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Razik didn’t question her, and a moment later, they were standing on a rocky ledge, partially hidden but still able to see the docks. She explained what was happening, and Razik crossed his arms, monitoring the scene below.

“I can see the city proper from here,” he said. “We could Travel in.”

“There are wards around the city. Bound to the city guards. Few can Travel here. In fact, until Scarlett, there were only two known Travelers—Talwyn and Azrael. Until recently, they were not people we wanted in Solembra unannounced,” Eliza explained, hands on her hips as she tried to come up with a plan.

“There must be other entry points besides the docks,” Razik said.

“Of course there are. But what if they are requiring papers at those points as well?” She looked at the surrounding mountains. “What we need is a place to lie low for a few hours so I can work out a plan.”

“Like a cave?”

“Oh my gods,” she moaned, swiping a hand down her face, but… “Yes, like a cave,” she sighed.

“There is one farther up the mountain,” he said, grabbing her hand before she could protest.

Sure enough, she found herself at the mouth of a cave he had somehow spotted. Razik was already striding inside. She could still see Solembra, but she couldn’t make out any buildings aside from the Fiera Palace north of the city proper.

Perhaps she was studying the city too hard. Perhaps she’d become too reliant on having Razik with her. Perhaps a seraph had some magic she was unaware of. Whatever the case, she didn’t hear the whizzing of the arrow until it was too late.

Shirastone went straight through her shoulder, exactly where she’d been injured before, her flames guttering with the arrow still lodged in her body. Her anguished cry ripped through the air as she fell to her knees. Where the fuck was Razik?

She opened her mouth to scream for him, but a gag of vines appeared, winding down around her throat and squeezing, scarcely allowing her enough air.

“None of that,daughter.”

The world fell out from beneath her as three seraphs dropped from the sky, and with them was a male she had not seen in centuries. She had not known if he was alive or dead. She hadn’t cared enough to keep tabs on him.

She should have cared.

The male was tall and thin, his sharp features filled with disgust as he stood over her. Sandy blonde hair hung to his shoulders, and his tanned skin told her he still spent time in the sun of the Earth Court. There was pure loathing in his pale green eyes as he reached out and gripped her jaw hard. His other hand clamped around the arrow shaft, driving it in deeper, and causing her to scream around the gag.

Varlis. Her mother’s husband.

“Scream all you like, Eliza. The dragon cannot hear you.” He gestured towards a seraph. “Keres has wind magic and currently has us all encased in a soundproof vortex.”

Razik!

She screamed it. She screamed his name down a bond she had been so adamantly pushing away. Perhaps she had pushed it away too much. Perhaps it was too weak because of it, but she screamed down it anyway. Trying to reach him.

Razik!

“Did you honestly think you would not be recognized the moment you entered this Court, Eliza?” He huffed a sharp noise of disbelief. “We have been following you since you were spotted outside a tavern in Lightmere. We assumed it was only a matter of time before you tried to enter Solembra.”

Razik! Please!

Varlis pushed on the arrow again, twisting as he did. His smile was cold and depraved. “I have so often regretted not killing you that day, especially when I heard you became the Fire Court General.” Venom dripped off the words as he spoke. “I killed your whore of a mother. I tracked down the male who had fucked her and killed him too.” Eliza’s eyes flashed up to him, and his smile grew. “I was never quite sure why I had never finished the job and simply dealt with you in the same manner, but now? Your existence has actually proven useful.”

Her confusion must have been evident on her face. She could hardly track what he was saying through the pain as tears streamed down her face.

Razik!

Varlis leaned in close, the arrow sinking in another inch. “You brought us the dragon.”

Panic.

That was pure panic and dread that flooded through her alongside agony as Varlis snapped the arrow off, leaving the shirastone tip embedded deep in her shoulder. “A token from Bastien,” he said with a sneer. “Should you survive the night, you can crawl back to your dethroned Fire Prince. Or you can die up here alone, and prove you are not a complete disgrace.”

Raz! I need you!