted. You weren’t even smart enough to bring your bow.
I stared at Zander. You talk to Red, too?
Zander’s lavender eyes snapped to me. You hear him?
I arched a brow. Well, duh. And Siergen, it’s Order daughter, not rogue princess.
Siergen let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. That’s why I like her.
Zander, however, looked anything but amused.
The treaty… he started, his tone cautious.
Siergen bared his teeth in something that was not quite a snarl—but close.
Do not dictate that which I created, he rumbled. You were not even a sparkle in your mother’s eye when the treaty was conceived. I was there, and I uphold its laws to this day, but they do not apply to me. Never forget that.
Zander nodded curtly. Of course.
But his gaze slid back to mine, something unreadable behind his controlled expression.
I folded my arms. “So… you’re telepathic, too?”
“No,” Zander said. “Siergen created this link and chose to share it.”
Siergen glanced away. I must go.
And just like that—the link shimmered and died.
The silence stretched between us before I broke it.
“He talks to you.” I narrowed my eyes at Zander. “And has since you were a child.”
Zander didn’t look comfortable with my question. For a second, I thought he wouldn’t answer.
Then, finally, he said, “Yes.”
I waited.
“My sire was not a hands-on father,” Zander admitted. “Siergen… kept me occupied when I was younger.”
I huffed out a quiet laugh. “Did you really hunt a wilderbeast when you were ten—without a bow?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I had a small rapier, but in truth, Siergen saved me.”
I smirked. “What happened to the wilderbeast?”
Zander sighed. “Siergen said it was tasty.”
“Ah.”
Zander exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw before giving me a hard look.
“It’s time to train,” he said, his voice flat, unreadable.
Then—he turned and walked away without another word, his long strides carrying him swiftly across the courtyard.
I watched him go, my thoughts still tangled in the strange conversation we’d just had. Siergen had linked us. I didn’t know what that meant, but Zander’s reaction was telling.
The sound of crinkling paper broke my train of thought.
I tensed, keeping my body pressed against the stone wall.
The guards had opened the letter.
I didn’t dare peek around the corner, not when they were already on edge. But I listened, my heartbeat steady, my breath barely audible.
“What is it?” the second guard asked.
The first guard hesitated, then muttered, “Shit. The Order wants eyes in the king’s private chambers.”
My stomach twisted.
“That’s impossible,” the second guard hissed.
“Yeah. I need to talk to our liaison.”
A moment later, the sound of footsteps approaching the gate made both guards fall silent as someone entered.
They turned back to their duties, their conversation over.
But I stayed frozen in place, my mind reeling.
The Order was trying to infiltrate the king’s private chambers.
Which Order? Was it my father?
Who was the liaison?
I had never questioned his true motives before.
But this was treason.
By the time I reached the ring, my squad had already gathered, stretching and adjusting their new gear.
Riven caught my eye and tossed something toward me. I snatched it out of the air, glancing down to find a flaky biscuit and a handful of fruit.
“Figured you’d need this,” she said.
“Bless you,” I muttered, already taking a bite as I stepped beside her.
Zander stood at the center of the training ring, his expression as unreadable as ever.
Why was he so interested in our squad?
He wasn’t our official trainer. With the exception of Cordelle and Tae, we weren’t even considered cadets yet. So why had he taken such an interest in us when it was painfully obvious that nobody else wanted to?
Zander turned, nodding toward Cade, who leaned lazily against a post outside the ring, his sword strapped to his back.
“Cade, you’re up,” Zander said.
Cade sighed dramatically but stepped forward, unbuckling his sword and placing it on the ground before reaching for the hem of his shirt and pulling it off in one fluid motion.
Riven let out a soft, appreciative whistle.
Then Zander followed suit, shrugging off his own flight jacket before stripping off his black undershirt.
Riven made a choking sound.