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“You would never hurt me. No matter what form you take, I know you would never hurt me.” I pressed my head to his chest as I said the words, letting the rise and fall of his breaths soothe the anxiety twisting through my veins.

His lips slid across the top of my head pressing a kiss to my crown before pulling away.

“They are back,” he whispered as my head snapped toward the city.

Ata and Wren materialized on the edge of the sandbar and I watched as the outline of their bodies became clearer.

“There is a section of the camp directly ahead that is not well-lit or occupied. That will be the safest place for us to land without alerting them that we are here,” Wren said, glancing up at Nithra.

Dukovich clasped his hands behind his back, watching as Ata stepped from behind Wren toward us.

“There is a ball happening tonight at the House of High. All of the leaders from both The Silliands and Ammord will be attending, from what I was able to gather. With that and the disturbance we created in Sethros, we should be able to get in and out before they know what has happened if we are fast and quiet. I saw Cain—or at least, I assume it was him—he looked just like you. He was meeting with a woman in Millstrong Tavern,” Ata said.

Landers tensed at his name but inclined his head. We may have stopped the mating bond, but I knew he was not just going to disappear. It had been too easy and there was a reason he was locked in that mountain.

“And the distraction, it will be enough to keep them from looking for you here?” Landers asked as Ata’s gaze flickered to Dukovich for only a second.

“Yes. They’ll be occupied for quite some time,” Ata answered before striding to my side and slipping her hand in mine. I squeezed her hand as Mara turned toward Andrues.

“These men, are they living? Or are they dead that have been raised?” Mara asked.

“Both. You will know who the living dead are.” Andrues opened his palm, tendrils of glowing green and black magic writhing just above his skin. “Their aura will glow the color ofthis magic. If you see them, run. Death magic and dragon fire are the only things that can kill them. And for the necromancers controlling them, if they are not killed by fire, you take their heads. If you do not, they can be brought back as living dead.”

Mara nodded, her fist tightening around her sword as she nervously glanced toward Ata.

“I will glamour us all for as long as I possibly can,” Dukovich said as the familiar shimmer covered the surface of my skin. “Now, shall we begin?”

Landers nodded, his hand slipping into mine as Ata’s fingers tightened around the other and we tethered into Camp Bane.

The shuffling of our boots sounded as we landed on a beach no more than thirty yards from the nearest building. My eyes scanned the island, the candlelight in the windows scattering the hills flickered in the wind as I watched everyone scatter up the beach, slipping between buildings and into the shadows.

I took a step forward and Landers gripped my hand, pulling me back.

“Wait,” he hissed his voice low. The wind shifted as he said the word and every light on the island went out and the entire camp fell into utter silence.

The blood in my veins chilled.

There is another dragon here, I can sense it.

You mean Landers?I asked down the fastening as I glanced up at Nithra.

No child, there is a third.

A shiver trickled down my spine, and as I turned my gaze back to the desolate camp, two large dragon eyes atop the hill furthest from us slid open and pierced through the darkness.

A guttural roar ripped through the silence, shaking the ground beneath our feet as the massive dragon unfurled its wings. Scales the color of burnished copper glinted in the moonlight as it launched itself from its perch.

Chaos erupted.

Figures poured out from the buildings, their auras pulsing with that sickly green and black magic. The living dead. And among them, the necromancers controlling their every move.

“Move!” Landers screamed, shoving me to the side as a stream of fire ripped from the dragon’s maw. The heat seared my skin as I hit the ground, rolling to my feet.

My heart thundered in my chest as Nithra let out an answering snarl and pushed from the ground with such force the beat of her wings pushed me backward. She met the other dragon head-on, their jaws snapping and claws tearing as they grappled in midair. Fire streamed from their mouths, scorching the buildings below as screams began pouring from the camp.

My eyes were glued to Nithra, fear pumping through every vein as I watched them colliding in the air, their bellows shaking the very foundation of the island.

Landers’s hand clamped around my wrist, yanking me into motion, our feet pounding against sand as we sprinted to the nearest building. Ata jumped from a roof at the same time we rounded the corner into a narrow alleyway between two buildings, landing only feet from us. Her eyes were frenzied, her body and face covered in blood as she panted.