Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
The vault doors groaned as Remy pulled them open, the cold corridor beyond a stark contrast to the heavy, magic-tinged air we were leaving behind.
He handed the rolled map, the decoy, to one of the guards with a casual flick of his wrist. “Just the one,” he said smoothly. “The king asked for a record of old maritime boundaries.”
The guard barely glanced at it before nodding. “Proceed.”
We stepped into the corridor, our pace unhurried. Remy moved like he owned the palace. I tried to do the same, though my heart still beat too fast beneath the map hidden under my armor.
Then I heard it again, soft and low, sliding into my thoughts like it belonged there.
How are you speaking to me in my mind? I asked silently.
There was a pause, then a response, tinged with confusion.
I’m not sure. I’ve felt… something. A thread. Since—
Since the attack, I finished. Since I used my blood to save you.
Yes. His voice came warmer this time, like he was closer, though I knew he wasn’t.
Kaelith warned me there could be consequences, I admitted.
Well, Zander replied, if this is the downside, I’ll take it. It saved my life, Ashlyn.
I was so caught in the quiet hum of that connection, so focused on the thread linking our minds, I didn’t notice the guard rounding the corner.
I bumped straight into him, my shoulder colliding hard with his chest plate.
“Ah—sorry,” I muttered, stepping back quickly.
Remy immediately moved closer, his voice low and sharp. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” I said, a little too quickly. “Just… distracted.”
Remy handed the map he was holding to the guard. “Deliver this to the king. He requested it.”
The guard took it and left immediately but Remy’s eyes lingered on me, searching, but he didn’t press.
We exited the castle through the western side, cutting across the sun-drenched stone paths and returning to the familiar chaos of the Ascension Grounds.
Squads trained in rings. Dragons circled overhead. But all I could feel was the thread, like a tether of heat and magic coiled tight between Zander and me.
And I knew something had shifted.
Something permanent.
Remy and I crossed the Ascension Grounds side by side, the morning sun casting long shadows behind us. Zander stood just ahead with the rest of Thrall Squad gathered around him, arms folded, eyes locked on us the moment we approached.
“I have the map I need,” I said simply, patting the spot over my heart where it still lay tucked inside my armor.
Zander’s gaze flicked from me to Remy, something sharp in his eyes. Then his voice lifted for everyone to hear.
“Thrall Squad. With me.”
“I’ll be going too,” Remy added smoothly, like it had already been decided.
Zander’s jaw tightened. His shoulders tensed like he wanted to break something, or someone, but after a moment, he gave a clipped nod. “Fine.”
We moved together, cutting across the grounds toward our barracks. Zander led us through the sleeping quarters and past the line of bunks to the door that opened into the narrow hallway behind. The first door on the right, one Zander had only recently assigned us, was already cracked open.
Inside, the small room had been converted into a makeshift conference space—a tan table, scuffed with age but sturdy, stood in the center with several mismatched chairs tucked around it.
With Remy joining us, there weren’t enough seats, so Jax and Ferrula flopped onto the bed pushed against the wall, claiming it without complaint.
I moved to the table, unfastening the strap beneath my armor and pulled the folded map free.
Carefully, reverently, I spread it across the surface, the aged parchment crackling under my fingers.
The gold-inked lines shimmered faintly in the light, outlining the ancient structure of the Fae Isle before the fall.
“This,” I said, smoothing it flat, “is where we start.”
And for the first time, the sanctuary didn’t feel like a myth.
It felt like a destination.
I leaned over the map, fingers trailing the intricate golden lines until they paused on a circular emblem nestled at the center of the isle. The symbol was faint, almost faded from time itself, but its presence radiated a quiet importance.
“Here,” I said, tapping it gently. “This was the Light Fae’s center of power before the fall. If the sanctuary still exists, it’ll be here.”
Riven moved closer, her sharp eyes scanning the map. “That’s in the heart of Blood Isle territory,” she said grimly. “You really think they’ve withstood the Blood Fae all this time?”
I nodded, my voice firm. “If any fae could survive, it would be the ones who built the sanctuary. They had powerful magic at their disposal, ancient wards, old elemental ties. They wouldn’t have picked a place that could be easily overrun. They would’ve built where their magic was strongest.”
Cordelle leaned in beside me, his fingers gently tracing the circle. “She’s right. If they wanted to endure… they would have chosen this place. A nexus of power. This could be the heart of their old ley lines, the way it’s marked.”
“But the Blood Fae control everything now,” Naia said, arms folded across her chest. “Wouldn’t they have found it?”
“Not if it’s hidden,” Ferrula offered. “Like Alahathrial said, protected by ancestral magic. That kind of spellwork could cloak it from even the strongest dark mages.”
“Or…” Jax added, his voice lower, thoughtful, “what if the Blood Fae know it’s there, but they can’t access it? Maybe they’ve been trying this whole time and that’s why they want you.”
Everyone turned to me.
I swallowed hard.
“It’s possible,” I said. “Alahathrial did say they believe I can unlock something. Maybe the sanctuary isn’t just a place. Maybe it’s a key. Or maybe I’m the key.”
Silence settled for a moment.
The map sat between us like an open door, one that led into the heart of the enemy’s land, and maybe… the last hope for saving what was left of the Light.
And now we just had to find out who would be brave, or foolish, enough to step through it.
Cordelle leaned over the map, brow furrowed. “The wards surrounding the Blood Isle are still active, at least according to everything I’ve read. If we try to land near the center, we’ll hit a barrier or worse.”
Zander straightened, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. “We don’t land. We use Dark Fire. Alahathrial said it could breach the ancient wards.”
Remy scoffed from where he leaned near the wall, arms also crossed. “Dark Fire might tear through the wards, sure, right before alerting every Blood Fae on the Isle that we’ve arrived. That’ll go over well.”
Zander turned to him slowly, tone deceptively calm. “So you’d rather sneak in? Hope they don’t see a squad of dragon riders coming?”
Remy’s smile was razor-edged. “No. I’d rather not light a beacon in the sky like a gods damned flare.”
“We can’t tiptoe through the Blood Isle,” Zander snapped. “This isn’t a petty theft mission. We don’t have time to be delicate.”
“You think brute force is always the answer,” Remy said, stepping forward. “But these are the Blood Fae. You break the wards and they’ll feel it. And they won’t wait. They’ll hunt us the second we breach their borders.”
“We don’t need to fight them,” Zander growled. “We just need time. Enough to reach the sanctuary and see if it exists.”
“You won’t get time,” Remy fired back. “You’ll get a blood-soaked welcome party.”
“Enough!” I shouted, slamming my hand on the table. “We’re not doing this. We don’t have the luxury of being right, we only have the luxury of surviving. So unless either of you has a better plan, stop pissing on each other’s tactics and focus.”
Jax groaned from his seat on the bed, arms draped over the headboard. “This new dynamic is going to get us killed.”
Ferrula snorted. “No kidding. At least before, they hated each other quietly.”
Naia shook her head. “Not anymore.”
Zander and Remy were still glaring, breaths sharp, but they backed off, just enough.
I exhaled, my hands still planted on the edge of the table.
“Let’s start with what we know. If Dark Fire can break the wards, we may need it. But we have to find a way in without alerting the whole damn isle. Maybe there’s another path. A weakness in the outer wards.”
Cordelle nodded, already flipping open a smaller book he’d tucked into his belt. “I might have something.”
And just like that, we returned to the map, to the mission, to the sanctuary hidden in shadow.
But the tension?
It didn’t go anywhere.
The room had grown still again, less from tension, and more from the collective burden of too many dead ends. Everyone sat hunched forward, eyes flicking between the map and each other, searching for a way into the Blood Isle that wouldn’t leave us bleeding on the shore.
Then Cordelle’s voice cut through the silence, steady and precise.
“I have an idea. It’s… unconventional.”
Zander arched a brow. “Go on.”
Cordelle glanced between the two of us, me and Zander, his gaze a little too sharp, a little too knowing. “We combine your powers.”
Zander straightened. “My Dark Fire and her Storm?”
Cordelle nodded. “Just enough to make it look like a natural event. A tempest. Something wild and violent enough to fracture the outer layer of the ward. Something that doesn’t immediately scream infiltration.”
I leaned in. “And then what?”
“Then,” Cordelle said, “Remy Phantom Steps the three of you inside.”
The room tensed.
Ferrula let out a low whistle. “That’s bold.”
Jax looked intrigued. “And dangerous.”
Naia crossed her arms. “How does that keep them safe?”
“We’ll create a diversion outside the wards,” Cordelle explained. “A second strike, flashy enough that they think we’re all still out there. Meanwhile, you three are already inside.”
Remy narrowed his eyes. “You’re awfully confident in my abilities.”
Cordelle smiled faintly, flipping shut the book in his lap. “I know what everyone’s abilities are. And I only mentioned yours because we need it for this to work.”
Remy’s jaw ticked.
Cordelle glanced at him. “Can you move all three of you and your dragons?”
A heavy pause followed.
Then he looked straight at me.
“Yes.”
I didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t react.
Because Kaelith had been right.
Remy had lied to me.
He could have brought Kaelith on our solo mission.
He chose not to.
And that knowledge sank deeper than any knife. Cold. Sharp. Brutal.
The question wasn’t if I trusted him anymore.
It was why it still hurt.