Burn It All Down

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48788017.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category: F/M
Fandom: The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros
Relationship: Xaden Riorson/Violet Sorrengail
Character: Xaden Riorson, Brennan Sorrengail, Violet Sorrengail, Dain Aetos, Mira
Sorrengail, Rhiannon Matthias, Lilith Sorrengail, Garrick (Empyrean),
Bodhi (Empyrean), Imogen (Empyrean), Tairn (Empyrean), Andarna
(Empyrean), Sgaeyl (Empyrean), Naolin (Empyrean)
Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Angst, Fluff
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-07-23 Updated: 2023-09-01 Words: 75,066 Chapters:
17/?

Burn It All Down

by shinychicken

Summary

ALL THE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE BOOK.

Violet Sorrengail's world is shattered when she discovers everything she was taught to
believe is a lie. Between discovering her brother still alive and the man she fell in love with
to be the head of a much larger rebellion, a revolution, she decides to be on the right side of
history, the side that defends the weak and fights against the Venin.

Now Violet needs to learn how to navigate Basgiath War College as a second year with
stakes higher than ever, protect the ones she loves, and sort out what to do with Xaden
Riorson, the man who broke her heart but still very much owns it.

Like everyone else who’s read this book, I’m still suffering from the hangover that came
from finishing it. Attempting to work out the hangover by taking a stab at what happens
next.

Picks up right after Brennan is revealed to be alive. This fic is intended to run until Iron
Flame comes out in November. I own nothing, actually – this books own my soul. I’m just
here to kill time till November :)
 Violet

I must have hit my fucking head pretty hard because I’m pretty sure that’s my brother standing in
front of me. That, or the poison truly damaged my brain. It’s the only explanation. I blink rapidly a
few times, trying make the hallucination of my brother go away. Nope. My dead brother is
standing in front of me, except he’s very much not dead.

Brennan looks like he always had, just five years older. His hair is a bit longer than it was, its
copper strands are blown to the side, probably recently being on dragonback. His arms are crossed
across his chest, he doesn’t look injured, but I know some injuries are not on the surface. He’s my
brother yet he’s not. That playful, rakish smile that always gets him in trouble is plastered across
his face, but I can see worry lines around his eyes, and then I know. My brother has seen some shit.
Coming back from the dead will do that to you.

“Did you know about this too?” I mentally snarl at Tairn.

“This wasn’t my secret to tell either Silver One.” He responds, sounding as contrite as a dragon can
sound. At least he’s not proud about it.

I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at Brennan. What the hell has he been doing? Does he know
about our father? Of course, he does. Xaden had to have told him. I can still see Xaden’s perfect,
sculpted body standing on the side of the room, watching me warily. He knows my temper and
how strong I’ve become. I can tell he’s not sure if I’m about to try to wipe the floor with both of
them or fall onto my knees sobbing. I want to do both of those things, but before my brain can
decide which excessive action to take I’m moving.

My body crashes into Brennan’s as my arms wrap around him, my head buried in his chest.
Brennan is surprised by the force I throw myself at him, he’s not used to his fragile, to-be-scribe
sister packing this much body muscle, but he catches me anyways, holding me tight. One of his
arms wraps around my back, the other on the back of my head, like our father did when I was
younger. He reminds me so much of him at this moment and tears threaten to spill. But I won’t cry,
not while Xaden is here. He’s seen enough weakness from me over the past few months, I won’t
give him this too.

My head is still buried in Brennan’s chest as I inhale his scent as if I’m trying to convince myself,
my big brother is alive and I’m hugging him as I murmur. “You’re an asshole.”

Brennan snorts at my muffled insult, then he pushes me back, his eyes locking onto mine, his grin
spreading even wider as he takes me in. “You’re stronger.” He says, his voice has that gentle tone I
know has been reserved for me, just like Mira does. I imagine it’s going to take a long time for my
siblings to realize that their younger sister can pack a punch now. He lifts my arm looking at the
scar left by Tynan at threshing. I can immediately feel Xaden tense behind me as Brennan
scrunches his nose at the long line of the scar. “Looks like I have some challenge stories to hear.”

“That one is actually from threshing.” I can’t help grinning.

“Tairn?” Brennan’s eyebrows shoot up.

“No.” I chuckle, “Another cadet. Tairn did scorched him though.” I respond.

“She’s being modest. What she’s not telling you is she took on three on one during threshing to
protect Andarna.” Xaden interjects, taking a step towards us.
My head snaps to him. There’s a lightness in his features, one that I don’t get to see very often.
Seeing me with Brennan gives him comfort, the comfort he’ll never have because his parents,
unlike my brother, are not fake dead. The gold flecks in his eyes are shining with emotion,
emotions that I know he’s trying to make sense of. And I also know he wants to be a part of this
and get to know the person I am with my brother.

I can’t help it when my heart breaks that only I can have the comfort of having the person I thought
was lost to me forever, when the image of him mourning his father on the parapet is all too fresh in
my mind. An even more vivid memory crashes into the very compassionate one for him, the one
where he shatters my heart so nonchalantly under the pretense of protecting his people.

No matter how noble that sounds, and no matter how much my head can understand why he did
what he did, my heart is having none of this.

“Get out.” I bit out. He flinches. Cruel amusement spreads across my body. It’s unexpected but a
welcome replacement for the pain in my chest. Good. Even if he felt the tiniest bit of pain I do, it’s
still not going to be close enough.

To his credit, Xaden collects himself and slips on that damn mask of indifference, which I know is
absolute bullshit, and crosses his arms. “It’s my room, Violence.”

The challenge in his face is not a real one, because I know he’s going to leave. He’s just trying to
get a rise out of me, see if I’m willing to play. I want to be cool and collected and show him just
how much I’m done playing with him. But something about how my body still reacts to him
irritates the shit out of me. How is he still all my body wants is beyond me. Because that’s what
this is, just my body reacting to him, responding to it knows, he could do to mine. Purely physical.
But that’s a lie. This man; this lying, arrogant, betraying but weirdly chivalrous and devoted man
still owns all of me. The conflict in me forces me to spit out the rest of the words of my mouth
before I do something stupid like climb the aggravating man in front of my recently-found-out-to-
be-alive brother.

“I don’t think you want to be here when I tell my big brother how you quite literally fucked me
over.”

I swear I hear Tairn snorting in my head as Xaden’s eyes widen at my challenge. His lips curl
upward, but he quickly smothers the smile. Brennan does not try to hide his amusement as Xaden
makes his way towards the door muttering something about being kicked out of his room for the
second time today. I don’t give a shit what he thinks.

“Close the door on your way out.” I say coolly as I watch his sculpted back walk away from me.

Brennan throws himself on Xaden’s bed, his arms clasped behind his head, the grin bigger than
ever on his face. “What the hell did Riorson do to you?”

We talk sitting on Xaden’s bed for a few hours catching up on lost time. Catching up is an
understatement, as Brennan walks me through what actually happened to him.

“I fell on the battlefield and was bleeding out. I knew I was going to bleed out soon, my vision
darkened and I nearly passed out. I knew I was fading. Naolin found me, and you know, we were
close.” His eyes drift towards the window with the loss of something special. My heart aches for
my brother as I reach and squeeze his hand. “He channeled so much power from Tairn that it
burned him out. I saw what happened to him, and I saw what Fen Riorson was trying to do. I knew
I could do more here than I ever could in Basgioth. Rebuild. Help. Figure out how to protect those
who truly need it.”

I respond as it dawns on me. “You’re the rebellion’s leader.” He tilts his head sideways,
considering.

“There is no one leader. We all work together to help. We all want the same thing. Protect the
lands and those who cannot protect themselves. Stop the Venin.” I know he is being modest. No
one is a better strategist than Brennan.

“I can’t believe Xaden didn’t tell me.” I look away as betrayal stings my chest again.

“Listen, Vi, it was not his secret to tell. The fact that I’m alive, I asked him not to tell you. I always
thought you’d end up in Scribe’s quarters, and our father would eventually tell you what we were
trying to do. But then I heard he died and then a few months ago Xaden told me my baby sister is
in Rider’s quadrant. How the hell did you end up in Rider’s quarters?”

“Sorrengails are Riders.” I respond imitating our mother as best as I can.

Brennan chuckles, “Of course, she’d send you out there. Not only because Sorrengails are Riders”
He also does an imitation of our mother that brings a smile to my face. “But because she knew you
would put everything together. You’re too smart to fall for the bullshit in Basgiath.”

“Well, apparently not smart enough, considering Xaden fucking Riorson played me for months.” I
say wryly. I sound like a woman scorned but I can’t help it.

“Vi, put yourself in his spot. Knowing your history with him, Dain probably watched you like a
hawk from the second you got off the parapet. I always thought that sleazy bastard had a thing for
you. With his signet, if Xaden told you the truth, before teaching you properly how to block him
out, he would’ve put everything we worked for in jeopardy. And from the looks of it, as much as I
hate to say this the man worships the ground you walk on. I just might have to beat the shit out of
him for fucking with my baby sister” He scrunches his nose.

I consider for a second before responding. If I didn’t get involved with him, or if I even listened to
him after he told me to stay away from him repeatedly and then I eventually found out about the
revolution as Brennan called it, I’d probably even be mad at him. Xaden’s motives are probably
justified. But something within me aches profoundly nevertheless. After giving all of me to him
and him not even bothering to prepare me for what was coming… Shit.

“I guess you’re right about that part. Dain did send me to die once he found out about where
Xaden’s been. Or maybe once he found out about Xaden and I.” I snort.

“I’m going to kill Aetos next time I see him.” From the look on his face, I know he’s dead serious.
My chest warms at the fact that he’s alive and sitting next to me, plotting to kill someone because
they tried to hurt me. I know there’s something wrong with me about finding gratitude in the
promise of violence for my name, but I push that aside for now. I grin at him.

“Get in line behind me and Xaden. Dain’s mine.” I respond, knowing Brennan knows I’m dead
serious too. His eyebrows shoot up. His surprise is not unexpected, as he doesn’t know me as the
person I am today.

“When did my bookish baby sister become so violent?” He asks, the question genuine.

I shrug. “I guess I always have been. Out of all the bullshit Dain said he was right about one thing.
The Rider’s Quadrant strips all the niceties away and strips you down to who you are. I’m a
Rider.”
“Damn right you are.” Brennan says. There is no hesitation in his voice. My brother believes in me
and I just know this time I won’t lose him because I’ll do anything in my power to protect him.
Like he protected me.

“You know I’m alive because of you?” I tell him grinning. He perks up immediately,

“How come?”

“Well, because of you and Mira.” I tell him about the corset Mira has made me, bringing it out of
the neatly folded pile on the side of the bed. He examines the corset with intrigue for a few
minutes, then I tell him about the Book of Brennan Mira left at my barracks. He smiles wistfully at
the mention of our sister's name.

“We’ll get her back. Mira’s smart, and she’ll understand what we’re doing.” I say, catching the
yearning in his face for our sister.

“Yes we will. But you didn’t survive Rider’s quadrant just because of Mira and I. You survived
because you’re a strong, smart woman with incredible skills who bonded with not just one, but two
huge dragons.”

I can’t help flushing at my brother’s flattery. “Well only one of them is huge.” I respond.

Now the grin on my brother’s face is enormous without restraint. “About that… I think we should
go see your dragons.”

It takes me less than a few minutes to dress in my corset and flight leathers. I skillfully push away
the thoughts of how it took me longer to put the corset on than it did Xaden to take it off a few
nights ago. Fuck. It’s going to be hard to keep him at an arm’s length while my brain prefers to
remember just how good Xaden’s touch feels on my body. I need to forget what was and focus on
what this revolution was supposed to be. What my role in it is supposed to be.

“Are you sure you want to forget about the Wingleader?” Tairn’s voice echoes through my head.

A flush of red spreads to my cheeks as I snap back. “I’m not talking to you — “ I pause and grunt.
“- but I’m coming to see you and Andarna. Brennan says we’re meeting on the hills just outside of
Aretia. Do you know where that’s at?”

“Already waiting for you Silver One.” He responds. I want to be mad at him too, but it’s a lot
harder to be mad at your bonded dragon. I huff with exasperation, and again, I hear Tairn’s chuckle
in my head. Fucking great.

“Sgaeyl says you’re meeting Tairn and Andarna.” I hear Xaden’s voice in my head shortly after.
Who knew dragons were such busybodies? The sound of Xaden's voice in my archives sends a
shudder down my spine. Nope. Not responding. He’s no longer allowed to waltz in and out of my
head as he pleases. A few moments pass.

“Can you at least acknowledge that you can hear me? That you healed as you should?”

I grunt as Brennan looks at me warily but doesn’t ask. Good. I don’t know what to tell him. What
the fuck am I supposed to tell him? My kind of ex-ish boyfriend and I can talk to each other
through our minds, and he’s being annoyingly sweet about my well-being even though I am trying
to be mad at him, and I’m not sure how am I going to keep this facade up? Yeah, I am pathetic.

I hear him again, his husky voice spilling into my mind like honey. “Tairn and Andarna think you
won’t be as shocked but I told you I wouldn’t keep secrets from you and I think you need to -”

I grunt and shut my shields down, kicking the aggravating man out of my head. We’ll need to talk
about some boundaries in our situationship later.

It takes us about twenty minutes to make our way out of the stone fortress I’ve been resting in into
Aretia, then quickly out. I find myself standing at the base of a small hill overseeing the city. It’s a
peaceful hillside with large trees canopying above it, a peaceful breeze is flowing in and out of the
loose strands of my hair. It’s quiet, and I feel serene here.

The realization that this is Xaden’s grounding spot he told me about when he first taught me how
to shield dawns on me. And damn if my heart doesn’t hurt at the fact that Xaden’s sharing his spot
with me when I reunite with my dragons. Fuck.

I can see Xaden is waiting at the top of the hill for us with Sgaeyl and Tairn by his side. I start
walking up the hill and I hear a huff of frustration from Tairn as if he’s telling me I’m taking too
long. The feeling is mutual and I bolt up the hill. “Vi, wait for me!” Brennan exclaims, but nothing
stops me from sprint towards my dragons.

I don’t think you’re supposed to pet dragons, and I know Tairn might probably eat me for this, but
there is just no stopping me as I throw myself on his side. His scales feel like a familiar blanket
against my cheek, it’s not soft in fact I might have even scratched my face a bit. But it’s comforting
and I feel safe, safer than I ever have. I then realize, Tairn and Andarna are my home, and for the
first time I grasp, like truly grasp, just how deep the bond between the dragons and their riders is.

I thought I was exhilarated when I found out that Brennan was alive, but the relief from seeing
Tairn alive overwhelms me. I swear I take the first deep breath since I woke up and there’s no
stopping the sob that escapes from my throat and the tears start spilling from my face. Tairn is
here, he’s alive and unharmed. So am I. I did not die today.

“I missed you too.” Tairn’s deep voice echoes in my head as I tighten my grip on his scales.

“Andarna?” I ask hesitantly remembering Xaden’s attempts to talk to me.

As if they were waiting for me to ask, I hear a flap of wings and then a loud thunk behind me. I
already know it’s her. My baby dragon. I turn around, fully expecting her small body to face me,
ready to cuddle her. But that’s not what I see. What. the. fuck.

The dragon facing me is my dragon, but it’s not. As if she’s tripled in size overnight, instead of
facing me at eye level like she was a few days ago Andarna is now towering over me. Her eyes are
soft, as soft as a dragon’s eyes can be. I examine her golden shimmering scales, her wings, her
claws looking for signs of injury. Aside from the fact that she’s fucking huge, she looks to be in
perfect shape. Her knowing eyes meet mine as she leans and puts her nose against my forehead and
warm steam caresses my face. This does nothing for my tears as I start sobbing even harder, my
hands wrapping around her face. I’m now straight up petting her, but I can’t help it, I feel like I
missed her entire childhood and she’s now this grown-ass dragon.

“I’m alright!” Her perky, windchime-like voice echoes in my head.

“How?” That is all I can spit out between the sobs that seem to be spilling out of me with no end in
sight.

“Outside of the wards, the magic is wilder. Between that and the power I used at the battle, it
accelerated my maturing. I promise you I’m alright!” She says reassuringly. With that last bit of
information, I take my second deep breath since waking up. My dragons are alright. My dragons
are alright. My dragons are alright. I keep repeating to myself, and Tairn folds his wings over both
me and Andarna, ensealing us in a cocoon so we can have a moment together. I know we have a
battle to fight or a revolution to accomplish, but for now, I feel okay with both of them at my side.

And I realize Andarna is wearing the same saddle Xaden made for Tairn. It’s much smaller, but
the fact that he managed to put one together for Andarna as well swells my heart. The fact that he
even thought of it threatened to overwhelm me. I resist the urge to go up there and just start kissing
him. God damn it. My head turns towards him then, finding him standing next to Sgaeyl who’s
watching our little reunion with nonchalance.

“Sgaeyl.” I acknowledge her. Her head tilts to the side just as she did on the day I walked across
the parapet and I swear she’s trying to decide if she’s going to scorch me or not. I didn’t fear her
that day, I definitely do not fear her now, regardless of how much of an imbecile that makes me. I
raise my chin up and meet that electric gaze.

“Glad to see you didn’t die.” She scoffs and then turns her head away as if she doesn’t have the
time to talk to me. Great. Just great.

Eventually I turn to Xaden who has been watching me this entire time. I’m not even sure if he’s
blinking, his eyes are fixated on my wind-tossed hair. I can’t help but smile, knowing just how
much he likes the silver strands dancing in the breeze. As if he’s mesmerized by it, his eyes are
following the silver strands, as if the man doesn’t have a revolution to run or something. As if he
could just watch me, standing in his spot and be content the rest of his life.

“Thank you for the saddle for Andarna.” I say softly. I could be mean to him, but what’s the point?
I also know it is important for us to share this hilltop when I got my dragons back. It is important
for him to have me here. I put that conflicting ass feeling in a box that I swear I’m going to deal
with later.

As if he was waiting for me to bite his head off like I had since I woke up, his eyes widen at my
expression of gratitude. But he collects him quickly as he crosses his arm, the mask of indifferent
commander slipping on all too easily.

“Of course. We’re going to need both of your dragons and you in battle. I wanted them to be
ready.”

Of course. My dragons and my lightning. I narrow my eyes at him, crossing my arm just the same,
and take a step towards him. I can feel his breath on my skin, if he just lowers his head a little bit
he could be kissing me. I feel how tightly wired his body is, and realizing I still have the same
effect I had on him before gives me immense satisfaction. I know I have the upper hand here, and I
plan to keep it that way.

He lifts his hand and pushes a strand of hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear, his callused
finger brushing against my cheek. Every nerve in my body responds to him, remembering what else
that hand and his touch can do. The satisfaction I felt earlier disappears immediately. The flush in
my face and the goosebumps covering my body are impossible to hide, as Xaden notices my
reaction to him. The lazy smirk spreading on his face is all too proud and arrogant and I have to
resist the urge to kick him in the shin, or somewhere else. I just might do that, but Brennan’s
exasperated sigh interrupts me from doing something too impulsive like either punching Xaden or
crushing his mouth with mine.

“Are you two always like this? If so we’re never gonna get anything done.” He steps next to us.
Xaden doesn’t move, the smirk is still playing on his lips. I gulp, as I resist to urge to bite that
lower lip.

“Relax Sorrengail.” He responds to Brennan without taking his eyes off mine. “I’m just getting
acquainted with our newest general.”

My head snaps to him, my eyes widening in disbelief. General? Is he out of his mind?

“Why do you look so surprised Violence? You’re as smart as the best Scribe and one of the
strongest Riders. You have the only signet I’ve seen that can literally fry a Venin. In case you
don’t remember, you whipped the life out of one with lightning. Now, don’t get me wrong, you
need the practice, and I’ll be happy to spend all the after-hours time we can get to continue training
you.” He winks at me, his eyes full of promise. The man actually winks at me about me being a
general for the revolution. “Besides, you don’t think Tairn is going to follow anyone, do you?
Even Sgaeyl is going to learn to take orders from him.”

An exasperated scoff came from Sgaeyl, which I am pretty sure translates to “Fuck that.”

“We’ll be scorching Venin across the continent until the very last one is destroyed.” Tairn’s growl
in my head is determined. He doesn’t say we’ll try. He promises. And I agree.
 Xaden
Chapter Summary

Xaden, Violet, and the others figure out their next steps, one that keeps the rest of the
rebellion kids safe.

Shockingly, Xaden and Violet find themselves in a one-bed situation as they navigate
their boundaries.

Chapter Notes

I had intended to post one chapter per week, but I spent the entire day planning the rest
of this fic and this chapter basically forced itself out of me.

The next chapter should be coming out later this week/early next week because of
work :(

I tend to keep a mental tally of what my personal version of the veil after I pass might look like. It’s
the usual stuff. Mom and Dad in their happy days, before my dad took on the infinite weight of
trying to do the right thing for those who couldn’t afford the protections we did. Before mom, well
– nope going there. Liam, the brother I did not share blood with but my brother nonetheless,
grinning at me while we do something inexplicably stupid.

And that list now includes, Violet Sorrengail grinning up to her dragons, standing on top of the hill
more sacred to me than almost anything while she bathes in the sunset with wind dancing in her
hair. That fucking hair. The sun’s rays catch the silver streaks towards the ends, turning them into
silver flames. Fuck me. I’m so fucking mesmerized by her hair that I don’t hear Brennan coughing
next to me as I’m eye fucking his sister.

“Classy.” I hear Sgaeyl crooning in my head.

“Shut up.” I bark back. Arguably, this is not my best comeback.

Brennan coughs again and I have to force myself to look away. I never want to look away. Every
time I look at this woman my breath catches, I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to look away.

“What?” I snap back at Brennan. He doesn’t deserve my frustration but he’s in the line of fire.

“We need to head back soon for the meeting.” He pats my back and then continues. “She has a
temper, much worse than mine and Mira’s but deep down she’s compassionate and soft. Just
apologize to her. Keep apologizing.”

“Trust me, I know,” I respond, my tone snarkier than I want. What is it about the Sorrengails that
drive me insane? Although I think at the moment, only one of them is the root cause of my shitty
mood.
Brennan grimaces, “That better not be some weird sexual innuendo about my baby sister Riorson.
You and I will need to have a chat about that at some point, you know. When I asked you to look
after her, this shit show was not what I meant.”

“It’s a bit too late for the 'if you hurt her talk don’t' you think?” I shrug, my eyes turn back to
Violet, and like clockwork everything that I thought was frozen and dead inside me softens. I’ve
been on my own too long and this woman, this patient, smart, strong, insistent woman made her
way into my very being and there is no getting her out now. Even if I royally fucked this up, I am
going to continue begging for forgiveness until she takes me back or tells me to go away for good.
I don’t know why she hasn’t done that yet other than the fact that she’s still in love with me, so I
have that going for me. Brennan looks at me quizzically and I realize I’ve been quiet for too long.

“Besides, you haven’t seen your sister in a while. She doesn’t need protection. She can fry my balls
off with a thought if she wanted to.” I bit out dryly hoping Violet does not get that idea any time
soon.

Brennan snorts at the, “Kinda hope she does if I’m being honest.” He pats me back, “I’ll give you
a minute to grovel, but then you two need to haul your asses to the meeting. Do not make me come
back here and find you and my baby sister doing something I don’t want to see.” He grimaces
again and walks away.

“He fucking wishes she’d let him back in her arms.” Sgaeyl snorts in my head, her sardonic
commentary very much not welcome at the moment. I don’t even dignify with a response at the
moment and snap my shields up. Busybody dragons.

I crack my neck as if I’m getting ready for battle because let’s face it that’s what this is about to
be. “We need to head back Violence.”

Silence. She does not even acknowledge me as she continues talking to Tairn and Andarna. Of
course, I’m not privy to the conversation as Tairn huffs a puff of smoke, one I identify as feigned
exasperation and a very adorable tilt of the head from Andarna. Can’t help it as my heart swells at
the three of them united, alive, and healthy. Considering how poorly things almost went it’s a
fucking miracle.

“Violence, ignore me all you want but can’t have you dally with your dragons all day.” I know I'm
pushing, but why won’t she respond to me? She’s not one to hold back her tongue. I can only attest
this to be her version of a cold shoulder, like a “you’re a lying bastard so you don’t get to barge
into my brain” type of cold shoulder. If she was mad at me, yelling, screaming, throwing daggers
at my face – well maybe not that since her aim is fucking impeccable – I could deal. But being
iced out? The indifference? It might fucking kill me.

The only inclination she gives me that she heard me is when she gives me a steely glance over her
shoulder. I’ve seen that look before. It’s what I call her scribe look. It’s when she boxes up all of
her feelings aside and is readying for a fact-based conversation. Yeap, icy indifference is what I’m
about to get. She gently pats Andarna on her nose, I still can’t believe how fucking huge she’s
gotten overnight. Tairn is less affectionate when his wings curl over her as if he’s trying to shield
her from me. I am still half surprised he hasn’t scorched me or bit my arm off or something.

“Not from a lack of trying.” Sgaeyl drawls in my head again, her voice sounds tired and frustrated.
Damn it, my shields fell down because I’m too fucking mesmerized by Violet. I can’t help but feel
guilty about the strain my request to keep everything from Violet must have been for Sgaeyl.

“Duh, you should feel guilty.” She responds.

I want to argue with my ever-so-snappy dragon, but Violet passes by me where I stand at the edge
of the hill heading down. Without so much as a look at me. Please look at me, I almost spit out.
Great. I’m pathetic. I don’t care though, for this woman there isn’t a limit I won’t embarrass
myself, especially if it means getting a reaction out of her.

“Let’s go” She demands as she’s halfway down the hill. She’s so small, so delicate and damn if it’s
not a stark contrast to what a force to be reckoned with she is. Her bones might be breakable and
she might need to wrap herself like a present to keep herself from hurting, but her resolve and
resilience are unparalleled. Not to mention her mind can run laps around the entire war council
we’re about to meet with.

I catch up to her in a few short steps, and again she doesn’t even bother looking up at me. Although
the way her breath hitches, she is aware of my presence, and satisfaction spreads to my chest. At
least her body isn’t all ice and thunder against me. I don’t know what I will do if she never takes
me back. I realize, maybe there is more than just the death of my dragon that might kill me. But I
already know that.

I don’t know what to say to her, as we make our way back towards the keep. The conversation has
never been a problem for us, but with how straight her spine is and how narrow her eyes are, I
know we’re not in friendly conversation territory. The warmth I got from her about Andarna’s
saddle was a spur-of-moment handout and i’m back at the dog house. I sigh.

“It’s not always so chilly out here -” What. the. fuck. I might just punch myself in the face. I’m
talking to, or trying to talk to Violet Sorrengail, the woman I’m in love with about the fucking
weather. I’m a fool. I have so much more game than this. She isn't impressed by the attempt either,
and she scoffs at me, her expression is so Tairn like I almost expect her to blow out actual fire at
me.

“Boundaries Riorson.” She says, and the use of my last name feels like a slap. My mind
immediately goes back to her moaning my first name when my head was in between her legs. What
will it take to hear my name from her lips again? It won’t happen right now that’s for sure. Alright
then Violence, let’s play this the way you want.

“What about them?” I ask her, knowing damn well I’m about to get a laundry list of things that
will and will not happen from here on out. One look at her and I know I’m right. It’s Violet the
Scribe, cunning and deadly I’m talking to, not Violence the Rider full of recklessness and passion.
I love them both with my entire being, but right now, I wish the rider was here.

“We are not together. We’re not friends. We’re working together, and only working together. You
do not protect me. You do not order me around. You do not give me speeches about my safety and
recklessness. You do not touch me without my permission. You do not touch me at all. You do not
talk to me in my head without my initiation, except when we’re in battle or we need to talk about
our work.”

I stop and turn to her in shock. Damn. She’s been practicing this for a while. I can almost hear
Sgaeyl chuckling in my head. And I know Tairn is giving her a mental pat on the back the way she
just put me in my place. Those hazel eyes have the glint of pent-up rage in them, and I know the
wheels of her brilliant mind are turning as she’s trying to sort all of this out. I might find it
ridiculous if I wasn’t so goddamn turned on. I bite my lower limp on impulse and her eyes narrow.
I can hear her heart beating faster than when she’s on dragonback as she doesn’t look away from
my gaze. She never looks away from me. And it’s so fucking attractive, her lack of fear of me. She
sees all of me, and she’s not afraid. Fuck, it takes everything in me to not take her to the ground.
I’ve fantasized enough times about fucking her on this hill why not now?
“Because she won’t let you.” Sgaeyl’s commentary is back in my head in full force.

“No one’s asked you.” I snap back. I feel like a toddler throwing a tantrum at her mother.

“Based on how your body’s reacting, I felt like someone should” She responds. She is enjoying
this way too fucking much. But she’s right, I can feel the blood pumping towards my cock, and
arguing with Violet before a war council meeting with a hard-on is the last thing I want. I shift my
position trying to will my body to act like something other than a horny teenager. With how
quickly her chest is rising and falling I know she’s feeling somewhat similar. I don’t know how to
sort that feeling out right now, I can’t take advantage of how aroused she is no matter how much I
want her.

“Am I allowed to breathe around you?” I break the silence my voice raspier than I’d like.

“As long as I allow you to.” She grits through her teeth.

I bark a laugh a, real one and I’m so fucking turned on right now. Her eyes widen at my laughter
and she takes a step towards me, like she’s drawn to my laugh. I clench my hand in a fist and then
unclench it. I don’t know what to do with my hands other than grab her and pull her into my chest.
Maybe I do not want Violence the Rider back, the tongue on Violet the Scribe is very intriguing.

We don’t talk the rest of the way although the air crackles with air. I can’t tell if it’s just the
attraction I have for the woman or if power is just bleeding out from her as I saw it happen on that
field as she took out the Venin. We arrive at the meeting room on the ground floor of the stone
keep, and she passes by me as I hold the door with endless regality as if she owns the place.
Considering the owns me, and I Aretia is technically mine for now… She might as well just have
it.

We’re the last to enter the chamber and all the usual attendees are sitting around the large table
with a map on it. Imogen, Garrick, and Bodhi are on the right side of the table, while Brennan’s on
the left. Two chairs are open for Violence and me as we take our seats.

The map on the table is a map of Basgiath, its wards, and what lies beyond. Thanks to Violet
stealing the map from her mother’s office, it now has all the outpost information she so carefully
delivered to our very hands. It takes her mere seconds to examine the map and have her eyes shoot
up at me realizing her stunt from the Squad Battle ending up in the revolution's hands. I want to
feel guilty about it, but it’s too good so I just smirk at her.

“If you two are done having a stare off can we get started here?” Imogen blurts, exasperated as
always.

“Yes, let’s get started.” Brennan turns to the table, falling into the strategist position all too easily.
In another life, he would’ve been the general of Basgiath’s armies. “We need to figure out how
we’re going to play out you four leaving Basgiath, and we need to figure out how to fake Violet’s
death.”

I know it’s not real but the words `Violet` and `death` in the same sentence does nothing for my
mood. I turn to her beautiful profile to reassure myself and repeat, She’s alive, she’s alive, she’s
alive. She turns to me quizzically, her eyes wide. Fuck, I said that to her, not in my head. I won’t
even bother to be embarrassed, just as I won’t be bothered to hide what I feel for her anymore.
Spent too much in hiding and I learned the price of that way too painfully.

I hear Imogen and Garrick going back and forth on just how to achieve that, their words charged
with tension. Those two should just fuck each other already and get it over with. I know better than
not to stick my nose into it, but all this sexual tension is unbearable. Fuck, is this how people feel
when Violet and I publicly argue seemingly about one thing but actually about something way
deeper?

“Why would you fake my death?” Violet interjects speaking for the first time. I knew she won’t be
able to hold her tongue for too long and I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Brennan’s eyes soften at her sister's naive question. “You can’t just disappear, Vi. No offense to
the rebellion kids” He points at the four of us. “You’re a general’s daughter. A Sorrengail. We
need to make sure your death is recorded and is airtight.”

None of us are offended by that. The fact that we are “expendable” for Basgiath lets us get away
with everything we’ve been able to do so far. Violet processes what Brennan’s response and I can
almost see the wheels turning in her head thinking of every possibility. She thinks it over, and she
must realize that it’s the safest solution. I’m not going to be like Aetos and try to protect her, but if
she’s going to work for the revolution she’s not going to be reckless about it. She has to know that,
there’s bravery and there is taking dangerous risks. And while I’m prone to the latter, I’m not
taking any changes with her life. Any more, that is.

She considers for a few more moments, and I catch up to what she’s about to suggest. I'm about to
nip her insane idea in the bud, but she beats me to it.

“You can’t fake my death.”

“Absolutely not,” I growl, pushing my chair back. Nope. I’m not letting her do this.

The rest of the room is following the two of us as if we’re sparring, but I have no time to explain
away their confusion before Violet comes up with an air-tight plan none of us can argue against.
And I know she will. One that is going to put her in the center of everything that’s happening in
Basgiath, and that will make me lose my mind.

“You can’t fake my death, when I’m our best chance for getting the others out. Finding out what
leadership Basgiath knows and what their plan is. I have to go back.”

“I don’t think you heard me when I said absolutely not. You are not allowed to walk back in the
lion’s den with no protection where Aetos can get his hands on you whenever he pleases.”

My blood boils as fear for her and unreasonable jealousy fill my veins. I am not letting her out of
my sight for the rest of this revolution, no fuck that actually, I'm not letting her out of my sight until
I die. I almost lost her once, I’m not going through it again.

She tilts her head and I can see the fire in her blood boiling. She knows I don’t want her anywhere
near Aetos, and she knows this is more than just strategy. Fuck, everyone in this room knows that.
Violet takes a deep breath in contrast to my outrage with grace I don’t deserve and gives me a soft
smile. Before she opens her beautiful mouth, I know she’s about to win this.

“You do not order me around Riorson. You told me once, if one of the rebellion kids defects, they
all die. We cannot let them think you betrayed Basgiath. We have to go back, and get the rest of
them out before we make our move. I can navigate my way back in Basgiath, I now know
everything I need to. We’re going to continue business as usual. We’ll come up with a story about
how I was wounded in the battle and we had to wait for me to heal, I have the scars to prove that.
I’ll be a spy, a damn good one. I might even be able to sneak into the Scribe’s quarters to get us
information. You can get your assignment and hide in plain sight.”
I know there’s more. Her shoulders sag and her fists clench. I know what she’s about to say is
gonna break me as much as it’s going to break her.

“I made Liam a promise that I’ll look out for his sister. I need to see her get through the Parapet
and make sure she makes it across.”

My heart softens at the mention of my brother’s name. And it melts at her compassion, at what
she’s willing to do to keep a promise to her forced bodyguard, even though he ended up much more
to her than that. My head drops in defeat, as I know nothing I can say is going to change her mind.
Besides, it’s the best plan we’ve got, I know that. Even though I want to keep her alive more than
anything, I am responsible for the rest of the kids who are stuck in that corrupt gaslight of a
kingdom.

“What about Aetos?” I ask, trying to keep my rage in check. I fail, as the rest of the room rolls their
eyes collectively as if I’m just being a jealous boyfriend. They must know it’s more than that,
about how one touch from Aetos can expose everything we’ve built. Is it more than that though?

“I can learn to shield just like the rest of you. I imagine it has something to do with Imogen?” She
asks.

She’s so fucking brilliant. Imogen nods, as her signet allows us to put a hazy shield around
memories. Whenever she’s around Aetos she won’t remember anything other than Imogen wants
her to. And if Imogen’s working with her, I know I’ve got nothing to worry about. Except Violet is
my everything and she’s about to walk into a lion’s den far away from me. My everything is about
to put herself in fatal danger for my people. I takes everything in me to not fall onto my knees and
tell her how much I love her, and worship her.
The rest of the meeting goes as expected while we air out the rest of the details. My contribution
can be summarized as snarls and groans. We’re all to go back to Basgiath after Imogen puts that
protective shield in our heads in addition to our shields. I’m not worried about Violet’s shields since
she already blows most of us out of the park with her shields. Andarna is to fly straight to the Veil
where she’ll be safe from prying eyes, we can’t afford anyone finding out about the hatchlings. We
need to leave first thing tomorrow morning to avoid any holes in the story. It’s already too fragile
for any of our liking but with Imogen’s gift and Violet’s status as the most powerful rider we have
in addition to her being General Sorrengail’s daughter it might work. If it doesn’t, we’re all dead
either way.

I keep repeating myself as the council disperses and I walk Violet back to my room. We’re quiet, as
I’m thinking all the ways I can keep her safe. I know she’s thinking about what she needs to do
when she gets back to Basgiath. Based on everything I know about her, she probably already has a
ten-step plan to slip in and out of Basgiath with the literal keys to the kingdom.

She stops in front of my door and frowns for a second.

“Where are you going to stay?” She asks.

I smirk at her as I open the door to my room, and stroll in. I hear an exasperated sigh coming from
her, the kind that I love so much. This kind of irritation I can work with.

“I know you’re recovering from a particularly dreadful poison, so I’ll remind you again, this is my
room.”

She opens her mouth and closes it, and my gods, I enjoy seeing her squirm.

“Then find me another room.” She blurts out.

I move towards the chest on the side of my bed and start taking off the daggers strapped all across
my body.

“There are no other rooms Violence. I told you, we’re rebuilding.” A white lie. I'm sure I can find
something, but I just don't want to. I never want to not be with her.

I finish taking off the daggers and move on my boots. If I wasn’t so entertained by her frustration
about having to share a room with me, I might have felt the ache in my heart remembering the last
time she was in my room watching me undress.

Except this time, she is not watching me undress. In fact, she’s doing her best impression not being
interested in anything to do with me, examining the tiles on the ceiling. She contemplates for a few
seconds, fidgets with her fingers, and moves from foot to foot. Her indecision to stab me or just
give up is just too adorable. Eventually, she grits out a “Fine” alongside with a few choice words
for me I haven’t heard from her again and strolls into the bathroom.

I huff a laugh, a light, effortless one that only seems to come out only when I’m around her and
take off my shirt and pants. I slip on a pair of sleeping pants that does nothing to hide the outline of
my cock. It has nothing to do with me being in my bed and everything to do with her soon to join
me. The anticipation is killing me even though I know I have no shot at her touching her and I
won’t try until she touches me. And I know that’s not tonight.

Except, she comes out from the bathing chamber wearing nothing but the black slip I’ve seen her in
before. Her hair, wild and unbound, tumble down her shoulders just below her breasts and the slip
does nothing to hide their hardened peaks. Good thing I’m already under the covers because I’m
instantly hard. I grab one of the many pillows on the bed to cover my obvious attraction to her, not
that she hasn’t seen it before, I just don’t want her to bolt.

Even in the darkness of the room, I can see her shiver, and I would put money on the fact that it’s
not the temperature of the room that makes her tremble. My heart softens as I close my eyes,
pretending to be asleep, giving her a break. She tiptoes around the bed and slides right in next to
me a healthy distance away from me. She doesn’t need to touch me, just her mere presence around
me, with her wearing nothing but a flimsy piece of fabric and knowing what she feels like around
my body, and I’m on fucking fire.

She doesn’t say anything as she tries to get comfortable, tossing and turning a few times.
Eventually, she lays facing me, I can feel her soft exhale on my face.

“I guess asking you to sleep on the floor is out of the question?” She asks softly, her voice is a
soothing caress on my skin.

I can’t help but chuckle, “We have a two-day flight ahead of us, and a potential execution after that
if they don’t buy our story. This might be the last time I get to sleep in my own bed before I die.”

I’m joking but there’s truth in my words. Knowing I might die does not scare me, never has.
Having her in my bed, where I imagined her to be so many times and not being able to touch her
before I die does. I restrain myself from reaching out and touching a rebellious strand of hair that
dances on her cheek. It doesn’t matter that we’re in the dark, I can see every inch of her body. I
could be blind, and I would still see her.

She sighs and a few more moment passes. “Did you grow up here?”

The question catches me by surprise, I wasn’t expecting her to show interest in anything related to
me ever again. I give her the truth. From now on, she always gets the truth from me.
“No Violence, I did not. My parents lived in a manor in the city, long gone now, burned to the
ground. When we realized this keep was mostly intact, we started rebuilding from here.”

I remember going back to where I grew up all too vividly. Seeing my house where the only happy
memories I knew were in literal ashes threatened to shatter me. But I knew I had to keep my
emotions in check and be strong for the others. Be strong for Liam. I don’t know what compels me
to utter the next few sentences.

“Nothing about this city gives me happy memories. There is just too much loss. I’ve seen my
friends die here, lost my parents. I’m doing my darnest replacing the bad memories with the good
with every new brick we put in this city.”

“Does it work? Replacing the bad memories with the good ones?” She asks.

Did she inch closer? I can almost feel her forehead touching my chest. She’s so small around my
body. I just want to wrap around her, hold her, and try to replace everything horrible that has
happened around me with her warmth.

“Sometimes,” I reply. “Having you here helps.”

I hold my breath as I await her response. She might not know she’s holding my heart in her hands,
but she might shatter it all the same.

She laughs softly. “What memory is having me in your bed supposed to replace?” Her voice is
husky, layered with want. I don’t dare move toward her, although I might need physical restraints
to stop myself from touching her.

“Seeing you bleed out in my arms. Almost losing you. Although it might take a thousand nights of
you in this bed, and it still wouldn’t erase that from my mind. I’ve never been afraid like that
before.” I sigh, closing my eyes as the image of her limp body in my arms makes the most
unwanted appearance in my head.

And just like that, there’s movement on the bed. Violet crosses over the protection of the pillow
barrier between us and climbs on top of me. She straddles me as she leans over, her gorgeous hair
blankets my chest and tickles my bare skin. It’s the most decadent form of torture, as she leans into
me, one hand cradling my cheek, and kisses me. The response from my body is instant, as every
single cell of my being is on fire. It doesn’t even take a breath for me to respond and my mouth
crashes to hers. Fuck, she feels so warm. She makes me feel safe. She makes me feel at home. I’m
home with her.

Our mouths clash with a symphony of tongues and teeth clattering. I feel like for the first time
since we’ve left my dorm room in Basgiath I can breathe. I didn’t know I was drowning but
Violet’s body against mine is like coming up for fresh air. With that realization, the realization that
I’m utterly fucked by how much this woman has me wrapped around her finger, my tongue dives
into her mouth, kissing, sucking, mapping it out. I’m afraid if I don’t devour her now, I’m going to
starve. If I don’t touch her in every way I can, I’m going to burn alive.

Violet responds to my kiss with a moan and a groan of approval escapes me. My hand slides to the
side of the slip she’s wearing, my hand sliding up and down on the side of her body gently
caressing her breast. My mouth leaves her mouth and I start kissing her jaw, and her neck as her
moans intensify. Of course, this vixen of a woman is not wearing any underwear and I can feel her
dampened, warm core against my excuse of pants. I push into her with want, but hesitant to take
this further. I don’t know how far she wants me to take this right now. All I know is she’s hungry
for me, almost as much as I am for her.
My mouth travels down from her jaw to her neck to her arm. I start kissing and nibbling down her
arms all the way to her hand, pressing a kiss in her palm, then my mouth founds hers again, as my
other hand finally moves onto her nipple. I pinch it gently as a whimper escapes her mouth. Her
hand rubs across my pants, and I swear, my eyes roll all the way to the back of my head. This
desire, this amount of want I have for this woman is unfathomable.

My hands are wandering across her body, mapping every curve, hallow, and scar she has. I’m
mapping her knowing she might not let me touch her again, and I just might starve to death from
the hunger I have for her. She bites my lower lip and I groan again, my hips desperately pushing
against her slickened core.

The friction makes her moan and lightning strikes right outside illuminating every inch of my
room. Her eyes widen in shock and just like that she lifts her mouth from mine. I know even before
she says anything that she’s come to her senses, and this is over. Doesn’t matter that her body
trembles with want, she’s not going to let me anywhere near her until she trusts me again. And I
know I will worship the ground she walks on until I earn her trust back, do anything, cross any line
and kill anything.

I want to hold onto her for dear life, but I let her go as she gets off of me and gracefully rolls on her
back, retreating to her side of the bed. She might be at touching distance, but she feels so fucking
far away. I don’t know how to handle this next part, as we pant heavily for a few moments. She’s
the one who breaks the silence.

“This—” She gulps. “Is a shitshow Riorson.” She says and snorts. She has my heart in her hands,
my body at her disposal and my entire soul just attached to hers, and the maddening woman snorts.
I guess I deserve that. She looks at me, those hazel eyes shining at me brighter than any other star
in the sky and says, “We should go to bed.”

“Right,” I say, silently in the dark. It’s all I can say even though I want to say so much more. I want
to bare my soul to her, tell her everything I’m afraid of and everything I want to do. I’ve never had
to compulsion to stay in someone’s orbit so much. Most of all I want to tell her how much I love
her, and how sorry I am for everything I put her through. But if I say it now, she’ll think it’s only
because I want to fuck her. And while I want to do that in every inch of this room, destroying every
single piece of furniture, when I tell her I love her, I want her to know it's because it's all I can think
about. That she has all of me. Forever.

And I can’t tell her that until I’m deserving of her.

 Imogen
Chapter Summary

Imogen's gifts are put to use to shield Violet and Xaden's minds from a potential
interrogation.

Chapter Notes

OK, so originally, I wanted there to be so much more action in this chapter, but I loved
where Imogen's powers were going and how an outsider would react to Xaden and
Violet's relationship! Also I really want Imogen and Violet to be a girl power duo.
Aaand also a cute Garrick/Imogen moment.

Plus, Imogen is a queen and she should get the spotlight she deserves. Sorry I didn't
include Imogen's dragon much, we don't know her color/tail/name and I hate naming
non canon characters :(

Sooo we ended up with a fluff chapter that moves the plot forward a bit. Plus lots of
Xaden and Violet angst, and grumpy Tairn. Who doesn't love that?

Next one should be action packed as the crew heads back to Basgiath :)

I truly do not get to sleep enough in my own bed. On the rare occasion that I get to sleep in my
quarters in Aretia instead of the always loud Rider’s Quadrant which always feels like enemy
territory, or under the stars on some dirty field because Xaden fucking Riorson is hell-bent on
running weapons that might not make any difference at the end of the day, I do not get to sleep
long enough to actually enjoy sleeping in my on god damn bed. Safe. Home.

Not that any of this is home since that awful day five years ago when I watch the light in my
mother’s eyes get extinguished. But still, it’s more home than anywhere else, so I try to find some
comfort when I’m here. Today even that small comfort is hard to find.

We were up until three in the morning with the older Sorrengail barking orders at us in a charming
but authoritative way while we sorted out the plan. After going back and forth in circles for what
seems to be an eternity, we have a plan. Violet, Xaden, Garrick and I fly back today back into the
lion’s den and work on the extraction of the other rebellion kids. We have to survive long enough
for threshing for them to bond with other dragons. We know all of them, well all who survive until
threshing, will bond since dragons are on our side. They want the threat of Venin destroyed just as
much as we do. Why they did not destroy Basgiath and their bullshit is beyond me though. But
then again, I’ve learned not to question dragons and their endless wisdom.

Sorrengail needs to go back since she’s kind of the face of this operation now. Even though I didn’t
trust her initially, now I’ve got no choice. Xaden needs to go back because of their dragons. I need
to go back because I’m kind of the key that holds this crazy plan together. And Garrick’s coming
back because… Well because he’s Garrick. My stomach warms at the thought of him but I brush
that away as quickly as I can. I’ve got time for none of that today, I already have enough riding on
me than the be distracted by the ever-mysterious Garrick Tavis. I never know where I stand with
him.

It’s a bonkers, sure-to-get-us-killed kind of plan, but if we want to avoid some power-hungry Rider
to come looking for the body of a General’s daughter, it’s our only shot. Nobody gives a shit about
us, but having Violet Sorrengail in the revolution means someone will be looking for her. And
although I want to hate her, she’s right that we have to go back if we want to save everyone else’s
lives. If we want to save Liam’s sister and everyone else.

Now that I think about it, I can’t believe I owe life to Violet fucking Sorrengail. Is it possible that
viper Lilith Sorrengail raised two honorable children who care more about the right thing to do
than climbing the military ladder and wearing a bunch of medals they’ve never earned? Sure seems
like it. I want nothing more than to hate her, especially because the two brain cells Xaden seems to
have vanished when she walks her tiny ass into a room, but I can’t. We all owe her our lives.

I stop contemplating about what the day holds and just get on with it instead. The sun’s not even up
and I barely slept but if we are going to get everyone ready and head out before the sun rises, I
need to stop fucking around in my own head. Getting dressed and shoving the numerous weapons
across into their sheaths across my body is a practiced habit. I give a one last glance to my room,
like I always do since I never know if I’m coming back, and bolt out of the door.

And I hit a wall. No, not a wall, a chest. I curse as I back away and look up to see Garrick standing
there like a goddamn statue with two cups of coffee, both of which are now half empty in front of
my door. Our eyes meet, and my heart flutters again, as he doesn’t say anything and passes me the
cup of coffee.

His outfit is impeccable as always. He’s wearing his flight leathers, as usual, his sleeves rolled up
and I can see the definition of every single muscle. Some people learn to fight, but Garrick is a born
fighter. I take my time, my eyes lingering from his arms to his broad chest, which I fantasized
about laying on top of often, and stop at the still-healing scar in his jaw. Brennan is an
extraordinary mender, but the faint pink line is still there reminding me how close we’ve come to
losing each other. And not just Garrick and I. All of us.

“How long have you been standing here?” I ask.

He shifts from one foot to another uncomfortably as I take the coffee from him. “Not that long, if
that’s what you’re wondering.”

I don’t even know what I wonder. Would I want him to be standing at my door trying to decide if
he should knock or not? Gods know he’s done that once or twice. Or would I be annoyed because
he’s too chickenshit to actually do something about this tension between us? Unfortunately, I know
Garrick is too far stuck in his head and too devoted to the mission to be distracted by it, so here we
are. In permanent, no-sex, brush-arms-in-the-kitchen, bring-me-coffee-before-potentially-get-
executed purgatory. I don’t know if I want to punch him or laugh at him. Knowing him, he
probably prefers to be punched.

“I wasn’t wondering that,” I say, taking a sip from the coffee. “Where are the others?”

“In the flight field, they’re all ready.” He says and starts walking. Why the hell are they in the
flight field? I want to ask but our transactional conversation seems to be over for now and I fall into
step next to him.

We get to the flight field, the gray hues of dawn ominous in the sky. All the dragons seem to be
present as well, although I’m still not sure why their presence is required. Brennan and Violet are
murmuring, no, bickering at each other. From how annoyed Violet looks, I assume Brennan is
being overprotective.

Sgaeyl is present as always, looking utterly bored and about to eat us all. I know she won’t but I
can’t help being terrified anyways. She looks at me as she exhales annoyedly as if she’s telling me
I should be terrified. No arguments there, I think, on the off chance that she somehow knows what
I’m thinking.

Xaden is standing next to her, unusually jittery. His hair is a mess, although I guess in an attractive
way, and his flight leathers are sculpted to his body as always. Even though he’s been a big brother
to me throughout our growth like the rest of the marked kids, I can see the appeal he might have on
women. All the women except for Violet Sorrengail apparently, because although Xaden cannot
stop staring at her, she hasn’t turned her head to him once. And I can see he’s having a lot of
trouble not being able to get her attention.

I walk up to him and snap my fingers.

“This is desperate. You’re never gonna get her back if you gawk at her like you want to eat her.”

Xaden fucking Riorson does not even turn his head to me as he watches the younger Sorrengail
argue with her big brother. “I do want to eat her though.”

I can’t suppress the snort that comes out of me at the rare unguarded statement from the man
who’s saved all of our lives. I do want to keep giving a hard time to this idiot who’s clearly head
over heels in love with a woman, but the fact that I owe him my life makes me choose a more
compassionate approach instead.

“Give her time. She’s here isn’t she?” I tell her.

He clenches and unclenches his fists and his shoulders sag. My big brother, the man I rely on and
who has been the rock for every single kid of the revolution looks like he’s at his wit's end.

“I don’t know-” He says.

“You don’t know what?” I ask, my voice uncharacteristically soft. I can’t help it, he’s like… a hurt
puppy. Which I never would’ve thought I would use in the same sentence as Xaden Riorson. His
voice is quiet when he responds.

“If she’s here for me.” I exhale with exasperation about to knock some sense into him but he
continues. “Be gentle - with her. She hasn’t done this before.” He says.

I know what he means, but from what I can tell, Violet Sorrengail’s mind is a fucking fortress and
won’t bend as easily. Also, I’m irritated as fuck that all these men are trying to protect a woman
who clearly does not need their protection. “It’ll be fine.” I bite out. “Are you ready?” I ask. Xaden
nods as he sits on the ground crossing his legs. I sit across from him, my hands reaching for his.

I close my eyes, as Violet and Brennan stop their bickering and move towards us warily. Brennan
has seen this before but this is a first for Violet. Revealing my gift is a huge risk for the revolution,
and an even bigger risk for me. I sense a squeeze on my shoulder which I know is from Garrick.

“Here goes nothing,” I murmur and put my hands on Xaden’s and I fall.

I fall and fall into that abyss I’m used to tumbling into, trying to sort myself through the memories
of Xaden. I find myself on the hillside of Aretia. I step forward onto the hillside, almost able to feel
the breeze on my skin. It’s an endless midnight sky and I can see thunder cackling. I don’t
remember it being thunderous as before but I imagine that has something to do with a certain
lightning wielder.

This place is infinitely Xaden.

An overpowering blue line of smoke permeates the air almost as viscous as paint as it leads down
the hill, Sgaeyl. It’s so present, so overwhelming it almost chokes me. I’ve seen all of this before.
What I haven’t seen are the silver flames that seemed to have engulfed the oak tree in the middle of
Xaden’s grounding spot. It’s almost as potent as Sgaeyl’s power. The flames are circling the oak
tree and shooting up into the sky as if they’re little silver fireworks, turning into lightning.

I arch a brow. “Really Riorson?”

All I hear is a tired but sated chuckle. And I realize he likes having her here. And I also realize
how deep Violet is buried in his soul, and honestly, for his sake, I hope she takes him back,
because if she doesn’t… If she doesn’t I’m worried the silver flames will burn Xaden from the
inside out.

“Alright Riorson, I’m getting started.” I say, and I hear a soft mumble of acknowledgment. Power
starts spilling from me as I start traveling in Xaden’s mind as I tap into my dragon's power.

I see Xaden and Violet pressed against a wall, both of them panting heavily, Xaden smelling like
mint and churram while Violet looks at him as if she’s on fire. I see him laying on top of her more
than one occasion, teaching her all kinds of ways she can murder him.

“Definitely not taking advantage of your position here.”

“No, definitely not” , he says, and I can almost see the proud, rakish grin on his face.

“Bet you wish you didn’t teach her how to kill you in less than a few seconds.” I tease.

“Never.” He says, he sounds resolute.

My power starts weaving a web around Xaden’s mind, cocooning around the memories we should
be hiding. I’m onto another memory and I see Xaden sitting next to her at his bedside after what I
gather to be Violet's challenge with Barlowe, twirling a dagger in his hand. A word escapes my
mouth.

“Oranges?” I ask.

“Fucking oranges.” He responds, his voice full of pride.

He grimaces, I know the intrusion in his mind is painful.

“Sorry, I’m working as fast as I can without -”

“I know.” He responds, his voice is raspy. As the shield around Xaden’s mind stretches and
expands as I sift through his memories to what to keep hidden, I have to be careful otherwise I
might fall into —

“How does she sleep so comfortably when she’s moving so much? Her body is like a fucking
radiator, and she keeps mumbling some bookish shit in her sleep. Her hair is sprawled across the
pillow like spilled moonlight. I can’t help picking up a strand and playing with it. If I wouldn’t feel
like a creep, I might even smell it. Her chest is rising and falling in short, steady breaths. She rolls
into me, her head cradled in my chest, her small hands wrapped around my waist. One of her
thighs slides in between mine. I can’t help it, as I pull her closer even though this sleep-babbling
woman who seems to be a heat source as warm as the sun and I can hear a satisfied, comfortable
sound escape her mouth. To be the source of comfort is astonishing, considering I know she hasn’t
felt safe in her bed in weeks. I gently caress her hair. I should be asleep. But I can’t. I can’t stop
staring at her, thinking of her, or touching her. How am I supposed to leave her bed, ever? How am
I ever supposed to sleep by myself?”

I pull myself out of Xaden’s memory, overwhelmed by the feelings he’s felt at the time. It’s pure
love and lust. I gasp as I rub my chest. “Sorry.” I say. I know Xaden’s aware I can’t help it
sometimes, especially if he’s yelling what he’s thinking at the top of his lungs like this.

“No worries.” He says solemnly, and I know that’s a cherished memory for him. Without a word,
I wrap my shield around the memory even tighter than the rest.

A few more minutes and we’re done. I open my eyes at the same time as Xaden, his eyes full of
regret and exhaustion. I smile at him with understanding, I softly get up.

“You sure you’re up for another?” Garrick asks.

I nod as I waltz in front of Sorrengail. She fidgets with her fingers, I notice it’s a nervous habit she
has.

“Tairn wants you to know, if you turn my head into mush he’ll be very upset.” She turns over her
shoulder glaring at her giant of a dragon. He might be the only creature I’ve seen more terrifying
than Sgaeyl. A few moments pass and I know they’re arguing. Eventually Violet stomps her feet
and then makes an annoyed sound.

“Tairn wants you to know if you go in there, mess with my head and turn it into mush, he’ll rip
your arms out, chew and spit them in front of your dragon and scorch you both.” She turns back to
him. “There, happy?”

I can’t help but snort at this tiny woman standing up to the strongest dragon we’ve seen but nod.
“Please let him know I’ll do my best not to turn your brain into mush. Besides, he can be there to
supervise.”

“What?” Violet blurts, as I sit down on the ground dragging her on the ground with me.

Xaden takes a step towards us as if he wants to hold her hand through it and I raise an eyebrow at
him as a warning. “Don’t you dare Riorson.”

I know my warning has landed as Garrick pats Xaden in the back and he stays where he’s at.

“What now?” Violet asks as I take her much smaller hands into mine.

“Be quiet, and let me work.” I snap.

I close my eyes, and I’m back in the abyss.

When I land I’m in a fucking library. I knew I hated Sorrengail for a reason. This entire place is
dusty and dark, and why are we inside? Of all places, this girl could’ve picked a safe place and she
chooses… I realize what she chose. She chose the Scribe’s quarter because this is where she felt
safe before joining the Rider’s quadrant. She feels safe here because this place reminds her of her
father.
This place smells like parchment, glue, and ink. I want to vomit, but hey, if this is what Sorrengail
needs to conjure lightning to fry Venin, who am I to judge? The first thing I notice is the wave of
energy humming in the air. Tairn. The only thing that distracts from the air is the golden line
shining through the window on the wall of her archives. Andarna. The power is so present, so
potent, I wonder how Sorrengail ever gets anything done.

“Gods Sorrengail, can you ground?” I ask her.

“What? Shit. Sorry.” She says. I can see the wave of power get shepherded behind a door and then
shut. I can breathe again. I also can’t notice the sheer efficiency her grounded and shielded. I’m
impressed.

“So…” I ask. “This is Violet Sorrengail’s mind…” I murmur. Might as well give her a hard time.
Contrary to what every man around her thinks, she can handle it.

I start taking a mental tour of her mind as I keep taking inventory of what needs to be shielded. It’s
easy enough in her, her memories are neatly tucked away on the millions of shelves. I expect
questions from her, given that she’s a scribe. Stuff like, ‘How are you doing this?’ and ‘What is
going on?’

Instead, I hear her crisp and clear voice in my head with that know-it-all tone only Sorrengail can
pull off. “You’re an intrinsic.”

I smirk. Of course, she figured it out. “We prefer people with superior signets.” I say. Then I look
up in her archives.

Thick, black smoke covers the entire ceiling, from one corner to another. The midnight darkness is
seemingly endless but not scary, instead, it envelopes the room as if it’s steeped in its very core. I
can see shadows dancing within it, and I realize. “Xaden.”

Sorrengail waits for a few minutes then she responds. “He can’t hear you, he’s on a timeout.” I
snort at that and realize most of the black smoke is behind a clear glass panel, at an arm's length.

I take a deep breath and tap into my power again, the webs of the shield spilling out of me with
ease. “This might feel… uncomfortable.” As I begin.

I see her standing on top of a tree, a tree we’ve known to meet under with other marked kids. I
grimace at the realization that she was there when we discussed who was going to kill her.

I then see the memory of her being mended after I so consideringly ripped off her shoulder from its
socket. “Sorry about that.” I murmur.

I then continue at her mentally arguing with Xaden in Montserrat to go back for her sister. Violet
Sorrengail might be many things but she’s not a coward.

I also can see how many times that piece of shit Aetos has touched her. “You’re gonna need to
keep at an arm's length. This shield will hold up around most memories, but it’s not impenetrable.”
Just like nobody knows the extent of my gift, we also don’t know Aetos’s. We can’t take any
chances.

“I know.” Sorrengail says as I keep making my way through. I find the same memories as
Xaden’s. The two of them make out while their dragons get it on – gross. Then I see them arguing
at the dining room without even speaking, her being incredibly sassy with Xaden and him choking.

“He deserved it.” She says apologetically, and all I say is laugh, all while the shield keeps
expanding around the memories. Damn it, I might like Violet Sorrengail.

Then unexpected feelings overwhelm me as I find myself standing looking down at Aretia. I
instantly realize this is when she woke up after being wounded for so long.

“Looking down at Aretia, I can’t help but be proud of what Xaden’s done here. And even though he
might not want to take credit for it, I know he has to do with almost everything here. I want to be
mad at him, I should be mad at him but how can I? Can I be mad at someone who selflessly puts
aside what he wants for the good of his people? Because I know he wants me. I know he might even
more than want me, even though I can’t trust him. I can’t fault him for choosing his people over
being honest with him. And I might have to keep him at an arm's length until I figure out how to
trust him again, but really, what is there to not trust a man who keeps the well-being of his own
people over his own happiness? How can I stop loving a man who will sacrifice anything for his
people while taking nothing for himself? How can I stop being his when he deserves everything?”

I pull back from the memory and I have to gasp for air.

“Don’t tell him.” Violet softly whispers in my mind. I gulp as I’m overwhelmed by her emotions.
If Xaden’s mind is a sea of agony, hers is a thunderstorm of pain and confusion.

I finish wrapping around her mind and shielding her memories, then I open my eyes at the same
time as Violet’s.

She doesn’t look mad that I went through her memories, as understanding goes through her head.
She knew what I had to do to keep all of us safe.

Xaden approaches her and reaches out a hand, "Are you alright?” He asks, his face full of worry. I
resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Violet turns to him and she gets up from the floor without taking the hand. “I don’t need your help”
She snaps back.

I look at both of them with astonishment. Both of them turn at me, their anger now turned to me.
I’m not going to back down from these two fools. Because that’s what they are.

“You two are idiots.” I bite out. “You’re welcome by the way.” I turn around and head to my
dragon, ready to head back to Basgiath.
 Violet
Chapter Summary

BATTLES! VENIN! MIRA!

I raise from the ground with wobbly knees as Imogen heads back to her dragon. That was… violent
in an entirely too intimate way. I know what just happened had to happen in order to not only keep
myself safe but to keep Brennan, all other revolution children, and Aretia safe. It is necessary to
keep hope alive. Regardless of how necessary it is, I can’t help but feel like Imogen just physically
ran laps in my head. I wonder why I never feel like this when Xaden and I speak mind to mind. He
practically has a permanent residency in my head, so why do I not feel like he’s an intruder when
Imogen felt like a foreign object stuck in my mind?

I blink rapidly a few times, a nasty headache rapidly dawning, and it’s not just my knees that
wobble, my entire body does. I waver and can feel two hands I’m all too familiar with wrap around
my arms. The contact is electric, literally. Small sparks travel up and down from where his
steadying hands are gently but firmly holding me and I shiver. He does the same.

“I got you.” Xaden murmurs. I gulp as I lift my eyes to his and I see everything. His midnight onyx
eyes have even more golden flexes than usual, hunger and want etching at every inch of it. I can
tell he’s also feeling the literal sparks traveling between our bodies, but if it’s hurting him, he
doesn’t show any signs of it. I also see hesitancy, and that puts a bitter taste in my mouth. He’s
bracing himself for me to push him away. I really should. But the memories Imogen just shielded
are all too fresh in my mind that I didn’t get a chance to find the sliver of common sense that would
let me do that. It always seems to disappear into thin air when Xaden touches me anyways.

“I’m fine.” I wiggle in an attempt to get out of his hold but another wave of dizziness hits me, and I
stumble. His grasp only tightens around me, now I’m flushed against his chest. I really don’t think
we need to be this close, and he’s taking advantage of the situation, but whatever. My hands fall to
his arms, my eyes lift to him once more. He bites his lower lip and he lifts one hand to tuck a strand
of hair that slipped from my braid. And just like that another wave of lightning sparks between our
bodies. He smirks, and I can feel myself melt.

“I told you you’re gonna need to learn how to control the firework show.”

He is entirely too proud of the effect he has on my body. I’m about to say something downright
idiotic like he should come close and find out, but my big brother’s cough snaps us back to reality.
I begrudgingly turn my head away from Xaden to find him staring - no glaring at us.

“Are we interrupting?” Brennan asks, his arms crossed, looking more big brother-like than I’ve
ever seen him before. I know Xaden has one of his trademark grins spread on his face without even
having to look at him.

Imogen grunts from above her dragon, “I told you, you two are idiots. Can we get going now?”

Xaden sighs and asks, “Are you good to stand on your own Violence?”

I punch him in the arm and give him a shove as a response and a sensual smile escapes from him,
and I almost take a step towards him. Almost.

Xaden doesn’t show if he realizes what I was about to do or if he is disappointed that I didn’t take
that step. Instead, he slips into the role of Wingleader all too easily and faces our small unit.

“Not just yet. There are a few ground rules to go over. Do not be distracted by anything. We fly in
a tight formation, no one goes anywhere alone. If we see conflict, we do not engage. We need to
get back to Basgiath before nightfall if we’re going to convince them of our plan. Imogen did a
damn good job shielding our memories, but put up shields of your own. Most of all, keep your wits
with you. No one acts out of emotion, everything we do is calm and controlled. That includes you
Violence.” He looks at me.

I look at him innocently, “I’ll be as calm as a Scribe buried under a stack of books, I promise.” I
give him a sweet smile, one I know is disarming enough, and I can hear his chest tighten and his
breath hitch. My smile turns into a satisfied smirk, I turn around and walk towards Tairn, knowing
all too well Xaden’s watching my every step.

“I make no such promises.” I hear Tairn grumble in my head as I climb up his bent leg. The laugh
that escapes me is unguarded and loud. Xaden is already on Sgaeyl next to me and his eyes are
fixated on mine like they always are when I laugh, like it's the most interesting thing he’s ever
heard. The smile is still plastered on my face as I pull down my flight goggles,

“Stop gawking Riorson, we got an army to fool.”

The first few hours of the flight are uneventful aside from Tairn offering his opinion on anything
and everything that has to do with our return to Basgiath. I think about what it is going to be like
seeing my mother, after all this time. It sure will be an interesting story to explain that I’m alive,
and I’m back. Will she consider me a traitor? Will Imogen’s shield work? I know it will,
considering they’ve been successfully running this operation for years. But what happens when
Dain inevitably touches me? Will it work then? What if Dain’s gifts are much more than what he's
told me, just like Imogen’s? Somehow I doubt it, considering how smug he was when he first told
me what his signet was and it gives him additional clearance. Sometimes I think doing paperwork
might give Dain a hard-on.

“Perhaps you won’t be as distracted this year during challenges without the Wingleader taking up
space, since you can’t seem to stop staring at him every time he’s around.”

Tairn’s voice echoes in my head unannounced. He is so annoying, and such a busybody.

“I don’t stare at him. Well, sometimes I do. But that’s because he’s teaching me.”

I can almost hear a soft chuckle in my head.

“Teaching you by making sure his entire body touches your entire body, apparently.”

He’s trying to push my buttons because he knows I am nervous about going back. Well, it works.

“Oh, whatever. I’m not the one who can’t be away from my mate for more than three days and
have to drag myself across the realm so I can get some. You know, we humans have a word for
that.”

“And what is that Silver One?”

“Whipped.” I grin, and the laughter from Andarna spill into my head thick as honey as an angry
roar escapes from Tairn’s mouth. I should be probably terrified, but the fact that I manage to annoy
my incredibly strong, century-old dragon is all too satisfying. I can see Sgaeyl and Xaden who are
flying close to us inch a bit closer, and I don’t know how, but I know Sgaeyl is in agreement with
me.

“Perhaps Sgaeyl and I will teach you two a lesson by -” He doesn’t finish his sentence as he banks
left without warning. If I wasn’t strapped to the saddle I would’ve slung off of his back from the
sheer momentum at the speed he just turned. His entire body tenses, I don’t have to be able to feel
his skin under his scales to know that, Tairn and I are one, and I know he’s no longer joking.
Something is up. He dips further below and we disappear into the clouds.

“Violence, what is it?”, Xaden’s lush voice echoes in my head. I could be annoyed, but we are in
battle, and Tairn is basically flying perpendicular to the ground.

“I don’t know, Tairn is sensing something.” I reply.

“We’re right behind you.” He responds, and I’m immediately comforted because I know he’s got
my back. One thing I can always count on is no matter the shit going down between us, Xaden will
never leave me to fight alone if he can help it. “What does he sense?” His voice is determined and
calm, Wingleader through and through.

Tairn responds and I know he’s talking to both of us. “Trouble.”

We make a few more sharp turns and I make out the structure in front of us. A large keep is in the
distance as I squint. I see flyers above the walls surrounding the large structure, I squint but I can’t
make them out.

I then realize how long we’ve been flying, and how familiar the structure and our surroundings are
and it dawns on me, we’re back in Montserrat. The fact that Venin is this close to our wards and
borders is a secondary thought in my mind as my entire being focuses on the only important thing
right now. Mira.

“Get me closer.” I order Tairn. As of right now, I’m our only sure weapon against Venin and I’m
not going to let innocent people and other Rider’s die if I can help. I’m not leaving my sister by
herself, not again. Not when I have the power to help. Tairn glides in without question, I know he’s
ready to torch this entire place to the ground if need be.

“Can you see her?” I ask Tairn, thankful that I don’t need to clarify who or what I’m looking for.

He glides higher, taking a wide right turn and giving me a good look at the skirmish above the
keep’s walls. I see three riders on their respective dragons circle the two other flying creatures
around the keep, the sky coated with streaks of fire and smoke. Two of the riders are facing one of
the Wyvern ridden by what I assume to be a Venin.

On the side of the keep wall, I see a huge green dragon, ridden by a rider whose short hair I and
tight shoulders I recognize all too well.

“Take me to her,” I tell Tairn, and I don’t have to ask twice. As we fly towards Mira as fast as we
can, I watch my sister battle with the Venin and the Wyvern with awe. She dips low on Teine’s
back throwing a dagger at the Wyvern which lodges on the beast’s stomach, but its scales are too
thick and I know the dagger won’t do much other than to annoy the creature.

“Violence, on your left!” I hear. The Venin and Wyvern who were fighting the dragons have their
attention on Tairn and me now. Tairn dips low dodging an attack and roars with fury at the near
miss.

“Keep him busy.” I order Xaden, and I don’t have to command Tairn forward. He knows we have
to get to my sister.

We soar above Mira and Teine and again and I cannot be more proud of my sister. From this angle
I can see blood and sweat coating her face and she has a cut on her arm that looks to be fucking
painful. But with her steady stance and squared shoulders, I know she’s nowhere near done
fighting. Like Brennan, she was made for this. I then realize, I am also made for this.

“I think it’s time to give them a hand.” I tell Tairn, I ground my feet in my archives. Power floods
behind the gate so easily keep shut now, and crackling energy fills my veins. I inhale as my body
hums with power and crack my neck. Storm clouds gather in the sky as the sun gets eclipsed by my
storm clouds. Both Mira and the Venin look up at the unnatural darkness that surrounds them.
Mira’s head then snaps to Tairn then to mine, I hear my sister sob. Mira fucking Sorrengail, the
hero of Strythmore, sobs at the sight of me on the back of my dragon. The last time I heard that
noise was when Brennan died. Well fake died. That's gonna be awkward to explain.

Warmth spreads through my veins at the sight of the relief on my sister’s face, but her distraction
costs her. The Venin jumps from the back of the Wyvern to Teine’s back moving towards my
sister, a dagger similar to what I’ve been stabbed been pointed towards her.

Hell no.

Maybe it’s because I spent days sleeping, gathering my power. Maybe because Brennan mended
me, and the fact that he’s alive is giving me newfound strength. Maybe because my sister just
looked at me as if I was the only thing she ever wanted to see. Maybe it’s because I was always
meant to be strong and was forced to act weak to please people who felt more comfortable when
they made strong people act meek to feel better about themselves. Or maybe because I finally
know who I am and know what I’m fighting for.

The reason does not matter, because as the Venin steps towards my sister, I feel like I’m bottled
lightning ready to erupt. No orders are necessary as Tairn banks lower, knowing my plan. I
unbuckle from my saddle and somehow, gracefully tumble onto Teine’s back and to everyone’s
surprise and am gracefully back on my feet instantly.

I step in front of Mira as she gawks at me.

“Violet?” She asks. No time to make pleasantries. My blood is boiling and lightning crackling
around me and I took a step towards the Venin.

“We’re going to need to talk about how often you pull this jumping off the back of your dragon
move.” I hear Xaden chastise in my head, but again, I don’t have time for his commentary. My
eyes are solely on the Venin, remembering what one of his kind did to me.

“I heard about you.” It hisses, its mouth practically salivating.

“What did you hear?” I sweetly ask.

“That you have power you don’t know how to use. And that you were gutted like fish and were left
to rot. Maybe after I cut you open and see what makes you tick, I take a look at your sister.

“You’re wrong on both counts.”

And I let the bottled lightning, shatter and explode. It’s easier this time than the last, as the power
that has been begging to be released erupts around the keep illuminating the air around us brighter
than the sunlight. Dozens of bolts of lightning strike around the Venin, crackling in the air and I
know just like the last time all I need to do is strike with one.
“Next time,” I grunt, sweat coating my brow as I focus my entire being on the bolt nearest to the
Venin. “Stay the fuck away from my sister.” I flick my wrist and I know it strikes true. A satisfied
smirk spreads to my face as I gaze upon the charred body of the Venin.

“Holy shit.” Mira gasps.

“Holy shit.” I hear Xaden in my head.

“Why are they all so surprised?” Tairn grunts in my head, his voice is full of grumpiness and
absolute, true pride. I reach to the edge of the slim spine of Teine and drop into the thin air. Tairn
catches me, and for once, I’m glad we got to practice him catching me with his claws and putting
me on his back so many times.

“I think I like my new move.” I quip.

“You’re not to make a habit of it.” Tairn scowls.

“Agreed.” Xaden’s curt answer echoes in my mind.

Tairn and I land inside the keep a few minutes later, Xaden and Sgaeyl landing shortly after. He
slides off of Sgaeyl with that natural grace that always makes me gawk at him and makes his way
toward me in quick strides. I’m getting ready to be chastised for being reckless. Maybe also yelled
at. After all, that’s what Dain would’ve done.

He towers over me as his eyes take inventory of me, looking for injuries. As far as battles go, this
was my best one, I’m scathe-free. His hair is blown back those silky soft black strands pushed to
the side from being in the air for so long. His sunkissed skin is glistening with sweat, speckled with
dust here and there. He looks just as exquisite when he’s wearing bloodied fighting leathers
covered in dirt as he’s naked laying on top of me. He cradles my face in his hands, looking into my
eyes with the hunger and intensity I’m sure in mine as well. I wait for the scolding to come.

“That was undeniably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He whispers his eyes are fixated on my
mouth.

I think it might be because I just whipped a Venin with lightning. But who am I kidding it’s
because for how while everyone else in my life keeps telling me I’m weak and fragile, this man
keeps cherishing how strong I am. Either way regardless of the cause, I find myself pulling
Xaden’s leathers towards mine and my mouth is on his. His body instantly relaxes as his hands
gently caress my cheek. Nothing about the kiss is gentle as we’re both high from the adrenaline of
the battle and just absolutely starving for each other. His mouth is devouring mine, mapping every
corner of it as if he might not get the chance again.

One of his hands slides to my back then to my ass, and I pull myself high wrapping my legs around
his waist. A sound of approval escapes his mouth while his tongue demands me to parse my lips.
His tongue slides into my mouth with comforting familiarity and I moan into him. Our bodies are
molded to one another, perfectly fitting each other.

He holds me tight against his body with one arm with ungodly ease as his other hand cradles the
back of my neck, angling it down for a deeper kiss. My hands sink into his beautiful, silky hair as I
pull gently. His teasing strokes against my tongue threaten to set my body on fire as waves of
pleasure dance up and down my body. Xaden’s body on mine is an addiction I don’t think I’ll ever
be able to resist and I kiss him back with reckless abandon.
I hear a loud thunk but I don’t care. I need this man to keep kissing me, exploring me, devouring
me. I know when I step back, I’m going to try and regret this, but deep down, I know I never will. I
can only resist the inevitability of Xaden Riorson for so long. Another thunk comes from near us,
but I ignore that too. Our bodies are tangled, as if we stop touching each other we might die.
Honestly, I just might. The third loud thunk should be concerning but Xaden nips my lower lip as
his rock into mine, and I lose my breath. Just like the first time I kissed him, I know, this man
could do anything to me and I would allow it. That thought should scare me, should make me want
to runaway from him but it doesn’t. Instead, it makes me want to run towards him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” It’s Imogen’s exasperated voice that makes me and Xaden snap
back to reality. He breaks the kiss, his hands sliding back to my cheeks caressing gently. His eyes
tell me he wants to do so much more and that beautiful, disarming lazy grin spreads across his
face.

“Again, I’m still mad at you.” I blurt out, it’s the first thing that comes to mind. It’s also not very
convincing considering, my legs are still wrapped around me.

“Sure you are.” He says, his arms squeezing me tighter.

“I thought you were gonna yell at me for acting with emotion,” I say with my best attempt at
imitating him. That earns me a chuckle as he buries his head on the side of my neck, nuzzling, then
slides me down onto the ground, and I know the bastard is making me rub against his body
intentionally.

“There’s still time for that.” He says, winking.

I want to punch him. And fuck him on the ground. One of these days I’m going to need to untangle
my feelings for Xaden.

“Fucking idiots,” Imogen says again, for the third time that day.

Instead of quipping back at her, my eyes scan the courtyard. While the first two thunks were
Garrick and Imogen’s dragon's landing, I know the third one was Mira’s. I find her standing a few
steps away from us, still covered in dirt and blood in her leathers and her eyes full of the kind of
storm only another Sorrengail can weather.

I know she’s angry, and she’s confused. I also know she’s about to murder Xaden the way her eyes
keep darting back and forth. But when I think about my sister, and what it will be like when she
inevitably reunites with Brennan too, I say the only thing I know that matters right now.

“You’re not an only child.” And I throw myself in my sister’s arms.

 Xaden
Chapter Summary

Mira needs an explanation on what is going on after she gets unexpected assistance
from her sister at her post.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THIS FIC. I'M
OVERWHELMED BY THE SUPPORT <3

Chapter Notes

Short chapter, sorry I had to get the crew back to Basgiath but needed Mira to be on a
same-ish page with them.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

I didn’t want to let her go. I know she was riding the high of the adrenaline of the battle and the
enormous amount of power she just let out. I might be in love with the woman who had just
climbed me like a tree just as she promised a few months ago, but I’m not a fool. I know this isn’t
forgiveness or her letting me back in, this was just pent-up energy being released. Really, I might
just be lucky that I was the closes person to her to be at the receiving end of her gracious gift. But
even I know that’s a lie, I know no matter how angry she is with me, she doesn’t have the eyes for
another. For now.

“Can you focus on the problem at hand? Or having Tairn’s Rider present makes the blood only go
to one place?”

Sgaeyl’s regularly scheduled brand of sardonic commentary echoes in my head. Even I have to
admit she is right this time. As much as I want to press Violet against the keep wall and kiss her
into submission so she forgives me, we have bigger problems. Her sister might ruin everything.

“You could always deal with her.” Sgaeyl echoes in my head. I scoff, even Sgaeyl is not that
ruthless.

“No, I am that ruthless.” She says.

“No, but you don’t want to die, do you?” I reply dryly.

“Teine can’t touch me.” She replies dryly, ever so smug and regal.

“No, but Violet won’t let anyone touch her sister and she’ll die trying to protect her. And you know
what chain reaction that’ll result in. As much as we might need to deal with her, she’s family now
too.” I reply. I can’t believe she’s actually suggesting it. Then I realize she is not. She just wanted
me to come to the conclusion in my head. Thanks to Violet fucking Sorrengail’s ever expanding
bench of people she cares about and now I have a flock to protect.
Sgaeyl chuckles with satisfaction in my head.

My head turns to Violet who’s in the arms of her sister. The comfort they find in each other spreads
warmth through my veins, the shadows hanging around me dancing with subtle joy. I like it when
she’s comforted. No not like, I love it. I would go to the ends of this world to make sure she feels
this way forever.

Mira Sorrengail’s arms are tight around her sister, one hand cradling her head in a protective
position. Her eyes are closed as she moves her head in her hair in soothing brushes. I wonder if she
had to be the nurturing figure in Violet’s life, since Brennan faked his death, and their mother has
the emotional availability of a rock.

My suspicions are confirmed as she pushes Violet back to arm's length and gives her a once-over.
Looking for injuries or signs of what happened. Her eyes are brewing with a storm, one that gives
me the prickling sensation that I should brace myself for battle. Her stance is tightly coiled, I
wonder if Mira Sorrengail is ever at ease. After the shit she’s seen in Montserrat border, I doubt it.
Once she’s satisfied that Violet is in one piece her eyes dart to me.

If looks could kill, I would already be on the floor. Mira’s eyes tighten as she assesses me where I
stand. Her eyes are full of disgust and hatred, nothing I’m not unfamiliar with. But in addition to
the usual feelings reserved to marked ones, I see something fierce in her eyes. Protection. This is all
coming from a place to protect Violet. Preaching to the choir sister.

I cross my arms and do everything in my power to not say something atrocious to her like I want to,
for Violet. She needs this to go well. And having Mira on the revolution’s side would not be so bad
either.

She doesn’t have to say anything as disdain for me oozes from every pore on her body. I can see
her bare arms are covered in goosebumps. Her nostrils flare and to my surprise, she’s moving. My
attempts to keep myself grounded and collected cost me as she swings her arm and her fist connects
to my jaw. Holy shit, Mira Sorrengail just punched me in the fucking face.

Someone weaker than me would probably have fallen onto the ground but I am hard to shake. I
massage my jaw trying to dissipate the ringing in my head. Sorrengails have a temper, I remind
myself.

“MIRA!” Violet yells, coming to my side.

I think she’s about to check if I’m alright, but my earlier suspicion about all the affection Violet
might have for me was from the adrenaline is confirmed as she doesn’t even eye me.

“What the fuck?” She asks her sister.

Mira doesn’t even look at her, her eyes are full of daggers as she readies to swing another punch.

“You’re fucking my baby sister? You’re a Wingleader, this is the grossest abuse of power I’ve ever
seen Riorson.” She growls at me.

I’m about to respond, but Violet beats me to it.

“I’m not fucking him.” She responds, and Imogen does not even try to hide her snort. “Anymore.”
Violet amends.

Mira looks at her incredulously, “I told you to not sleep your way into safety, what about your
reputation?”
Okay, that’s enough.

“In case you haven’t noticed, your sister does not need any of us to keep her safe,” I say dryly,
clenching my fists. If she keeps this up I’m not going to be able to hold back my temper. And
someone is going to get hurt.

“Based on the rage that’s coming from that girl, that someone might be you.” Retorts Sgaeyl.

“Traitor. I’m this close to ordering you to eat her.” I bark back.

“Order me?”Sgaeyl is unphased by my rage. “I don’t think so. I like her better than you right
now.”

I groan with exasperation. It’s becoming a common occurrence that I cannot keep my shit together
around Sorrengail women. I need to get a grip. I need to get control of this situation. Violet is still
standing between her sister and me, her hands are on her sister’s arms, trying to reassure her.

“Mira, we’re not together like that. We were maybe for a few seconds until I got common sense
knocked into me.”

Well, shit. That’s a semi-truth, but it hurts all the same.

Mira’s eyes narrow even further, that murderous gaze still on me.

“Talk.” She grunts.

Violet exhales, I’m not sure what she’s going to tell her but I trust her to take the lead on how to
navigate her sister. She doesn’t need me to coddle her on this. I still inch a step closer to let her
know I have her back no matter what.
“We were sent to an outpost as part of the War Games. Mira, you won’t believe what we’ve seen
there. The outpost was attacked by the Venin and Wyverns, just like from the fables book. I don’t
think the instructors at the school knew they were there.” She lies blatantly to her sister.

I file the fact that she doesn’t want to tell her sister everything. If she wanted to tell her sister
everything I would’ve supported that too whatever she chose. It’s always her choice.

“There was a battle, we managed to kill the Venin and the Wyverns and I got hit.” She continued
as she takes off her jacket and unlaces the corset just enough to show her the large scar on her side.
I growl at the sight of the scar as rage fuels me, wanting to kill the bastards who almost took her
away from me all over again. Violet redresses as she continues. “We’ve had rest until I was well
enough to travel again. We were on our way to Basgiath, but we saw you battling Venin, and I
knew I had to help.”

Mira exhales sharply. This is it, this is the moment. Violet is the smartest of all of us, and I know
she played this the best she could. Mira first looks at me, her eyes full of disdain from earlier. Then
looks at Violet and her stare softens immediately.

“You’re not telling me everything.” She passes her judgment. I inhale sharply ready for things to
go south, as Violet gave me a look over her shoulder to stand down. That was bossy. I inhale
sharply again for a slew of different reasons.

“No, I’m not,” Violet responds, her chin high and I know she has that Scribe stare that makes
anybody question disagreeing with her twice.

“And why not?” Mira asks, crossing her arms.

“For a number of reasons. The biggest one being, we don't have time right now. I know you want
to know everything, analyze, and maybe even beat Xaden up a bit. Even though he might deserve it
for a lot of different reasons. But it’s not the time to act rashly, not right now, we have to be calm
and rational.”

I cough raising my hand, this is getting out of hand. “I’m right here.”

Violet waves her hand at me, she actually waves her hand at me as if I’m irrelevant. “Be quiet.”
She turns her entire focus to Mira, “Mira, believe me, I will explain everything. There are things
you should, you need to know. And I will. But if we’re going to stop the threat of Venin not just
past the wards, but in the realm, I need you to trust me. Like I trust you. Like we both trust
Brennan.”

I gasp at her usage of the present tense, but Mira doesn’t catch on as she mulls over what Violet
tells her.

“I don’t like any of this.” She spits out.

“I’m sure you don’t, but aren’t you glad you’re not an only child?” She quips, a curt smile on her
lips. All I want to do is kiss her when she smiles like that.

“I don’t know, right about now, my life seems like it would be easier if I was an only child. But I
guess beats hearing my sister went on a mission and never came back.” She says wistfully.

A soft smile dawns on Violet’s face and I know she wants to tell her about Brennan. But she also
knows it’s Brennan’s secret to tell. Something tells me the Sorrengail siblings are going to be re-
united soon anyways.

“I’m sorry if you were worried. But I’m alright, and we still got each other.” She replies.

Mira’s eyes turn to me. “I don’t trust him.”

Violet’s soothing arms on her sister’s stop as she looks at me. “He can be trusted where it counts.”
She replies softly as she turns back to her sister.

And damn if that doesn’t break my heart. I flinch as I step back towards the grave I very
elaborately dug for myself. Trusted where it counts. She means as a Wingleader, a General in this
war. Not as the kind of man I want to be for her. The fact that she doesn’t think her heart is one of
the things that count makes me want to murder everyone who ever made her feel irrelevant and
insignificant. I guess I should be at the front of that line since the way I lied to her and deceived her
made her feel just like that as well. Fuck.

“Whatever the two of you got going on is a shitshow.” Mira spits out.

“Understatement.” I hear Garrick quip where he’s standing from. Fucking traitors. They’re no help.

Violet ignores that comment as she hugs Mira tightly. “None of that matters. We need to get back
to Basgiath as soon as we can.”

Mira considers for a second then she looks at all of us. “I don’t know what you got going on, and I
don’t know what happened out there. And I’m LIVID that you won’t tell me everything, but you
played the “i’m your sister and you need to trust me card.” and you know you only get one of those
per year.” She gave Violet a grin. ”You can’t go back alone without backup. I’ll escort you guys
back to Basgiath, and maybe I can soften the blow from General Sorrengail. Then you need to tell
me exactly what’s going on. Deal?”
 Violet beams as she answered. “Deal.”

We fly for an entire day straight as the citadel appeals in front of us. Unfortunately, our timing is
not great as the midday sun showers the large courtyard. This is going to be a spectacle. There is no
way the scouts didn’t spot our arrival, the other Wingleaders at the very least must have been
alerted. If Colonel Aetos is suspecting betrayal I have no doubt our arrival is reported up the chain
until General Sorrengail. We circle the large walls around the citadel a few times spotting a small
silhouette in the courtyard.

“Tairn says he won’t leave me alone with them.” Violet’s soft voice echoes in my head
unexpectedly. Her voice doesn’t sound scared, it sounds strong and determined.

“Neither will I.” Sgaeyl interjects before I can confirm with her.

“Sgaeyl is sticking around as well.” I reply. “Are you scared?” I ask her.

It takes a few seconds before she replies dryly. “I stopped being afraid of General Sorrengail a
long time ago.” She calls her mother so infrequently, I wonder if it’s easier to consolidate her
coldness towards her children if she addresses her as the General rather than her mother.

“Then it’s time.” I say and we descend.

Violet and I land in the middle of the courtyard, Mira, Imogen, and Garrick shortly behind us. Our
dragons retreat to the stone walls circling the citadel. My eyes scan the courtyard and stop near the
edge. Dain Aetos is standing in the courtyard, his expression stark like a father who caught his
children sneaking back in after curfew. Asshole.

His eyes widen with surprise as he sees us approach him as if he can't believe what he's saying. I
know I demanded everyone to be calm and collected but the fact that the bastard send us all to die
makes my blood boil. I take a few deep breaths as the five of us approach Aetos, who’s apparently
the welcoming party. He examines us all one by one, his gaze stopping at Violet. That smug
expression on his face softens and want I'm all too familiar with fills them. And then my blood is
boiling for a whole different reason, he should not be looking at my girl like that.

“Violet -” He gasps, his eyes widening as he reaches out towards her extending a hand towards her.
Wrong fucking move asshole.

I feel it before I see it. Violet’s entire composition hardens around me, her edges becoming sharper
than the sleekest steel.

“You.” She hisses and takes a step forward. Then it all happens in the blink of an eye as she swings
her arm, and Violence, my Violence punches Dain fucking Aetos in the face.

Chapter End Notes

BRACE YOURSELVES, THE NEXT CHAPTER IS FROM DAIN'S POV.

 Dain
Chapter Summary

Welp - this went in a different direction than I thought. I hope I captured Dain's smug
righteousness well!

Violet’s punch meets my face with unexpected force. My face turns sideways at the sheer impact, I
stumble and lose my balance. I can’t find my footing and I fell on my ass. I raise my eyes to Violet,
my childhood best friend and the girl who I think is my future. But I don’t see her. I see an angry,
no, seething girl staring down at me. When did she become this girl in front of me?

Her hair tumbles down her shoulder in a pool of auburn and silver, I haven’t seen her wear it down
like this since she joined the Rider’s Quadrant. Her leathers fit her impeccably, hugging every
curve of hers and though she’s meant to be in Scribe’s cream robes, I can’t deny she looks
mesmerizing. But what’s different about her is her face. Her cheeks are flushed with anger and
from the exertion she put behind the punch. And her eyes. Gods, her eyes are full of wrath, and I
swear I can see lightning crackling in them. Her chest is rising and falling in short breaths. Is she
scared? Did Xaden and the other traitors hurt her? If so, the Command will make them pay for it.

How can she be even mad at me for showing her what a piece of shit Riorson is? Surely she’s
embarrassed that she let the enemy get close to her, but the fact that she’s here tells me she realizes
the right thing to do, to turn them in. Although I’m shocked to see Riorson, Imogen, and Garrick
willingly back with her. Surely some plot to bargain for the rest of the traitors. Because I know, in
my bones if one of them is a traitor, they all are.

Out of all the horrible scenarios that have been plaguing my mind in the past four days, getting
punched in the face by the girl I love never occurred to me. And I thought of everything. Every.
Single. Scenario. Everything that happened since Violet crossed the parapet has been playing on
repeat in my mind. Thought about all the times Riorson "taught" Violet. Thought about him putting
Imogen in charge of her training. Him having Liam follow her around. This is all been a game to
her, to gain her trust, make her think he’s more than the worm he is, and use her against the
Command. Violet’s mother will probably skin Riorson alive and feed him to his dragon for making
a fool of her daughter.

Yes, I had a lot of time to think since Riorson, his traitorous friends, and my Violet disappeared
into the horizon the night the last leg of War Games was announced. I know I did the right thing, I
just wish I was in time to save her and un-poison her mind from the plague that is Xaden fucking
Riorson. Just like his father, he brings nothing but menace and death to those around you.

Even now, I can see Violet’s mad at me. She has every right to be, I have no idea what I put her
through or what she survived, but I know she’s aware of how wrong she was to trust Riorson. And
if she needs to punch me to work out her embarrassment of being fooled by Riorson, then I’ll
gladly be her punching bag.

Fuck, I’ve been in my head for too long. Her mother will be here soon, I need to prepare her for
this. I need to make sure she separates herself from the traitors so her punishment is not worse. If
I’m right, and she’s been fooled by Riorson this whole time, she can’t be punished.
I stumble back on my feet clumsily, my head ringing with pain. Seriously, what have Imogen and
Xaden been teaching her? My eyes search hers, looking for my sweet, gentle friend. But all I see is
lightning. I take a step towards her, reaching out with my hand.

“Violet -” I say, attempting to explain why I did what I did. It's all been for her and Navarre. How
does she not realize I’ve been trying to save her this entire time?

A sense of shock ripples in my bones as her eyes narrow, and she takes a step back. But what
shocks me the more is the lightning striking a little to my left, right in the courtyard. It barely
misses me. She is so lost, so confused, she can’t even control her signet anymore.

“Do not take another step, if you don’t want another bruise to match the one already forming on
your sorry excuse for a face, Dain.” She says coldly. Her words are laced with disdain and distrust.
I can’t believe this, I don’t even recognize this girl standing in front of me. What the hell did they
do to her?

“Violet, you do not understand-” Reaching for again. She flinches as her face crumbles with
disgust.

She holds up a hand, interrupting my second attempt to explain. The storm clouds gather in her
eyes again as lightning strikes next to me this time much closer, barely missing me. Realization
dawns on me. She’s doing this on purpose. Right now, I’m her enemy.

“If you do not want the next one to strike you on the head or be scorched by Tairn you remain
quiet. You’ve always known what’s good for you.” She spats at me crossing her eyes. The shock
rippling through my body is almost numbing. My hands and feet tingle with nervousness, how far
gone is she?

My eyes fly to Tairn standing tall behind her, towering over her like a mighty guard. His nostrils
are wide and his mouth is clenched as if he’s barely restraining himself. I know better than to make
eye contact with him, especially if he is protecting his Rider. I don’t need to see his eyes to
understand he’s currently weighing whether or not to scorch me on the ground I’m standing.

“Cath?” I ask nervously, checking with my dragon.

A moment of silence passes and then I hear my dragon’s voice echo in my head.

“Tairn and Sgaeyl are… angry. I would not antoganize them right now.” He sounds way too
rattled for my comfort.

I try to collect myself and ground myself. And then I adopt a cool, neutral tone trying to not
antagonize following Cath’s advice.

My eyes finally leave Violet’s and I scan the courtyard. I see Imogen and Garrick standing right
beside their dragons. Garrick has that aloof look of boredom on his face that makes it impossible to
read him. He’s standing next to his dragon who looks like he’d be right behind Tairn should the
dragon decides to pick a fight. His arms are crossed and his stance is defensive, and he's leaning
into Imogen, who’s standing awfully close to him. Imogen has that sour expression on her face, her
half-shaved mop of pink hair floating in the wind. She looks like she’s about to throw a dagger at
me, but then again she always looks like that.

Then my eyes fall to the towering man next to Violet. Xaden fucking Riorson, the bane of my
existence. He’s at least a foot taller than her, his hair is blown to the side probably from being on
dragonback for days. His eyes are focused on Violet not acknowledging my presence as if I am not
even here. His eyes peruse Violet’s body lingering on particular parts as he devours her with his
eyes. He has no right to look at her like that, not when he almost got her killed. For how much of a
giant asshole he is, the way he looks at her is something I’ve never seen in his eyes before. As if
she’s the sun and he’s just in her orbit.

Xaden’s eyes are glazed, clearly talking to Sgaeyl who by the way looks the most murderous out of
all of them. She makes a loud huffing noise and steam blows out of her nose. Violet turns her head
towards Sgaeyl, staring right into her eyes. I want to grab and shake her, so I can knock some sense
into her, does she not know any better after all this time in the Rider’s Quadrant? Sgaeyl shifts her
position and I freeze worried for Violet, but eventually, to my surprise, she lowers her head, and
she does something I can only describe as scoffing. Violet shakes her head with exasperation and
she turns her stare back towards me as a wide smirk spreads to Xaden’s face his eyes nailing me to
the ground I stand on. What am I missing here? I feel like there is an inside joke I’m not privy to.

It’s the irritation that makes me spit out, “What happened to you? Why haven’t you been not been
heard of for days? We’ve been expecting you.”

I try to sound calm and collected, as I know exactly what happened. I practically orchestrated it. It
killed me to send Violet to certain death, and I'm happy she's alive, but how did they make it out? I
have to figure out what my next steps are before her mother arrives. I sent word out an hour before
they showed up, she should be here any minute now.

Violet’s eyes widen with shock and storm clouds gather in the sky again. She turns her head back to
Xaden, “I’m going to punch him again.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. What’s even less believable is the soft laugh that escapes Xaden’s
mouth as his eyes turn to her and his entire demeanor softens. Violet takes a step towards me but
Xaden grabs her by the wrist. Disgust fills me as he gently rubs Violet’s wrist in a kinder way than
I’ve ever seen him act with anyone. He has no right to this. He has no right to her.

“He’s not worth it.” He says dryly, his eyes still never even turning in my direction.

“I don’t know, I’m kinda enjoying this.” Imogen comments from where she’s standing.

“Shut the fuck up.” I snarl back at her, finally finding an outlet for my annoyance at this situation.

“Do not talk to her that way,” responds Garrick breaking his trademark neutrality. Interesting. I file
the knowledge away for later. The dragons are immediately on alert, although I’m pretty sure
they’ve been on alert the entire time. This is more like their restrain is slipping, and I really do not
want to be eaten alive today.

I raise my hands as I take a step forward.

“Look Violet, I don’t know what you think I did -” I try again.

The tone Violet speaks is a tone I’ve never heard before. It’s all resolute, full of disdain. A well-
practiced tone I’ve heard from Xaden over the past two years. A cold sweat breaks across my skin.

“What you did is you royally fucked up Dain.” She replies. “But I - we don’t have time for
whatever game you’re playing here. We’re here to see someone who actually matters. Because we
both know while you’re the welcoming committee, the outcome of today has nothing to do with
you. It’s well above your pay grade.”

Her words slap me across the face with even bigger force than her actual punch. I gulp trying to
form my words, but before I can answer another voice comes behind me, “Where is my mother
Aetos?”

My head turns back so fast I’m surprised I do not get dizzy. Mira is standing behind me her arms
crossed leaning against Teine, who looks just as murderous as the rest.

What. the. fuck.

My mind works on the possibilities of what could’ve happened. Is it possible that the Venin did not
attack the outpost as planned? Violet might be fragile enough to be swayed but Mira is a war hero,
a decorated Rider. Surely if she’s on their side, we’re all missing something. My gut tells me I’m
not wrong about Xaden and his traitorous friends, but if that’s the case why is Mira here? Maybe
she’s also trying to save Vi.

Before I can answer, the doors behind me open and from the way everybody stiffens I know it’s
General Sorrengail who entered the courtyard. She approaches us scanning the courtyard, taking
inventory of the situation, analyzing. She nods to me in acknowledgment and I realize she made
sure nobody else is around this to witness this. As her eyes scan the courtyard it lingers on Xaden,
and her eyes narrow in disdain. At least she can see him for what he is. She barely looks at Imogen
and Garrick. Eventually, she turns her head to Violet.

“Cadet Sorrengail, we were worried about you.”

“Thank you, General,” Violet responds in a practiced tone.

Xaden doesn’t say a fucking word but her eyes never leave Violet’s mother. His body is slightly
ahead of Violet’s as if he’s ready to step in between her and her mother. I’m surprised he realizes
Violet needs all the help she can get when it comes to her mother. From the cool smile that
threatens to appear on Lilith Sorrengail’s face, I know she notices Xaden’s stance too.

“Let’s go to my office and we can discuss the events of the past few days.” She turns and takes a
step towards the citadel doors. Her word is an order and there is no further discussion. I turn
alongside her ready to take this conversation away from the five dragons ready to burn the entire
courtyard down.

“No.” The single word that comes from Violet is as if I’m struck by lightning all the same. Once
again, my head turns to this girl I do not recognize. Surely she’s not disobeying her mother. Surely,
she’s not disobeying a direct order from the General.

The storm clouds I saw in Violet’s eyes are now gathering in General Sorrengail’s eyes. I never
considered Violet to be like her mother, but maybe she’s more like her than I realize. General
Sorrengail turns on her feet, clearly surprised by the blatant disobedience.

“Excuse me? Cadet Sorrengail -” But she stops midsentence as Mira approaches to stand next to
Violet.

“Lieutenant Sorrengail. I did not realize you were here.”

“It’s just us Mother, Mira, and Violet. We're past the formalities, don’t you think?” Mira retorts
dryly. Out of the two of them, she’s always been the one to stand up to their mother. Albeit she’s a
fool for doing so, it’s still admirable. General Sorrengail’s eyes scan her two daughters. I can tell
she’s just as shocked as Mira being here as I am. Mira is one of the strongest Riders we have and
her defending Violet, Xaden, and the rest complicates this interaction. A few moments pass and
eventually General Sorrengail crosses her arms and responds,

“Why can’t we have this discussion in private?”

Mira shrugs and looks at Violet. Violet turns around and looks at Tairn who blows a smoke of
steam towards them, expressing his annoyance as if telling her to get on with it. For General
Sorrengail’s credit, she doesn’t even flinch at the obvious threat from Violet’s dragon. Violet
grimaces as if she’s bracing for what she’s about to say,

“Tairn is not comfortable with being separated from me. He says he will burn the entire citadel to
the ground before he allows me to step into somewhere where he cannot -” She turns and looks at
her dragon again, “Seriously?” She mumbles and sighs and continues. “- Supervise and assure my
safety.”

Lilith Sorrengail’s eyebrows shoot up as she speaks in disbelief. “Surely, Tairn understands that
I’m your mother and you’re perfectly safe with me.”

Tairn actually scoffs at General Sorrengail. Violet looks back at him with exasperation again, and I
cannot believe I’m witnessing her practically scolding a dragon as big and powerful as Tairn.

“Right.” She responds. Her back is straight and her eyes never leave her mother. “The same mother
who sent me across the Parapet with only six months of training. The same mother who sent me to
a mission intended to kill me, Riorson, and other marked ones. Let’s not pretend that wasn’t the
intent of the latest mission General.” She replies dryly, her voice has a strength and determination
I’ve never heard before. Before her mother can interject she continues.

“We’re here to clear up any misunderstandings that might happen. Neither myself nor any of the
other members of the group Wingleader Riorson put together betrayed Navarre.”

“Be that as it may, you must understand we have received some alarming information and we’ll
need proof. You’ll all need to be interrogated to ensure your loyalties lie with Navarre.” Lilith
Sorrengail responds.

She doesn’t have to look in my direction, but the rest of them all turn their eyes toward me. If looks
could kill, my parents would already be planning my funeral. I don’t meet their gaze, I have
nothing to be ashamed of for doing the right thing for my country.

“That’s not going to happen,” Violet responds and her mother’s eyes become so wide her pupils are
barely visible. “Unfortunately, Squad Leader Aetos, your interrogator, has proven himself to be an
unreliable interrogator. He is biased, and has been holding a grudge against Wingleader Riorson
and the rest of the marked ones for years. Sgaeyl will not allow Riorson to be interrogated which
let’s face it, is just an excuse for Dain to pin what happened in Athebyne onto him and the rest of
the marked ones.”

Horror invades my veins as Violet blatantly attempts to destroy my credibility. Sweat breaks across
my skin as I can’t help but shake from the assault on my character from Violet. Surely she can’t be
serious to think I’d pin anything on Xaden that is not true? But then again, doubt fills my mind. If
Xaden and the rest of them are traitors Mira would not be with them.

Their mother tilts her head towards me, considering.

“What is your role in all of this Lieutenant Sorrengail?”

“Violet and her squad assisted us in Montserrat in an attack. They told me what happened to them,
and I thought it would be best if I escorted them considering- “ She looks at me. “They needed the
support and my testimony to help clear their name.”

General Sorrengail’s head snaps to Violet as she nods in confirmation.

“Is this true? You fought Gryphons?” She asks. Violet nods again.

“Same as Athebyne. We were getting ready for War Games, and the outpost was attacked.”

I notice how she doesn’t mention Venin. Thanks to my security clearance I’m aware of Venin
attacks, and how we’re trying to keep the people of Navarre secure. Is Violet insinuating Athebyne
and Montserrat were both attacked by Venin?

“I was able to kill one of the stronger riders, but I was stabbed. It was too dangerous for me to
move, we remained in the woods by the outpost while Wingleader Riorson and the rest of the
squad helped me gain enough of my strength before we could fly back. We would’ve come sooner
but Tairn basically forbid any of us to take another reckless risk.” She lets a small chuckle escape.
My eyes narrowed questioning everything I know about Violet. Could she be lying?

As if she can read my thoughts, she turns to me.

“Look, Sgaeyl will not allow her Rider to become a scapegoat for what went down in Athebyne. So
you cannot interrogate him or any of the marked ones. But as a show of our good faith, to prove to
you our alliance lies with the people of Navarre, you can interrogate me.” She throws a glance full
of disgust toward me, and I swear it hits me like a slap on the face. Riorson stiffens next to her as
she continues.

“I hope you’re willing to meet me halfway here General. Because if you act against Wingleader’s
Riorson’s dragon's wishes, Sgaeyl and by extension my dragon will get very cranky.”

Holy shit, is she opening threatening the General? Her own mother?

“I’m not appealing to you as your daughter. Being a mother has never been your strong suit. But
being a General is. So think General. I don’t believe you want to make two of the strongest Riders
in the Quadrant Navarre’s army your enemies. We’re willing to work with you to clear up this
misunderstanding, but we will not become martyrs to a false cause. Think about the true enemy of
Navarre and decide if you’re willing to risk two of the strongest Riders both of whom are willing to
do anything for the people at the front lines of this battle. I do not see General Melgren and his
dragon here. That makes Tairn the strongest dragon in Basgiath. Today, you either choose to
believe the Rider of the strongest dragon of the Quadrant, the lightning wielder who can be a
formidable ally that can help you win this war or you can start fighting a war on two fronts. The
choice is yours and yours alone.“
 Violet
Chapter Notes

OMG, I was so excited about this idea, I can't wait to read your reactions in the
comments!

The words spill out of my mouth without so much as a stutter. I don’t even dare blink as I stare
down Lilith Sorrengail, the fiercest general of Basgiath’s armies, commander of storms, and the
woman I call mother. Her eyes widen for a second and I have to suppress a smirk. Nothing phases
my mother. Except apparently being threatened by her weak daughter.

Mira is not as in control of her faculties as I am as she makes an odd noise. An honest to gods,
unfiltered snort leaves her mouth and I turn my head to her in disbelief. She is full-on grinning
now, her deep brown eyes glistening like the most delicate chocolate. But I know she can’t help it.
For all of our lives, she’s been the one standing up to our mother. Brennan always had this
nonchalant lightness to him that never put him on our mother’s bad side. It helped that he was our
mother’s favorite. I am lucky in the sense that our mother always disregards me and
underestimates me. I now understand what Xaden meant that it’s a gift that nobody gives a shit
about them that they get to do what they need to. I know the feeling.

But Mira is not like the rest of us. She doesn’t have the favoritism Brennan faced or the dismissals
I do. Nope, Mira Sorrengail did not get to to where she is by skirting the mountain of a woman in
front of us. She got there by ramming through her. So the fact that she has me standing up to her is
bizarre for her. And for a second I realize how alone my sister must have felt in our family her
whole life, perhaps just as lonely as I have from the never ceasing derogatory about my weakness.
That realization puts a soft smile on my face eclipsing the sadness from the understanding of how
our mother fostered such an environment of desolation that all three of us grew up feeling alone.
No more.

“Your sister is odd.”, Tairn's voice echoes in my head.

“She’s not weird, she just didn’t know her sister is no longer a weakling who cannot stand up to
her mother.”, I reply, defending her on instinct.

“You’ve never been weak.” Tairn roars in my head, not leaving any room for discussion, “Some
just feel stronger by making others feel weak.”

The shock in my mother's face fades quickly and is replaced by a cold calculated one. She cocks
her head slightly to the side and inhales a shallow breath. I’ve seen her shift to this stance a hundred
times, the way her spine steels and her body becomes unnaturally taught. Does not matter if she’s
at our dining room table or in a room full of commanders. This is her defensive stance, reminding
me of a cold predator, a panther ready to strike.

“She’s made her decision.”, I say mentally.

I know Xaden, Tairn, and Sgaeyl all hear me as I hear an anticipating huff of steam kiss my back
and I can distinctly hear Sgaeyl growl. The dragons’ attitude changing defensively is no small feat,
but it’s Xaden who’s terrifying. I glance at him, his olive skin glowing under the afternoon sun as if
the sun cannot stop itself from showering him. A muscle ticks in his jaw as his arms are crossed,
his back is straight, and his legs are slightly widened. His composure is unyielding. I can see the
shimmer of various daggers in their sheaths across his body, hugging the sharp angles of his well-
sculpted body. I bit my lower lip, I can’t blame the sun for not being able to stop showering him
when I can barely stop myself from staring at him.

“Really Violence, now?” He asks.

I gulp and turn my head away from me. A sensual chuckle echoes in my head, but I don’t have time
to respond as my mother’s cool voice interrupts my train of thought.

“Very well.”

I don’t think I hear her right. Although I’m too seasoned in the game of trying to understand why
Lilith Sorrengail does the things she does, so I'm should not be surprised by this outcome.

“This is highly unorthodox. It is unusual for dragons to interfere with human affairs. Are you sure
we cannot find a way for Sgaeyl and Tairn to feel comfortable with Wingleader Riorson’s
interrogation as well? Just so the air can be fully cleared up.”

Her tone is neutral but I know my mother does not utter a single word without thinking. She’s
trying to gauge how far Tairn and Sgaeyl, two of the strongest dragons aside from General
Melgren’s dragon are willing to go. I’m not even sure if General Melgren’s dragon is enough of a
match for Sgaeyl and Tairn together. It is in my mother's best interest to deescalate the situation.

“If she doesn’t want to lose her fucking head, neither she nor the traitor does not touch my Rider.”
Sgaeyl hisses without a beat. I turn to her and raise an eyebrow. She still looks just as murderous as
when she first landed on the wall.

“Territorial.” I say suppressing my smirk.

“Even more so than you.” Xaden replies wryly.

“No, Tairn and Sgaeyl will only allow me to be interrogated,” I reply to my mother.

“I’m still angry about this plan.” Tairn interjects. “If she doesn’t get on with it, I might just change
my mind and burn this citadel to the ground.”

“Tairn would like whatever you deem necessary to happen so he and Sgaeyl can go back to the
Vale and rest.”

“That’s not what I said,” Tairn grumbles.

That’s not an exact translation but can’t exactly threaten to burn my mother if I want to make this
work in a non-carnagy way.

“Feel free to tell her yourself.” I retort. All I hear back is a scoff. “That’s what I thought.”

My mother seems done with just about all of this as she turns her head and swiftly nods toward
Dain. Dain who has been keeping his distance a few feet behind my mother approaches swiftly. A
purplish bruise is already forming underneath his chin and I can’t help but feel very proud of it. I
can practically feel Xaden stiffen next to me as Dain eyes us both. Is that regret I’m reading in his
face? I doubt it. Regret maybe that he cannot violate my mind in secret anymore. But I can’t help
but feel genuine pity for how in the dark, how wrong he is. I wonder if I didn’t have to fight for
everything like i had to, if I would've been as blind as him?
“You’re not a sycophant idiot, so no you wouldn’t.” Tairn interrupts my spiraling train of thought.

Dain gulps for a second as he eyes me, his gaze cloudy and his face sunken. “I’m going to touch
your face. This might feel uncomfortable.” He says.

“Now you’re asking for consent?” I blurt out, my voice is cool and distant. He flinches. Good.
Traitorous bastard.

Dain ignores my retort and raises his hand. Before his hand can touch my cheek, Xaden steps in
front of me and pushes him back with unexpected force.

“Don’t you fucking touch her.” His voice is raspy and low with unassuming softness. Alarm bells
rise in my head, as goosebumps erupt across my body. I’m pretty sure Dain’s about to get either
beaten to a pulp or scorched on the ground. Neither of which will help our cause here.

“Wingleader Riorson -” I interject, but Xaden’s eyes do not leave Dain’s. A predator eyeing up his
prey. I can see that muscle in his jaw tick again and the muscles on his neck tighten as he clenches
his fists. Beating Dain to a pulp it is then.

“Do something.” I bark at — I don’t know who I’m asking for help.

“Don’t look at me, I agree with him.” Sgaeyl responds smugly. The murderous menace of a dragon
is no help. Tairn does not even bother responding to no one’s surprise.

“Riorson!” I reach for him mentally, but I hit a shield of thick adamant. The bastard is locking me
out. I throw all caution to the wind and put my arm on Xaden’s. The touch is electric as always
between us as his cool skin meets my warm touch. I tug at his rolled-up sleeve trying to turn his
head to mind. When he continues to ignore my warning I reach up putting my hand gently on his
cheek, turning his head to mine.

“Xaden–” I say and he inhales sharply at the sound of his name from my mouth breaking his trance
of - well there is no other way to say it, murder. He was in a murderous trance probably calculating
all the ways he was gonna tear Dain into pieces. And how can he not when he’s responsible for
Liam’s death?

“We have to do this,” I say softly, my hand still on his cheek. I gently brush the soft spot of his
neck with my thumb, and I can feel him visibly relaxing, melting into my hand. My mother clears
her throat and I realize we’re putting on a show. I turn to her to find her staring at the two of us and
the close contact of our bodies, no doubt filing the knowledge of her daughter clearly having a
sway over the rebellion leader’s son away for alter use. Little does she know, he’s the one who has
all the sway. Xaden also notices that my mother has caught up to the fact that there is something
between us. I can see his mental wheels are turning as he gently grabs the hand that is on his neck
and brings my hand to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss in my palm then lowers my hand. The
gesture is so sweet and caring, I almost forget everything between us and allow my heart to just
melt into his. I’m in so much trouble.

“You good?” I ask him, my eyes are searching his. There isn’t a single gold fleck in his eyes. It’s
all midnight shadows and I can tell he’s drowning in worry right now. I give him a tight smile
taking a step back from him. He shakes his head then as if he was under some sort of spell and he’s
trying to shake it off. He then gives me a curt nod.

I turn back to Dain who’s watching what’s transpiring in front of him. I know that disappointed
look on his face all too well from all the time's someone did something he did not approve of
growing up together. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m close with Xaden or he doesn’t get to be
the one who’s touching me. At this point, I don’t care.

“Get it over with before one of our dragons loses patience,” I tell Dain. Sgaeyl and Tairn grumble
from where they’re perched in unison.

Dain visibly swallows and his breath hitches. Fucking coward. I shake my head in disgust and urge
him to get a move on. “Just do it, Dain, it has never stopped you before.” I spit out.

The moment Dain’s hand touches my face I inhale sharply.

Even though Xaden and Imogen both warned me this time would be different the presence of Dain
in my head is more than discomforting. The previous times Dain snuck peeks in my head were
crimes of opportunity. He was invading the privacy of my thoughts in secret so he wouldn’t get
caught. But this isn’t intelligence gathering. This is an interrogation.

Immediately I’m back in my archives.

“Ground yourself.” Tairn grumbles.

I plant my feet on the ground, shutting both the door to Tairn’s power that permeates almost all
the surfaces in my archives now, and Andarna’s golden light. I take extra care to make sure to
shield Xaden’s presence there, out of all the things Dain can stumble into here, Xaden’s presence
is the last thing he needs to know. Not only that gives one of our most advantageous strategies
away, it’s also none of his fucking business. The fact that Xaden is branded in my soul feels like too
intimate of a secret for a bastard like Dain to know.

The feeling of Dain in my memories is hard to explain. It’s like the air in my archives is too thick to
breathe. I can almost imagine Dain’s slick, oil-like presence making the floors of my archives like
quicksand. I’m sinking.

“Breathe.” Andarna’s soft voice echoes in my archives and I exhale with relief to know. She
wouldn’t be reaching out if she isn’t safely at the Vale. Pain permeates my body as I have trouble
breathing, my lungs are on fire, I feel like I’m running out of air and someone trying to drown me
in my own body. My skin crawls as if I can’t fit it. It’s too much. I inhale again sharply as Dain
takes inventory of the memories of the past few days. The pain of someone clawing in my memories,
sinking their talons into my very being is like a lump in my throat. I buckle over my stomach with
pain but I’m refusing to let a sound to avoid giving Dain and my mother the satisfaction.

“Asshole.” I hear Mira curse from where she’s standing. I can hear the worry in her tone, but she
knows she can’t do anything about this. Xaden’s steady arms gently touch my lower back and he
helps me straighten. His callused hands move onto my arms holding me upright where I stand, his
touch is the only thing that gives me some reprieve from the feeling of fire ants crawling all over
my body. I can practically hear his teeth gritting from where he’s standing as if he’s barely holding
himself back.

Dain continues to move through my memories of the past few days, taking inventory of what
Imogen so carefully shielded. It feels like he’s tearing apart skin off my body as he peruses slowly.
But what the command and Dain do not know is Imogen’s gift is not just wiping recent memories.
Xaden’s earlier warning about keeping our strongest gifts a secret has come in handy. Imogen
cannot just wipe memories, she can also warp them. What Dain is looking at in my head is a
mirage. Nothing more than pretty pictures that fits their narrative Imogen planted in my mind ever
so carefully. And I know all I have to do is ride this out. I don’t know how much I can bare the pain
though.
Then an idea comes to mind. It’s a bit out there and a dick move for sure, and it banks on the fact
that it really was longing I saw in Dain’s eyes earlier. It’s an idea that might give me a short
reprieve from being drowned in my own mind. If Dain’s just taking a walk in my memories, maybe
I can show him something he does not want to see.

I think of earlier when I throw myself at Xaden after killing the Venin. How his hands traveled all
over my body in that knowing way, touching me in ways he knows that makes me tremble. How he
tasted in my mouth like mint and decadent chocolate. How my body instantly melted and my core
became so heated I considered climbing on top of him right then and there on the ground. I
remembered him pulling my hair firmly without hurting me, and him nipping at my bottom lip and
my throat. And how I’d let him do just about anything to me.

Dain gasps and his hand drops from my face. The pain instantly ceases and I take a deep breath. I
look up at Dain innocently and give him a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Saw something you don’t like?” I ask him.

Dain looks like he was about to throw up or crumble on the floor and I know I hit the target. He
still wants me. And just like how he has been taken advantage of my trust in him, I now know I can
take advantage of whatever sick, twisted claim he thinks he can ask of me. His voice is rough as he
replies.

“I saw all I need to see.” He doesn’t even look at me in the eye as he turns around and walks
towards my mother. The two of them take a few steps back to discuss Dain’s interrogation.

I hear Tairn chortle as I let a smug smile spread to my face at how easily I rile him up and
interrupt his sorry excuse for an interrogation.

“What the hell did you do?” Xaden asks as he lets me go, now that I can stand on my own. I give
him the same sweet smile I just gave to Dain, but this time it’s genuine.

“I used my Scribe brain.” I shrugged. Before I can continue, my mother and Dain approach back
to us. The lightness immediately disappears into thin air. My mother’s expression is unreadable. I
hold my breath as she passes her judgement.

“I’m sorry to hear that you and your squad were ambushed at the War Games.”

Holy shit. Is it possible that it worked? Or is my mother savvy enough that she sees past our
bullshit and wants to see how far we’re willing to take this.

“Cadet Sorrengail. You and your squad members should get back to your quarters and get cleaned
up. From what Squad Leader Aetos tells me, you’ve had a long week.”

I exhale with relief as I get ready to take my leave. My mother’s not one for small talk and
pleasantries.

“I’m not finished. Wingleader Riorson-”

I instantly take a step towards Xaden, about to step in front of him if I need to. Both Tairn and
Sgaeyl huff steam with anticipation. A warning.

“I am tired of the circumstances around your history" she spits out. "I cannot spend my entire
career supervising your every move. I know you’re expecting an easy assignment as a recent
graduate but the unique circumstances of your family history make things - complicated.”
“What are you saying, mother?” I ask leaving all decorum behind.

“Upon graduation, Wingleader Riorson will be placed with a squad that has proven themselves to
be loyal and dedicated fighters to Navarre. I believe the situation at hand warrants a special case
post assignment.”

I realize what she’s planning before her head turns in the direction of my sister.

“Lieutenant Sorrengail. Since you’re so adamant about defending Wingleader Riorson’s

character, I will be assigning him to your squad in Montserrat upon graduation. I believe his signet
and his dragon Sgaeyl will be uniquely useful in defending our borders. Congratulations,
Lieutenant Sorrengail. You are now responsible for Wingleader Riorson’s dedication to our
kingdom.”
 Xaden
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

As soon as Lilith Sorrengail leaves the courtyard I feel pressure leave my chest. I exhale loudly, I
wasn't even aware that I was holding my breath. I can’t believe how well this went all things
considered. It’s a complication that I’m going to be assigned to Mira’s squad, but it’s something we
can work with. Garrick and Imogen approach me swiftly, Garrick’s face is unreadable per usual,
his stoic expression full of quiet contemplation. Imogen looks way too pleased with herself, though
I can’t blame her, if I had the gift to humiliate Aetos just like she just did, I’d be gloating too. There
are other ways to humiliate him though.

I want to check on Violet, she’s still standing next to me, her eyes practically digging holes in her
mother's back. I want to ask her how she’s feeling, what she’s thinking. This must be so confusing
for her. Then again, I think her mother or this rebellion is the least confusing aspect of everything
that’s happening around her. Short of the shitshow between us as the others so considerately called
out in the past few days, I reckon few things confuse this brilliant woman.

Still, I can feel the storm brewing in her. I’m still sorting out what it feels like to be wanting,
desiring to be in someone’s orbit in perpetuity. I want her to know she can bare her soul in mine
just like I’ve done mine the night she pulled me off the parapet. I want to ground her, and be her
anchor, especially because her previous source of support, the person she thought she could trust
turned out to be such a colossal waste of space.

So I clench and unclench my fists like I don’t know what to do with my body. Imogen, Garrick,
and Mira are right. This is a shitshow.

“If you’re done wallowing in self-pity, we’re headed back to the Vale.” Sgaeyl croons in my head.
Her knowing tone jerks me out of my head.

“I’m not-” I don’t even bother, she knows everything that happens in my head. “I’m hoping you
and Tairn don’t engage in… activities right now.”

It’s selfish of me to ask I know. I haven’t felt the pull of their activities for a few days, and that’s
unusual for them. But I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when that happens next. How the hell
am I supposed to not make a gigantic fool of myself next time Tairn and Sgaeyl act on their mating
bond? I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I’m fine suffering through Sgaeyl and Tairn’s moments, but an even worse possibility comes to
mind. When I’m feeling the bond's pressure on myself, I can shut it down, because there’s only one
person I’d even consider relieving the pressure with. But thoughts of Violet with someone other
than me cause a cold sweat to break over my body. I still have a hard time seeing Aetos in the
hallways and not smashing his thick skull against a fall for kissing her after the Threshing. At least
I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry about her and Aetos. And even if she does choose someone
else, I know I won’t do anything. I fucked up my chance with her, and the punishment would
surely fit the crime there.

“As much as I’d like to see you and Tairn’s Rider navigate through that…” Sgaeyl considers. “We
don’t have time for that. Just like humans, Tairn and I need to sort our absence out with the other
dragons.”
I stiffen at that. All of our talk about managing the Empyrean, and we never discussed how this
affects Tairn, Sgaeyl, and the others.

“Should I be worried?” I raise an eyebrow at her.

Her light chuckle reverberates across my body. “No, unlike idiotic humans, the dragons know and
respect their place.” Her voice is regal and fully aware of just how high she is in the food chain of
dragons.

“I hope no one looks at you wrong” I say with genuine pride and awe of her.

"I'm hoping they might" She croones and the two of them take off in unison. The other dragons
follow shortly after them.

I turn to Violet who’s murmuring something to Mira, their voices are too low for me to hear. I have
a distinct feeling they’re discussing me, but I hold back on my shadows to go and eavesdrop. I’m
not going to be like Aetos, if she wants me to know she’ll let me know. Violet does not even turn
her head to me after the dragons depart, Tairn no doubt communicating something similar to her.

As much as I want to continue my self-pity and be sad that it’s not her voice echoing in my head, at
least she didn’t punch me in the face like she did Aetos, so I got that going for me. I cringe at the
realization that I now compare myself to that sleazy bastard.

“Let’s go get cleaned up,” I say to no one and stroll back into the citadel.

We’re on the last day of War Games, the sun setting on the fifth allocated day of the practice
exercise, which means dining halls tonight will be full of cadets sharing stories of their adventures.
Our story there needs no explanation since higher-ups are also going to be desperate to cover their
failed attempt at eliminating an entire squad. Fucking incompetent bastards. They can’t even
handle an assassination attempt correctly.

We have a few hours until we need to descend to the dinner into the chaos of returning cadets, and
I can use the time to take a shower, clear my head and figure out my next steps. Maybe I can even
squeeze in a few thoughts that don’t involve Violet.

Unlikely.

The attempt to have some distance and untangle myself from the woman I love fails spectacularly
as soon as I enter my room on the third floor. Shock ripples through me as I take in the scene. The
entire place is a fucking shrine for what we were doing right before Garrick interrupted us. The
window is still shattered from however mani-eth time Violet shattered around me. My sheets are
rumpled on the bed half fallen off to the side. The room smells like what I imagine our scents to be
combined despite the smashed window. It smells like us.

The sense of shame for what I did to her and desire ripples across my body in addition to the
looming desperation. I collapse on the bed, letting my shoulders sag. A sharp object pokes me
under the thigh and I flinch, hoping it’s not a dagger laying around in my bed. I’m surprised to find
it’s one of the sharp, silver pins I so diligently pulled off of Violet's hair five nights ago. I examine
it in my hand, it’s so small but sharp enough to sting. Without thinking I tuck it in one of the
pockets of my flight jacket.

A few hours pass but I manage to clean up my room, block the window with my armoire so it’s not
so godsdamn cold in there, and change into a new set of leathers. My attempts at keeping myself
busy are futile as I still have time to kill before I have to go down to dinner and listen to what
imaginary feats other war games squads accomplished. Dinner where I’ll see Violet who no doubt
will spend the time apart in her head where she’ll devise new ways to keep me at an arm's length.
Who can blame her?

My mind starts turning over the events of the last day with the other Sorrengail women for a
change. I can’t help being astonished by how Violet handled both her sister and her mother. I’m
not surprised by the fact that I didn’t have to lift a finger to execute her plan, everything she
planned played out just as she imagined. I’m surprised it wasn’t me who had to devise a plan and
make sure everybody stayed alive. This was all her.

Violet was the one who realized Mira would strengthen our case and said just the right things
without jeopardizing everyone else’s lives. She was the one who so deliberately disintegrated
Aetos’ credibility. And she was the one who blatantly, so fearlessly threatened her own mother,
one of the highest-ranking Generals of Basgiath’s army.

And she did it without batting an eye.

I find myself in that familiar place of both being enraged by and in awe of her fearlessness. Yes,
it’s not that her plan worked, it’s that for once, I don’t feel like I’m carrying all the lives. This has
nothing to do with how much I want her. For the first time in the last six years, I have a partner.
Someone who can share some of the burdens I’ve been carrying. Someone who can help me
breathe easier. I have someone. And that makes her my everything.

A short while later, I find myself sitting at the leadership table in the dining hall listening to other
Wingleaders and Squad Leaders quip about their adventures. I’m not interested in what they’ve
accomplished in their fabricated adventures, not when the war games almost cost me everything.
Aetos is sitting stiffly a few seats down his face is blanched, looking like he’s about to choke on
his food. Good. At least there is a silver lining to all of this bullshit we need to sit through, I can
watch him squirm and figure out how to claw out of the hole he dug for himself. I can’t help being
baited by his mere presence, not after what he almost caused. Besides it’ll give me a break from
thinking about Violet and our upcoming separation.

“What’s wrong Aetos? War Games didn’t go as expected?”

A smirk spreads to my face as Aetos’s hand clenches around his fork his knuckles blanching. The
others are looking at us with wonder in their eyes, although I might have heard a small chuckle
from Garrick who is in the set next to me.

“Just a few complications” Dain mumbles.

“Do tell, I’m sure-”

I stop speaking midsentence. I know it’s her even before she enters the room. Energy crackles in
the air, small sparks traveling on the nape of my neck. I can feel it. Power. Pure power. I wonder if
she’s always aware of me when I’m around her too.

Violet strolls into the room, her eyes layered with caution and alertness. Good, she’s learning.
She’s in her flight leathers, I can see the shimmer of the onyx daggers strapped all over her body,
and a sense of smugness spreads through me knowing that I know just exactly where all of her
daggers are sheathed. The leathers are accentuating every single curve she has, and I know I'm not
the only one looking at her. Her hair is braided back into a crown on her head, I come to realize,
I’ve never seen her hair down aside from when she’s alone with me. The intimacy of that touches a
soft spot in my heart.
I can see Aetos stirring from where he’s sitting, I can tell he’s contemplating going to her. Not only
I don’t even want him breathing the same air as her, we can’t afford the spectacle. Don’t do it. I try
to will, not wanting to intervene in public. But Aetos is an idiot and he raises from his chair.

“Sit down Squad Leader.” I turn my head to him gritting my teeth.

This idiot is going to get all of us killed. If I was sure it wasn’t my jealousy and my concern for
everyone else I would’ve killed him ages ago. Aetos looks at me with disbelief as if he can’t
believe I would interfere. But since he’s all about rules and I’m his superior, he sits back in his
seat. This time Garrick definitely laughs.

Violet does not notice the commotion or at least pretends not to as her friends Rhiannon and Ridoc
leap from their seats and run towards her. Rhiannon is the first one to give her a tight hug, her
trusted friend since the Parapet. Then when she releases Violet from the too-tight-to-breathe hug,
it’s Ridoc’s turn. He’s a goofy kid with a crooked smile on his face, his boyish charm evident. He
grabs Violet from the waist, hugging her tightly and spinning her in the air. Their bodies are
flushed and although I know it’s a friendly hug, I can’t but feel irritated by the interaction. Violet is
beaming for the first time since we left for War Games, and my body’s on fire. I would kill for her
to be that at ease with me, for her to smile at me without restraint, hell, even have the opportunity
to hug her like that. The urge to go over there and claim her as mine too is nearly overwhelming.

Fuck where is my Wingleader to tell me to sit down?

“Don’t you dare make a spectacle of yourself.” Sgaeyl comes to my rescue.

“Thank you.” I snort.

Rhiannon and Ridoc take a step back from Violet looking around her. Then I realize who they’re
looking for. My heart sinks as Rhiannon asks Violet something softly. Violet’s grin disappears and
even from all these tables away, I can see heaviness rush her, threatening to overwhelm her. My
shadows beg me to send them to her, but I can’t. Not unless she asks me to. Violet bows her head
whispering a few words to both of them quietly. Fuck I should be there with her.

Ridoc stills and Rhiannon’s hand goes to her mouth in shock. Violet fidgets for a few seconds and
gives them some brief details about what happened to Liam. It can’t be the truth obviously, I can
see it pains her to talk about this but she still utters a few words, out of compassion to give her
friends closure despite how much it hurts her. I’m never going to deserve this woman.

The next few days pass in a blurb with the celebration of the War Games and then graduation.
Garrick and I get our assignments as expected, him in a midland post and me in Montserrat.
Between Violet and Imogen here, Garrick in the middle of the continent, and me on the border at
Montserrat, the Command has given us a perfect network for us to continue smuggling the
weapons. Really, the setup could not work out better if we tried to plan for it.

It’s just that I feel like I’m suffocating every time I consider being more than a floor away from
Violet.

The remaining Cadets have received their assignments during Graduation as well, with Aetos being
assigned to Fourth Wing’s Wingleader and both Violet and Imogen remaining under him. It’s good
that Aetos will be under their constant supervision, but the irrational, emotionally attached, jealous
part of me wants him nowhere near Violet.

Violet is cordial but distant with me. We are able to get together a few times with the other
rebellion kids, with the ones who know what’s going on, and set a plan in place. I’ve been
watching her with awe as the Scribe and Rider in her converged poising her to be our most valuable
asset here yet. I already had to bite down the urge to ask her to just come with me, instead of
staying here hiding in plain sight doing the most valuable but dangerous work. Not only she’d have
my balls but also I would never try to take that choice away from her.

I wasn't able to get two words alone with her since the courtyard and I’m pretty sure that’s
intentional.

But today’s different. Mira stuck around since the end of war games and graduation is only a few
days apart and barked at me last night after dinner to be ready at dawn. Needless to say, she’s
unhappy about our arrangement.

But I’m leaving in an hour and even though Violet might not want to see me, I’m not leaving
without seeing her, telling her… I don’t know what I’ll tell her. Honestly, my body kind of dragged
itself from my bed this morning before the sun’s even up to come and say goodbye to her. Which is
why I’ve been standing in front of her door shifting my weight from one foot to another thinking
about what I’m going to say to her.

I knock on her door softly. She doesn’t answer. I knock a bit louder, and I hear a soft curse from
behind the door and some shuffling. I can’t help but grin. A few minutes pass, then the door opens
and Violet appears.

Her hair is unbraided, spilling over her shoulders like a wild current of fire and moonlight. Her eyes
are puffy from just being woken up. She's rubbing her eyes with one hand, the other clutching one
of the obsidian daggers. Smart girl.

I gaze at her bare legs, “What took you so long it’s not like you’re wearing-” My heart stops.

What. the. Fuck.

I notice she’s wearing a tunic that barely reaches to her thighs, barely covering anything, but still
too big for her. It’s a man’s tunic.

No, no, no, no. Panic floods my bloodstream, heart pounding as I eye her room. Is someone in there
with her? Is it Ridoc? Did I misread the friendship between them? Is it another second year? Is it
Aetos? Well, I know that’s not true, but what if it is? I would never blame her for wanting to blow
off some steam after everything, but the man? Thoughts and prayers for the man.

Violet looks at me with a puzzled expression on her face, no doubt thinking I’m standing here like
an idiot. She raises an eyebrow at my clenched fists and opens the door a bit wider allowing me to
enter her room.

Her room is now on the second floor a bit bigger than her first-year room but still small. I scan the
room intently, looking for the man, a soon-to-be dead man she must have been with, but don’t see
anyone.

“Took me a second to unward the door.” She replies her voice is still sleepy, throwing the dagger
in her hand on the bed.

I sigh in relief. So she was not trying to sneak someone out of here. As if it is any of my business. I
desperately want to ask her if she was with someone. But even I’m not that much of an idiot. Yet.
Instead, I opt for a safer question.

“Who taught you how to ward your door?” I ask eyeing her daggers cluttered in a chest on the side
of the bed. She managed to accumulate quite a few of them, it’s now pride that fills my chest.

“Brennen.” She replies curtly. “Why are you at my doorstep before the sun rises Riorson?” She
asks sounding exasperated.

Because I wanted to see you, in case - In case what?

“I’m leaving in an hour,” I say instead.

“Oh. Well, I’ll see you in a few days, right? Since Sgaeyl and Tairn will drag one of us to the other.
Why’d you need to come and tell me that? I’m sure Tairn wouldn’t mind letting me know.”

Because I’m delirious that you’re not sleeping next to me every night.

“I wanted to know if you decided what to do about Mira?” I tell her instead.

She leans against the window, contemplating, the tunic riding up her thighs. Oh for fuck’s sake,
she’s not wearing anything underneath, is she?

“Not yet.” She shakes her head. “Her temper is worse than mine, and she’s pissed that our mother
found it a fit punishment to stick you two together.”

A soft smile grazes her lips and my breath hitches. I can feel my breeches tightening with the way
she’s standing and that mischievous smile playing on her lips.

What would it take for you to let me kiss you right now?

“When will you tell her?” I ask her.

Who’s shirt is that you’re wearing? Is there someone else already? Are you forever done with me?
Did I fuck this up that bad?

“Soon?” She shrugs. “She’s not going to take Brennen being alive as well as I did. The longer I
know and she doesn’t the worse it is going to be. I know she’ll be on our side eventually, Mira will
do the right thing. Make sure you do not lie to her. About anything. If we have any chance to earn
her trust-”

“Who’s shirt are you wearing?”

Well, there it is.

“This is embarrassing.” I hear Sgaeyl show up for the first time in my head since I woke up. I
don’t need her to tell me that, I truly know just how pathetic me blurting this question out while
Violet owes me no explanation, but my tongue seems to have a mind of its own.

Violet’s eyebrows shoot up as she laughs. Oh I’m not going to like this.

“It’s none of your business. Why are you jealous?” She replies dryly, not bothering to move from
where she’s leaning.

With that response, all sense of logic and common sense leaves my body. I am fucking jealous.
Does not matter that she’s not with me and does not matter that I have no business asking, my heart
is pulsing all the same. She was with someone. I take a step back from her my eyes narrowing
looking for any evidence.

“It is my business if you’re not going to focus on the task at hand here. Is it Ridoc’s?”
 Her eyes widen in disbelief and she pushes herself off the window she’s leaning against, the tunic
now falling off on one shoulder. Her bare shoulder is threatening to push me over the edge.

“Again, not that it’s any of your business, no it’s not. And trust me, I am focused on the task at
hand, considering I saved your ass not once but twice in the past week. Boundaries Riorson.”

She knows she’s going to piss me off more by using my last name. It’s a facade of having to put
distance between us.

“Glad to know your priorities are aligned. Was it Aetos?”

The air gets sucked out of the room. Violet stills where she’s standing, and I know I overstepped.
Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Idiot.” Sgaeyl sighs in my head. She does not need to tell me that.

Violet becomes fury and wrath incarnate in front of me as lightning crackles in her eyes, shortly
followed by a thunderstrike outside.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She hisses.

Honestly, I’d like to know that too.

“Do you truly think I’m capable of that? After what Dain did to me? After what happened to Liam?
Or even after everything that happened with you? Do you have that little regard for me or my
character? Or are you confusing me with yourself, considering I have given you no reason to doubt
who I am and you’ve given me every reason to doubt who you are?”

Her voice is low and raspy, and I can feel her power trying to release, to become a physical
manifestation of her rage. Her words wash over me so violently that I gulp and take a step back.

“Violet, I’m-”

“Don’t you dare apologize. I don’t want your apology. I want you to leave. Get out.”

I can’t believe I’m leaving and I royally fucked this up even more than before. Violet marches to
the door and opens it wide, gesturing me to leave. I don’t even know what to say as the rush of
jealousy subsides and the horror and dread of my overstep rushes my senses. I step out of the room
looking her over one last time, as Violet shakes her head.

“The shirt is yours you asshole”, and slams the door shut.

Chapter End Notes

I've been playing around with an idea like this ever since Violet wore Xaden's jacket
and Rhi made " it could be any third years" comment so, and I live for the angst and
the unreasonable jealousy Xaden displays here...

Expect a lot of passive aggressive mental dialoguing for a bit lol

 Mira
Chapter Notes

Omg we had like 8 chapters of angst, so I figured we'll have a light fluffy chapter with
lots of action and plot. Besides I wanted to write a slice-of-life chapter for Rider's in a
bit. And I think Mira and Xaden would make good friends, once Mira trusts him <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

My mother can be a fucking cold-hearted bitch sometimes but this… This is low, even for her. I
cannot believe she decided to stick me together with Riorson, a known traitor’s son, no, the leader
of all traitors’ son, just because I wanted to protect my sister, her motherfucking daughter, did not
go to an execution she does not deserve.

Not that Violet is not an absolute moron for getting mixed up with whatever the fuck Xaden
Riorson is up to, which I’m going to find out. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Violet one on one in
the past few days, all I got to do is say goodbye to her. She didn’t come to say goodbye which
considering her last interaction with Riorson I’ve witnessed is surprising. Seriously, what was she
thinking?

Riorson and I fly side by side for about an entire day, without saying a single word to each other,
not that we can talk much on dragonback. Sgaeyl is a menacing presence, she’s enormous and I
swear her stare drips with intent to murder. I’ve never seen a more ruthless-looking creature than
her. She’s regal and magnificent, and it doesn’t miss my attention that she’s flying further ahead of
Teine and me which Riorson should give me some fucking deference considering I’m a Lieutenant
and I outrank him by both experience and years. But although I’m positive Riorson is a certified
asshole, I don’t think this is his doing.

“I want you to keep an eye on Sgaeyl.” I tell Teine as the Montserrat Keep appears on the horizon
and he starts descending in comfortable familiarity.

Teine’s response is a soft chuckle in my head as if I’m a child and said something incredibly naive.

“Nobody keeps an eye on Sgaeyl, not even Tairn.” As if that’s explanation enough.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask, already annoyed by having to deal with a
temperamental dragon in my squad.

“It means aside from her mate, and Codagh she’s the strongest dragon out here. She does
whatever she wants.”

“Well, that’s not fucked at all,” I respond sarcastically. Teine agrees with a grunt, clearly irritated
by the prospect of having Sgaeyl in Montserrat. At least I’m not alone.

It’s almost dusk as Teine gracefully lands on the ground and I jump off his side, my muscles tense
both from the flight and the added responsibility of babysitting a newbie. Riorson jumps off of his
dragon with annoying grace. I really don’t want him to be good at what he does. I’m so fucking
annoyed by him already, I want him to give me a reason to ride him up the gauntlet sooner rather
than later. All newbies eventually do, if they make it past the first inevitable attack.
I take a deep breath and let my power spread, doing a sweep of the wards in the courtyard. Power
ripples through me sweeping our surroundings, and washing over the surfaces. Good, the wards
are holding. Not so good, because I can’t use it as an excuse to avoid Riorson. I curse, even if they
did I know I can’t. Not for just my squad and base's sake but more so Violet’s.

Violet was honest with me I know that, and I have no reason not to believe she will tell me
everything about whatever the hell is going on next chance she gets. My patience will run out way
sooner than that though, I just know it. It has never been a virtue of mine, and something about
Riorson seems to be running it out far too quicker. Maybe it’s because he’s fucking with my sister.
Yeah, it definitely is that. I know I’ve become a bit overbearing since Brennan died, but I can’t
help it, my mom is, well, is my mom, so Violet is the only person I can trust, and damn the gods if
I’m not going to protect her with everything I’ve got.

That means I have to figure out what Riorson’s deal is sooner rather than later.

My eyes never leave Riorson, trying to read him. He’s tall, although I’m almost just as tall, his
olive-colored skin peppered with dust, his black hair blown back by the wind. He’s built to be a
Rider, his body honed by years of being on dragonback and being pummeled on the training maths
in Basgiath, although I’d wager he’s the pummeler not pummeled. He is definitely attractive, has
that cloud of broodiness following him around which I imagine makes all the first and second-year
cadets including my sister follow him around like lovestruck teenagers. Not me though. Call it a
side effect of my signet, but I can spot bullshit from a mile away, and Xaden Riorson is full of it.

He raises an eyebrow in response to my blatant examination of him, challenging me to say

something. Well, he’s in for a surprise because I’m not a Cadet caught in his mysteriousness, I’m a
fucking Lieutenant, and he’s going to find out his place here very quickly, regardless of his dragon.

I turn around on my heels and start walking towards the keep, I don’t want to be out here with
Riorson, and I’m starving.

“Keep up.” I bark as I walk away from him, assuming he’s standing there like an idiot but to my
surprise, he’s right next to me already following all of my steps. How the hell did he get next to me
so quietly without me noticing?

I hear the beat of wings behind us signaling Teine and Sgaeyl leaving. We enter the keep and I
start giving the usual walkthrough of the keep, I might not like Riorson but the sooner he finds his
footing, the quicker I can stop babysitting him.

“Teine will show Sgaeyl where they can rest.” I start talking, walking into the narrow stone
hallway.

“The courtyard serves as the flight field, for regular patrols and scheduled missions, the dragons
will meet us there. They rest in the forest down the hill below the keep, there is plenty of water and
sheep which I’m sure Sgaeyl will enjoy. Should there be an emergency, as you know, you can also
use the platform on the rise to get to Sgaeyl. The kitchens are down the hall, adjoined by a decent-
sized dining room we usually eat at.”

I usually am nicer to new graduates but given that I’m already annoyed by and pissed as hell at
Riorson, I don’t bother stopping for questions. Instead, I open the first door on the right about a
few feet into the room. It’s a standard Rider bedroom, just like all other Rider quarters across the
outposts. It has a bed outfitted with Rider black, a weapons stand and an adjoined bathroom.
Given the short lifespan of Rider’s, Basgiath at least tries to keep us comfortable while we’re alive.

“This is your room.” Riorson walks in dropping his pack on the ground. The sound of cluttering is
louder than a canon explosion, I eye him suspiciously.

“What the hell did you pack in there?” He gave an unphased shrug.

Okay then.

“We’re up in the first light, patrol the perimeter. Debrief after. Training in the afternoon, if you
thought you were done with the mats, you’re sorely mistaken. Then we patrol again before last
light then dinner. My squad, now our squad, has four of us including you. You’ll patrol with me
until I decide you’re not idiotic enough to wander past the wards and get yourself killed.
Understood?”

I eye him with suspicion, not sure why I’m so annoyed by the guy who hasn’t even said anything.
Riorson takes in his surroundings and then turns to me.

“Sounds good, I guess I’ll see you at first light.” He says.

“That’s it?” I blurt out with surprise. No questions about his duties? No complaining about how he
patrols twice a day? No snide remarks.

He sits on the bed, putting his weight on his hands arching his back. His eyes are as dark as
midnight, unnerving the shit out of me.

“What would you like me to ask?” Riorson speaks again nonchalantly. Is that amusement I’m
hearing in his voice?

“Actually, I can do the questioning.” I change my mind. “Are you gonna tell me what the fuck
actually happened in Athebyne?”

“Nope.” He replies and a smug grin appears on his face. A grin that I’d very much like to punch
off of his face.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

He shrugs again. “It means just that, I won’t be able to tell you anything you already don’t know.”

“And why not?” I grit my teeth, barely holding myself from kicking his ass to next Tuesday.

He tilts his head. “So Violet truly is the smart one.” I'd be annoyed at the blatant insult but I
cannot believe what I’m seeing on his face, is that fondness? Does this guy actually care for her?

I grunt with exasperation and a low laugh escapes his mouth. “Look as much as I’d love to
continue this, I won’t tell you anything until your sister gets here. You could say it’s her orders.”

I gasp with disbelief, the bastard is actually grinning at me. I start seeing red as he gets off the bed
with unexpected nimbleness for a Rider his height and shrugs off his flight jacket.

“Look Sorrengail, believe me when I say I don’t want to be on your bad side. From experience, I’m
not a fan of the wrath of Sorrengail women. In fact, I’ll pretty much do anything to avoid it, if I
want to avoid daggers thrown in my head, or being punched in various places on my body. But
what happened in Athebyne is not my story to tell, it’s Violet’s, and she has every intention of
telling you. She should be here in a few days since Sgaeyl is already annoyed by having to be so far
away from Tairn. You have no reason to trust me, but every reason to trust your sister. So do that.
Trust her.”
My eyes widen in disbelief at the blatant disregard at what he says, but I know I’m not getting
anything else out of him.

“She threw daggers at you?” I ask instead.

“I know, can you believe it?” He asks.

And again, disbelief fills me, because instead of sounding mad or even annoyed at the fact that
Violet threw daggers at him, he sounds amused, enchanted even. There is longing in his voice,
which makes this way too fucking complicated. What the fuck is going on?

The next morning is surprisingly uneventful, I introduce Riorson to the other two squad members
Axel and Lois who don’t even bat an eye to the rebellion relic that’s basically staring at me. He’s
an incredibly good Rider on Sgaeyl’s back who takes such a commanding presence on the skies
that I kind of can’t stop staring at her. Riorson must have had a discussion with Sgaeyl because
she is actually following Teine instead of crowding him out, although I’m not sure how anyone can
have a civil conversation with a dragon like Sgaeyl. That probably says a lot about Riorson as
much as it does about Sgaeyl. He shows no signs of tiring and surveys the skies with dutiful
commitment. He even joins me when I tell the rest of the squad to go on while I inspect the wards at
the edge of Montserrat to keep covering my flank. I have to admit, he might be a dick to my sister,
but so far Riorson does not look like he has bad intentions. Or maybe it’s all too good of an act.

After debriefing the most uneventful patrol in the history of patrols we head to the training mats.
Riorson spars with Axel first who is one of the best fighters I’ve worked with which is why he’s
assigned so far to a border. My suspicions are confirmed quickly about Riorson, he’s just as
deadly with weapons and hand-to-hand as he is on dragonback. Which could be an asset or a
dangerous threat to Navarre. We’re just about to change partners, and it’s my turn to spar with
Riorson and I’m about to work out all that annoyance. But I don’t get a chance. Because the alarm
bells are ringing.

We run into the courtyard, the dragons are already in formation, ready to take flight. I turn to my
squad, “Be careful, and protect Navarre.” It’s always the same order.

We take off in the same practiced formation and head straight to the border where I can feel the
gaping hole in the wards. My mind is on Riorson and Violet by extension. Do they know how bad
the Venin problem is? Do they know that our borders do not get attacked by gryphons but Venin
and Wyverns? How much do they know? I was a complete ass to Riorson yesterday and probably
should’ve prepped him a bit more for a likely Venin attack.

I look at the horizon to find two riderless Wyverns flying towards us. My head immediately snaps to
Riorson, and all the momentary guilt I’ve felt for not onboarding him properly vanishes. The
bastard does not even look semi-surprised to see Venin on the borders. I’m not sure what I was
expecting, the man did fight Venin with us without batting an eye just a few days ago. But still, I’m
annoyed as hell how at ease he is with this.

“Tell Axel and Lios’ dragons to go after the one on the left. Tell Sgaeyl she’s with me.” I reach out
for Teine.

“Sgaeyl says we’re with her.” Teine’s response comes back and I grunt with exasperation. Really
don’t have time to argue with a ruthless diva dragon right now.

“Whatever” I blurt back as Seine and Sgaeyl start soaring towards the Wyvern on the right.
The two Wyverns are riderless which means they’re only here to cause destruction and break the
wards. It’s been a game they’ve been playing across our outposts, destroying secure areas to see
how far they can stretch us out. We still have no idea why they’re attacking our borders so
viciously but the attacks are becoming more and more relentless nonetheless.

I let my signet take me to where the wards have fallen, it’s large enough that if more Wyverns show
up, they’ll be able to pass through them. Which means I need to repair it right now.

“Tell Sgaeyl to cover me while I repair the wards.” I order and without waiting I bank towards the
gaping hole in the wards. The presence of the ward’s calming protection is always so jarring to me
like a tear in the universe. As if there is a crack in the walls of a warm, cozy house letting the cruel
winter air in.

“I need you to get me closer.” I tell Teine and he lowers me where the wards have fallen. I take a
deep breath grounding myself and the power of my signet starts spilling out of me. I can almost see
the wards repairing themselves like limbs regenerating, the hole is bigger than usual, and it takes
my full concentration. Which is why I don’t realize a third Wyvern flying towards me aiming right
at the center of where the wards are almost down repairing.

But it’s too late. The Wyvern is too fast and my power can only repair them so quickly. Just as I
consider stopping the repair and risking another flank, darkness spools around me, rising between
the Wyvern and me like a wall. At first I think it’s an illusion, but the smoky wall expands and
thickens in front of me out of thin air forming a barrier between me and the Wyvern. Then Sgaeyl
soares in front of me settling in the dead center of darkness as I look at them with utter this belief.
The sheer magnitude of the shadow wall and the display of Riorson’s power puts me in a slight
moment of shock.

“Finish repairing the fucking wards.” Riorson’s voice carries over to me, his voice is strained
from how much power he’s channeling, I can see his hands raised high, steady.

And a second wave of shock ripples across my body. No matter how much of an asshole he is,
Xaden Riorson is not the piece of shit I think he is. He’s willing to put himself between himself and
potential death. He’s willing to risk his life for practically a stranger. He’s willing to die to protect
someone he barely knows. Again, what the fuck?

I drag my feet to the kitchen a few hours later. I was absolutely drained when I got back to my
room, my body strained from channeling that much energy. This was the biggest ward fallen down
yet, and it definitely took a lot of power and energy out of Teine and me. Which means I missed
dinner and now I have to scavenge food like a savage.I walk into the empty kitchen with familiar
steps in the darkness. I open the storage containers to find leftover turkey legs from dinner and
without thinking I lean over the sink and eat it like an animal. I don’t even care, after channeling
that much power, I do feel like a ravaged animal.

I jerk at the sound of a chair moving behind me and my hand instantly goes to the dagger strapped
to my armor. Shadows disperse behind me and I find Riorson sitting at the chair with a bottle of
liquor and ice cream in his lap, shadows dancing on his shoulders almost looking, playful.

“I wouldn’t be embarrassed, I just did the same thing five minutes ago” he shrugs, looking at the
turkey leg still in my hand.

I sigh with relief, it’s not a random attacker in Montserrat, although at this point who the fuck
knows what could happen here. I put my dagger back into its sheath, and Riorson raises an
eyebrow at the clear sign of peace I display. As a response, he pushes out the chair across from
him with his foot, an invitation to sit.

Alright then.

I walk towards him taking the seat across from him, reaching for the bottle of whiskey and ice
cream. I took a large sip and the warmth washes down my throat.

“Don’t usually see a lot of kitchen scavengers in the middle of the night,” I say, breaking the
silence.

“I passed right out once we got back and missed dinner.” He says. I nod as I realize channeling
that much was probably draining for him.

And just like that, I am done with the bullshit.

“You shouldn’t have broken the protocol and put yourself between the wards and me. It’s my job
the keep the wards safe. You could’ve died, on your first day.”

He shrugs again, “The alternative is worse.”

“What, me dying?”

He snorts. “That too, but Violet would nail me to a wall if I let you die.”

I can’t help but laugh at that, “I still cannot believe my baby sister, the girl who grew up to be a
Scribe has such a violent streak.”

And just like that, for the third time, since he’s been in my squad, the cool, collected exterior of
Xaden Riorson softens. It’s magical to watch really, to see him shift from the murderous creature
I’ve seen him to be on the battlefield to this compassionate, almost sweet man.

“She’s always meant to be a Rider.” He considers quietly. “Her bones might be breakable but
she’s not. Nothing about who she is at her core is breakable.”

He says what I’ve known about Violet all my life. And my chest swells with fondness and respect.
For Violet yes. But also, for Xaden.

“Alright, that’s enough, what the fuck is going on between you two?” I ask, just want to know what
I’m working with here. Riorson does not seem to be the asshole I think he is, he actually seems to
care for Violet. Is this a fling that ran it's course? But that still doesn’t explain what I’ve seen
between them. There is definite lust between them, but I can tell they’re not together. And if I’m
going to protect Violet, I need to know.

Riorson looks at me, and I realize those midnight onyx eyes have golden flecks in them, shining
bright. He’s a mesmerizing creature, really. A few moments pass, and I know he’s considering.
Considering whether to trust me. He exhales hard as if he's been holding his breath this entire
time. Then, words start spilling out of him.

“She loves me. So much so that she almost died for me, and our squad, to save us.” There is a
morose gratitude in his voice. Like he can’t believe someone did that for him. He takes another sip
from the bottle, and swallows hard and slow as if the words are choking him.

“And I love her. I think might have fallen for her from the first moment she showed up on the
Parapet. Or maybe when I heard she threatened to cut someone’s balls off as she got off the
Parapet. Or maybe the fact that she can turn something like oranges to a weapon. Or maybe it’s
how she recites bookish nonsense when she’s nervous. Or maybe it’s the fact that she is utterly,
completely, one-hundredth percent reckless, wild and unafraid, no matter what. Gods, I love her so
much I’d go to the ends of the world for her. But we’re not together.”

A Wyvern can fly in from the roof, sit at the table and start drinking the liquor and it would be less
shocking from what I just heard.

“Why the hell not?” I ask the only thing I can.

“Because I’ve been an ass. More so in the past few days.”

“What the hell did you do?” I ask. Riorson does not respond. “She’s going to tell me, you know.” I
probe further.

He shakes his head. “It’s still not my story to tell. But it didn’t help that I tried to fix things by
majorly overstepping. It seems when I’m around your sister all of my brain functionality
disappears.”

“What did you do?” I ask again.

And I swear to gods, he blushes. The man who raised a giant shadow wall, the son of the leader of
the Rebellion that almost caused the end of the kingdom, the Rider of one of the most murderous
dragons I’ve ever seen, blushes about my sister.

“I went to say goodbye to her yesterday, not that she wanted to see me, but I still did anyways, and
she was wearing a man’s tunic. Turns out it was mine, she must have picked it up when we were
back at…” He shook his head a small embarrassed grin that made him look like a much younger
and softer man appeared on his face. “I asked if she slept with someone else. Then when she
wouldn’t answer me, I started listing random men’s names as potential candidates, including
Aetos.”

My mouth gapes open, not just at the obvious irrationally jealous reaction he’s had, but also at the
sheer stupidity.

“She opened her door wearing your shirt, and you asked her if she slept with Aetos?” I ask, trying
to put the pieces together.

He takes another swig from the bottle. “Yep.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“So I’m told.” He grins again, and just like that his features are much less severe, and he is much
less of asshole.

“Why did you tell me all of this?” I ask him, truly wanting to know. I’m sure he’s not running
around telling people how idiotically he’s in love with my sister.

He considers for a second again, his face contemplative.

“Because I don’t need to hide how I feel about her unless it’s someone who will hurt her to hurt
me. I trust you.” He shrugs. “And I want you to trust me. I know it’s hard for you to trust me, but
maybe knowing how much of an idiot your sister makes me would help with that.”

Then he is absolutely beaming.

 “And I’m hoping when I inevitably fuck up some more, you’ll put in a good word for me.”

Chapter End Notes

Grab your tissues, next chapter is the Parapet, and we're meeting Sloane :'(
 Violet

I wake up from a nightmare, panting, drenched in sweat. Xaden's tunic I wore to bed is soaked, its
loose form molded around my sweaty body, my heart pounding as loud as lightning crackling on a
dry night. I push the wet strands of my hair to the back and pull my knees towards myself inhaling
deeply.

I’ve been having these nightmares since Athebyne. They’re not always the same, just bits and
pieces of the events that I can’t seem to stop reliving over and over. While the images my mind
decides to conjure change on a nightly basis, the one constant in them is Liam laying next to Deigh,
his body limp, his heart stopping in my hands, and light fading out of his beautiful, sweet eyes.

My body feels cold, so fucking cold. I retract into myself further, squeezing my hands around my
buckled knees tighter.

“I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive,” I whisper.

I can feel the stirring in my archives, and I ground on habit. It’s becoming more and more
instinctual to ground myself when I get restless like this, only finding comfort in Andarna and
Tairn’s permanent presence. It’s been two days since Xaden and Sgaeyl left and I’ve been on the
flight field eight times already. Tairn has been drilling me on more and more complex maneuvers,
and Andarna needs the practice, so neither of them complains. It’s the only place I can clear my
head anyways.

My archives welcome me back with that usual sense of comfort and safety, Tairn’s glowing,
commanding presence and Andarna’s soft reassuring one enveloping my very core like a blanket. I
lift my eyes instinctually to the midnight sky covering my archives. Has his presence been getting
larger? I haven’t heard from Xaden since he left for Montserrat, but I know Tairn would’ve told me
if something happened. Just because Xaden and I are not on speaking terms does not mean he’d
withhold the information about his mate and her Rider from me. Although Xaden and my bond’s
been quiet, I can feel his presence there, stirring. Just mildly annoyed that he won't reach out to me.
The stars in the onyx skies are twirling, the shadows expanding and collapsing as if they can’t
decide whether to reach for me or not.

I distinctly remember him reaching out when Carr took me out to practice for the first time. I
wonder if he can feel now, that I just woke up from a nightmare, shaken to my core. If he can feel
it, why wouldn’t he say something? He’s never been one to keep his distance.

The dread washes over me again and I whisper to myself, once more.

“I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive.”

“Yes, you are Silver One.”

It’s not him who responds but it’s Tairn. His presence soothes the rising panic in me immediately
as I ask.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“We’re awake when you’re awake.” Andarna’s soft voice echoes and warmth spreads across my
body from my aching soul to the tips of my numb fingers, dispelling the grief. But I know the
reprieve is not for long, not today. Not anytime soon.
I bite my lip in consideration, more and more annoyed that Xaden hasn’t bothered to let me know,
he’s alive and well. Not that he owes me anything. I slammed the door to his face the last time I’ve
seen him, so I don’t really expect him to check in with me. I’m still furious with him, for a myriad
of reasons which I think are more than justified. When you say you love someone, you might not
expect them to say it back immediately, but you’d think something like being a leader in a
revolution against the very institution you're a part of would come up.

Not to mention, the jerk had the audacity to question whether or not I slept with someone else. Not
just someone else, with Dain. My former best friend who not only sent all of us to die but who is
the reason Liam is dead. Is that what Xaden thinks of me? The fact that he thinks I am capable of
betraying the memory of what happened like that puts a not in my stomach.

The grief is replaced by anger, quickly turning into rage, bubbling over the endless tidal wave of
sorrow my mind’s drowning in. I grumble to no one, and get off the bed.

I need to get ready for this curse of a day.

“This is better, I like it better when you’re angry than when you’re grieving.” Tairn comments.

“Nobody asked for your opinion.” I snap back, my anger lashing out at the closest thing around
me. He doesn’t deserve this.

But I’m so full of rage and sadness, it has nowhere else to go. If I don’t snap, I might drown.

I put on the dragon scale vest and pull in the strings of the corsets tighter than I probably should.
Then I reach over to my armoire and start sheathing the daggers, all twelve of them are adorned by
unique Tyrrish runes of them. “Asshole.” I curse under my breath. It’s considerate shit like this he
does that confuses the fuck out of me.

My impatience finally gets the best of me, “Fuck.” I mumble, then I break my two-day streak and
ask.

“Is Sgaeyl alright?”

Tairn does not answer me for a second and dread fills me with every passing moment. Is he not
alright? Did something happen? Is that why he's not saying anything?

“Both Sgaeyl and the Wingleader are alright, Silver One.” I can almost hear him suppress a
chuckle, and I realize he didn’t respond to me because something bad happened, he did it because
he was suppressing his snort.

“You’re a jerk,” I respond. “Is it bad that I kind of wish something did happen? Like he was
beaten or something? Not-” I sigh. “In a bad deadly way, just hazing or something. Like ‘welcome
to being ever closer to death, we’ll punch you a whole bunch to welcome you.’”

Andarna snorts. “I think we all wish that, including him.”

I sheath the last of the daggers and put my hair up quickly into a crown over my head. I put on my
Rider boots, then grab the extra pair I had placed at the door and leave my room.

I need to hurry if I want to find Sloane before she’s checked in for Conscription Day.

As I walk out of my door scanning the hallway, I bolt in the direction of the stairs without paying
much attention but my steps are cut short when I slam into a wall.
“Gods damn.” A voice all too familiar to me groans. A voice that once meant the world to me, but
one that now just makes my skin crawl. It’s not a wall I ran into. Nope, it’s Dain Aetos camped out
of my door.

My body immediately stiffens, and I instinctively step away from him, refusing to make any more
contact than I already have with my inadvertent ramming. My eyes lift to his soft brown eyes, eyes
that I used to think I could’ve melted into. I notice he’s standing there with two cups of coffee in
his hands, with an expectant look on his face. Whatever he’s expecting, he’s not getting.

“What, you're surveilling me now?” I bite out.

Dain’s face collapses, the hopeful expression vanishing into thin air. I have to bite back the cruel
smile that is dying to make an appearance on my face.

“What, no? I just thought I’d bring you coffee since it’s Conscription day and we have a busy day
ahead of us.”

“Do you bring coffee to all of your Squad Leaders, or just the ones you’ve recently tried to get
murdered?” I reply snidely.

He told me the day before that I’d be one of the Squad Leaders in his wing. Considering he has
repeatedly insulted me by telling me how much I don’t belong here and violating my mind without
permission by taking advantage of our friendship I want nothing to do with it. Besides, there is the
whole thing of him trying to send me, Xaden, and the others to certain death. So, I don’t feel
particularly excited about the opportunity he gives me by making me a Squad Leader. No, I see
this for what it is.

A bribe.

A bribe to get back on my good side. A bribe to get close again so he can spy on me and the others.
And maybe a bribe so he can stake whatever delusional claim he thinks he has on me. Either way,
Dain can just go fuck himself.

“Vi-” He pushes back his soft, brown hair back, his face full of panic. I know his moods. He’s out
of tricks and he’s desperate. And I don’t care.

I snap the coffee mug out of his hand and start walking without saying a word. He falls into step
beside me, as I expected.

We walk in silence down the steps, the same steps we walked up hand in hand a year ago. It’s
funny how we used to be able to talk about anything. Now, we have nothing to talk about.

“Tell me what to do,” Dain asks, breaking the silence.

“What?” I snap back. I stop at the landing between the first and second floors.

“Tell me what to do to fix this.” He replies, his eyes pleading as if he’s in actual pain. I almost
believe him.

But the part of me that wanted to take comfort in him just a year ago now is an inferno ready to
lash out. All that grief and anger that’s been gathering in the pit of my stomach threathens to boil
over, rising higher and higher. My grief is going to burn me from the inside out and I can feel my
fingertips crackling with lightning, wanting to strike. Dain notices it too as his eyes dart to my
hands nervously then back to mine. Liam’s gentle smile flashes in my mind, and I explode.
“To fix what? Our friendship? It’s gone Dain. The second you chose to believe what you took from
my mind without asking for my consent, you forfeited the right to be my friend. And even if you
didn’t do that, even if you were not the gigantic prick you are thinking you are entitled to me, you
sent me to die. You sent my friends to die. Why? Because you were jealous of Xaden? Because I
didn’t do what you wanted me to do and cover? Because I’ve outgrown you?”

He flinches back, “Violet I’m so sorry-”

His apology is worthless and now that I’ve found an outlet for my feelings I’m not letting it go. I
push a finger into his chest and shove him back not so gently. He takes a step back, not expecting
my strength.

“Sorry? Sorry for what? Sorry that you did it? Or sorry that after so many times you finally got
caught?” My eyes narrow, and my throat tightens. “Or sorry that Liam is dead because of you?”

His face blanches. Good. He should know what he’s responsible for.

“I never intended-”

“Don’t lie to me. Better yet, don’t lie to yourself. You intended for all of us to die. You’d be proud
of what you did if you weren’t so fucking wrong.” I bite out and I shake my head.

“Watch your back, Wingleader.” I spit out the title he so desperately coveted to his face like an
insult and I leave his sorry ass on the staircase as I head down.

I can feel the stirring in my archives, and I'm not sure how much of this I'm channeling back to
everyone in my mind, but I can almost hear a laugh.

Imogen is waiting for me at the bottom of the steps, a quizzical expression on her face her eyes
darting between me and Dain.

“What the hell did he want?” She bites out, her voice full of disdain and hatred.

“Forgiveness he doesn’t deserve,” I grumble back and we head out to the flight field to get to the
other side of the Parapet.

Imogen and I make it to the courtyard outside of the citadel within minutes. The waiting period on
Conscription day is absolute chaos with all the prospective students surrounded by their family and
loved ones are quipping with one another, the buzz of excitement in the air.

It’s easy to tell the prospective Cadets from the other quadrants. There are two distinct types of
them, the ones who have been waiting for this day their whole life, training, getting ready, waiting
so they can volunteer to almost certainly meet a quick death. And the ones that have no choice.
The rebellion kids.

Imogen scans the waiting area scanning the crowd, and her eyes find who we’re looking for. She
grabs me by the wrist, dragging me to the edge of the courtyard towards a large oak tree.

A tall girl is standing underneath the tree, with light blond hair cut right above her shoulders. She
has a large pack strapped to her back, which is heavier than it probably should be since she keeps
shifting her weight from one foot to another. She’s wearing a dark brown tunic and and pants, the
clothes are a bit loose on her, but I can tell she’s been training based on the definition of her
muscles. Her light blue eyes brighten as she sees Imogen approaching her, and a giant grin spreads
to her face. A deep dimple appears on her right cheek and my heart skips a beat at the familiarity of
her features. Sloane.

Imogen breaks into a run and pulls her into a hug, from the way Sloane’s breath hitches, it’s a
rather tight one.

“You’re going to kill me before I even get on the Parapet.” Sloane quips at Imogen.

Imogen grins, and pushes her back, examining her from head to toe.

“If it isn’t little Sloaney Bologne,” Imogen drawls, pulling her back into a second hug. This time
the hug lasts a bit longer, and I can’t help but let the smile spread on my face, my earlier rage
dissipating, replaced by sweet sorrow. Liam should be here for this.

"I might murder Dain." I bark at Tairn, fully expecting to be scolded for my impulsivity.

His response shocks me, Not yet.

Well alright then. I keep forgetting he's much more murderous than I am.

“Hey, Im!” Sloane says when Imogen finally lets her go.

“I didn’t know you knew how to be nice.” I jab at her, unable to suppress my grin.

Imogen looks at me with a shrug, “Only to the ones who spent their whole lives getting in trouble
with me.” She winks at Sloane.

Sloane chuckles lightly and again, her features are so much like Liam’s my breath hitches once
more. I sense the uneasiness at my archives much more prominently now. And then I know. He's
watching, paying attention. I'm definitely broadcasting all of this.

“Who the hell are you?” She turns to me eyeing me head to toe, her gaze lingering at my silver
crown. Her eyes are full of distrust, and I can blame her. I snort at her blunt question.

“I’m Violet, I’m a Squad Leader,” I say.

“You’re a Rider?!” She blurts out. “But you’re so fucking small.”

Imogen snorts at that. “Don’t say shit like that around her dragons.”

I expect Tairn to grumble at that, but he just chortles. Apparently we all really like Sloane.

Sloane catches on the dragons part of Imogen’s retort but I wave my hand. “I get that a lot.” and I
continue, “I was friends with your brother. Good friends.” I add softly, hoping she understands.

Sloane’s face drops, and I see the hint of tears welling up on her face. Good gods, how long did she
have between getting the news that Liam died, and having to come here?

“I’m very sorry about Liam,” I tell her. “He was one of my closest friends.”

And isn't that the truth? Liam was one of my closest if not my best friend last year. The unfairness
of him not being here to see Sloane off to the Parapet threatens to take me to my knees.

She hesitates for a second then asks, “Do you know how he died?” Sloane asks, swallowing
shallowly. “We haven’t been told how-”

I take a deep breath, not wanting to do this here and now. She needs to focus on today. I want to
see her across the Parapet. I want her to have a chance. We’ll have all the time in the front once
she’s within the walls of the Citadel.

“I was with him,” I say softly, and her breath catches. “We both were.” I amended.

Imogen steps in quickly, “Sorrengail is one of us Sloaney.” She grabs her face gently and turns her
head to hers, and emphasizes again. “One of us.”

Sloane’s eyes widen her face snapping back to mine, “Sorrengail –” She gulps. “As in Lilith
Sorrengail?”

Imogen shakes her head, and her response swells my heart. “No, not as in Lilith Sorrengail. As in
Brennan Sorrengail.”

Understanding washes over Sloane and she nods at me. I give her a gentle smile, as Imogen grabs
her pack and dumps its contents on the ground behind the tree. The move reminds me so much of
Mira from just a year before I laugh.

“Don’t fucking just stand there Sorrengail, do what you’re here to do.”

“Right -” I grin. I eye Sloane head to toe. “The clothes are okay, but you’ll want to tuck everything
in as much as you can. Everyone thinks it’s the fall that will kill them, but it’s the wind pushing
them over. Here–” I hand over the boots clutched under my arms. “These are my old riding pairs.
They might be a bit small, but they have a much better grip than what you have.”

Sloane nods quickly and starts taking off her shoes. “Thank you.” She says gently, and I have to
hold back the urge to hug her myself.

“I’m assigned to the check-in before the Parapet so I’ll be there to see you off. When you get to the
other side of the Parapet, you’ll see a girl with brown hair named Rhiannon who will assign you to
your squad. Tell her your name. Your full name. She was a friend of Liam’s too. Tell her I told her
to put you on my squad and to assign you to one of the rooms towards the entrance of the hallway.”
I add.

Sloane nods again and Imogen hands her back her pack.

“Here, all done!” She claps.

Sloane looks at the two of us, her eyes a bit widened. She shifts from one foot to another, and I
realize it’s a nervous habit. A few second faces, and she bites out quietly.

“I’m scared.”

I have to fight the urge to start sobbing at the sheer unfairness of the cards she’s dealt with. But she
doesn’t need a sobbing Rider next to her. She needs someone to see her through this. Someone to
wait for her on the other side of the Parapet. Someone she can lean onto. Just like I had someone.

I reach for my flight jacket’s pocket and grab the wooden carving of Andarna I brought with me.

“Here.” I extend the carving towards her. And this time, I’m unable to fight back the tears, and a
few escape down my cheek. Sloane’s eyes widen with shock as realization dawns on her as she
realizes who made the carving. She takes it from my hand with trembling fingers, holding it
tightly.

Imogen swallows loudly next to me. She didn’t know I brought this with me.
“Now, this is a loan,” I tell her, managing a smile. “I want it back when you get to the other side. I
just wanted you to have a piece of Liam with you when you cross the Parapet.”

She wipes her damp eyes with the back of her hand. “You know, my carvings are better than his.”
She grins. “But this one is pretty good.”

She surprises me as she takes a step toward me and gives me a tight hug. She’s strong, just like
Liam, she even cracks my bones a bit. I laugh as she lets me go, and then it’s Imogen who gives
her another tight hug.

“I’m gonna be really pissed if you fall off the Parapet. You know don’t want to be on my bad
side.” She feigns annoyance. She’s just doing this so she’s not sobbing like Sloane and me.

Sloane grins, “Not a chance, I like being a giant pain in your ass way too much. I’ll make it across
the Parapet out of spite.”

Imogen laughs at that, as Sloane turns around. “I’ll see you two on the other side.” She responds
her eyes bright, her earlier nerves disappearing.

Imogen and I watch her walk up to the check-in and disappear into the line in front of the tower.
Once she’s lost in the crowd, Imogen heads back to where her dragon’s waiting for her and I make
it up to the tower waiting for the first prospective Cadet to make it up the stairs.

I think of Sloane the entire way to the top of the tower where I’m supposed to welcome her. She’s
so much like Liam, it’s uncanny. I think of her bright eyes, her deep dimple next to her easy grin
and how hopeful she is regardless of what she’s been through and how much she lost. She is so
alive. And with that kind of resilience and strength know in my bones she’ll make it across the
Parapet. Knowing that I can breathe a bit easier.

I take my position next to one of the third-year cadets who’s assigned to the tower to check in on
the incoming class with me. The silence stretches out as we wait for the inevitable toll of death to
start the year. I hold my breath in anticipation.

And just as I can the footsteps of the first prospective Cadet coming up the stairs. I feel the
presence in my archives shifting, the stars in the onyx midnight sky shining brighter than any fire.
I'm immediately alerted to the pull of the bond, the hair on my skin rising with awareness.

“Thank you”, The fog in my head clears for the first time in two days as Xaden finally reaches out.
 Violet
Chapter Notes

Full disclosure, this one is a chonker chapter. But we're not coming back to Basgiath
for a while after this and I had a lot to wrap up!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

I rush down the hidden stairs to the flight field, following closely behind Imogen while
suppressing a yawn. The sun is not even up yet, and the Rider’s Quadrant is fast asleep after the
commotion of first years joining the quadrant. Thankfully, Sloane made it across the Parapet,
although after laying eyes on her once, I knew she could cross that gods awful bridge with her eyes
closed. And just as I asked her, she went and found Rhiannon who put her in my squad without
question. I know Rhiannon, Sawyer, and Ridoc will watch over her just as I will because of what
Liam meant to all of us.

Neither Imogen nor I make conversation, or a sound at all really, while we pass through the secret
door. I remember Xaden dragging me down this passageway, his hand tucked in mine, his shadows
caressing my bruised body after the attack in my bedroom. A shiver runs down my spine at the
memory of his body in contact with mine, yearning for it.

I instinctively ground in my archives, checking in with all three creatures whose essences are
intertwined with mine, forever. Andarna’s golden window is dimmed, although that's not
surprising, she’s worse than Imogen and I when it comes to mornings. Tairn's overwhelming
presence is dormant behind the heavy door, although I can see swirls of bright orange behind the
see-through door begging to be let in. Even in his sleep, the damn dragon is demanding.

Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s been separated from his mate for two days now, and I know today’s
gonna be pushing it. He’s been grumpier than usual if that’s possible and very monosyllabic with
me. I’m not any better with my never stopping rage and grief consuming me, but at least I have my
reasons. He’s just… He’s just away from his girlfriend. For two days. Seems unreasonable.

As if he can hear my thoughts in his sleep, he scoffs.

“Yeah, yeah”, I scoff back down the bond.

My eyes slide back to the ceilings of my archives again surveying the dark smoke of midnight. It
stirs occasionally, with golden flecks peaking as if our connection has a will of its own. It’s been
getting heavier and warmer with each passing day almost starting to burn me from inside out. I’m
guessing we have Sgaeyl and Tairn being so far away from each other to thank for the nearly non-
ignorable tug from the bond, making the air in my archives thicker, making it harder to breath.

Tairn scoffs again, “It’s not us who’s making it harder to breathe.”

“Good morning to you too”, I mumble back, as Imogen opens a door and steps outside the
camouflaged exit to the flight field.

Tairn’s right, I’m smart enough to know why I’m feeling like there are fire ants crawling all over
my body with each passing date.
It’s not the dragons who are making me feel this way. It’s Xaden.

“Keep up Sorrengail.” Imogen barks as she moves towards the left side of the flight field towards a
cluster of trees. I can see shadows lingering, twirling around the branches giving an unnatural
amount of shade to the trees. Imogen walks further into the set of trees disappearing behind a giant
oak tree. I follow her obediently but am stopped when one of the shadow tendrils splits from the
branch and slowly starts approaching me.

I realize this is Xaden, his shadows protecting where they stash the weapons. I can’t help but feel
impressed that he can channel and manage his shadows from so far away. The tendril hovers in
front of my face, then swirl around my head for a second, lifting strands of the silver tips of my
hair. I smirk, this is definitely him. It then gently caresses my cheek, almost as if it is assessing me.

After a few moments, it stops.

And I know that Xaden knows I’m here. I feel a prickle of awareness on the back of my neck and
feel his presence in my archives thicken like syrup, dripping into my very being. I gulp, rattled by
how quickly my body reacted to his presence even when he is miles away. I can’t breathe, my
palms warm, my breath hitches. The tug of the bond is all I can think of, it's entirely too
consuming, as the shadows in my archives spread to the entire ceiling, and threaten to envelop all
of me.

The shadow tendril twirls around a strand of my hair, gently tugging it. I gasp in realization, it’s
playing with it. The sensation is so sweet, so gentle that I react to it the only way I can.

“You’re in a mood today.”

Now that he so blatantly lets me know he’s awake, I might as well address him.

“Sorry Violence, didn’t sleep well.” Xaden’s smoky voice echoes in my head. He does sound
exhausted and sleepy.

“Bullshit.” My response is instant, and I hear a chuckle back. The tendril tugs at my hair playfully.

“It’s Sgaeyl and Tairn. They’re… uncomfortable.”

My mind immediately goes to him shirtless in my bed, and an ache hits me in my stomach at the
unfairness of that memory. My palms get warmer, and I try to shake that image out of my head.

“Is it though?” I ask, unable to keep huskiness out of my head, and want to kick myself for
blatantly flirting with him. You're supposed to be mad at him Violet, I scold myself. But if Tairn’s
not going to let me bullshit my way through this, I might as well drag him down with me.

I don’t get to hear his response, because Imogen is getting impatient.

“Sorrengail.” She barks again, and I move forward into the canopy of shadows the tendril still
wrapped around the strands of my hair, bouncing them up and down, tugging playfully.

Imogen is bent into a wooden crate all the way down to her waist, slowly moving weapons into an
empty pack next to it one at a time. Her head snaps back to me, whipping her pink hair over her
shoulder with the movement. Her eyes dart at the shadow tendril wrapped around my hair, and she
smirks.

“If you’re done playing with Xaden, get to work, I don’t want to miss breakfast.”
I walk up next to her, releasing an exasperated sigh.

“I’m not playing with Xaden, in case you haven’t noticed he’s not even here,” I reply, my answer is
less than convincing.

Imogen’s smirk grows wider as she reaches for my hair, tugging at the same strand where the
shadows are still playfully dancing around as she gently smacks one.

“You’re embarrassing me in front of Imogen. Behave yourself.” I send down the bond trying to
sound annoyed. But I can’t help it, by having his shadows around me, I feel like I can finally take a
deep breath. The thick smoke in my archives is still heavy but I’m not suffocating anymore.

“She’s seen us do far more embarrassing things.” He bites back, a playful hint to his voice, as the
tendril caresses a soft spot on my neck. I resist the urge to lean into it but bite back down
regardless.

I need to put back some distance between us. The physical distance is there, but our souls being
intertwined is not doing any favors to me right now.

“Are you gonna send these shadows to follow me around too so they don’t make sure I don’t sleep
with anyone?”

I know I hit true because there is no answer. There. Distance. It's what I wanted right?

I start shoving weapons into a pack I’ll deliver to Montserrat later today. I pout when I realize how
light the load of the crates are. Surely this can’t be it? I’ve seen what Venin can do, and while
we’re safe behind the wards, the Gryphon fliers are battling them on a daily basis, trying to protect
innocent people with little to no resources. And this is the best we can do?

Rage spreads through my chest, my palms are warming with unnatural heat, and I can feel
lightning crackling in my fingertips. This can’t be all we’re doing. It’s not enough.

“We’re doing the best we can.” A solemn comment comes from Xaden. I’m not sure if he's trying
to convince himself or me, but either way, it doesn’t work.

We slip into seats at the table where Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer are sitting at as breakfast is
wrapping up.

“I just think it’s unfair that I barely got to recover from celebrating not dying in the first year and
we’re already doing challenges today,” Ridoc says with feigned annoyance in his voice, waving a
piece of sausage at Rhiannon at the edge of his fork.

Rhiannon rolls her eyes at him. “How else are we supposed to get better?”

“I don’t know, how about fighting actual Venin?” I can’t help but think. Tairn chortles.

“How about letting us rest for longer than three days, and feeding us better food? Or better yet,
how about letting us fraternize with other quadrants a bit more?” He raises his eyebrows up and
down, implying.

“Yeah, because other quadrants are waiting with bated breath for Ridoc the Rider to have more
time for them” Imogen replies, and I can’t help grin. Rhiannon’s head turns to us, her gaze
snapping to Imogen and me. She assesses our flight leathers and flushed cheeks from carrying
weapons. I try to retract inward at her examining gaze.
She asked me what actually happened at Aethebyne and I gave her a vague, nonanswer but I know
she’s not buying it. She’s been eyeing me suspiciously since then, not that she thinks I have
something to hide or actually betrayed Navarre. And by the way, even though technically what
we’re doing is a little treasonous, doing what’s allowed and doing what’s right are two different
things. We’re the ones who are truly serving Navarre.

No, the way Rhiannon assesses me is from friendly concern. She has a protective look on her face
like she wants to bail me out of trouble, or help me bury a body should I need it. The type of look
she gives me is the type of look a best friend has when she knows she’s not told everything. Even
Ridoc in his casual nonchalance gives me occasional glances as if he's waiting for me to give up
and spill all of my secrets.

And I was somewhat honest with them. I told them I’ll fill them in when we have time. It’s not my
fault if we just… didn’t. I might be making sure we don’t have time until I’m sure but still. I'll tell
them soon.

My heart warms at that in just about a year, I’ve cultivated strong enough bonds for someone to
feel entitled to my truths. I’ve never had that before, not other than with Mira and Brennan. And
they’re obligated by blood to be my friend basically. Rhiannon and Ridoc have my back by choice.

But what am I supposed to tell them?

“You could always tell them the truth.” Tairn jumps in.

“You trust them?” I reply in surprise. I would’ve thought he wants this secret guarded.

“They had your back the entire year, and I their dragons are worthy. If you want them in, Sgaeyl
and I will allow it.”

“How generous of you to let me invite my best friends to commit treason with us.” I snide in reply.

“It’s the honorable thing to do to defend everyone, not just the ones sitting safely behind the
wards. Your friends have shown time and again they are honorable. It’s not fair to keep them in the
dark. Remember how mad you were."

"Still am." I bite back.

I huff in exasperation as the eyes at the table turn to me.

“Sorry, Tairn,” I mumble as an explanation, showing a spoonful of eggs in my mouth.

We filter into the sparring room with the majority of the cadets already there, sparring. The first
years are not going to be challenged today since they just walked across the Parapet the day before,
but that doesn’t mean they don’t get to witness some death immediately. I drop my flight jacket on
the corner of the room, stepping towards the sparring rings. With everything that’s happening, I
forgot to check on who I’m challenging. And honestly, between Xaden training me and Imogen
helping me get stronger, I don’t feel like I need to. There aren’t that many unreasonably murderous
people left in the quadrant, most of whom finally accepted my position in the food chain, not just
because Tairn bonded me but also because I wield the lightning all on my own.

I watch the already-in-flight spars with uninterested eyes, my mind occasionally slipping to Xaden
and I’s training sessions from the year before. The training arena hums with anticipation as cadets
approach various mats and shout in excitement at the sparring duos. My eyes spot Sloane leaning
against one of the walls, her arms crossed watching the sparring match in front of her. I give her a
genuine smile and get a smirk in response reminding me of her brother.
The sparring matches are over as the pairs leave the mats.

“Sorrengail, you’re up next.” Professor Emetterio scans his clipboard. “Against Easton.”

I crack my neck at the announcement and step onto the mat. Kellan Easton is a second-year from
First Wing, bonded to a Red Daggertail if I recall correctly. He is a tall man, and although almost
everyone is taller than me, he is an oaf of a man with jet-black hair with skin pale as a ghost giving
him a commanding presence. He eyes me with no sympathy in his eyes, but silver lining, no hatred
either.

I respect that he sees me as just as I am, an opponent, and not a weak link that needs to be
eliminated. I know I have proven myself in the quadrant, but seeing the respect in basically
strangers is refreshing all the same. Professor Emetterio gives us the go and we start circling each
other on the mat. The air crackles with energy.

Displaying his hefty daggers confidently, Kellan’s imposing figure seems almost comical to my
delicate body. He is heavy and strong, while I’m quick and small. My fingers tighten around my
onyx daggers, their runes glowing dimly, their fit perfect in my hands, making my heart
immediately go to Xaden in gratitude.

“Pay attention,” Tairn grumbles.

Just as he finishes, Kellan lunges forward with calculated aggression, his heavy daggers slashing in
the air poised for action. In a blur of motion, I dance gracefully out of reach, my lithe form slips
past the strike I see coming a mile away, like a whisper. Swift and agile, I deflect the attacks with
precision, using my compact size to my advantage just like Xaden’s instructed me by slipping past
every thrust.

“You didn’t think to tell me you’re being challenged today?” Xaden barks in my head, his voice
annoyed, his tone layered with worry.

Kellan is unrelenting as his strength keeps clashing with my speed, resulting in a frenzy of combat
dynamics. As one of his powerful blows barely misses me, and my small dagger meets his large
steel one, the clash vibrating across my entire body I reply.

“Not. The. Right. Time.” I grunt.

"This is the type of thing you should tell me, regardless of how pissed you are at me." Xaden's
voice echoes again.

"You babbled to Xaden about challenges?" It's me who's chastising Tairn now.

"I don't babble, I inform when necessary," Tairn grumbles.

Not really an answer, but who am I to argue with his thought process?

I lunge back with fluidity, each calculated step allowing me to maneuver around my larger
opponent. My next slash barely misses Kellan’s chest, but leaves a visible dent in his leather
armor.

“Damn it Sorrengail, don’t be such a bitch.” He huffs.

“Do not let him speak to you like that.” Tairn comments, as if he’s barely holding back from
spraying fire through my mouth.
I smirk at that comment, but my distraction from Tairn’s commentary costs me, as Kellan lunges at
me in full force. I barely avoid being tackled, but my shoulder is not so lucky, as his knife slashes
in the air cutting straight across my collarbone. I hiss in pain, as both Tairn and Xaden shout in my
head.

"You are giving him a play-by-play?" I ask Tairn incredulously.

"He cares," Tairn replies. "And technically, I'm only telling Sgaeyl."

I just got slashed across the chest and my dragon sounds amused. I guess I can take that as a
testament to his confidence in my fighting abilities.

“Not another word out of the two of you.” I chastise, trying to breathe through the pain in my
shoulder. Kellan has a victorious smirk on his face, but he does not know the usual level of pain I
operate, and although my shoulder is slashed, it’s not broken or dislocated which at this point even
might not take me out of a fight.

The crowd is holding their breath as I inhale deeply with a flurry of strikes that mirror my previous
evasive maneuvers, but this time on offense. I duck underneath as Kellan slashes clunkily, as I kick
behind his legs, making him drop to his knees. He wants to swing his blades again, but I kick high
knocking them out of his hands, the daggers flying across the mat. I hear Ridoc cheering from the
sides as I lower my blade to his neck, pushing against his flesh but not breaking the skin.

Kellan looks up at me with shocked eyes, unexpectant of the offense I just pulled off with a slashed
shoulder.

“Uh, I guess I yield.” He murmurs.

I give him an easy grin and reach out a hand.

About an hour later I’m sitting on my bed, trying to cover up the cut in my shoulder. It’s a nasty
thing, starting from my shoulder blade and reaching all the way to the end of my collarbone right
below my throat. It’s deep but at least it doesn’t need stitches. My scale for pain is forever altered
since I’ve been stabbed by a poison blade anyways, so this… is nothing but a flesh wound.

A knock sounds on my door which I’m determined to ignore, as I continue applying pressure on the
bandage I neatly placed underneath the tank top I am wearing. The knock repeats and I just yell,

“Go the fuck away.”

Whoever’s at my door is not taking no for an answer, as the knock repeats itself this time a
pounding, loud and impatient. I groan as I grab one of my daggers with the hand that pushes on my
shoulder and fling the door open.

“What part of go the fuck away-” I stop midsentence.

Professor Carr is standing in front of my door, with a look I can only describe as annoyed and
amused at the same time.

“Professor-” I gasp, the warmth of embarrassment spreading to my cheeks.

“You’re hurt.”
He blurts out, and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes and reply no shit. I nod instead.

“Can you still wield?”

I roll my shoulder in test, wincing at the pain from the stretch of skin. I then reach out my hand and
a small crackle of lightning dances on my finger tips. Carr’s eyes look at the crack of lightning in
my palm, and I think i see a small sign of approval in his face if the man is capable of that, and
something else I can't pinpoint. That display must have been enough because he just turns back and
barks, “Let’s go.” and bolts down the hallway.

We’re back at the mountaintop as Carr’s dragon is perched on the ledge of the cliff alongside Tairn
who’s heavily annoyed by his space being invaded.

Carr stands in front of me expectantly as if I’m about to put on a show. I’m on the edge, knowing
this man has no qualms snapping the necks of intrinsics in front of an audience. I feel uneasy that
we’re alone here and starting beating myself up for dragging myself up here willingly. Does he
know what truly happened in Aethebnyne? Is that why I’m here? Panic fills me as I regret how
easily I followed this strange man, albeit a professor to the middle of nowhere.

“Tairn.” I reach out for my dragon with panic, needing his reassuring presence.

“He doesn’t have any ill will.” He replies, and I take a deep breath, knowing I’m safe with him.

Carr turns to me, his eyes darting between Tairn and I as if he knows I just checked in with him.

“Your dragon trusts me now.” He assesses.

“That’s a stretch,” Tairn grumbles, and I have to bite back a smile.

“He is… okay with us being here,” I say with an apologetic smile on my face, then I blurt out
what’s truly on my mind. “What are we doing here professor?”

Carr assesses me up and down as if he can see past behind my skin. The intensity of his stare is
heavy and I feel utterly exposed. I gulp.

“I heard about your fight at Aethebyne. I heard how you kept everyone fighting alive.” He says.

My mind turns what he says over, assessing. I notice how he doesn’t say the Riders or the dragons.
He says, everyone. Then an entirely different kind of question races through my mind. Does Carr
know? Not just what I did, but does he know the threat that is out there? I’m too cautious to prod
more and it’s probably just the weird way he speaks, but I can’t help but wonder.

“Yes Professor,” I reply, realizing I’ve been quiet for too long.

Carr taps his notebook inquisitively.

“How’s your aim? Have you been able to redirect lightning?”

I have to swallow my gasp. It might be an innocent question or it might be exactly what I think it is.
I shift my weight from one foot to another, my attention fully on him.

“Does he know?” I ask Tairn.

“Hard to tell. If he’s with us, he might not be able to say it. The instructors are under just as much
scrutiny, or even more so than those with rebellion relics. He might go under regular
interrogations to test his loyalties.”
Well, that explains it. It also explains that I probably can’t figure this out right now. I sigh.

“Yes. But it wasn’t... Precise.” I reply with a grimace on my face.

“Spit it out Sorrengail, I don't have all day.”

I take a deep breath. “I channeled all the power I can from Tairn, creating multiple bolts and then I
whipped the closest one towards the… gryphon” I finish, pouting at the half truthness of my reply.
For some reason, I want to tell this man the truth. Part of me thinks he already knows.

Carr considers this for a second, “It’s not clean, but it’ll get it done. But we can’t afford you
channeling all of your energy once for the battles ahead.” He says knowingly.

He looks at his notebook, investigating a few notes.

“Don’t think about where you want the lightning to appear. Think about the lightning itself, as if
it’s a weapon. Think about the essence of the air and the energy and try to focus it, hone it.”

That’s… different.

But I take a deep breath and ground myself. The door to Tairn’s power opens with eagerness and
my blood fills with his overwhelming power. Instead of resisting it, I let it wash over me, filling all
of my crevices and hollows. I look at a giant boulder in front of me, the familiar crackling of air
and the pressure of electricity course through me.

I close my eyes and try to will the lightning to strike on the boulder in front of me. I hear the
thunder but when I open my eyes, I don’t see the smoke and char on the boulder like I expected to.

“I don’t think it worked.” I pout.

Carr’s eyes are wide open, and his mouth curves into this weird shape I didn’t see it take before. A
smile I notice.

“I don’t know about that.” He says, pointing at my hand.

When I look down to my side, I see a bright, white light, small as a dagger but pulsating with
warmth and energy in my palm. It tickles my fingers a little bit, like it has a life of its own. My eyes
marvel as it dawns on me. I made a dagger out of lightning.

A few hours later we’re sitting in the Battle Brief Tower. The first years are all huddled up at the
front, leaving me to sit in the last row with Rhiannon and Ridoc on either side. Somehow Dain
manages to find a spot right by me, towering behind my seat since there are too many Cadets alive
at this time of the year and there is not enough seating. He tries to make eye contact, then small
talk with me, but I brush him off saying I need to pay attention to Battle Brief. I know we’re about
to be fed a bunch of bullshit, but what better way to ignore Dain than by displaying an affinity to
his precious rules.

My mind is running a hundred miles an hour as I twirl my quill in my hands, not paying attention to
whatever Professor Devara is covering. I just don’t have the patience to listen to the lies today, not
with my aching shoulder and not with my body burning up the closer I get to the end of the day.

At least we have the perfect excuse to do a weapon run. Nobody’s going to bat an eye at me when I
claim Tairn dragged me to see Sgaeyl to Montserrat, even Dain has the common sense to not argue
with the will of dragons. But it's not him. I'm sure Tairn and Sgaeyl are suffering from being apart,
but the off sensation my entire body seems to be drowning is all me. All us. I don’t think my body
can take the pull of the bond any longer, and I might just burn alive from the inside out. The air in
my archives feel heavier than ever.

“Last night, the wards failed at Montserrat during a Gryphon attack that almost left the keep
invulnerable.”

Wait what?

“Thankfully, the Rider Squad stationed there were able to battle them off, repair the wards, and
fend off the attack.”

My attention snaps back to the Battle Brief, all of a sudden sounding not so bullshitty anymore. My
back straightens as I sit back up on the seat, my eyes are on Professor Devara eating every word.
Xaden. Mira. I know if something happened to one of them I would’ve heard but the terror
spreading through me is irrational and have a mind of its own. I might want to kill him myself, but
the thought of him being so close to danger all the time... It's unbearable. It's suffocating. It's
punishing. Suddenly, the urge to leave this room, get on my dragon, and fly straight to Montserrat
is almost irresistible.

But not yet.

“A new Rider stationed at the Montserrat Keep was able to hold off the attack long enough for the
wards to be repaired and protected the keep.”

Xaden.

“You didn’t think to tell me Montserrat was attacked yesterday?” I hiss down the bond.

“You didn’t ask, Violence.” He answers… with a nonanswer.

My hands are warm again with unexpected heat as if pent-up energy is trying to burst out of my
body. I’m angry, yes. But more than that I’m terrified. Terrified that Xaden’s been there for less
than twenty-four hours and he already had to go into battle. And I know that it’s not Gryphons and
their fliers that attacked that keep. I don’t think Gryphons and their flyers have been attacking our
borders by choice for a long time now.

“Did you know?” I ask Tairn.

“Sgaeyl can handle her in battle, she wouldn’t need to tell me unless something horrible
happened,” Tairn responds.

Well, that’s… a healthy relationship.

My hand goes up in the air. “How many gryphon riders?” My teeth grit at the words.

“Four. Why?” Professor Devara responds.

“Because four is not an attack to siege. It’s a probe. They’re looking for something.” Another
thought comes to my mind. “Or they’re testing something.”

Now that… That’s terrifying. Professor Devara says something about my intuition or whatever, I
honestly don’t care. My mind is too busy making the connection. It's even busier with the
unreasonable urge to go an make sure Xaden's in one piece, unharmed and safe.
 “You fended off four Wyverns outside of the wards, breaking protocol Riorson?”

Lightning strikes outside of the Battle Brief tower with a mighty roar. I didn’t realize my power got
away from me releasing itself. Apparently, in and out of my pants, Xaden Riorson can drag
fireworks out of me.

My body is relentless as it practically is begging me to drag myself out of the seat and get to
Montserrat. I’m utterly overwhelmed by the desire to see him. This type of pull cannot be natural.
First to make sure he’s okay. Then to kick his ass to next Tuesday for being so reckless with his
life. With our lives. Is this how he felt the entire last year when I ran from one deadly endeavor to
another?

“I didn’t know they’re teaching about Wyverns in Battle Brief these days. How… progressive.”
He’s trying to deflect by making jokes but I’m not having it. He’s strong, but we both know four
Wyverns is too much for even the two of us to handle together. Something isn’t right. I take a deep
breath, trying to ground myself, but it’s a failing battle.

“Why would you break protocol and risk yourself?”

A moment passes. Then two. I’m about to practically shout down the bond when I get his answer.

“Because Sorrengail women have a habit of trying to sacrifice themselves for others.”

I gasp audibly turning a few heads to me in the room. I realize what he’s not saying. Mira. Mira
had to be past the wards to repair them. And while that might be a truth she’s comfortable with, I’m
not. And if I was there, I would be right behind her protecting her just the same.

This man… This aggravating, cunning, strong, devoted man threw himself in death’s way to
protect what’s most important to me. Because I realize, regardless of how I want to feel about him,
what’s precious to me is important to him. No, it’s more than that. What is precious to me, is also
precious to him. And while I know it almost breaks down every barrier I'm trying to build up
against him, I also know in my core, Xaden Riorson would sacrifice his life for anyone. Because
that's who he is.

I don’t need to hear anything else. I jump out of my seat and leave Battle Brief.

My resistance to the bond finally breaks and I yield. I surrender.

I might not be ready to forgive him, but I cannot spend another minute away from him. What that
means... I'll sort that out later.

I run towards the flight field. Run towards the pull. Run towards Montserrat.

Towards him.

Chapter End Notes

Next time, Violet, Imogen and Garrick find themselves in the thick of battle in
Montserrat. Mira's signet for wards come in handy as new artifacts both the Riders and
Venin want, including the box from Aethebyne.

Also... do you guys like the snippets for next chapter? Or is it better to leave it as a
surprise? Let me know <3
 Xaden

I wake up with a headache so heavy it feels worse than the time Sgaeyl threw me off of her back
when we were practicing demounting moves and I ran straight into a boulder. It’s too bright.
Although there is only the blueish hue of breaking dawn sunlight filtering through the small
opening between the blackout curtains I vaguely remember closing, it’s too much. I groan,
reaching out for the curtains from where I lay but all I do is to my wave helplessly in the air
because I can’t reach it. And I just don’t have it in me to get out of this bed right now.

Fuck, I’m hungover.

Based on the dimness of sunlight filtering into the room, I must still have a few hours until I need
to be up for patrol, which means I can go back to sleep, but it’s already hard for me to fall asleep as
is.

What I learned in the past two days since I’ve been here is that Riders like drinking. The cadets at
Basgiath might think they know how to throw a celebration, but apparently living right on the
border of a kingdom that regularly gets attacked by corrupted magic wielders is the secret to
parties. While Axel and Lios are pretty impressive drinking companions with their lighthearted
stories and exaggerated “adventures”, it’s Mira fucking Sorrengail who can drink almost all of us
under the table.

There is a delicate truce between us since that night in the kitchen. I’d like to think it’s because
broke protocol and almost got myself killed trying to give her enough time to repair the wards, but I
know it’s the other thing. You know, the small, tiny fact that I declared my love for her little sister
to her when Mira said I was the worst thing for her just a few months ago.

I can only hope, I’m starting to change that.

I must be doing something right because right after Axel stumbled to bed and Lios passed out on
the table in the kitchen, Mira started telling stories of Violet, Brennan, and herself. Well, she tried,
she mostly giggled and snorted through it.

She told me right before the summer before Brennan was supposed to go Basgiath, Violet who was
not even a teen then was so scared about her big brother going and meeting the dragons, she tried
to poison him into staying back. However, according to Mira, she also slipped the same poison to
her mother to punish her for taking away her brother. Mira was practically beaming at Violet's
vigilante justice against their mother, her drink snorted back out of her nose as she tried to suppress
her laughter trying to finish the story.

The story is one I heard before from Brennan when he was healing in Aretia after his injury at the
battle, but it warmed my heart regardless. Not just because it is a cute story about a scared child
trying to punish their mother, it’s because even then Violet was rebelling against their mother
trying to do what she thinks is right. Their mother never had a chance, Violet was born untameable.

I close my eyes with the image of a younger Violet with short silver braids bouncing around her
head vibrant in my mind, running around what I hope was a loving household even though I know
better, and try to get some more sleep. Sgaeyl is going to kill me if I’m not at hundred percent for
the patrol in a few hours.

Right as I start to sink into my bed and try to will away my head from exploding, there is a
pounding at my door. I groan with annoyance, covering my face with my arms. I know it’s not an
attack since the horns would’ve been blowing, so I know whoever the fuck it is can just go fuck
themselves until next week. I ignore the pounding and pull the covers on my head, willing the
unwanted guest from going away.

The intruder pounds on the door again.

“Are we being attacked?” I ask Sgaeyl.

Crickets.

Okay, now I’m worried.

The pounding on the door is now louder, whoever is out there changing their attempt at dragging
me out of the bed switching from soft knuckles to hardened fists.

“Whoever the fuck you are you better have a damn good reason for this.”

I push the blankets off of myself and get out of the bed, resisting the attempt to crawl to the door.
The only reason for walking instead of crawling is that I want to look strong enough to beat up
whoever is out there. My body protests at every step and I don’t even have the energy to put a shirt
on, I just want whoever this is to go away as quickly as they arrived to leave me to suffer in quiet.

I fling the door open and all the ache in my body vanishes.

It’s her.

Violet’s standing at my doorstep. I have to blink a few times to make sure she’s really there and
I’m not still drunk or something. She’s not supposed to be here till dusk tonight. I immediately
survey her for any injuries or sense of urgency looming from her. Her hair is down, a wild nest of
copper and silver in that way that always takes my breath away. Her flight goggles are pushing
back the strands from falling down her face, although a few rebellious ones still manage to escape.
I can see the flight lines around her eyes, and by the looks of the flush on her cheeks, she’s come
straight from dragonback. I do the math in my head from when she scolded me for breaking
protocol to now, and I realize she must have been flying the whole night.

Shit, something’s wrong.

“Violence, is everything alright?”

She doesn’t answer for a second, her eyes surveying me from bottom to top. Her eyes linger on my
barren chest, and when her eyes meet mine those hazel depths are blazing with fire. I don’t mind
the intensity of her gaze or how she makes me feel like she can see everything underneath my skin,
I welcome the intimacy.

I am getting incredibly worried about her nonverbalness though.

“Sgaeyl?” I query on instinct. My dragon has gone awol on me. Shit.

Violet must have noticed my eyes going blank because she snorts as she finally speaks.

“I don’t think we’re going to be hearing from them for a while.”

I look at her with confusion for a few seconds, then catch on. Sgaeyl is not silent because
something's wrong, she’s with Tairn. Which means… Gods… Gods I hope they fucking shield,
because I’m not at all in possession of my faculties to block them out right now. And with Violet
here and they didn't… May the gods have mercy on me.

Violet looks at me with anticipation, and I realize I’m still blocking the doorway. I step aside, still
completely caught off-guard of her earlier-than-expected arrival and let her in.

She eyes the space with those curious eyes of hers, taking it all in, and I can’t help but remember
her in my dorm room in Basgiath taking inventory of my space in a similar manner. A different
time. As if she’s remembering the same thing and she turns to me,

“You look like shit.” She says, playful amusement in her tone. I relax at her casualness but still
wonder what the hell dragged her back here earlier than usual.

“Wasn’t expecting company.” I shrug, not knowing what to do with myself.

“Should I be looking for naked Riders under the bed?” She asks, still that playful tone in her voice.
“After all, it’s only fair after the bullshit you asked right before you left.”

I grimace at her sarcastic tone. “Not my best moment I have to admit-” I start but Violet finishes
the tour of my bedroom she invited herself to and starts shrugging off her flight jacket. She looks at
my rumpled bed, and the clutter of weapons on the nightstand, takes stock of the blade peeking
under the mattress and throws her jacket on the floor.

She’s wearing a tank top under her jacket, and my eyes devour every inch of bare skin on display
without shame. I inhale sharply at the jagged red line starting from her delicate collarbone all the
way to the middle of her chest plate. Whatever I was saying does not matter. I instantly close the
gap between us, the speed I move towards her granting me a small whimper from her.

“What the hell?” I grumble, my hands immediately on her collarbone tracing the deep line of the
slash across her chest. It’s not deep enough to need stitches, but barely. Violet doesn’t take a step
away from me and doesn’t push my hand away. I’m hypnotized by the edge of the jagged lines of
the scar on her soft skin, that shit doesn’t belong there. Her skin should never be marked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” She replies dryly, her eyes are full of light like a starry night.

“What do you mean?” I ask, still not taking my eyes off the fresh wound.

“I mean, why do you and Tairn have to be such assholes distracting me in the middle of a
challenge?” She muses.

I gulp at the retort. I’ve been so consumed by worry when Sgaeyl told me she was being
challenged I didn’t even think that I might be a distraction. Shit. Why can’t I get my shit together
when it comes to her? I feel like I constantly find new ways to fail her.

We stand there in comfortable silence for a few minutes, my hands instinctively travel down her
naked arms, taking in the soft and warm feeling of her skin under my hands. I know I’m being
greedy, but I stroke her arms all the same, exploring, refamiliarizing. And she’s letting me.
Eventually, my hands make it to her hair, and I do what I’ve been dreaming of for weeks, and wrap
one of the silver strands around my finger, gently tugging it. I release the strand and it bounces
softly. I do it again. Eventually my hands leave her hair and find their way back to her shoulders,
sliding up to her neck. I cradle her face in my hands looking into eyes I’ve come to accept is the
answers to everything I’ve been looking for, expecting to find distance, but I find…warmth.

For a few minutes I just look at her, my fingers drawing idle circles under her cheek, allowing
myself this moment of intimacy as if it might fleet away any second. With how prone to each of us
nearly dying it just might. Or she might realize I don’t deserve her finally and tell me to go away
for good. But she doesn’t step away from me, her gaze never leaving mine.

Eventually she breaks the silence.

“You were stationed here for less than a day and you almost died trying to save my sister.” She
murmurs, closing her eyes as if she doesn’t want to hear her own words.

“You almost died first day of challenges.” I quip back, continuing to stroke her face. Her skin is so
soft, so touchable, like she’a magnet and I have no choice but to go to her. Like she’s the sun and
I’m a moon orbiting her.

“Not the same thing and you know it.” She replies, opening her eyes. “You nearly sacrificed
yourself for someone you barely know. Someone who’s more important to me than…” She smiles
softly. “Than almost anyone.”

I hold my breath, I think… I know she’s talking about me, but I don’t dare ask. She’s always been
so easily open, so generously vulnerable with me… I feel even more ashamed that I’ve never given
her myself so freely before.

Then I realize. Her flying here overnight instead of waiting for the morning, the urgent pounding at
my door, this closeness she’s allowing me to have… It’s not forgiveness, not yet, but it’s gratitude
for saving her sister. It’s love. She flew overnight in gods know what weather conditions because
she was worried about me. I don’t know if i want to kneel in front of her and worship her, or rip her
clothes off and fuck her until neither of us can tell where one of us begins and the other one ends.

She’s been wary with me since she recovered in Aretia, but this is her letting me back in just a little
bit. And since I’m such a greedy bastard I’ll take every crumb she’ll let me have. And I don’t want
to push my chances so I let the breath I’ve been holding go.

“You must be tried from flying all night, you should get some sleep.” I murmur softly, not wanting
to let her go, but want her to get some rest.

“Okay.” She smiles sheepishly and nods.

I let her go, my body immediately yearning for her skin against mine. I fully expect her to turn and
around leave but instead she starts taking off her boots and slips out of her leathers, leaving her
only in her tank top and underwear. My body gives an immediate reaction to her near nakedness,
kind of embarrassing really, even more so when she climbs onto the bed giving me a wide view of
her strong legs as she slips under the covers.

This is the worst kind of torture.

She wiggles around for a bit getting comfortable, and when she realizes I’m standing here like an
idiot, she raises herself on an elbow alongside an eyebrow a quizzical expression on her face.

“Well?”

My senses comes back to me and I basically sprint to bed getting under the covers next to her. I lay
there stiff as a log facing her, not knowing what to do with myself. When I woke up twenty
minutes ago with a headache heavier than the citadel I didn’t know it would end with her in my
bed. What the fuck do I do? Do I touch her? Based on the throbbing ache under my sorry excuse of
pants of course I want to touch her. I want to more than touch her. Am I allowed to? Does she want
me to?

Violet inches near me, her body so easily molding around mine, and I take a deep breath. She’s
here willingly. She knows who I am, who I truly am. She loves me.

She loves me.

Not sure why or how, but I know she does. She’s shown it to me in every possible way. The shame
of not having reciprocated that is all the same. I want to ask her what this means, and beg for her
forgiveness. Then once she’s got some sleep, I want to take off everything she’s wearing and
worship her in an entirely different way. But where do we start? I look at her laying next to me in
bed, her body barely not touching mine, her eyes closed, a content smile on her face.

I look at her as if she’s from another planet. I didn’t think, didn’t dare to hope she’d sleep next to
me again.

She sighs deeply. “You’re overthinking this.”

“How am I not supposed to?” I ask with brutal honesty.

She snuggles a bit closer, resting her head on my chest, sliding one of her legs between mine. My
arm instinctively wrap around her.

“Go to sleep Riorson, we’ll figure out the rest later.” She says.

I struggle to not ask more questions, desperately wanting to know where I stand with her. But my
eyelids are heavy, she’s warm as the fucking sun, and my body immediately feels at ease tangled
up with hers.

I drift off to sleep, peaceful for the first time in days.

We must be cursed because we wake up to horns being blown.

Violet’s still tangled up in my arms her hair sprawled across my chest. She groans with annoyance.

“One of these days we’ll get to sleep through an entire night.” She complains as she pushes off the
blankets already heading towards her flight leathers.

“I’m two minutes out.” Sgaeyl says without me even reaching for her. From the annoyance of her
tone, I imagine her and Tairn were interrupted. I feel sorry for the creature that separated her from
her mate. Although judging by the look on Violet’s face, Sgaeyl might have some competition in
terms of who’s more annoyed about being dragged out of bed.

“Do I even bother reminding you you’re still a second year and you’re not supposed to be fighting
right now?” I try knowing the effort is futile.

Violet’s already in her flight jacket and finished braiding her hair to a crown.

“Not if you want to keep having sleepovers.” She smirks at me.

Perhaps she finally realizes just how much she’s got me wrapped around her fingers.

I shake my head suppressing a chuckle, knowing damn well regardless of how worried I am, she’s
one of the best fighters we’ve got. She’s our best chance out there. She’s our only hope.

“The dragons are-” I tell her as we get out from my room into the hallway.

“I know, Tairn is barking orders at me. Andarna’s already waiting.” She interrupts, practically
breaking into a run towards the side door into the main courtyard.

So my attempt at trying to keep her behind was truly irrelevant. Violet, Train and Andarna are one
hundred percent in this fight. Pride raises in my chest at her dedication and strength, and that novel
feeling of belonging to someone. I belong to her. She has my back.

We find Imogen and Garrick in the courtyard. I give both Imogen and Garrick a quick nod, a non
trivial amount of concern rising in my chest knowing damn well they just flew the entire night.
Although I don’t even try to convince them to sit this one out, neither of them would let us run into
battle alone.

Mira runs out of the door a few seconds after we do. She must have practically dressed on her way
out here because she’s sheathing daggers to her jacket as she surveys the courtyard. She nods to me
ready to bark orders as the superior officer on the field right now, but stops when she realizes
Violet’s standing next to me.

“Shit Vi, seriously?” She asks.

“Hi.” Violet smiles at her sheepishly, her eyes are blazing with resolve.

I’m sure Mira is about to try the same thing I just did, trying to get her to sit this fight out, although
maybe she’ll be more successful considering she doesn’t have the blind side of being in love with
her.

“How come you always show up in the middle of fucking danger? Can I even convince you to go
back inside-”

She starts but Tairn lands right behind her with exaggerated bravado, and roars. I snort a laugh
Garrick and Imogen can’t help flinch at the raised dirt on the ground, and the silver flames Tairn is
spraying into the air.

Violet does not even blink at an eye.

“Was that necessary?” I ask Sgaeyl, not even trying to hide my amusement.

“He wanted to make an entrance.” Sgaeyl replies coyly.

“Fuck.” Mira spits out. “If I didn’t see you fry a Venin out of the sky, I might tie you to a post so
you don’t fly into battle, but we can use you out there. Just…”

Violet rolls her eyes. “Just make sure you don’t end up an only child. I know, I know.” She smirks,
and runs up Tairn’s leg and they’re in the air with golden wingspread of Andarna shortly behind
them. Mira tilts her head clearly realizing how Tairn accommodates her.

“He bends for her?” She asks increduously.

Sgaeyl lands next, almost as much bravado as Tairn, and I turn to Mira.

“She’s worth it.” I reply and run up Sgaeyl’s leg soaring right behind Violet.

We’re in the air for just a few minutes when I hear Violet’s mind echoing in my head.

“There’s activity north of the keep walls. Tairn and I headed that way.”

“Right behind you.” I acknowledge, Sgaeyl already following to that direction. After a few
minutes of flying towards north, I see a blob of wings and two legs above what seems to be a small
cave. Maybe a mine?

Violet and Tairn is already circling the target, the Wyvern circling the cavern like structure.

“He’s protecting it.” Sgaeyl informs me, and I’m instantly curious. What is the Wyvern guarding?

Teine and Mira soar from above us, catching up to what we’re looking at. There’s something the
Wyvern and therefore the Venin care about down there, but first we need to eliminate the Wyvern
out of the way. All three dragons start firing to the surrounded Wyvern scorching it into thin air.

“Tell them to land.” I order Sgaeyl as we land in front of the mine the Wyvern was protecting.

Mira and Violet descend from their dragons just as I land in front of the mine. The opening is
relatively large, big enough to fit a Rider, although certainly not a dragon.

“It was protecting something.” Violet murmurs.

Flaps of wings heard behind us and Imogen and Garrick make it down behind us.

“Chradh says there’s something in there.” Garrick says.

Violet’s head snaps to mine, as we exchange a look.

Mira immediately catches onto the looks exchanged, “This is incredibly poor timing for you two to
still be keeping secrets.”

Her voice clearly annoyed. Violet shifts from one foot to another considering. Her gaze lifts up to
me, querying, asking. Suddenly, her trust in my opinion is just as precious to me as having her in
my arms just minutes ago.

“It’s your call.” I tell her.

If she chooses to trust Mira, then I trust her too. I already think she’ll keep our secret, but it’s
Violet’s call.

“It’s time.” She says softly, her voice calm.

“Don’t be mad.” Violet says.

Garrick and Imogen stiffen, exchanging a knowing look between one another. The look is just as
knowing and familiar as the one Violet and I exchanged.

Imogen groans. “Seriously, we’re doing this right now?”

I want to laugh but this is important. This is a threshold. We’re crossing a line. If we bring in active
Lieutenant into this regardless of who it might be, this is no longer a revolution. It’s a war.

“Doing what?” Mira squints her eyes. “One of you idiots start talking or I’m going to start stabbing
people.”

So the violence runs in the family. But I already knew that.

Violet exhales heavily. She clenches, and unclenches her fists.

“Chradh could feel something similar in Aethebyne. He’s incredibly sensitive to runes. We found
an iron box with similar signature. It was what the Wyvern and Venin were after.”
Mira crosses her arms, her eyes sharpened and she’s looking at all of us inquisitively. It doesn’t slip
my attention that she’s holding a dagger in one of her hands.

Please take this well, Mira. I hope. I pray. I beg. Not just for her, but if her sister does not choose
our side in this war…

“Tell Teine.” I tell Sgaeyl.

“We’re on it.” Sgeayl responds her answer short, her voice strained.

“Why am I just hearing about this right now? What was in it?” She asks.

“We couldn’t open it.” Violet replies.

“Well it’s probably warded you idiots. Why haven’t I been informed? If the box is in Basgiath,
why didn’t you fucking tell me while I was still there” She probes further.

Gods this is hard to watch. I hold my breath as I inch towards Violet instinctively. I know Mira
would never lash out at her physically but better safe than sorry.

“The box is safe.” Violet replies softly. “But it’s not in Basgiath.”

Mira looks at her increduously, as if she’s speaking gibberish. Then she realizes.

“This has something to do with what you’re supposed to tell me but couldn’t?”

“Yes.” Violet replies in surrender.

Mira looks up at the sky.

“As much as I want to beat the information out of all of you.” She slices her dagger in the air
slowly pointing at all of us one by one with it. “We’re past the wards and I don’t want to be
attacked by more Venin. Keeping you alive is more important even if I want to kill you all myself
later.”

She turns to Garrick. “Your dragon thinks there’s a box in this cave?” She asks.

Garrick nods. “Alright, we’re going in. If the box is warded I can open it. Then we bring it behind
the wards, where it’s safe.” She then turns to Violet. “Then after that you’re going to tell me
exactly what the fuck is going on here. No more laters. No more we don’t have times. Do you
understand?”

Violet exhales with relief, and just as she relaxes so do I. She nods as Mira steps toward the cave.

The place is nothing special, it is maybe a little bit smaller than my room, just an opening. We see
the chest sitting in the middle of a pile of dirt.

“Wow.” Mira says.

“What?” Violet asks.

“Do you not feel that?” She asks and we all shake our heads. “I guess it must be the wards on the
box, gods, it’s pushing against me so hard.” She says gritting her teeth.

“I don’t think we can pick it up, not with the protection around it. I think I can destroy the wards
around it.”
Mira takes a step forward.

“This doesn’t feel right.” Violet’s voice echoes in my head.

“A cursed box in a dank cave? Color me surprised.” I retort back not leaving my eyes from Mira.
She takes another step into the darkness.

“No, not that.” Violet replies. “This was too easy. There is a cursed box in the middle of a cave
right outside a Rider who can break the wards are stationed? It doesn’t feel right.”

She says working through her thoughts.

“Xaden, it’s a trap.”

As she utters the words in my mind, it happens all too quickly.

A silhouette bolts out of the shadows holding a knife in his hands. It all happens too quickly, the
Venin lunges towards Mira as it thrusts the knife into Mira’s side.

Mira who was kneeling at the chest screams in agony and falls to her side. An even louder scream
comes from Violet’s mouth as I can hear the thunder clouds gather outside of the cave. But she
can’t strike lightning here not if she doesn’t want to bury us all.

“VIOLET” I scream, as she whips her towards us.

“Get Mira and the box out of the cave.” Imogen and Garrick move without question, obeying her
order, Imogen picking up the box we thought was unmoveable with ease and Garrick picking up
Mira in his arms. I don’t have time to be proud of at the ease she just commanded the two of them,
I’m too worried for her. Too worried about what she might do in her rage.

This was a trap to eliminate the biggest protector of the wards of Navarre. They wanted Mira.
Violet must have come to the same conclusion because I can practically feel the rage dripping from
her like venom.

The Venin is smiling with us in victory as my shadows gather around me to strike, but I’m too
slow.. Again.

I have to blink to make sure what I’m seeing is real for the second time that way because I watch as
a surge of flashing light forms in Violet’s hand, a tangible form of pure energy of death and
destruction. I marvel as I realize what she’s holding.

She made a dagger out of lightning.

I shouldn’t be surprised that this woman can turn anything into a weapon, but damn. Without
hesitation, rage and agony takes over Violet as she thrusts the lightning into the Venin’s chest with
brutal force. The Venin crackles from the inside as electricity spreads inside it, scorching him
inside out.

I don’t even turn my head away, the bastard’s got what it deserves.

Violet does not even look at the back as she turns around and sprints out of the cave.

Imogen and Garrick are kneeled around Mira, who has blood, the same black blood oozing from
her side.

“No, no, no, no.” Violet kneels next to her sister pressing her hands to her side. I am crushed by
both the memory of her in my arms not so long ago, but also the tangible pain and sorrow coming
from Violet. She has no shields up and whatever she’s feeling I’m feeling.

Teine screams with wrath behind us, urging us to do something.

Violet lifts her eyes at me, tears streaking down her cheek, looking at me for help.

“Xaden.” She begs.

And I know what she’s asking. Fuck, I’d give whatever she wants but this… This is risking
everything for another Sorrengail.

Violet’s sobbing, her body shaking with every heaving breathe as she might break. Me… With her
every desparate sob my entire body shakes.

I look at Mira's wound with blood spraying out of it violently.

"It might not be enough." I say trying to keep my voice from breaking.

"Please." Is all she responds.

Fuck. With that tone, and that much pain I'd stab myself if she asked me to.

I turn my head to Imogen and Garrick and they both nod in understanding.

“We have to get her to Brennan.”

 Brennan
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Most people assume all a mender can do is to regrow bones and fuse muscles, but that is just
because of how often goddamn Riders get themselves torn apart. We can do so much more. The
human body is just ... repetitive. It’s predictable and after mending everything once it becomes a
boring exercise of going through the motions.

Especially if you had to mend your own heart.

I swing the blacksmith’s hammer onto the blazing hot sword. It’s a double-edged short sword for
Garrick, with each swing I’m infusing with the Tyrrish runes. I stop midswing when the memories
ambush my mind. I usually try to do my best not to think about that day as much as I can, but since
about a week ago, the day I had to bring my sister from the brink of death, it’s like all the repressed
anguish has found new breath.

I swing once more and can feel the energy pulse in my veins, my signet, humming in agreement.
The runes glow with a shadowy hue and then fade absorbing all that power. Who knows what
other emotion I’m channeling into them?

I can feel my heart pounding, just like it always does when I think of that day. I’m outside, but it
feels like the sky is closing on me. My flesh feels clammy like it’s covered by the char, dust, and
blood from the last day of the battle, I swing the hammer once more onto the blade with all of my
force as if I can work the panic out of me.

Not today though. Nope, today I’m destined to relive that day, and if I’m being honest, probably
later tonight too.

I don’t even have to close my eyes for the memories to take over, one blink and I’m there, unable
to keep them away.

I felt the warmth in my chest, the feeling I always get when someone’s fading near me, almost
calling me to them. I would’ve waited for Naolin so he can cover for me, while I tended to the
Rider, but we had already lost so many to Venin that day, I refused to let another one of us go.

My dragon landed on the ground with the same determination as me and then took right off
fending off the Wyvern trying to get to me. I kneeled next to the Rider on the ground, one of her
arms was nearly ripped off, and blood spurted out of her mouth when she tried to tell me
something. They always tried to say their last words, although I never allowed it.
I pinched my eyebrows, as I put my hands on her chest, my feet dug in my grounding spot and that
familiar sense of warm breeze, my signet, started flowing out of me with eagerness. Silver whips
started pouring out of my fingertips onto her chest like honey, where the worse of the injury was.
My signet told me her heart was practically torn to shreds and I really didn’t want to find out what
did that.

I wasn’t that lucky though.

The injury was so deep that it took almost all of my concentration, pushing the limits of what I
could channel, which is why I didn’t hear the wing beats and someone landing behind me. I
definitely didn’t hear the same footsteps approaching me, as I continued working on her, mending
her heart, muscle by muscle, tendon by tendon.

All I felt was scorching pain in my chest.

Everybody was told it was Fen Riorson who put that bolt through my heart, I never knew if my
mother was behind that particularly cruel lie. But it wasn’t him. No, Fen was not even near me, he
was likely fending off a different batch of Venin across the battlefield.

I looked down my chest in disbelief to find a spear protruding from my chest. Based on the black
blood oozing out from the wound, it was likely also poison. My hands left the Rider's chest
involuntarily, and I fell onto my side, my vision going dark quicker by the second, hoping I did
enough to save the girl.

A pair of boots circled around me, nudging me with a gentle kick. The kick moved the spear into
my chest, making whatever poison in it spread like wildfire. I raised my head as much as I can and
looked upon the despicable creature in front of me, its skin a grayish hue, its deep lifeless eyes pits
of murky black like they’re seeped in oil. The thing smirked at me, and I swear to god, I didn’t
flinch at my wound, but I flinched at the sight of that ruined rotten smile.

I couldn’t believe this was going to be the last thing I saw, and not him.

I heard another pair of wingbeats next, and a large black creature loomed over me but I couldn’t
tell who. I closed my eyes.

It might have been minutes. Or it might have been a few seconds. I don’t remember to this day.

But familiar calloused hands shook me, yelling at me something.

“Open your eyes, Brennan.”

At the same time, I felt the warmth and dragon fire, and I knew from the smell of burnt flesh a
dragon had burnt the Venin who stabbed me. Just like that, it had turned to ash as Tairn’s wrath
came down upon him, and justice was quickly delivered. Not quick enough though.

I felt a slap on my face and that made me open my eyes.

Naolin.

His usual, careless eyes normally full of smiles and recklessness now drowning in dread and
worry, his hand was raised, ready to slap me again.

“Bastard.” I spat out with a gurgled, exhausted laugh, and coughed. Blood sprayed out of my
mouth, all over his leathers. They might have been black, but I knew my blood would stain him all
the same.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Naolin said, his familiar touch gently caressing my cheek. “Tell me
what hurts.” He continued.

I didn’t have the strength, as I tried to lift myself up to an elbow, so I can look at him one last time.

“My… lung is shredded.” I coughed up another lump of blood. It wasn’t clotting. Not a good sign.
Nope, not a good sign at all. “And I can’t tell if you can see it, but there’s a giant fucking spear
lodged in my chest.”

I tried to make a joke. He shouldn’t have to watch me die. This wasn’t a burden I ever wanted him
to carry.

Naolin examined the wound on my chest, his eyes going blank, no doubt asking Tairn for help, to
fix it. The creature was magnificent and infinite, but even he couldn’t fix this. Naolin bunched up
his eyebrows, the same way he always did when he argued with Tairn. Honestly, they argued more
than he and I did.

I knew Tairn was upset at whatever reckless shit Naolin was about to do, and I had a feeling I
would feel the same way.

“I’m going to fix it,” Naolin said, leaning into me, putting a damp kiss on my mouth. When his
mouth left mine, they were covered in my blood, like red rubies.

Tairn roared in disagreement, and a bad, no, horrifying feeling spread to my chest, and not the lull
of death. No, this was pure terror of what Naolin could be planning to do that would make Tairn
scream in such agony.

And then I knew. I mean I felt it. I felt the jolt of energy spread across my chest, warming my
numbing fingers, breathing life back into me.

“No.” I tried to thrash, escape his grasp. “It’s too much, you’ll need to siphon too much.”

“Shut up and start mending yourself” Naolin gritted with labored breath.

I thrashed again, but his hands held me down, and not in the way I’d come to love.

I gasped as I felt Naolin’s power channel through me and I felt my muscles start reattaching
themselves, and my vision go white from the pain.

The sky becomes unexpectedly dark and gloomy so fast it snaps me back to reality. No, it’s not a
sudden storm that swarms the skys of Aretia, it’s a goddamn formation of dragons. I spot Tairn’s
giant figure followed by Sgaeyl, followed by Garrick, and Imogen’s dragons, and a large green one
I don’t recognize. I don’t see a Rider on the giant creature, but my chest warms with that familiar
pull toward them. I put two and two together, with the looming presence of death I’ve been battling
ever since I started channeling and the riderless dragon.

Someone’s hurt. Based on how strongly my signet’s pulling me, someone’s been hurt really
fucking bad.

I drop the hammer and the sword I’m working on to the flight field, knowing whoever they are
bringing, they are bringing them to me. And I know Xaden would not risk bringing someone here
unless they were important.

It better not be fucking Violet this time.

I bolt across the courtyard as Aretians split to make way for me, also knowing the formation is
probably bringing someone injured. This is a dance we’re dancing way too fucking often if you ask
me. By the time I make it to the infirmary, we made sure to build right by the flight field just for
the type of situation, I hear the loud landing of the formation of dragons.

There is some screaming and bickering happening in the hallways and the doors to the infirmary
open.

Violet strolls in first, no sprints in, her face is almost as pale as when they first brought her to me
and I exhale with relief. My signet is not dragging me towards her, she’s not injured. Something’s
not right though, my brave, fearless sister who never has shaky hands, is trembling with her whole
body, her cheeks are stained with tears making a small line splitting the dirt covering her face.

This isn’t good.

“What is it?” I bite out.

“Brennan-” She murmurs and she chokes.

Fuck.

Is it Xaden? I wonder whose injury could have my sister in such despair.

But to answer my question, Xaden strolls into the room with a tall rider in his arms. My power
ignites as if someone threw a match into a puddle of oil, and I know if death had a physical form
he’d be standing right over her shoulder.

I blink for a second, trying to recognize the Rider in Xaden’s arms. Her head is cradled in Xaden’s
chest, and I can’t make out her features, but his expression is almost as grim as when he brought in
Violet.

I nod at the first bed at the entrance as I take two steps towards the Rider they gently lower. When
they roll her to her back and I can finally see her face, no matter how loudly my signet is burning
me from the inside out to reach her I go cold.

I don’t just recognize the Rider. I’ve known her, her entire life. Mira.

Panic and dread fill my chest as I push away all thoughts looking at Xaden and Violet for an
explanation.

“What the fuck?”

I’m trying to hold onto my training and years and years of mending anyone and anything to ground
myself, just as I just did with Violet, although I am in disbelief that I have to bring back both of my
sisters from near death in the span of a week.

“Everyone except for Vi, out.” I bite out as I reach for Mira’s leathers with scissors.

I don’t wait to see if they listen to my order, here I’m in charge.

Violet pulls her hair back, reaching for the scissors in my hand, ready to cut Mira out.

“Here, go get what you need to I got her.”

I lift my eyes to hers, and while she looks battle-worn and exhausted with her dirty face and tear-
stained cheeks, there is no fear to be found there. Now that she’s got her to me, I know all of her
trust is put in my hands, her hands are no longer trembling, instead, she’s ready to help Mira out of
this mess. I don’t have time to feel good about how she feels safe and protected with me, as I nod
and turn to the vials I have stored.

I hear the sound of tearing, and garments being pulled off and when I turn I have trouble keeping
my face straight, not even for Violet’s sake. There’s a nearly foot-long slash on Mira’s side, black
blood clotted around the wound spreading from her navel all the way to her back. No wonder death
is here in this room trying to pull her from me. Not today, asshole, and not my sister.
“It’s going to be okay Vi,” I say as I get to Mira, with the antidote I’ve been trying to work on since
Violet got injured.

I’m not sure it’ll work, since I didn’t have a clean sample of the poison, I can only trust my
makeshift antidote so much. But Violet and Mira share blood, so whatever worked for Violet
should work for her. At least, that’s the thread of hope I’m hanging onto right now.

I lean in and start cleaning the wound.

“Tell me what happened.”

Violet starts telling me what went down in Montserrat, how they found an artifact similar to the
box in Aethebyne, and how it ended up being a trap for Mira. She says she thinks it’s because Mira
is the front-line defense forwards, and it’s concerning that the Venin know that it’s Mira who has
that kind of power. She also mentions some crazy batshit stuff about how she stabbed a Venin in
the chest with a lightning dagger, I don’t even know how to process that right now. And then her
voice lowers when she says it was her, who made the call to bring her here.

I’m almost done applying the antidote to her wound when she says that, and I notice her voice
lowers like she’s worried I’ll be mad at her about this.

“Why do you sound like you’re worried I’m going to be annoyed you brought her here?” I ask her,

I already know the answer and it’ll ruin me. I deserve that.

“Because you went to a lot of trouble hiding Aretia, so much so that you faked your own death-”,
she fiddles with her fingers when she says that.

I interrupt her. “Nothing is more important to me than you and Mira. Do you understand?
Nothing.”

I know I have to re-earn the trust of my sisters, and I know our mother made them feel expandable
but I will have none of that.

Violet nods, but I can see the doubt in her face. I deserve that too.

I take another look at Mira’s wound, now that the antidote has a chance to soak into her skin, and I
frown.

“What is it?” She asks, not missing it. Gods damn it, she’s the smartest of us all.

“When you were stabbed by the same poison, you started healing almost immediately. This is…
different.” I say.

Violet gulps nervously. “Different bad?”

“I can’t tell yet. It might be how deep the wound is. Or how long it took you guys to get here.” I try
to find excuses, knowing damn well the antidote should start working if it worked for Violet.

But there is nothing else to do now other than wait and see.

“We should let her rest.”

“I’ll stay here.” She says, her voice not leaving room for any discussion. I nod and I stroll out the
door into the hallway.
I find Xaden, Garrick, and Imogen all sitting on the floor, their knees pulled into their chests, their
eyes full of worry, like children waiting for being punished.

They jump to their feet as I come out of the door.

“She’s resting,” I say, to none of them in particular.

They almost collectively exhale in relief. I don’t tell them the antidote is not working as quickly as
I’d want, no need to worry them further yet. From what I can tell this is not their fault, but I’m
angry at them all the same. They keep putting my family in fucking danger.

I wipe my hands with the clean rag I brought with me, my gaze stopping at Xaden. I have half a
mind to beat the shit out of him. He looks tired and battle-worn. I don’t give a shit.

“I don’t know why I didn’t realize after all these years I need to say this to you Riorson, but I’m
gonna need you to stop bringing my sisters to me in fucking pieces.”

Nine days pass.

Nine days where Mira hasn’t breathed a single word, asleep. Her wounds start healing somewhat,
but it’s much, much slower than it took Violet to recover. Both of us sit at her side watching her
breath as if she might stop doing so soon.

Violet does not leave her side other than to eat very quick, small meals and shower.

At least I know she didn’t lose her mind when she told me she stabbed a Venin with lightning,
because all she does is stare at Mira while twirling a lightning dagger in her hand.

Xaden is either sitting in the room with her or pacing down in the hallway.

He tries convincing her, she needs to get back to Basgiath if she’s going to keep up the ruse, but the
look she gives him is so much like our mothers even I flinch a bit. He tries to push again, but
Violet throws him out of the infirmary. But eventually, she ends up sending a note back to Basgiath
saying Andarna is injured while flying and they’re waiting for her wing to heal.

It’s genius really, considering no one in Basgiath knows the behemoth Andarna is now and they
still think she’s still the small, vulnerable dragon. I can’t help but smile at the similarities between
her and Violet. They both might look unassuming, but they’re more than deadly.

Xaden resigned at the realization that Violet will not leave Mira’s bedside until she… recovers or
else. He also sends word to Montserrat that he and Mira are on the chase after the Venin took
possession of the box. It’s not a lie, it’s a dangerous truth to be sharing really, but we need to buy
all the time we can for Mira.

But with each passing day, the fragile lies are thinning and we’re running out of time.

On the tenth morning, I’m getting ready to go down to the infirmary and check on them. Just as I
reach the infirmary doors I hear the small giggle of Violet’s, responded by a low voice I would
recognize even if I went deaf. Mira.

I reach for the door handle, but Xaden steps out of the shadows growing me from the wrist.

“You sure about this?” He asks.

I give him a lazy grin. “I can handle the Sorrengail women.”

We step into the infirmary, and to my relief, Mira is propped up in bed with Violet laying next to
her. That bed is definitely too big to fit them both, and she’s trying to feed her… a fruit cup. Mira is
trying to get away from her as if the fruit cup is the most disgusting thing she’s ever had and my
grin expands. Violet snorts again when Mira tries to push it away from her face but fails because
she’s in too much pain.

From this angle, Mira almost has her back to me so she can’t see me walk in. Violet though gives
us a look on the shoulder, and I’m not sure how she knows we’re there, but I bet money she knows
Xaden entered the room. Those two always seem to know where each other is.

She puts the fruit cup aside, giving me a knowing look, telling me to wait.

“Now, I have to tell you a secret, but you need to remember, you tried to fight off a fruit cup off my
hands and embarrassed yourself.”

Mira groans with annoyance, “Is this about Riorson? Because you definitely owe me a lot of
explanation considering I just got skewered by a Venin.”

Violet shakes her head and a smile I haven’t seen since our childhood spreads to her face. I swear I
hear Riorson’s breath hitch at the unguarded noise Violet makes. I shake my head at him
knowingly.

“Okay, so you remember how I told you I was stabbed and I had to wait to heal.” She says.

Mira nods but winces at the movement. She really shouldn’t be in this much pain.

“I wasn’t healed. I was mended.” Violet says.

“What?” Mira blurts out in disbelief. “There are no menders in the Basgiath army. Not since -” She
stops.

I guess that’s my cue. I inhale, ready for the reunion I finally get to have with my girls.

“Not since me.”

Mira inhales sharply, her face turning towards the door at unnatural speed. If she’s in pain, she
doesn’t show it. She pushes the blanket off of herself, again without even wincing at her wounds.
Her eyebrows are raised, and her cheeks are flushed. Yeah, rage has taken over her.

“Mira-” I try to warn her but she doesn’t hear the words.

Violet’s eyes go wide as Mira jumps off the bed with unexpected agility, driven by rage as she
hisses.

“Asshole.”

Violet jumps off the bed in tandem and can’t help grinning. “That’s what I said!”, she exclaims,
enjoying this entirely too much.

“You’re not fucking helping,” I say.

Violet smirks at me amusement dancing on her lips, “You’re not the one who has to keep
reassuring her she’s not going to be an only child.”

Mira’s head turns to her incredulously, hand clutching her side, realizing she’s recovering from a
major wound, as I realize her hospital gown is looking red. Shit, she’s blown her stitches.
“This is not what I meant and you know it.” She says dryly to her.

I step towards her, hands open, showing I come in peace, because let’s face it, Mira Sorrengail in
the spell of wrath is like a feral animal.

“Why don’t you lay down and let me look at the stitches you’ve surely blown.”

Mira looks between Violet and me incredulously then makes an exasperated groan I didn’t know I
was dying to hear again.

“You knew?” She turns her head to Violet.

Violet shrugs. “Only like for three weeks.” She says. “And apparently, we only get to find out that
he’s alive if we’re on the brink of death.”

Violet’s eyes turn to Xaden, who’s leaning against the infirmary door, his arms crossed, but a smile
is playing on her lips too. I swear a silent conversation passes between them.

I reach into the side of Mira’s gown, and start cleaning out the wound that has a few stitches
blown, the practice reminding me too much of our childhood.

“You’re alive.” She says looking at me as if she needs to hear the words.

“I knew Violet wasn’t the only smart one in the family,” I reply, an easy grin spreading to my face.

Mira makes a grunting noise again.

“Why?” She asks her head tilting.

“Because it’s not right to hide behind the wards while we’re protected and others are not,” I say,
letting the truth roll out of my tongue easy as butter. I’m done hiding from my family.

“You’re a traitor,” Mira whispers. “And you dragged Vi into this?” She asks, rage building up
again.

“Not a traitor,” I say. “Well technically, I guess, it’s a bit treasonous. But are you telling me that
ever since you were stationed in Montserrat, you didn’t think something was wrong with how you
were attacked by Venin and not gryphons? And the only time you were attacked by gryphons it
was them passing by not actively engaging?”

“Well-”

“What about Poromiel Mira? What About everyone else out there, who can’t afford the protection
of dragons?” I know I’m playing into her protective instincts but I need her to understand.

“Don’t you think more people think that’s what we should do if command stopped lying about the
threats we’re all facing rather than just them? Just because we got our protection, doesn’t mean
others deserve the same.” I say.

Mira’s breath hitch, and I know it’s not because her wound is hurting. It’s because she knows I’m
right.

“I don’t like that you dragged Vi into this.” She tells me.

Violet makes a small protesting noise but I interrupt.

“Have you seen her? She’s practically frying Venin out there.”

Mira considers for a second. “Well I can’t let you two be idiots by yourself, it makes me feel left
out.”

Violet and exchange a glance. I even see Xaden tense.

“Does that mean you’re in?”

“I mean you are not really giving me a fucking choice are you Brennan?” She says in exasperation
throwing her hands up in the air.

”First with your righteous bullshit about how everyone deserves the right to live and be protected
which is noble and annoying, and then with you two leaving me with the possibility of being left
alone with mother.”

I chuckle.

“You make it sound like the two are equally important.”

“They are”, she and Violet say in unison and laugh.

A few hours later, we reconvene back in the war room. Mira insists on being part of the meeting
and refuses it when I tell suggest we move the meeting to the infirmary. She is so stubborn and
determined to show us she’s walking away from basically being cut in half unscathed. She is also
about to also refuse the help when Violet offers her an arm to help her walk to the war council. It’s
only when Xaden threatens to bring out a wheelchair for her, she accepts his help and holds onto
his arm from the infirmary to the war room.

The two of them seem to be friends, although I’m not surprised. They both have that protective
instinct to protect everyone they love and a ruthless streak in battle. Of course, they’re friends.

We sit in the council room as we fill in Mira on our weapon runs.

“That’s why they're so so many fucking Gryphon’s in the borders?” She asks incredulously when
we tell her the regular routes.

I nod.

“What’s the plan?” She asks.

I frown. “To defend people from the Venin,” I reply dragging the words out.

She considers for a second.

“You’re going about this all wrong.” She says.

Violet straightens up in her chair. “The Riders all know Venin and Wyvern are real. We don’t ask
questions, but at every drunken table, someone wonders what the fuck is going on. Why not tell
them?”

“You’re not suggesting-” Xaden asks incredulously.

“Why not?” She insists.

 “Axel and Lios know this is all bullshit. They’re wondering why the command isn’t issuing direct
orders about Venin and Wyvern. They want to know why Command is lying about the gryphon
attacks.”

“Because common people would riot if they knew Navarre has the means to protect innocents, but
they’d rather cover their own asses,” Violet says her words are drowning in disgust.

Mira nods. “There is already unrest in Basgiath’s army. We all are saying to each other. We just
need to push-”

“Mira-” I ask incredulously.

Mira interrupts again. “You can continue running small weapon runs, and sneaking in and out of
Basgiath to fight occasional Venin.” She takes a deep breath. “Or we can turn this into a real
fucking revolution. One that actually changes Navarre and Poromiel.”

“How do you suggest we do that?” Xaden asks, genuinely interested.

“We start fighting back. Expand our foothold. Infiltrate the army with dissenters, those who want
to help can help us fight back. We can start by getting a foothold in an actual base, and start
intercepting messages. We can hide in plain sight while taking the resources of Basgiath, and
giving them to those who actually need them. We start by taking Montserrat right from under
them.”

Chapter End Notes

The next chapter Xaden and Violet _finally_ have a talk before they head back to
Montserrat ;)
 Xaden
Chapter Notes

This one's kinda late, but it was a big one, and I wanted to make sure I got the editing
right!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

We discuss Mira’s frankly insane plan to death until the sun goes down. Between the seven of us
and all of our dragons adding their two cents every chance they get, the meeting has been intense,
to say the least. I’m not even sure if we’ll ever reach a consensus. Based on how much yelling
there is, it doesn’t seem likely. And I might add, the humans are not the only ones yelling. The
dragons are having a council of their own and two minutes do not pass either the Riders or the
Dragons make a suggestion that makes us change course.

The more we dissect the plan, the more we realize Mira has a point. So far we’ve been doing the
bare minimum trying to stay under the radar. With how much control she has over Montserrat, she
knows who is sheepishly loyal to Navarre, and who is whispering words of dissent behind closed
doors. She can name every single guard who’d pose a threat.

The guards and the staff we can manage. It’s the Riders and their dragons I’m worried about.
When Brennan asks what to do if we meet any resistance when we show up in Montserrat to
basically attempt a coup, she simply says there is plenty of room in the dungeons.

“Ruthless”, I think.

“Makes me wish I considered bonding during her year.” Sgaeyls drawls.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I reply, although I can’t help but be impressed by Mira either. But I
continue. “You like me too much.”

“Not when you are pining after a girl you already have because you’re too – what did she say,
chickenshit.” I can almost see her smirk.

Mira continues naming guards I vaguely recognize from my short tenure at Montserrat. Brennan is
recording their names under different lists, taking inventory of who can be our allies. Thankfully,
Axel and Lios make the cut.

“We don’t have to throw them in dungeons you know.” Imogen retorts. “I can just take care of
them.”

Mira’s head turns to her, her eyes examining her. “Although I appreciate your willingness to
murder soldiers, I don’t think we need to be executing innocent Navarrians.”

Garrick snorts at that affectionately leaning into Imogen. I’m not sure if notices how much he
gravitates towards her. Imogen jokingly pushes Garrick off of her shoulder, although the gesture is
full of fondness.

“Seriously Sorrengail?” She exclaims, this time looking at Violet. “You didn’t tell her?”
Violet shrugs, “It’s not my secret to tell,” an easy grin spreads to her face, her head turning to
Brennan.

Brennan grunts in exasperation at the jab from Violet and Mira grunts because I’m pretty sure
that’s Mira’s default reaction to everything.

“Somebody spit it out before I start stabbing.”, she says her hand on her dagger.

“You make that threat a lot”, Garrick intervenes.

“You don’t know me well enough to be making that observation.” Mira snaps back.

“You threatened to stab us multiple times since we started this meeting, I believe most of which
were directed to your own kin.” He states in his nonchalantly bored tone, although I know him
well enough that it’s meant to rile Mira up.

“He’s right.” Violet and Brennan say at the same time and their heads turn to one another, and they
start laughing.

The air is so light, and the mood is so cheerful, it does not even feel like we’re planning a coup at a
defended Basgiath outpost. Violet’s face is at ease, her shoulders are relaxed. She’s not sitting, she
hasn’t been all day, and I realize I never noticed she’s a pacer. My head follows her walk around
the room with that damn lightning dagger twirling in her fingers. Like a cat following a shiny
object, I just can’t stop staring at her.

Imogen shakes her head at the other two Sorrengails and adds. “I can wipe memories and put
shields around others. And I can plant fake ones. Don’t fucking tell anyone.”

Mira looks at her incredulously. “How the fuck did you survive with that kind of signet? You
should’ve been killed.”

Imogen smirks with pride, “Very carefully - hence don’t fucking tell anyone.”

Mira narrows her eyes, “Who would I tell? Apparently, everyone I can speak to from here on out is
already in this room.” She turns without waiting for an answer. “That means we need to start over
with the plan though, now that we apparently have someone who can help us avoid almost all
bloodshed. From now on, be fucking forthcoming with useful shit like this.” She replies and wipes
the draft formation off the board.

Three more hours pass and it’s not until Imogen’s stomach rumbles loudly enough to be heard over
Mira and Brennan’s bickering, we finally decide to take a break for dinner.

It’s been ten days since Violet climbed into my bed in Montserrat, saying we’ll figure our shit out.
The act was familiar and intimate, like we did this all the time, existing in each other’s space and
finding comfort with one another. I didn’t even consider bringing it up until now, but now that
Mira’s awake, I’m dying to get one second alone with her so I can figure out where we stand. I
need her to know where I stand. Every second I don’t tell her how I feel, I risk fucking this up
permanently.

Violet disappears into my bedroom without even trying to argue with me about getting her own
space. The phrase our bedroom passes my mind. The idea is such a guilty pleasure and so
innocently hopeful that I can’t stop the giddy anticipation from spreading to my chest about the
possibilities of the night. Something’s different about Violet since she showed up in Montserrat,
and I hope, I dare to hope we might finally be out of the woods.
I know it’s only been a few weeks of torturous distance, but it feels like years to me. It’s like since I
lost my parents, I’ve been starving for the feeling of belonging to someone like I do to her, and I’ll
do anything in my power to not be hungry again.

But before I can follow her into my bedroom, Bodhi corners me about some inventory issue
blacksmiths are having, and no matter how much I try to wrap up the discussion quickly I’m not
able to get out quick enough before someone calls us down for food.

The dinner table is set in the middle of the courtyard. The sky is clear with stars shining bright,
moonlight bathing the dining room table with a generous shower. I see, everyone but Violet is
already at the table, picking at the food like savages who have never been fed before. I sit at one of
the chairs at the end of the table, the cool summer breeze chilling in my hair which is still wet from
the shower I took quickly in Bodhi’s room in fear of invading Violet’s privacy.

I sit with nervous anticipation for her to show up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy all of my friends
are here, healthy, and somewhat happy. But none of that seems to compare to her next to me,
sharing this with her.

The courtyard is vast and was cared for by multiple gardeners before Aretia was burned to the
ground. There are statues of dragons with lifelike features, multiple ponds, and even a hedge maze
stretching as far as the horizon.

When Brennan was first recovering, he had trouble staying inside. He didn’t want to tell that to any
of us, still conflicted about who he can trust. One night, before my first year at Basgiath, I found
him lying on a blanket in the middle of the courtyard, where the table stood now. I also had trouble
sleeping with memories of my father disappearing into General Melgren’s dragon still fresh in my
mind.

Brennan was pale and skinny, he barely ate, and if I had to guess he could barely keep down what
he managed to eat. He might have been alive, but he was dead inside.

I remember asking him if it was cool if I stuck around for a bit, making some excuse about how
my room was too hot. He didn’t say anything and I took that as my invitation. We lay on the
blanket just staring at the sky.

The first few nights, we didn’t even say anything to each other. Just two guys, laying on the cold
floor, trying to calm our pounding hearts, waiting for the panic to ease up.

The third night, I don’t know what got into me, but I told him about how my father used to play
hide and seek with me in the hedge when I was a child. At that point, the hedge was just a few
stubborn branches that survived the fire since it was burned to the ground and it was hard to
imagine how anyone could hide in there. Brennan didn’t respond, just listened to me tell him about
my father.

The next night, I found the hedges mended.

I was shocked by his power, even though I knew his signet was mending. I always just assumed his
signet only worked on mending people. That’s the first time I got the idea of mending Aretia back
to what it was.

That was also the first night Brennan told me about Violet. While he was dead quiet the first few
nights we lay there, he started talking to me about his younger sister like she was his lifeline. He
told me stories about how Violet hid in cupboards and laundry hampers with a book hiding from
their mother.
Every time he talked about her a little bit more light came back to his eyes. And with every story he
told me, she became my lifeline too.

We’ve eaten so many meals under the moonlight here, mostly only Brennan, Garrick, and I.

Having this many people at this place now feels like a luxury I don’t deserve. I know having his
sisters at the spot he reclaimed his will to live means something to Brennan. Having Violet here
means everything to me. After all this is where she became my lifeline too.

Suddenly the urge to tell her how I feel becomes an emergency.

“How long did it take you to do your hair? Is that why you were so late?” Brennan drawls from the
other side of the table, his light features and easy grin are so much in contrast with the shell of a
man he was when he was lying on the floor right here, it makes me do a double take.

“As long as it took you to pick that ugly shirt.” I bite back, not holding back. Asshole.

My head turns back to the door again, looking for Violet to finally show up. “With how much you
and my sister were eye fucking each other in that meeting we weren’t expecting you for dinner.”

I snort out the wine I just took a sip of.

“We’re not-. I was not-.” I turn to my asshole of a cousin. “You didn’t tell them I was taking a
shower in your room?”

Bodhi shrugs. “It was more fun to bet on whether you’re fighting or fucking with the rest of them.”
He points at the rest of the table with his fork.

“Us Sorrengails bet on the fighting for obvious reasons.” Mira grimaces her face in disgust, clearly
not enjoying the visualization.

“I thought you and I were getting somewhere,” I murmured.

“Not since I found out you were hiding my asshole brother from me.” Mira snaps back. She takes a
large sip from the glass of amber-colored liquid in front of her. I arch a brow.

“Why doesn’t he get any crap from you?” I ask.

“Because he gets a dead brother pass.” She shrugs. Well, that’s unfair.

“You know, now that you know he’s alive, you should know he told me a lot from your childhood.
Like a lot.” I grin at her.

Blood drains from Mira’s face, and she waves at her fork at Brennan and me. “You assholes better
keep your mouths shut.”

“You’re forgetting-” I start talking but my head snaps to the double doors snap open behind me,
and I stop midsentence.

Fucking finally.

Violet walks into the courtyard, in a fresh set of dragon leathers, the Tyrrish blades strapped on all
the places in her chest I intimately know, beckoning me to strip her out of each and every one of
them. Her hair is still somewhat damp, the silver waves cascading down all the way below her
breasts. They’re so bright, they might compete with the full moon bathing her with moonlight. It’s
more like the moonlight is competing with her. She approaches the table, and like an idiot, I stand
up before I can stop myself.

The entire table starts laughing, and I’m pretty sure Mira snorts her drink.

Violet pretends not to notice our asshole friends and takes a seat next between Mira and Brennan. I
sit my embarrassed ass right back down without taking my eyes off of her. I’ve noticed how airy
and careless around her siblings she is, but right now, between the two of them, she looks fucking
beautiful.

If I wasn’t already determined to always keep her this happy, the image of her under the moonlight,
happy and free makes me swear an oath to strive to make her this happy forever.

“You’re staring.” Mira drawls, taking another sip from her drink.

“Should you be drinking that? Weren’t you in a coma for a better of ten days?” I throw at her.

Mira looks at me with daggers in her eyes. “You’re forgetting Riorson, that I know your deepest,
darkest secrets, you wouldn’t mind me start spilling them now do you.”

My eyes go wide at that, “You wouldn’t dare Sorrengail.” I try telling her threateningly.

“Keep trying to monitor my alcohol intake, and I just might.” Mira smirks.

“What secrets?” Violet speaks for the first time since she sat down, her beautiful eyes twinkling
with amusement.

“Nothing”, I say with very little subtlety.

Mira smirks again and gulps her drink down. “Nothing apparently.” Knowing she has me by the
balls.

About an hour passes and we all chatter about random shit like who’s dragon has the largest
wingspan and who can throw a dagger farthest. Violet wins on both accounts. The conversation
eventually splits into smaller groups.

Garrick, Imogen, and Bodhi pull their chairs near me arguing over which part of Aretia needs to be
rebuilt next. They occasionally ask me questions but I’m barely following the conversation
because I can’t take my eyes off of her.

Violet climbs up on the table sitting with her legs crossed, with Mira sitting on a chair near her,
Brennan on the other side. While I want to be fully engaged with what Bodhi is telling me about
what’s going on in Aretia, Violet is telling a story with so many hand gestures, her voice pitched
high with excitement that neither me nor my shadows can stop staring at her. I catch the words
oranges, eggs, and various other food items, and a smirk spreads to my face.

My eyes never leave her even as I nod at something Bodhi says. In a rare moment of thought that
do not involve laying Violet on this table and doing definitely non-innocent things to her, I turn my
head to my side but realize Imogen and Bodhi have already left.

I look at Garrick with shock who’s leaned back, his eyes closed, his head resting on the back of the
chair with a rare, content smile playing on his face.

“They said goodnight, which you so rudely ignored because you were busy staring at Violet.” He
says without opening his eyes. The smirk on his face grows.
Violet says something, and Mira snorts her drink out of her nose - again. I can hear Violet and
Brennan making fun of her about it, but then Brennan says something else, which makes Violet
laugh so much louder than I hear before that she snorts her drink too. Then the starts fanning her
face, clearly burnt by the liquid coming up her nose.

“This is okay you know,” Garrick says.

“What?” I ask, a smile tugging at my lips.

“Having a family again,” Garrick says quietly.

“Is that what this is?” I ask contemplatively.

“It’s okay to want to protect them. Be with them. Rely on them”, Garrick shrugs.

“I thought you and I were family.” I turn to him in surprise.

“We are. But you’ve kept us at an arm's length this entire time carrying this weight all yourself.
She’s trying to carry it with you.” He tells me knowing what I already know. “Better yet, you’re
letting her.”

“She doesn’t deserve this.” I turn my head back towards her.

“You know you keep saying that,” Garrick says contemplatively. “But have you ever considered
maybe you didn’t deserve this either? Or better yet, maybe even though she doesn’t deserve this,
she wants it. Wants you. And maybe you’re no longer in this alone, but the two of you are in this
together? It’s okay to be in this together with someone.”

I shake my head. “You know I fucked this up.”

“No shit.” He says. I should be offended at the lack of surprise in his tone.

But instead, a light laugh escapes me. I swear Violet’s head turns towards me over her shoulder.
My stupid heart skips a beat. Could she also be drawn to me as much as I’m drawn to her?

I lean my head back in the chair, closing my eyes as well.

“You know I accused her of sleeping with Aetos.”

“Of course, you did,” Garrick says without skipping a beat, still completely unsurprised. “That
girl's day begins and ends with you and you’d do anything in your power to push her away. Coward
bastard.”

He says. And I know he’s right. I have to stop being a coward and tell her. Just tell her how I feel.

I stand up in my chair again, “Violet-” I start asking her to step away with me so we can finally get
this over with. I’m ready to have my future, whether she accepts me for who I am or whether she
tells me to go to hell for good.

But I stop.

My entire body fills with warmth like warm honey being poured into my veins igniting me from
within.

No, not now, please. I can’t hold it together right now. Not when she’s looking like this, not when
she’s this close. And definitely not when I know exactly just how right she feels against my body.
Violet’s head snaps to me, her eyes going wide, as my breath hitches. Gods.

“Sgaeyl,” I groan at the worst fucking timing of my dragon not shielding her emotions from me.

I push my chair back with more effort than it needs and goes tumbling down. Everyone at the table
is staring at me like there’s a bee in my clothes, but I need to get out. Get out before Violet starts
feeling it too and I do something stupid like finally splay her out on the table and fuck her in front
of all of these people.

Before I know it I’m running.

I run through the courtyard, then into the bustling streets of Aretia, to the only place that has
managed to calm me down. When I make it to the top of the hill, I’m panting in short, labored
breaths although it has nothing to do with the run.

I imagine I scared the shit out of a bunch of people with my frantic sprint across town, but I don’t
care. I lean against the body of my oak tree, its cool bark scratching against my leathers. My
fingers are tingling, and I’m warm, I’m so fucking warm. Every time I close my eyes I see flashes
of Violet.

Violet on her desk in her bedroom.

Violet on the floor underneath me.

Violet grinning up to her two dragons after recovering from her injuries.

Violet on the parapet looking me with no fear in her eyes.

Violet telling me she’s in love with me.

I open my eyes. Closing them was a bad idea when all I can see is her. But again, I’d see her
everywhere I look even though I was blind. As if I conjured her out of thin air, her soft voice
echoes behind me.

“Xaden?”

I whip my head towards the sound of her soft voice. She’s standing at the edge of the hill top, her
hair flowing in the wind, like strands of silver silk. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes are so wide, I
can barely see her pupils. Her chest rises and falls in labored, short breaths, just like they did when
she was moaning under me.

Any sliver of hope I had for at least Tairn to be responsible enough to shield from Violet vanishes
by just looking at her.

A part of me has been greedily hoping she was feeling just as I did anyways, hot, wanting,
desperate.

Fuck.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I say, gritting my teeth, my body practically begging me to go to her.

“Where else would I be?” She says tilting her head to the side.

“Literally, anywhere but here,” I respond, still trying to will her away.

This is wrong. I don’t want to act on what Sgaeyl and Tairn are feeling again. I want to cry at the
shitty timing of fate, just as I was about to tell her everything, every secret she’s never known and
everything she deserves to hear from me. But I can’t now. Because whatever I say will be tainted
by what our dragons are feeling, not what I feel. It’s all clouded under a shroud of primal desire
now.

Violet takes a step toward and the breeze carries her lavender scent to me. My nostrils flare and I
take a step back, my back hitting the tree. I’m determined to keep an iron grip on my restrain, not
do this to her again. When I have her next, it’ll be because she has all of me. No half measures, no
more secrets. When she’s mine again, she deserves to know me, and what she is to me.

Violet makes her way to me leaning against the tree, our shoulders inches apart. If I leaned just to
the right I could be touching her, but I don’t dare. The heat licks my skin, and I shiver. Violet does
as well.

“What part of ‘you shouldn’t be here’ sounded like ‘come closer’?”

I hope my shallow attempt at rebuttal pushes her away enough, so that at least she puts some
distance between us, but nope. Instead, she closes her eyes and leans her back against my tree.

She looks at peace, her porcelain white skin against the tree bark so soft, and so fucking touchable,
I need to grip something to prevent myself from touching her face. If I touch her, in my current
state, I’m going to be in a frenzy that will be impossible to stop midway.

Finally, she smirks, and says “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Well, fuck me.

“One of these days, you’re going to decide what you want -”

“I think I made it perfectly clear what I want, Xaden.” She says my name in a low, sultry voice and
it might as well be a prayer because I’m about to go down on my knees.

She leans in and our shoulders are against each other. We might both be in leathers but she’s
practically radiating heat, her warm glow seeping into my shoulder.

“Don’t,” I say pleadingly.

“Don’t what?” She says, innocuously.

“You know what,” with feigned annoyance, desperately trying to put some space between us.

But I can’t seem to separate from her. Where this woman is concerned I have no fight left in me to
put any space.

Another wave of desire washes over me like a sound wave and the rest of my restrain is bent to the
will of the want.

“You need to leave.” I rasp one more time.

I can feel her gaze on me, but I can’t look at her. If I do, the crumbs of willpower left in me will
burn to ashes.

A few moments pass, and I can feel her gaze study my profile starting from my hair all the way to
my boots to my hair. The look is practically undressing me, and not just my clothes. She’s stripping
me naked with those amber eyes.
“Why won’t you look at me?” She asks. Her voice caresses my shields with gentle effervescence,
washing over the last of my willpower like warm champagne.

“Because when I can’t think of anything else other than fucking you against the closest surface.”
The truth slips out of me now that the last of my willpower demolished.

Violet exhales softly, and an uninhibited shutter works its way out of her, rattled by the shocking,
raw honesty in my voice.

A few moments pass that feels like an eternity. Another wave of desire rolls through both of us and
we inhale sharply in tandem.

“Look at me Xaden.” Her voice is a sensual whisper.

I shake my head. “Leave, I’m begging you.” I try one last time, trying to do the honorable thing.
This isn’t fair to her. I can’t do this, not again, not with the half-truths. She deserves the fucking
world, not this, not being fucked against a tree in a dragon-induced frenzy.

I feel her move next to me and she’s in front of me. She takes a step into me, her body flushes
against mine, and her hand raises to my cheek. Her touch is warmer than I remember, as she
caresses my cheek in such a gentle way, I shudder again. She gently lowers my head, and our eyes
finally meet.

Her eyes are bright, their color is of warm amber, and their blazing with fire like a pool of molten
desire. Her cheeks are flushed, and although I’m not touching her, I know her skin will feel like the
softest silk under my undeserving hands. Her body hums with anticipation, small, quick shivers
rocking her body each wave of desire that seeps through the dragon’s bonds. Each time her body
rocks she rubs against my cock that’s been pulsating with want since she showed up at dinner.

“Violet-” I say one more time as a last attempt, knowing it’s futile.

She doesn’t answer, instead, she raises on her tiptoes while pulling me towards her from my
leathers, and her mouth’s on me. The kiss is devastatingly sweet, her lips crash into mine. She
tastes of spice and liquor, but it’s not the whiskey that’s burning my lips, it’s the want that runs
through my veins that can never seem to get enough of this woman.

I let Violet kiss me the way she wants, her lips exploring mine as if she’s starving for me. She
pushes me into the tree, the sharp edges of the bark bite into my leathers, and she puts all of her
weight into me. Her hands slip into my hair and she intertwines her fingers in them gently tugging,
a move claiming ownership of me with unexpected possessiveness. She doesn’t need to as I’ve
been hers for as long as I can remember, but it’s bewildering nonetheless.

She parts her mouth and pulls my bottom lip with her teeth, gently nipping. I shiver, and my hands
slide up and down her body, my hands exploring every corner possible with unsatisfiable greed.
Her tongue presses against my mouth, demanding I open for her, and the sheer force and intensity
she’s kissing me is about to be my undoing.

I part my mouth for her, as her tongue dives deep into my mouth. She starts exploring, learning
every corner, mapping every inch with that infinite curiosity of hers. I suck on her tongue and she
moans with pleasure, and it’s my undoing.

I try to flip us so I can take control of the situation and trap her body between myself and the tree,
but she doesn’t budge. She might be small, but right now she wants all the control. She pushes into
me harder, putting small kisses across my mouth, my cheek, then my throat. She gently nips at a
sensitive spot on my neck and I squirm under her body trying to grab her wrists again so I can get
some sense of advantage in this situation because what she’s doing to my body is torture. I can
sense her smiling as she’s kissing me at my struggle.

“What are you up to?” My breaths are labored and my cock is about to burst out of my pants.

“Stop squirming and you’ll find out.” She says in a voice I’ve never heard out of her, the tone
making all the rest of the blood that is in my brain go straight into my crotch.

I surrender to her.

We kiss and kiss, waves of desire from what the dragons are channeling mixing with the pleasure
from her warm skin on mine. I’m not sure how much of this is the dragons and how much of it is
us, and at this point, I don’t care. She kisses every inch of my face, my neck, and my throat,
licking, biting, sucking, and with her every touch my cock throbs, bringing me closer and closer to
that edge.

Even though I can get out of grasp easily, I don’t even try. If this is the way she decides to punish
me for being a lying bastard, I’ll dig my own fucking grave. She draws her hands to my chest, then
finally around my breeches, her hand brushing up against my pants making me moan with
desperation.

“Violence-” But instead of answering, she drops to her knees.

My eyes widen in shock, finally realizing her intentions. I try to bring her back up,

“What are you doing?” I ask incredulously, but Violet’s already fiddling with my breeches,
unbuttoning the button and my cock springs out of them, finally free of the limitations of the
leather.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” She says the soft breeze of her breath on my cock almost
making me come there and then.

“This isn’t right-” I grunt out, a shutter works its way through me, my cock rebelling at what I’m
saying.

She lifts her eyes to me. Now, I imagined her like this, on her knees, in front of my cock, me
fucking her mouth as deep as she can take me, and what I imagined does not fucking compare.

“It’s not quite what I promised I know, I’m still wearing all of my clothes, and I didn’t strip
everything so you can see all of me-”

“It’s not what I fucking meant and you know it. You don’t have to do this.” I bite out, the last bit of
my honorable intent disappearing with every small breath she exhales on me.

“But I want to do this,” She says, wrapping her small delicate hands on the base of my cock, and
like a fucking teenager I jolt forward at her first touch.

A small, treacherous, sexy giggle escapes her mouth as she runs her head from the base of my cock
to its tip, and she brings her mouth onto it, but before taking it in she says,

“Unless you don’t want me to.” Her mouth is so close to my cock, the words vibrate against it.

“I don’t think I can want anything more than this right now.” The answer comes out of me without
my brain getting involved.
She smiles, leans, and takes the tip in her mouth. At the first touch of that wet, soft mouth, I swear
to the gods my eyes roll backward in my head. I resist the urge to push further into her, letting her
get used to me. She takes me in a bit deeper, I groan with sweet, aching pleasure spreading deep
and wide across my body.

“Fuck, you’re so good at this.” I groan. “How are you so good at this? Don’t fucking tell me.”

A snort comes out of her mouth and the sound reverberates in on my cock and the entire body and
my hips jerk. She hums again in satisfaction and swirls her tongue right at the tip of the ridge of
my cock. I groan again with satisfaction, and my hands slip into those silver strands. One hand
intertwined in her hair, the other cupping the back of her head, I start rocking gently against her,
each stroke making me see stars.

“Violet if you keep going I’m going to-”

Her hand splays against my thigh, and the other one grabs my ass encouraging me to push harder
and quicker.

“Fuck-” I shout as I pulse and can feel the release explode in her mouth. She gently continues until
I stop pulsating and eases her mouth off of me with that gods damn smirk on her face. She wipes
her mouth with the back of her hand, and the way she’s so thoroughly debauched by me drives me
to the edge.

Before she can say anything, I flip us, pushing her against the tree, and pinning her arms next to her
against the tree.

“Fuck, I want you.” She murmurs, her voice low and shaky as if she can barely contain herself.

I leave a gentle but firm peck on her mouth as I kiss her with gratitude for her generosity. My
mouth’s on hers in a demanding way, I drink her until I need to come up for air. I break away from
her mouth and start putting kisses from the corner of her mouth to her jaw. My hands lower to her
stomach, then to the waist of her breeches. She arches into me urging me to continue exploring.

“Greedy.” I chuckle.

“Starving.” She responds her voice barely above a whisper, and I almost come right there and
there.

I undo the buttons of the breeches as my mouth goes back to hers, this time it’s my tongue in her
mouth as I slide my hand under her underwear, and drag a finger right down her center, finally
touching her. I groan in approval to find her warm and so fucking wet, my cock pulses in
anticipation even though it still needs a minute to recover.

My thumb presses against her clit and Violet whimpers, a tiny moan escaping her mouth. That
noise alone is enough to harden me against her again, but I don’t let myself get distracted. I make
small circles on her bundle of nerves while my other hands laces in her hair while my mouth
continues devouring her. Based on how much she’s squirming I can tell she’s desperate for me and
I work a finger in.

“Gods, you’re so tight.” I spit out, my plan to drive her crazy already backfiring on me.

She draws a small circle on my finger in her, a moan of pleasure escaping her mouth, and all she
can do whisper,

“More.”
I dutifully obey, working another finger in her, and I curl my fingers slowly easing them in an out
of her while my thumb continues drawing circles on it.

“Xaden-” She moans my name, and I’m determined to make her say my name like this again and
again, but before I can respond, lightning strikes in the sky and Violet comes crashing down
around me. I am ready for her though and before the lightning hits my tree, our tree, my shadows
are there to catch them.

Violet’s release shakes her in wave after wave, and only when she relaxes around my fingers I draw
them out. I put them in my mouth sucking them slowly without breaking eye contact with her. Only
when I swallowed every drop of her, I cradle her face in my hands, putting a gentle kiss on her
mouth. I push her hair off of her sweaty face a sated smile looking at me with hungry eyes.

“Now what?” I ask her, my mouth leans into hers without hesitation.

She bites my lower lip again.

“Now, once my heartbeat lowers to a concerning threshold you fuck me against this tree.” She
says.

I smile devilishly at her, wanting to do just that but pause. I realize there is no more energy being
channeled from the dragons. And with the heat of the moment gone, I realize just how fucking far
I’ve gone yet again. Regret fills me, followed shortly by shame. Violet’s in still in my arms, her
head nuzzled around my neck, a willing participant in all of this, but I made a fucking promise to
myself and her that the next time I have her, she’ll have all of me. And I’ve already fucked it up. I
took advantage of her again, when she was in no condition to want this. Regret washes over me
with unbearable strength and I drop her face taking a step back.

“This was a mistake, I’m sorry,” I say unable to look at her.

“What?” She says, her hands already fixing her clothes in defense.

Fuck, I messed this up so hard.

“I shouldn’t have done this. You don’t deserve this.”

Words pour out of me faster than I can think. I can’t believe I did this. She should be courted, and
held in silks and satin, not fucked at a ruined castle against a fucking tree.

Anger pulsates through her.

“You didn’t do this. We did this. We are doing this together. Stop acting like I’m a fucking child
who can’t make her own decisions Xaden. If I want that I’d be fucking Dain.”

“Maybe you should.”

Wait what? What the fuck am I saying?

“Are you out of your gods damn mind? You do this every time we get close. I told you I loved
you-”

As if I need the fucking reminder. She’s been nothing but generous and giving, she barely asked
anything in return and I never even stepped up to do that. Which is why I don’t even deserve to
stand in her shadow let alone her presence.
“And that’s the fucking problem, right? And I never did!”

Her face turns to ash, and I realize she takes it in the exact opposite way I mean it. She takes a step
away from the tree, from me.

“I guess I should’ve known that-” She says, her hands in her hair trying to straighten them out.

“Violet, no that’s not-”

I try to take it back but I know the moment’s passed. And that’s not the only thing passing me by.

“I’m always going to be the girl whose mother killed your father. The girl whose mother is
responsible for what happened to you. You’re never going to be able to get past what you have to
do for this revolution, lie to me and push me away every chance you get.”

Her thoughts are moving towards the exact opposite direction I meant to. I want to tell her it’s me
who doesn’t deserve her, it’s me who has to earn what she’s so willingly giving me. But instead,
she’s worried I can’t look past something she wasn’t even a part of?

A new sense of dread fills me as the conversation gets away from me. And I get the distinct
feeling that I’m losing her, this time for good.

“You know I would do anything for those kids whose life depends on me. I would do anything for
the ones I love-”

“Well the fuck aware”, She screams at me, throwing the words back to me from all those months
ago. The want and warmth in her eyes is replaced by icy distrust, and I realize to my horror she still
does not consider herself in those people.

Fuck, I’m going about this all wrong. I need her to know. I need her to know she’s as essential to
me as the air that is in my lungs. My shadows are bouncing around me, wanting to be released, to
go to her.

Violet turns around ready to leave but I’m not letting her. I’m never going to let her go. I should
just tell her how I feel, that I love her, but the words just do not come out of my mouth knowing
damn well I do not deserve her. How can I ever be worthy of her?

“Stop, Violet, please-” I beg her, ” I’m not explaining myself right. I meant you. I would do
anything for you. I would die for you.”

She crosses her arms as she bites out, “And I almost did die for you.”

Fuck, she’s right. How am I ever supposed to be worthy enough for her?

“I’m destined to do bad things in this war, and I’ll do them all if it means at the end of the day we
win this. Don’t you understand? I’m not meant to have this.” I desperately tell her.

“I know about the bad things you did Xaden, I even know the worst of it. You know why? Because
you did it to me.” She replies the icy look on her face spilling into her voice. The tone I never
wanted to be directed at me now slaps me in the face.

“It’s not that you think you are not worthy of me. It’s that you’re using it as an excuse. You don’t
decide who’s worthy of me, I do. And here I am standing, begging, basically throwing myself at
you, because yet again, you do not meet me halfway on the gods damn parapet.” She says, her
voice filled with solemn regret.
 “I told you months ago you needed to stop being a fucking liar and own up to your shit. I was
wrong. You’re not a liar. You’re a coward. It’s not that you don’t think that you deserve me. It’s
that you’re afraid. You’re so fucking afraid of what this could mean for you, so afraid what being
with me, truly really being with me, could expose in those walls you keep so far high, you won’t
ever risk it. You know what? That’s fucking disrespectful and I’m done. I’m done waiting for you
to figure out how you finish weighing if wanting me is worth the risk of letting me be your
weakness. Done waiting for you. Done with all of this.”

I know she’s right. She’s always right. Even if she couldn’t see right through me, with that smart
mind of hers she might as well just recited my deepest, and darkest fears at me all the same.

It doesn’t matter now anyways. Nothing does.

Just like that, she shatters my heart that’s been beating in her hands in slow, measured beats. If I’m
being honest, I made her do it. I did it all myself.

She turns around and leaves the hillside, finally leaving me by myself to wallow in self-pity. I
watch the spot she stood on wondering how the fuck I finally manage to finally make the woman I
exist for give up on me.

Chapter End Notes

Sorry about this one my loves, but some things are meant to be broken before they get
fixed <3

The next chapter is Mira's POV, the crew goes back to Montserrat, and Mira has an
inkling of what's in the boxes and where she thinks they come from :) Their plans to
take Montserrat do not go as expected because of a bad turn of events across Navarre.
 Mira
Chapter Notes

Sorry about this one my loves, I've had a bit of a block :(. The last chapter took a toll
on me, and I was self-conscious about returning to the plot after the feeling the
feelings chapter we had last time.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

I knock on the large oak double doors impatiently. I’m still a bit tipsy from mixing the liquor from
dinner and the healing ailments Brennan’s been practically shoving down my throat, so my
inhibitions are… Well, they are a bit uninhibited.

After being on bed rest for practically two weeks, I just have way too much energy to be going
back down to the quiet infirmary and spending another night alone. My mind always runs
incessantly and with endless determination, especially on the night before a potentially huge fight,
so sleeping in a creepy hospital by myself is just a no-go.

Something just doesn’t feel right in my body. Maybe it’s that thing that never lets me stay still, or
maybe it’s just boredom. I tried lying down in that creepy room, but every time I closed my eyes, I
just heard noise. This incessant, loud noise keeps bothering me.

If I was back in Montserrat I’m sure I could find someone to warm my bed to keep me company
and distract me, but that’s clearly not an option in this outpost full of children, so I’m choosing the
second-best option.

I change my rhythm from a knock to a pound, and I yell at the door.

“I know you’re in there Brennan, open the fucking door.”

My not-so-dead brother's name is still weird to say out loud after all this time thinking he had
perished from this world. It obviously is not a sad weirdness, it’s just… The part that grieved him
with so much agony and pain has just not caught up to the part that is so fucking relieved that he’s
alive yet. Although I’m not sure what’s going to happen when those two sides collide because I’m
beyond livid that he made Violet and I go through this. In all honesty, he probably hopes I get my
temper under control before I fully heal because the only thing preventing me from pummeling him
until next week is the fact that he would have to be the one who stitches me back together.

I’m about to change my pound to a kick, but the door eventually opens.

“What do you want?”

He’s wearing a pair of sleeping and a shirt, clearly about to go to bed, and I’m not welcome here.

I can get offended, but his voice is of a big brother who’s annoyed by his little sister, and I missed
even that infuriating tone. I move past into the bedroom without waiting for an invitation and plop
down on the bed, putting my feet up on his black sheets.

Brennan shakes his head, clearly frustrated, “I hope this is a quick visit.” He says.
“Nope,” I respond, and wiggle the bottle of liquor in my hands. “It’s not. I can’t sleep in that creepy
infirmary by myself so I’m crashing with you.”

“Absolutely not, just go to the infirmary Mira, don’t be a brat.”

“I see old habits die hard,” I say, pushing out the cork off the bottle. It pops louder than I expect
and flies off somewhere in the room. Good, I have no intentions of leaving the bottle full by the
time I’m done here.

“What habits? And get your dirty feet off my bed.” Brennan replies, although he closes to door,
knowing I’m not leaving anytime soon.

“You know, the big brother habits. The ones that put that frown on your face every time Violet and
I do something wrong.”

“Violet doesn’t do anything wrong.” He quips back.

“Maybe she didn’t before,” I say taking a swig out of the bottle, the liquid calming my churning
thoughts instantly. “But you don’t know who she is now. Who she had to become,” I reply.

A quiet moment of somberness passes between us, knowing that part of Violet had to die for her to
grow into the strong Rider she is. Still, it aches my heart that the girl who hid in kitchen cupboards
so she didn’t get scolded for reading might be gone forever.

“Give me that bottle.” Judging by the exhaustion of Brennan’s tone, the feeling is mutual.

I lower myself onto Brennan’s bed, getting a bit more comfortable, now that I’m past the first
barrier of my taking over his bed the rest of the night.

“Where do you think she ran off tonight?” I ask him.

“Judging by how Xaden took off and she ran after him, I don’t think I want to know.” Brennan’s
face crumbles with brotherly disgust at the unmentionable things his baby sister is doing.

I seize the opportunity unable to resist, “I bet they’re fucking. I bet Xaden Riorson has your baby
sister in all kinds of different positions, doing all kinds of things to her. I bet it’s not even the first
time they’ve done it.”

“Stop-” Brennan crunches his face, but there’s amusement in his voice.

“You know, we both had sex, Violet and I. With all kinds of different men-”

“Why are you torturing me?” He pleads, interrupting me.

“I got six years to make up for.” I shrug, taking the bottle back from him.

“She’s your baby sister too you know.” Brennan reminds me.

I shake my head, “She’s not my baby sister. She grew up in front of me. Fried a Venin for gods
sake. Besides-” I shake my head unable to get the thought of Xaden looking like an unfixable mess
in the kitchen back in Montserrat. “I hope they’re fucking for Riorson’s sake.”

Brennan does not respond and I expect him to be more curious about what’s going on between
Xaden and Violet. After all, he’s the gossip of the family. I squint my eyes at him.

“What do you know?” I ask I don’t think Riorson and Brennan are sitting around braiding each
other's hair and talking about feelings.

Brennan shrugs, taking the bottle back from me. A lazy, annoying grin spreads to his face when I
insist.

“Tell me-” I raise my fist threatening to resort to violence.

“Nothing-” He shrugs. “Just that-”

But he doesn’t get to finish the sentence because there’s another knock on the door. Brennan turns
to me with a quizzical expression on his face.

“How should I know who the fuck is at your door?” I ask him shrugging.

The knocking turns to pounding, then into kicking much quicker than mine.

“There’s only one other person who can be so annoying,” Brennan murmurs and opens the door.

Violet strolls into the room, her cheeks flushed with an expression that’s filled with blazing rage.
Her fists are clenched, but I swear I can feel power humming from her as if she’s having trouble
keeping it in. She looks at me and Brennan then says,

“Is that whiskey?” Her voice is quieter than a whisper, but it’s not sadness I hear, it’s unfiltered,
barely leashed wrath.

There are only a few people who can get a reaction like this out of my sister, and two out of those
three people are in this room.

Brennan hands her the bottle and then plops down on the bed next to me, resigning to his fate for
the night.

Violet takes a giant gulp, then another from the bottle. I wave at her to pass it back.

She starts pacing back and forth in the room, quietly murmuring to herself like a madwoman.
Brennan and I smirk at the same time at the familiarity of the trick we’ve seen her use so many
times to calm herself down.

I turn my head to Brennan, “Guess she’s not fucking Riorson tonight after all.” I shrug.

Brennan grimaces, barely holding his snort in. Violet’s head snaps to me, and I swear I see a
crackling of lightning. There’s so much power coming from her, there’s air in the static.

“Gods Vi, can you fucking ground?” I ask her.

She speaks in that quiet voice full of power again, “This is me grounding.”

Brennan whistles and I snort, even after everything that happened including my brother being alive,
Violet turning into an unstoppable force of nature was not something I would’ve ever guessed.
She’s always been strong, stronger than all of us in ways I couldn’t even imagine, but this… The
way raw power practically drips from her fingertips is still something I’m getting used to.

“So what the hell did he do this time?” Brennan asks, his tone shifting to that older protective
brother’s. My heart swells at that.

“Nothing.” Violet murmurs, climbing on the bed next to Brennan.

The three of us on the same bed bring back memories from our childhood, but we are now adults
so the fit on the bed is… tight. But the feeling is so precious, so familiarly comfortable it feels
wrong to move out of the bed, even though there is a perfectly good couch right by the window.
I’m instantly warm and it’s not the liquor. It’s my family.

“Gods Vi, you’re like a fucking heater”, Brennan says.

“Must be the lightning.” She murmurs although she sounds unsure. “I’m staying here tonight.”

She adds, and the way she changes the topic is not lost on either of us. Brennan and I exchange a
look, it’s one of siblingly worry and also resolve. We have her back no matter what.

“I figured,” Brennan resignes, “So uh, what happened?”

“Nothing.” Violet murmurs but starts playing with her fingers. “Xaden’s asshole.”

“We already knew that.” Brennan and I say in unison.

She looks at us with an arched brow but continues to give us a summary of what happened between
the two of them. Brennan and I have trouble holding our tongues with curses slipping out of one of
us every ten seconds.

We pass around the bottle until the first light of the dawn and eventually pass out on the bed just
like when we were kids, in quiet relief and comfort now that we’re back together.

I’m standing in the flight field with Teine towering over me with quiet judgment in his narrow
eyes. He’s seen me fly hungover before, but the judgment is always there. I smirk at him and gently
put my hand on his nose, letting the ridges of his giant nose cool my nervous senses. That heavy
feeling on my chest from last night returns stronger than before, even though I get a short reprieve
thanks to my siblings.

I turn my head to the beat of wings coming from nearby and a blue behemoth of a dragon lands
near Teine. Teine huffs and gives the Sgaeyl a wide berth, who apparently had to be exactly where
Teine had landed. I should be annoyed, but honestly, considering Teine was just judging me for
being hungover the day we head back to Montserrat, I’m secretly enjoying this.

I hear a pair of boots approaching us and judging by the blue dragon standing on the field, I only
need one guess to figure out who it is. Xaden’s taking large, determined steps toward us and I
almost flinch at the look at him. He always looks daunting and scary but right now he looks…
lethal. He’s wearing his flight leathers, with daggers sheathed pretty much from head to toe, his
features are sharp, sharper than usual, and a stark expression is settled on his face. Suddenly,
Sgaeyl’s bad mood makes sense.

He doesn’t even look at me as she approaches Sgaeyl, and neither does Sgaeyl but I’m actually
okay with that. Don’t need her terrifying gaze on me today.

“Good morning to you Riorson.” I drawl but he doesn’t turn to me. His shoulders look stiff, and he
looks… rough. Like any of that lightness I caught from him in the past few days has disappeared
into thin air.

I probe again, “What has gotten into you? Normally you’re so chatty.”

I don’t get a response once more, but Sgaeyl huffs an exasperated sound of annoyance, so I know
he heard me.
Alright, that’s it.

“I knew you were an idiot, but to fuck up the way you did last night takes an enormous amount of
stupidity, even from you.”

Sgaeyl straight-up hisses this time.

“I don’t want to talk about it Sorrengail,” Xaden bites out.

His voice is full of bark, but I can tell from the way he stands, I have his attention now. If I felt like
being more of an asshole I can torture him but… Apparently, I have a soft spot for this asshole.

“You told her you didn’t love her?” I look at him incredulously.

He finally turns to me, and I notice there isn’t a single golden fleck in his eyes. The guy who
quietly confessed his love to my little sister is nowhere to be found. Instead, I find this… shell of a
man in front of me.

“She told you?” He asks raising an eyebrow.

I nod. “Of course, she told me. She told Brennan too, so he might be kicking your ass soon.”

He shifts from one foot to another with uncharacteristic nervousness. “I didn’t tell her I didn’t love
her-”

I raise a brow.

“Okay I did, but she took it the wrong way.” Xaden shakes his head incredulously as if he can’t
believe what he is saying. He pauses for a second, hesitates then blurts out, “So that’s where she
stayed last night?”

I roll my eyes at him.

“Where else would she have stayed? Or are you gonna accuse her of flying back to Basgiath to stay
in Aetos’ room?”

His eyes narrow and he tenses again, as if even the thought of that is unacceptable. I know from
what he told me, and seeing how he acts around Violet, he didn’t mean what he said to her. I’m
about to push further for him to get his shit together but three more dragons land near us, which
means riders are shortly behind us too.

I turn to him, “We’re not done talking about this.”

Xaden does not even acknowledge me, because apparently, he’s too busy being in a staring match
with… Tairn.

The balls on this guy.

I mean I’m also pretty sure Violet regularly argues with Sgaeyl, who is more terrifying than Tairn
in more ways than one, so I don’t want to get in the middle of whatever the fuck they are doing.

I’m about to remark on this too, but something catches my attention. Just like Violet’s power
pressed into me last night, something else is pressing into me. My signet stretches and expands
across the field, and I turn around to find Garrick and Bodhi carrying a chest.

That bad feeling churning inside of me since yesterday starts kicking and screaming.
As if a magnet is pulling me towards them, I leave Xaden standing like an idiot there and make my
way across the field.

“You can feel it?” Garrick asks knowingly.

I put my hand on one of the chest and it vibrates against my skin. “Yeah-” I nod and turn to him.
“You?”

He shakes his head and points behind him. ”Chradh can.” That makes sense. From what I
remember his dragon is sensitive to runes. So whatever’s in these chests must have runes on them.

The two chests feel distinctively different. One of them, the one they brought from Aethebyne
feels, light and fresh. I can sense the wards around it, similar to the ones I weave around Navarre.
The other one… feels heavier. And I can’t explain the feeling but it feels, sticky, like whatever’s in
there is trying to permeate the air outside of the chest. It feels dangerous and every fiber of my
being tells me to be careful around that one, even though whatever’s in the chest is whispering to
me to open it.

I gulp and take my hands off of the chests.

“I think I can open them,” I say but I shake my head.

Violet has apparently shown up because it’s her who asks, “Why do sound like you think maybe
you shouldn’t?”

Smart girl.

“One of these feels dangerous, I can’t explain it,” I say. “It’s just a feeling.”

Violet nods and turns to the rest of them. “We’ll take both of these with us and deal with them
when we get back to Montserrat.” She says, gently squeezing my shoulder. "Maybe stop touching
it now."

I swallow again, raising myself from the ground, still feeling shaky from the pull from the chest.

We fly in formation for almost a day back to Montserrat. I should be buzzing with excitement but
something’s off. My mouth feels dry and my hands feel shaky, I want to attest that to being
hungover from the night before or even the fact that I’m recovering from a major poison wound.
But I know the truth. It’s that godsdamn chest. Ever since I touched it, I can feel its slimy texture
on my hands as the cursed thing branded me. I wipe my hands on my leathers to get the feeling off.

It only seeps further into my skin.

It’s as if I finally know what’s been bothering me since I woke up, and now that I know it’s calling
me, I don’t know how to answer. It's like a siren’s song, I know it’s calling me not because I need
to answer but because it needs to devour me.
I gulp with the realization. This thing is lethal and it’s messing with my head.

“Ground yourself.” Teine orders, as I shake my head and take a deep breath.

I force my thoughts to focus on what we’re going to do once we land in Montserrat, starting with
Axel and Lios, my trusted squad mates. I know in my heart I can sway them in our direction. There
are a couple of guards on the keep that concern me, but turns out Imogen is kind of a badass and
can take care of them quicker than they can blink.
We break the thin layer of clouds and start descending and all thoughts of whatever plans we made
vanish.

Because in a couple of hundred yards ahead, there stands Montserrat. And it’s on fire.

The towering keep stands resolute against the crimson-streaked sky, its stone walls casting long
shadows over the landscape below. Purple hues dance across the battlements, a testament to the
sun’s last efforts before nightfall. But it’s not the red skies or the bodies that are piled up on the
keep that catches my attention. It’s the shadow of the wings bleeding into the darkness of the keep
walls.

It’s a blood bath. I’m not sure what they’re doing here or what they’re looking for but their orders
are to leave no one alive. Rage seeps into my bones as my signet starts stretching its grasp on me.
This is all my fault. I have been away for a better part of two weeks, and the wards have weakened.
This is on me.

Dread fills me and it’s threatening to drown my determination to fix this. I never feel like this.
Every battle that drags me to the front lines, I never felt like this, my signet and Teine always push
me to stand in front of those who cannot protect myself. But right now… I feel off. I feel foggy,
my breaths shallow and my judgment clouded. I should be gliding to the front of our formation,
ward Violet and the others. My signet feels like a fish out of water it wants to swim, it wants to
dive, but instead… it just flops.

The silhouettes of Wyverns glide across the keep walls, weaving between each other as if part of a
dance. Our formation tightens in unison, the dragons in tandem with one another, and we make it
to the wall.

I look frantically for the other two Riders who are supposed to be stationed on this keep. The sky
darkens as I spot Xaden on the side of my peripheral his face grimaced, his arms flexed trying to
hold off two of the Riderless wyverns.

Violet, riding atop Tairn, grips the saddle tightly as her gaze sweeps over the chaos below. She
notices the group of civilians who are part of the Montserrat’s staff surrounded by Venin at the
same time as me. The clouds get together as power from my sister strikes down the mindless beasts
who surround the innocent people below us.

I exhale with relief, but it’s short-lived.

In addition to the wards being down, the keep's once mighty defenses are crumbling under the
assault, wooden barricades splintering as fiery breath and wild magic rain down upon us.

The cacophony of battle fills the air, a symphony of roars,m cries and the sizzling of magic is
almost impossible to separate from one another.

Gods there must be nearly two dozen wyvern and who knows how many Venin.

On the horizon, my eyes catch a skirmish in the skies right above the courtyard. Axel. The bastard
is nearly not separated from Lios, and the fact that Lios is not here right now sends a shiver down
my spine. I refuse to think of the possibilities as I urge Teine to glide forward.

I find Garrick off of his dragon already landed in the courtyard. The second Teine’s legs touch the
ground I jump off of him, and dart through the chaos below. The chest his dragon was carrying has
toppled off of him, on its side. Gods its call is even louder from here.

I take inventory of what I walked into, three Wyverns and one Venin have surrounded Garrick who
is doing his damnest to fend them off.

This is madness. Chaos. In the outpost, I’ve called home for three years.

The fog clears as my protective instincts finally kick in. I unsheath my onyx daggers Brennan
shoved in my hand earlier this morning and bolt forward.

Just as the Wyvern behind Garrick raises one of its claws, about to land a devastating blow on his
back, I raise my hands and flick my wrist forward. The clear blue hue of my ward envelopes him
just in time to block the hit. Garrick turns to me with shock in his eyes, and nods in thanks. He
throws a shortsword towards me and I duck, about the ask what the fuck is wrong with him, but the
scream behind me is the answer as a Wyvern who was sure to claw my brains out collapsed behind
me. I nod in return.

But just as I’m about to move towards the Wyvern remaining I notice him. If you can call it that. A
form I can only describe as a little more than a wraith turns its head towards me. Its twisted body is
illuminated by an otherworldly cursed glow, and red veins pulse beneath his ashen skin. A drop of
sweat falls down my back as it grins at me.

“There you are.” It hisses, it’s a voice like a whisper from my nightmares.

I shudder. It takes a step towards me, and my grasp on the dagger tightens. Each step he takes
seems to leave a trail of rotten energy in its wake, it smells like fruit that’s gone bad, food left out
too long. He smells like death.

Garrick’s attention is turned to the Wyvern he’s battling alongside Teine and Chradh. They more
than have their hands full, leaving me alone with this thing. I try to ground but the presence of the
damn box is so loud in my head I can barely feel my connection with Teine.

This one, I’m going to need to do by hand.

“There I am,” I respond, trying to sound confident and cocky, but I’m not even sure this creature
can be intimidated. Besides, that wrong feeling is all the more persistent here, threatening to bring
me down to my knees.

The Venin must also realize I’m all talk because its grin widens on his face.

“I was wondering if you were not gonna show.” It quips it’s a voice in that unsettling tone.

“Glad to be of service,” I murmur, circling the thing. My hands tremble as my signet continues
flopping. Is it Venin who's doing this? The fog in my mind expands as dread continues filling my
veins.

“I’d love to stay and chat–” the thing considers. “But it’s finally time.”

“If you think you’re going to -” But I stop mid-sentence.

Because the Venin’s hand is on mine. Its touch is cold and otherworldly like this thing is not
supposed to exist.

No shit.

Suddenly, the fog in my mind expands, drowning all of my senses. I can’t see, I can’t smell, I can’t
even feel my legs on the earth. I should be panicking, but all of my feelings are behind that fog
from the Venin’s touch. All I can feel is the call from the box.
I hear a muffled voice – Teine, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. It’s as if the Venin cut off all
of my senses from the outside world.

I can no longer ignore the call.

I want to. I want to so badly, but my body is moving without my control.

I reach the box, kneeling in front of it and righting it with shaky hands. The pressure from earlier is
there, pressing against my signet, me. It’s suffocating. Something wet drops to the ground.

Blood.

I wipe my nose with the back of my hand, ignoring my bleeding noise. My cheeks and ears also
feel wet too.

But I can’t wait.

I hear more of the muffled screams. I can see someone approaching me with fast steps, and the
reaction is instant as I throw up a shield around me, warding myself and the box in.

I put my hands on the box, it’s alien wood is cool under my clammy hands. But my hands are not
shaking. As my fingers lace around the wards that have always been visible to me, I trace my finger
on one of its branching weaves. I smirk. It wants to be free. I’d be happy to oblige.

The muffled screams around me and the box increase, but I keep unweaving the wards. Whatever’s
in it, I need to come out, then maybe I’ll have some gods damn peace.

Just as I unweave the last of the weaves of the ward, the top of the box pushes open. An invisible
wave of energy, stronger than I’ve ever felt before slams into me causing me to fall to the ground.

It shatters the box it came out of, it shatters my ward, and it shatters me out of the trance I’ve been
in.

I blink rapidly, now that the fog is cleared. The Venin who was touching me is on its knees, held
tightly by Garrick. The keep walls are crumbled, and all of the wooden structures are lowered to
ashes.

I find Violet standing near me with a terrified expression on her face. What worries me more, is
Brennan who’s standing next to her with the same expression.

“What the hell was what?”, he asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, still a bit foggy from whatever magic the Venin used on me.

“Mira, your eyes.” Violet gasps.

I rub my eyes and find blood.

“Shit,” Xaden swears under his breath.

“Whatever was in that box, broke through the ward you put around you.” Garrick chimes in.

I nod in surprise, and let my signet stretch out. Let my power, expand and explore. And I realize
what the box and the energy were. Why they needed me to unlock it. The panic I’ve been keeping
at bay all day finally fills my veins. I let it fill me in and boil over. I let it all spill out of me.
 Because it should.

Because the feeling I’ve always felt with my signet ever since Teine channeled into me is gone.
Where I normally feel all the wards around me as easily as others might hear birds chirping, I
feel… nothing.

“It’s not just the ward around me that fell.” I shake my head, and the dagger in my hand falls to the
ground as I can no longer control the trembling. “All the wards of Navarre have fallen."

Chapter End Notes

All the wards in Navarre have fallen, and the crew gets to take Montserrat because...
No one else has it.

So, Basgiath sends out all cadets to nearby posts to reinforce them, and now a war
with Venin is truly beginning.

Aaand I do not think y'all are entirely going to like who shows up in Montserrat.
 Violet

“I can clean up my own fucking face” Mira bites out for maybe the fifth time.

I dab the cloth back into the bowl, the water in it is now more pink than clear and wipe the last of
the dried blood off her cheek. She winces slightly at the touch as I gently clean her blood-stained
cheeks.

“If you didn’t squirm so much I would’ve been done by now,” I murmur and dip the cloth back in
the bowl.“Brennan wasn’t kidding when he said you’re the worst kind of patient.”

“You’re not even a mender.” She bites out.

I have to suppress a smirk. “Glad to see your brain hasn’t melted, considering blood was coming
out of every opening on your head earlier today.”

I start working on her neck which has thick lines of dried blood going all the way down her
shoulder blades and down her back. I grimace at the sight, trying to keep the terror of seeing her
entire face caked with blood when that Venin made her use her signet to open the cursed box we
found in Aethebyne.

Truly, nothing good has come from the damned thing.

I shake my head, attempting to fight away the memory. I try to will some lightness to my voice,
“Besides you wouldn’t see the mender we have.”

Mira’s eyes drop to her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. “I don’t need a mender. There are way more
injured people who need Brennan right now.”

Her words come out of her mouth like a whisper and I hear what she’s not saying. She doesn’t
think she deserves to be mended. I inhale sharply as I let her guilt wash over me. How can I not?
My bold, brave sister who in my entire life I never heard mince her words is barely getting them
out now. Her shame is a tangible entity, perched on her back wilting her away moment by moment.

“This wasn’t your fault,” I tell her, maybe for what feels like the hundredth time today.

Mira doesn’t even respond as she turns her head to the kitchen window overlooking directly into
the courtyard. She wanted to be out there, help those who are injured, and move those who have
fallen. It was Xaden who convinced her to clean herself up before terrifying everyone around her
and that got through her.

I was in the air holding off a horde of Wyverns when I heard Teine’s roar from the courtyard.
Tairn took me to her as quickly as he could and he prepared me for what we would find on the
ground based on what Teine conveyed, but nothing could’ve prepared me to see my unbreakable
sister on her knees with blood coming out from her eyes, ears and nose. It was the scariest thing
I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Brightside, if one could call this one, I was able to knock out the Venin. I didn’t fry it this time like
I did the others, but I was able to channel enough power to bring it to its knees.

What happened after that… well it was gross.

Well, see the thing is we know nothing about Venin really, aside from what’s in the book our
father has given me, so we don’t really know how to suppress or even block Venin powers. Which
is why when the Venin started squirming it wasn’t surprising to see Xaden and Garrick stab the
Venin through its palms with the daggers covered in runes. That seemed to… weaken it.

I can see Mira spiraling in her thoughts again, her brown eyes shrouded in guilt and shame she
doesn’t seem to be able to dispel. No matter what I tell her, she’s going to blame herself for this.
Just like I have been blaming myself for what happened in Aethebyne.

I walk back over to the sink and switch out the water in the bowl. When I return to her, Mira’s eyes
are still on the covered bodies in the courtyard. I dab the cloth back and start working on her other
side.

“Tell me something to distract me.” She mumbles, her voice wilted as if she’s losing an internal
battle.

“Like what?” I ask her, as I continue working on her.

She shrugs, and the movement shakes the table she’s sitting on splashing water in the bowl
everywhere, including all over her leathers. She doesn’t even notice, and I realize just how far
she’s spiraling.

Mira tries to focus on me her brows furrowing, “Like what are you gonna do about Riorson?”

I can’t help flinching at the mention of his name. I know this is morbid and incredibly selfish but
with everything that happened in both Aretia and Montserrat, I’m almost thankful that I didn’t get a
chance to think about what happened on that hilltop in Aretia.

But there are no more Venin to fight and no coups to execute, not really. I’m here to see Mira is
okay, but I’m also here so I have something to do instead of wallowing in pain wondering what
could’ve been.

But Mira’s question blows the fuse on what I’ve been barely keeping under the lid. I explode.

All the feelings I’ve been holding at bay come crashing down on me. The tidal wave of emotions
is so strong and so persistent that just when I think the wave is done washing over me another one
crests over me. I’m stranded in the middle of the ocean and every time I try to come up for air I get
pushed back down. I’m drowning in pain, rage, and disappointment. I don’t know how I’m going
to survive this.

My words are above a whisper when I say, “There’s nothing to do Mira. He doesn’t want this.”

Mira’s unfocused gaze that’s been worrying me since the attack narrows and her brown eyes drill
down on me.

“If you think that’s the case, you’re a bigger idiot than he is, which I didn’t think it was possible.”

I shake my head, “It’s hard to come back from when you put yourself out there for someone for the
second time, and they say they don’t love you back.” The words are like gravel coming out of my
mouth, and it burns my chest when I speak them. But it’s the truth. But still, even though I’ve been
thinking about what he said since I left that hilltop, speaking them out loud gives them a life of
their own, the feeling of rejection and hurt becoming a tangible entity, threatening to devour me.

I can’t get any air in my lungs.

“He didn’t mean it like that-” But I hold up a finger interrupting her.
“What do you mean ‘he didn’t mean it like that’. Since when do you two talk about me?” I ask, the
hand holding the rag frozen in the air.

“Since he arrived in Montserrat. He really is-”

She can’t finish her sentence because the kitchen door opens. Xaden and Garrick stroll in.

I can’t help that my chest flutters, and I curse internally, I’m going to work on getting over the sight
of this asshole as soon as possible.

He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t love you.

I repeat to myself.

“May I interject?” Tairn drawls in my head.

“You may not.” I spit back out, really not having any of his shit right about now.

Xaden and I lock eyes. The familiar feeling of the room disappearing around us envelops me. I
hungrily eye him head to toe, with an uncontrollable desire I can’t seem to be able to leash when
I’m in the same hemisphere as he is.

My intent was not to eat him with my eyes, instead I wanted to ensure he wasn’t hurt but the urges
that want to climb him and the ones that want to make sure he is unharmed come from places that
are too similar to one another.

Not a single fleck of gold is dancing in his midnight eyes and I can’t help wondering how he’s
doing. He raises a brow at my blatant perusal of him, and I feel his shadow caress brush against the
shields I’ve been keeping up since our fight. A flash of disappointment passes his face, and I have
to will myself to not grin with satisfaction.

“Right, nothing is going on here.” Mira sighs.

I train my eyes on the ceiling after finally managing to look away from Xaden, but his presence is
still pressing against me like a thorn in my side.

“Where did you put it?” Mira asks wondering about the Venin.

“Down at the dungeons,” Garrick replies, Mira’s brows furrow but before she can ask, “Imogen
and Bodhi are with it.”

“Good - don’t leave it alone,” Mira orders her spine straightening. She ponders her head to the side
and I know she’s planning our next steps. “Axel and Lios?”

“They’re in the infirmary, minor wounds, but Brennan got to them in time,” Xaden replies, his eyes
are still on me as I continue to pretend to study the ceiling and I’m determined to keep my eyes up
there until Xaden leaves the room, so I don’t do something stupid like throw myself at him for the
third time. There is only so much humiliation I can take.

But Mira’s next question ruins my plans.

“I want to open the other box.”

“What?” Garrick, Xaden, and I exclaim at the same time. All of our eyes

“Mira-” I start but she turns to me.

“I know it’s stupid to want to open the other box, but I need to. I can’t explain it, but I’ve felt the
type of wards around it before. I don’t remember where I felt them, but it’s…” She shrugs and
turns to me. “It’s like home Vi-” She shakes her head. “If I felt the wards again I’m sure I’d
recognize them, but I know the box from Aethebyne is not like the box we found past the borders.”

I check in with the only other creature.

“What do you think?” I send down the bond to Tairn.

“What’s the worse that can happen, she already took down all the wards,” Tairn responds
sardonically, and I know he didn’t bother shielding his response from Xaden because he makes a
sound that is very much like a suppressed snort.

I lower my shields for a brief moment and shoot back at both of them.

“Real mature.” Xaden’s eyes shoot up to me, clearly hearing me in his head an unexpected surprise
but I train my eyes back on Mira whose eyes are darting between us.

“Fine,” I tell her. “If you think we should open it, we’re doing it here and we’re doing it now.”

It takes Garrick only a few minutes to go see Chradh who’s been guarding the second box and haul
it back to the kitchen. We all look at it suspiciously, but Mira’s shoulders sag with relief as her
hands brush against its lid.

“It doesn’t feel like the other one.” Her brows furrow as if she’s concentrating, I feel her power
focus and dispel into the room. A soft click can be heard from the box and we all take a step back.
Unlike earlier, I don’t feel anything from the box, no waves of sinister energy emit from its
propped mouth.

Mira looks at the box apprehensively and lifts it open. Her face immediately relaxes, which Xaden,
Garrick, and I take it as a sign to approach the box.

“It’s for you.” Mira looks towards me, and now it’s my brows that furrow.

I feel Xaden take a step towards me as if he wants to put himself between me and the box, but I
shoot him a look that nails him to his place. It wasn’t his place to protect me before and it sure as
hell isn’t now.

I reach into the box to peek at what Mira is talking about and a laugh escapes my mouth. Mira
grins at me with satisfaction as I lean in and pull out the large tomb that is buried in the box.

I turn another page of the book in frustration as a low growl escapes my mouth.

“Trouble?”

Andarna’s windchime drawl echoes in my head, as she curls her graceful neck around me putting
her head on my lap. She gently nudges my hand with her nose, moving the book to the side, and
since I’m already leaning against her with the book propped up against my knees, I’m sandwiched
between her side and her head, leaving me no choice but to pet her.

I giggle softly and start rubbing my palm on her scales moving the book to the side.

Andarna makes a satisfied noise and pushes her nose into my head. We’re both blissfully enjoying
each other’s company when the entire world seems to be falling apart around us. You know is not
happy though? Tairn.

He huffs a puff of smoke from where he is lying across from the two of us.

After we found the book in the box chaos erupted in the room, everyone trying to get the book out
of my hands into their grubby paws. The only choice I had was to grab the damn thing and fly off
to this little farm right on the outskirts of Montserrat so I can read it in peace.

“What?” I ask Tairn, arching a brow. “Do you want to get pet too?”

“You do not pet a dragon.” He responds regally. Andarna makes a disagreeing noise.

“Then why the growling?” I ask her.

“You should be reading and learning about Venin, not dallying with the Gold One.”

“But I nearly do not get to dally as much with the ‘Gold One’.” I reply, imitating him, and shut the
tomb closed. “Besides, this is all gibberish. For now at least.”

“Gibberish how?” Andarna asks.

“Means the books in another language or something I need a translation,” I explain.

I hear a brush against my shields again, that cool shadowy caress gently pressing against me, but I
ignore it. I have no intention of having Xaden breathe over my shoulder while I try to decipher this
mystery text.

“I recall you enjoying him breathing on you plenty.” Tairn quips.

I feel the brush again, but I’m determined to ignore it.

“That is very inappropriate,” I reply.

Tairn shifts positions uncomfortably, and both Andarna and I turn our heads to him. He tilts his
head.

“Time to go. Sgaeyl says we have company.”

“What kind of company?” I ask my eyes narrowing, but I’m already getting up.

“They’re from Basgiath. That’s what Sgaeyl’s Rider said.”

“He’s talking to you?” I exclaim with frustration.

“Only because you won’t answer him. Let’s go. I want to be there to see Sgaeyl scorch whoever
looks at her Rider wrong.”

I grunt in frustration. “Fine, but I’m riding Andarna.”

Andarna practically squeals with excitement.

Andarna and I land in the Monsterrat courtyard twenty minutes later. Tairn lands with exaggerated
bravado next to Sgaeyl and huffs a puff of affection towards her. It’s not just Xaden and Sgaeyl
waiting for us. Mira, Imogen, Garrick, and Bodhi are also in the courtyard, their dragons perched
on the Montserrat keeps’ walls. The tension is so tight you can blow on it and the entire castle of
Monsterrat could come down on us.
I turn my gaze to Mira, who managed to change into clean leather from the looks of it, “Do we
know who’s here?” I ask, but she shakes her head.

“Just that a formation has been spotted. Be ready for anything.” She murmurs, a bit more like
herself. She’s still not back to herself, but I can relate to using a looming disaster as a perfect
distraction tool from one’s inner turmoil.

“Brennan?” I ask warily, suddenly worried about whoever might be coming actually recognizing
him.

“Out of sight. He’s good at that.” Xaden replies dryly.

Both Mira and I snap our heads towards him. “No shit.” I bite back and Mira looks like she wants
to say more, but a spot of shadow in the sky distracts us.

Three dragons loom on the horizon as I tense. Andarna and Tairn lower their heads behind me like
the sun and the dark side of the moon threateningly. We all shift from foot to foot as the figures on
the horizon approach and the arbitrary danger we’ve been worried about hiding in plain sight takes
corporeal form with every approaching wing beat.

“Oh gods.” I whisper as the dragons and their riders descend and I can’t believe who I’m seeing.

Ridoc and Rhiannon land in the courtyard in front of us. That’s a welcome surprise, and I can
barely contain myself before I run up and hug them so tightly they can’t breathe.

But it’s the third person who descends from the back of the red swordtail who conveniently landed
as far away from Tairn and Sgaeyl as possible that makes me gasp in astonishment.

It’s Dain who descends from the back of Cath and enters the keep of Montserrat.

Panic. Anger. Dread.

Those are the three feelings I can identify before absolute chaos erupts in the courtyard.

Train and Sgaeyl immediately prowl forward forming a physical barrier between Dain, Cath, and
the rest of us. Teine follows them, Chradh shortly behind. Cath bows to the dragons trying to
diffuse the situation as much as dragon violence can be subdued.

“Should I be growling?” Andarna’s voice echoes in my head, and I have to suppress a snort.

“I’ll let you know.” I quip back and take a step forward.

Dain has his arms crossed, his chin is straight, his hair looks ruffled, pushed back by his flight
goggles and I can see worry lines forming around his eyes. My eyes narrow at him as I try to read
him. What the hell is he doing here? I try to read my childhood best friend, but my entire baseline
of him shifted when I found out he’s been violating my privacy at will.

A soft smile forms on his lips as our eyes lock, but my mouth doesn’t move. I swear Sgaeyl, and
then Xaden growls. I look over my shoulder, shooting him a warning glass that screams boundaries
as the most intense stare off of my life continues on, while everyone sizes up one another.

It’s Mira who steps forward and breaks the silence. Xaden follows her. I’m sure it’s because with
Axel and Lios in the infirmary, he’s the second in charge in Montserrat, but I still can’t help the
flutter in my chest that he’s backing my sister up.
“What the hell are you doing at my outpost Aetos?” Her tone is bland and bored, like a
commanding officer.

Dain’s eyes leave mine as he turns his attention to Mira, his posture immediately going submissive
in front of a superior officer. I almost want to scoff.

“I thought of all people you’d be aware that the wards went down,” Dain says as if that’s
explanation enough.

If you don’t know her well enough you would’ve missed it, but Mira flinches at that. I have to
resist the urge to step forward and squeeze her hand. We can’t afford to look weak in front of Dain
who for all intents and purposes is an extension of command.

“Of course, we know the wards went down. Why do you think we haven’t sent Violet back? We
need her here.” Mira replies, her tone annoyed. I’m sure she is definitely annoyed with Dain, but I
can’t help impressed by her steady tone after the day she’s had.

Dain reaches into his pocket, and Tairn rumbles again. He hands out a sealed letter to Mira, and I
can spot the seal of Basgiath from where I stand.

Mira opens the order, glances over it, and scoffs handing the note over the Xaden. Xaden reads the
note quickly, his expression not giving it away.

“What is it?” I ask unable to help myself.

If my sudden intrusion into his thoughts surprises him, he doesn’t give it away. Instead, he crosses
his arms and steps next to Mira, forming a barrier against Dain, without bothering to address me. I
let the annoyance seep into my veins, but before I can probe further, Mira speaks up next.

“I don’t need children stationed in my outpost, only to go out and die.”

To my surprise, and really not to my surprise, it’s Ridoc who breaks the silence.

“I’d be happy to show you we’re perfectly capable Riders, sweetheart.” And he winks at my sister.

My eyes go wide, as Mira’s nostrils flare, but before she can literally bite Ridoc’s head off, it’s
Dain who says.

“Quiet Ridoc.”

Ridoc rolls his eyes and retreats back to Rhiannon’s side.

“Is that true?” I ask breaking the silence. “You’re being stationed here?” I ask.

Rhiannon nods at me, but her eyes are a blazing storm. I can see distrust in them as she keeps
looking at me and Andarna. Suddenly I realize that this is the first time she’s seen how big
Andarna has gotten. I feel ashamed as I have to fight the blush creeping into my cheeks.

It’s Xaden who hands me the order, and I expand the paper with Garrick and Imogen leaning over
my shoulder. The order is brief.

Cadets,

Given that all the wards have fallen, all cadets who are bonded will immediately be dispatched to
border outposts to ensure we’re defended against any attacks. You’ll find your assignments below.
Carr

I note Carr’s name at the bottom of the note, wondering what the fuck he was thinking of sending
Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Dain here. I haven’t shared my suspicions of his intentions with anyone here,
but currently wish I had.

Xaden and Mira exchange a look, and suddenly I know Xaden wishes he could talk to Mira mind
to mind just like we can. Although, I’m not sure if he’d be willing to share that with anyone else. I
immediately push away the thought wondering how my thoughts end up being so scattered when it
comes to Xaden fucking Riorson.

“Do you still trust them?” I ask Tairn, referring to our conversation from a few weeks ago, when
he told me I could just tell my friends what was going on.

“Everyone but Aetos.” His voice is a grumble.

I nod as I take stock of what’s in front of me. The tension is still high in the courtyard, even with
the order in Dain’s hand and even though he seems to be coming in peace. But I thought that all
throughout last year as well so where Dain’s concerned, my track record is spotty at best. I clear
my throat and step forward.

“I’d be happy to show Rhi and Ridoc their sleeping quarters while someone shows Wingleader
Aetos the outline of the outpost so he can get a lay of the land.” I break the silence.

Mira’s eyes shoot to me, clearly realizing my attempt at separating Dain from the other two. She
eyes me quizzically but I shrug, not wanting to give my intentions away. My eyes briefly catch
Xaden’s but he’s not surprised, not even trying to hide his arrogant smirk.

“Imogen can show him.” He bites out, and Imogen openly groans.

“I’d appreciate that,” Dain says, quickly falling into the shoes of a dutiful commander officer, and
I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

“Let’s go Aetos.” She shows him toward one of the outpost towers, the one that’s the farthest.
Either we’re all really good at silently communicating, or Tairn and Sgaeyl have all the dragons
under their thumbs.

“It’s the latter.” Train groans and I laugh.

As soon as Dain and Imogen disappear in the hallway, I break into a run pulling Rhiannon into a
big hug. Her hug is hesitant at first but once my arms are around her threatening to squeeze the air
out of her lungs, she hugs me back just as fiercely. This hug is not like the ones before because it’s
not tainted by the lies and secrets I had to keep from her.

“You owe me a huge explanation.” She says pointing at Andarna, who tilts her head quizzically at
both of us.

I want to respond but I don’t get a chance because Ridoc grabs me by the waist, picks me off the
ground, and spins me around. An uninhibited laugh escapes my throat and his mirth also matches
mine. Having the two of them here with us lifts a weight off of my shoulders I didn’t know I was
here.

When Ridoc puts me back on the ground, I'm a little dizzy and I stumble, but I can feel the intense
stare of Xaden without even looking at him. Suddenly, his questioning of whether or not I slept
with Ridoc crosses my mind, and I have half a mind to torture him with just how close I am with
my friends. But I have to push that sinful idea away when Ridoc says the most Ridoc thing I can
imagine,

“Your sister is kind of hot.”

“She’s 6 years older than you.” I grimace.

“So?” he shrugs. “I like my women wise.”

“Don’t-” I shove him away. “Talk about my sister that way.”

He grins and shrugs again.

“Come on,” I tell them and start walking towards the war room.

“So, what the hell happened to Andarna’s wing that she ended up tripling in size?” Ridoc asks.

“Her wings were clearly not hurt you idiot,” Rhiannon responds, her voice still wary.

We take a few short steps and stop in front of the war room. I take a deep breath.

“There is someone you need to meet,” I tell them both. Rhiannon’s expression matches the
wariness of her tone from earlier, and even Ridoc realizes the severity of my voice and loses his
rakish grin.

It doesn’t pass my attention that Xaden, Garrick, and Mira are not too far behind us, trapping
Rhiannon and Ridoc between us. And I realize it’s in case they have to… intervene. Gods I hope it
doesn’t come to that.

I open the double doors into the war room and find Brennan sitting at the head of the table, his feet
propped up, and he’s reading some form of report. He straightens up when we enter but he doesn’t
look surprised, no doubt already being briefed of my intentions from his dragon. Instead, a soft
smile spreads to his face, and he stands up.

“Okay, so you want us to meet a random Rider Sorrengail?” Ridoc asks. “I’d rather hang out the
other Sorrengail if I’m being honest.”

Another nervous smile escapes my mouth at his remark, as everyone starts laughing.

“What?” Ridoc asks, confused as to why everyone’s laughing all of a sudden.

I nervously look at him and point at Brennan. “I guess you’ll get your wish either way. Rhi,
Ridoc… This is my brother Brennan Sorrengail.”
 Dain

One Day Ago

Chaos. Utter chaos.

That’s the only way I can describe the first few minutes after we feel the wards go down.

One minute, we’re in Battle Brief, and I’m taking mental notes to put Ridoc on dishwashing duty
for the next two weeks for constantly whistling at the pictures of Gryphon Riders Devara and
Markham showing on the projector. Next, a small rattle, followed by a loud BOOM has every
single cadet jump up in their seats.

It’s like an earthquake, but I know it's not. Something definitely washed over me, like an invisible
wave crested, went as high as the ceiling, and crashed all over us. I’d never seen two hundred
riders check in with dragons all at once, but the quiet whispers of the room die down as every
single Rider’s eyes go blank.

The unbound cadets hold their breaths waiting for someone to tell them what the hell is wrong.

“Cath?” I ask, chewing on my lower lip.

“It’s the wards.” My dragon replies with a curt voice. My usually stoic dragon chooses to be even
less articulate at this most inopportune time.

“Care to elaborate?” I ask nervously. Part of me whispers to me that I don’t want to know.

“They’re down.” And that’s all he says before he breaks the connection.

My heartbeat races as I immediately think of Violet, who’s been stuck at Montserrat, right at the
border of Navarre. Tairn supposedly dragged her out there nearly two weeks ago. We received a
note three days after she and Imogen left, letting us know Andarna had been injured and Sgaeyl
refused to let her out of sight until she recovered enough to fly. The thought of her being so close to
danger spreads unease through all of my limbs. No matter what’s going on between us, I know in
my heart we’ll weather any storm, and she matters to me.

I can’t focus on my own worry much longer, because as other dragons relay their information to
their riders, whispers of concern spread into the room faster than dragon fire on a dry summer
night. The clash of worry and panic outbreaks in the room, with Cadets trying to get out of their
rows to get to their dragon.

It’s Devara’s command that snaps me back to the reality.

“WINGLEADERS! Get your wings under control and meet us in the General Sorrengail’s office.”

I ground myself in the clarity of the order like I always do. I don’t handle panic and change well,
but one thing I know is to execute. I start barking orders at my Squad Leaders, ordering everyone
with dragons to meet in the courtyard with their flight gear, and their travel bags. I send the
unbound cadets back to their rooms and await further instructions. Order. I will bring the order,
where the order is needed. It’s what I’m good at. What I’ve been trained to do.

In five minutes, my wing is following their orders, as the riders head to their dorms to pack. My
heart swells, as I lock eyes with my friends. Some of them I’m seeing for the last time no doubt.
I shake my head, focusing on the task at hand as I climb the stairs to General Sorrengail’s office.

When I enter I see Carr, General Sorrengail and my father bent over a table. I see the names of all
the cadets who are bounded, all the ones who manifested signets. I realize my initial hunch about
packing bags is correct. We’re being posted.

I watch with wordless panic as I see all of our names being moved on the board, as we are reduced
to only our dragons’ power and our signets. I’m so entranced by General Sorrengail’s movements
of the pawns on her desk that I don’t even hear the other Wingleaders filter into the room.

“What are they doing?” Jaina the second wing’s leader asks.

“Deciding who lives and who dies.”, I reply dryly. My father’s eyes shoot up to mine, clearly
disappointed by my remark. I don’t bother forming an apology in my head as I’m pretty sure we’re
all about to get sent to our deaths.

“What about Sorrengail?” Carr asks, snapping me to reality.

Violet. They’re talking about Violet.

General Sorrengail’s eyes turn to me.

“Wingleader? Where is Cadet Sorrengail stationed right now?”, she asks as if she doesn’t already
know. She fucking knows everything so I’m not sure what she wants me to say here. I grit my teeth
but manage to force some semblance of neutrality in my tone.

“She’s in Montserrat, General.”

“Still?” Carr raises an eyebrow. “She’s still with Riorson?”

General Sorrengail squints with suspicion. I’m not happy about it either, but to suggest that Violet
is hanging out in Montserrat because she wants to be with Xaden is outrageous. I betrayed her
trust to serve my country, but I won’t let her be reduced to being a lovesick girl in this room full of
powerful people who’ll decide her fate.

Perhaps it’s because I’m guilt-ridden by just how thoroughly I betrayed Violet’s trust. I know in my
bones that she and I are meant to be together, and I want to make it up to her. I don’t want to think
about what she’s been doing in Montserrat with Riorson this entire time. The thought of the two of
them for an extended period of time feels like a punch in my stomach just like when I first found out
the two of them had something going on. But even then, I know Violet would never fuck up her
education just so she can fuck Xaden for two weeks. Which is why I can’t stop myself from
correcting General Sorrengail.

“Tairn is with Sgaeyl, General.” I amend. “We’ve received word from Cadet Sorrengail that her
dragon is injured, and she can’t return until she’s healed. Sgaeyl has an attachment to the
feathertail and won’t let her travel until she’s healed enough.”

My father’s eyes squint with disapproval as I evade his gaze.

“Just as well,” Carr says. ”She should be stationed in Montserrat anyways, both because of her
signet and their dragons’ bond. We can’t afford neither her nor Riorson to be distracted when they
can be an asset to the kingdom.” He says.

I can tell my father wants to object, considering how much he loathes Riorson’s existence.
“She’s just a second year. She shouldn’t be posted at a border.” He interjects. He sounds
concerned, but I can tell from the disdain in his voice, that he just does not want the strongest
riders in Basgiath to be stationed together.

Carr’s eyes narrow as if he can see through my father’s bullshit just like I can. However, unlike
me, he has the balls and the station to correct him. “With all due respect Colonel-” He spits out
my father's rank with subtle snobbery in his tone. “You are not in a position to judge Cadets’s
strengths. I am the one who trains them. Violet Sorrengail is the strongest Cadet we have in
Basgiath. She should be stationed at the borders where she can be of use, not some bullshit
midland post where she’ll answer letters and patrol aimlessly. She should also be stationed with
the riders who will ensure she can reach her full potential.” He spits out.

I can’t help but notice with one sentence, Carr makes Violet essential to Navarre’s security. But
what I can’t believe the most is he made it sound like Riorson would be there to support Violet, not
the other way around. Looking at the two of them from the outside, you would think Riorson with
his menacing signet and borderline hostile attitude is the real danger, while Violet is held together
with sticks and glue. But Carr makes it sound like Violet is the real power here. I can’t help but
consolidate my best friend whom I had to help get mended hundreds of times over the years and
the powerful Rider he’s describing together.

But I’ve seen her in that courtyard. Looking at me with cold hatred, one I’m starting to think is
well deserved. I felt power crackle at her fingertips, pouring out of every pore, infiltrating every
drop of air in that courtyard. She might have been weak before, but even I have to admit she’s
meant to be strong.

My father considers the blatant challenge, but he’s used to playing this game, and he’s good at it.

But he then adds, “Then perhaps, her Wingleader and her squad mates should be there too, if we
want to make sure Sorrengail can defend us.” He says and moves the pins with Rhiannon, Ridoc,
and my name on them to the Montserrat base. Just like that, I’m reduced to a pawn in this game by
my own father.

Another two hours pass, and they debate who to station where. I make some suggestions but at this
point, I don’t even care. I know what position I’ll be put in yet again once this room clears out. I’ve
learned to read Colonel Aetos’ moves early on.

We’re dismissed and I try to filter out of the room before he can catch up to me. But just as I’m
about to start descending the stairs I hear my name.

“Wingleader Aetos.” My father’s voice echoes in the hallway with inevitability.

I turn my head to him, clasp my hands on my back, and let him catch up to me.

“I hope I don’t need to tell you your mission here.”

I grimace, as he puts me in this position yet again after how badly it backfired on us the last time.
But I know there is no point arguing.

“Yes, father.” His face crunches as if he disapproves of me calling him father instead of his title. I
always find that odd, but then again, I rarely hear Violet call his mother anything other than
General.

Colonel sizes me up, then puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it tight enough that I’m forced to
look up.
“I don’t care what happened before, I want you to be my eyes and ears in Montserrat. We cannot
afford Riorson to get stronger.” He says casually.

“Colonel, after my interrogation-”

“Violet and Riorson are strong on their own.” He says softly as if I’m a child who does not
understand the task I’m given. I have to resist the attempt to flinch at his tone. “It’s bad enough
that they’re tethered together considering how strong their signets are. We cannot allow them to
form a strong enough alliance. Together, they would be unstoppable. Or do you want to see
Riorson on the throne?”

I cannot suppress the shock as my eyes widen and I take a step back from my father. I did hear him
talk about how concerned he is about Fen Riorson’s son, but openly accusing him of being after
the throne… That’s a bit too conspirational even for him. Riorson is a menace but from what I can
tell all the guy wants is to be left alone and to my disdain… Violet.

But I see the fanatic look in my father’s eyes and I know better than to argue. His posture softens
then, and he puts a hand on my cheek with fatherly affection. “That signet of yours is power, son.
Make me proud.”

Nothing about my life. Nothing about me. Just what my power means to him and how he can get
used. Without another word Colonel Aetos turns around and leaves.

Goodbye to you too, Dad.

Now

“Aetos are you listening to me?”

Imogen’s shrill voice snaps me back to reality.

We walk around in the Montserrat base for what seems to be hours. She prattles about the towers,
the flight field, the strategy room, and a bunch of other things I don’t really care about. Doesn’t
help that she’s only doing this because she’s ordered to. Not that she ever liked me, but it feels like
her attitude towards me is snarlier than usual.

Montserrat base is pretty much the same as any other outpost Violet and I have been moving along
our entire childhoods. Maybe that’s why I’m in such a bad mood, not because I’ve been practically
sent here to spy on Violet yet again, but because it reminds me of the times when I was her person.
All of that seems way too far away now.

What I do notice though how quiet the entire base is. Not to mention the stench of blood in the air.
From our short tour, I can see the keep's walls have visible chunks missing, and the air has that
smell of char and burnt grass I know so well.

We walk down a set of hallways surrounded by smaller doors on each side. I imagine this is where
the barracks are at.

“Has there been a fight?” I ask, without answering her previous question. I’m her superior and I
don’t give a shit.

Imogen looks over her shoulder to me eyeing my profile, and I can tell she’s considering what to
tell me. But before she can answer, one of the doors we pass by opens and Violet comes out from
where I imagine to be her bedroom. My heart quickens at the sight of her, but the fluttering in my
chest is quickly dispelled at the visible displeasure she has from seeing me.

She’s wearing her leathers from head to toe, and I can see daggers in every possible sheath. Her
hair is damp and falling down on her shoulders like a waterfall made out of moonlight. I still can’t
believe she’s never cut it, not that I’m comparing. I take a tentative step forward to her asking if we
can speak, but she flinches and takes a step back.

I try not to take that personally, but I’m not an idiot.

She doesn’t even address me, but Imogen turns to her raising a burrow. “Rhiannon and Ridoc
settled okay?”

Violet looks at me then at Imogen, as if she’s considering her words. “They’re unpacking.”

Imogen nods at her gently reaching and squeezing her hand. To my surprise, Violet does not flinch
instead, she welcomes the friendly gesture from Imogen as her demeanor visibly softens.

The feeling of being left out annoys the shit out of me.

She eyes me, her gaze full of judgment and assessment as she takes in my dusty leathers, the flight
goggles still on my head, and the pack that I’m carrying. I know her well enough to know that
she’s still fucking pissed and she’s considering how friendly she should be with me. If it wasn’t so
tragic that we’re so far apart from each other both physically and emotionally, I would actually
laugh at her predicament. She eventually gives up whatever battle she’s having internally.

“Do you wanna put the stuff in your room and then go eat?” She says the words as if they’re
hurting her to say them. I try not to take that personally too.

Although I’ll take all the time I can get with her since I’m almost at the point of going down on my
knees to beg for her forgiveness.

Instead like an idiot I just say, “Yeah, I like food.”

Imogen rolls her eyes as she opens the door across from Violet’s and practically shoves me in.

“This is your room, patrol is at dawn.”

She then turns to Violet and they quickly exchange a glance. I try not to notice there is silent
communication, a rapport she should have with me, but it’s nearly impossible.

Imogen cocks her head to the side as if she’s warring with Violet silently, and eventually blurts out.

“You sure you’re good here Sorrengail?”

Violet peeks at the open door I stroll through and then turns back to her. “Yeah, go rest.” She nods.

“He wouldn’t want you to be alone with him.” Their voices drop but I can hear them nonetheless.
My blood starts boiling and I see white spots in my vision as rage starts taking over. Because I
know Imogen’s talking about Xaden as if he has some sort of claim over her. As if he has any sort
of say in what Violet and I have.

I fully expect Violet to be demure and submissive to her clear intrusion, but to my surprise, “I don’t
give a shit what he would or would not want”, she hisses.

Interesting.
I can’t help but notice that Violet does not enter my room and I also notice tendrils of shadows
following her a few feet behind. Of course, Riorson would be territorial as fuck with her, but who
the fuck does he think he is? I am her best friend, and she’s fucking safe with me. Anger floods my
veins as Violet patiently waits at my door shifting her weight from one foot to another.

I drop my belongings into the chamber, quickly wash up, and meet her back in the hallway. She
sets a fast pace toward a hallway where the scent of cooked meat and bread is practically
beckoning us towards us. My stomach loudly growls.

Violet does not say anything as we walk down the hallway, the irony of quiet between us is not
missed by either of us as she keeps side-eyeing me. She used to be the person I could talk to about
anything. Now, we have nothing to talk about.

Since I don’t do awkward silences well, I decide to blurt out the next stupid thing I can think of.

“What’s up with the trail of shadows? Didn’t peg Riorson as the jealous type.”

At the mention of his name, Violet jerks and straightens her spine visibly. The shadow tendrils
trailing us jerk in sync with her. And I let that annoy the shit out of me. She waits a second before
she responds.

“He’s not jealous, he’s just a… busybody.” She says with resignation.

Imogen snorts at that and Violet softly smiles, an inside joke I’m not a part of.

“So where is your boyfriend?” I ask and Violet’s head snaps to me.

“He is not my-” Her shoulders sag briefly. It’s minor but I notice anyway, I know every way her
body moves. Well, maybe not every way, but this way I know. This is her defensive stance as if
she’s trying to brace herself for the words coming out of her mouth.

“Don’t talk to me about Xaden.” His name falls out of her mouth like a precious promise. She
should be saying my name like that.

Before I can prod further, we enter the kitchens. We find Rhiannon and Ridoc eating a bowl of stew
as if devouring entire pieces of lamb could be called that. I pull up a chair next to them and sit at
the table.

I notice how tense they are immediately, their eyes dart between Violet and me. They must be
worried about how our dynamic is going to impact their posting. I don’t blame them, things
between Violet and I are royally fucked, and not only do I want to fix it because I’m her superior
officer but because she’s my oldest friend and so much more to me.

And from the looks of it, based on how she just talked about Riorson to Imogen and how she’s
offering to spend time with me, she might finally be coming to her senses and this fever dream she
clearly has about Riorson is coming to an end. I try not to, but treacherous hope blossoms in my
chest like wildflowers on an open field.

My hopes of this becoming a new beginning for Violet and me falter quicker than a lightning storm
in a desert. She barely says anything throughout the quiet dinner we have in the empty kitchen and
waits only a few minutes before I clean my bowl.

“I’ll walk you back to your room.” Pushing her chair back without a response from me she gets up
and starts heading out from the kitchen.
Then the pieces start clicking in my mind. The empty kitchens, the unstaffed rise, and how
everyone here looks exhausted as if they haven’t slept in days. I’ve been working in intelligence
long enough to know to pay attention to what’s being said but pay even closer attention to what is
not. And they’re not saying a lot.

Suddenly I realize. Imogen from before, and Violet now, I’m not being shown around. I’m being
watched.

We stop in front of my room, and I turn to Violet. I try not to grimace at how she’s keeping me at
arm’s length as if she wants to avoid my touch at all costs.

“You’d tell me if something was wrong right?” I ask her, giving her one last chance.

“Of course,” She nods, and a placating smile appears on her face.

But as I said, I know all of her moods. Her eyes are weary and worry lines appear on her smooth
forehead. Her smile is all wrong. Dread fills my veins as icy disappointment rises within me.

Something is seriously wrong here in Montserrat.

I wait a considerable amount of time pacing up and down in the small bedroom as I process what I
know.

Violet’s been in Montserrat for two weeks with Xaden and Imogen.

Mira’s also stationed here.

Wards went down two days ago.

The village and the keep look significantly unpopulated and unstaffed, unlike any major Navarrian
outpost should be.

Everyone here looks like they’re battle-strung and exhausted.

The air smells of blood, dragon fire… and magic.

I don’t know what the hell happened here, but I’m going to find out.

Without another thought, I crack open the door and peek my head out. Just like I assumed, I see
someone standing at the end of the hallway talking to someone. I can’t make either of them out.
But it confirms my suspicions, I’m being watched and this door is not an option.

Luckily, the barracks are on the ground floor.

I climb out of the window with familiar grace, the small opening not providing as much challenge
as the trees I used to climb with Violet. I find myself in a smaller garden that I know leads to the
courtyard. With steel determination, I flush my body against the keep’s inner walls as I circle the
courtyard.

There’s a hallway across the courtyard adorned by wall sconces, which I assume whoever’s awake
is that way. I slowly make my way across under the open skies. I make my way across the
perimeter quickly, thanks to years of sneaking around in army outposts to find myself in the open
hallway that seems to lead to a dead end.

I slowly make my way toward the end of the hallway under the stone archway to find that it’s not a
dead end. A large set of wooden double doors is awaiting me. Warm light is coming out from
underneath it, and from the muffled sounds coming from within a meeting seems to be taking
place.

Shamelessly, I push my ear against the doors trying to figure out who’s in there.

“What the hell are we going to do?” A high-pitched shrill voice that has no intention of being
discreet is the first voice I hear. Imogen.

I have a strange suspicion that I’m the topic of conversation.

“What can we do, he’s a Wingleader.” Another voice responds. I think it’s Rhiannon’s voice but I
can’t be sure, and they are definitely talking about me.

“It’s not like we can’t keep giving him tours every day.” My breath is caught when I hear Violet’s
soft voice.

“Why not? Just show him Andarna and how large she’s become and he’ll probably be
flabbergasted by that for weeks.” Fucking Ridoc is in there too? What the hell is going on?

Violet and someone else whose voice I recognize but can’t quite place laugh in unison. That laugh
is so familiar, that it tickles the back of my neck, beckoning me to recognize them.

They go back and forth with various suggestions of their “distraction tactics”, each one more
unhinged than the other. If they weren’t talking about me or openly discussing hiding something
from a Wingleader I might actually enjoy it.

“Shut it with your idiotic suggestions and let me think.” Mira’s unmistakable voice rises above
everyone and the murmurs stop.

“We have to either bring him in or do something else. He’s into fucking idiot, he’ll figure it out
sooner rather than later,” Violet’s voice replies softly, her tone assertive but also pleading.

Unfortunately, I don’t get a chance to appreciate the wave of relief that washes over me at her
shallow defense of me, because while I was so focused on eavesdropping a sinister cloud of
shadows managed to creep up my legs bounding me at the wrist and ankles yanking me forward.

I lose my balance and fall forward, my weight pushing the double doors, leading me to faceplant
into the room.

I flounder like fish out of the sea but the shadow binds only tighten around my arms and legs. All I
can do is roll over on my back and back up towards the door. A familiar voice I’ve been despising
for years rises above me.

“Oh I don’t know, he does have to be a fucking idiot to eavesdrop on us like this.”

“Let him go Riorson.” Mira intervenes and gets up from her chair.

If I wasn’t so fucking baffled by the situation I walked into, I would laugh, because Xaden Riorson
does not yields to anyone.

“Now.” She asserts once more, and Xaden groans with annoyance, but with a flick of his wrists,
I’m released from the smoky binds.

I rub my sore wrists as I jump up to my feet defensively, and take to room in. I happen to be
standing in a room that is large enough to fit two dozen people. There is a large table with a huge
map splayed on it full of dragon figures and outpost locations. I inhale sharply as I notice this is a
war room and I walked in on a strategy meeting. That’s not that bizarre but it’s at odds with what I
just overheard. So what am I missing?

After finishing studying the map, I take in the audience of the room.

I spot Mira at the head of the table, her steely expression focused on me.

Riorson is sitting right next to her as if he’s her right fucking hand, slouched in his chair with a
cruel grin on his face. I also do not miss the murderous look on his face that I have a strong feeling
is reserved for only me.

I find Rhiannon and Ridoc tucked in a corner of the room, shock spread across their faces.

Then I inhale sharply as I see Garrick, Imogen, and fucking Bodhi, around the table. Bodhi who
was supposed to be dead. I don’t know what to say as shock washes over me, because I’m finally
understanding what the hell is going on here.

“No more than three of you are allowed to assemble together,” I mumble instinctively, my eyes are
trained on Xaden because he’s the true threat here. But my accusation falls flat as the murderous
expression on his face deepens and a satisfied smirk on his face grows.

“That’s the first thing you say Aetos?” He asks, his voice almost amused.

“You’re all fucking traitors.” I spit out, and my accusation cuts across the room with vicious
momentum. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here, but I know you’re betraying your
country.”

I want to continue but a soft voice stops me in my tracks.

“Dain…”

I turn around to find Violet leaning against a wall. Her eyes are full of regret and disappointment as
if she wanted to avoid this. But I don’t let her beautiful eyes, her plush mouth, and her deceiving
fragility manipulate me this time. She doesn’t have false righteousness on her side. I don’t know
how she deceived me this time, but I will not let her manipulate me with her traitorous lies once
more. Because that’s what she is, a traitor.

“And you…” I hiss out. “You’re the worst of them all. Do you know how guilty I’ve been feeling?
Do you know what I did for you to protect you from your own mother? How I’ve been trying to
earn your forgiveness for violating your trust because I thought I was wrong? I thought my
instincts were wrong, and I made a grave mistake. You betrayed your mother, me, and your
country for fucking what?”

I shake my head as a laugh full of disbelief escapes my mouth.

Not only has she betrayed me, and everything we could be, but she’s also betraying her country.
She is the worst kind of poison.

But she’s not phased by what I tell her. She doesn’t even flinch. As if my words are just a spray of
mist washing over her. Her eyes are blazing with something but it sure isn’t fucking regret.

Her lack of shame is the reason why I can’t mince my next words. “And why did you do that Vi?
Did you betray your country, all because you can finally get some dick?”
I know I cross a line before chaos erupts in the room. Xaden is out of his chair in an instant
crossing the room across from me, and tendrils of shadows smash me against the wall with so
much power that something cracks in my chest.

But I don’t have time to feel the pain, or worry about Xaden, because the familiar voice from
earlier on echoes in the room, “Do not talk about my sister that way, asshole.”

My eyes turn to the shadowy corner of the room. Xaden must have cracked more than just my ribs
because I’m seeing a fucking ghost.

Brennan steps into the center of the room and leans onto the table, his fists are so tight, that his
knuckles are blanching. I imagine it not as blanched as my face though, considering I’m looking at
a dead man.

“How?” I manage to blurt out.

Brennan raises his eyes at me with cold eyes filled with disappointment, a look I’ve seen multiple
times when we grew up. But the expression I remember as being laced with amusement and
affection is now filled with distant cruelty.

“You managed to disappoint me in more ways than I expected Aetos.” He shakes his head and
then turns towards the room. “Take him to the fucking cells.”

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