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“But he didn’t stop,” Thane assumed.

“Of course he didn’t. He’s a pigheaded fool.” Her eyes fell to the ground. “On the last night before we left, he was lying on the ground unable to get up. I was crying because I thought that was it. That he wouldn’t get up ever again. It was dark and I could barely see his chest rising,” her voice broke. “He said ‘if we don’t ever get out of here, I need you to know I love you, Piper. I’ve loved you since I was seventeen.’”

Thane’s eyebrow popped up. “And you told him how you felt then too?”

“I tried but he lost consciousness after that. And then we were taken on the road in separate prison carts.”

There was something she wasn’t saying because there was a reason they weren’t openly together. Layala folded her arms. “And you still haven’t told him, have you?”

She swiped her fingers across her cheeks. “I’m scared he only said it because he thought he was dying, or he was delusional from fever. What if he didn’t mean it? He hasn’t said it again or talked about it. Not a word, not a move, not a kiss.”

Thane sighed. “Maybe he hasn’t brought it up because he thinks you don’t feel the same. You should tell him. Or are you not sure anymore because of Leif?”

“Leif and I flirt, always have but it’s just fun.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that on his part,” Thane said, his green eyes drifting to where Leif sat at the base of the tree. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and so has Fennan, no doubt.”

An earthshaking dragon’s roar drew their eyes to the sky. Layala fought the urge to slap her hands over her ears. Three dragons flew out from behind the wall and circled high above them. Holy Maker above, Layala’s heart crashed into her ribs. She wanted to run for cover. All she could think about was Varlett and how much destruction and power a single dragon had. Now there were three.

“Stay still,” Thane ordered. “If we run, they’ll see us as prey. We are not prey.”

Under the cover of the trees the horses neighed and bucked, but thankfully they were secured. Layala wanted to run to grab Tifapine, but she was safer staying hidden.

The others dashed in, forming a circle of their own. Layala grabbed Thane’s hand and squeezed tight to keep herself planted firmly in place because she very much felt like prey. Her magic wouldn’t save her against three beasts who could burn her vines with fire breath and slice through the stalks with dagger-sharp claws. Her blade was useless against dragon scales. They were only weakened in human form, something she didn’t think they’d risk. It seemed they were at the mercy of predators honed to tear through flesh with ease.

Three sleek forms darted toward them like a hawk might dive for a mouse. Layala’s knees went weak. They dropped so fast that their huge bodies were hard to track. Her breath hitched when the trio crashed into the ground,boom boom boomone right after the other. The earth beneath the elves’ feet rocked and shifted. Big yellow eyes with black slits stared back at her, a cat with a mouse. With a gulp, Layala took a step away but froze when a low growl rumbled behind her. Smoke rolled out of the nostrils of the colossal beast before them. Bright pearl scales shimmered in the sunlight like tiny jewels. Horns as tall as Layala grew out of a massive head with jaws wide enough to snap up even Thane in a single bite. The dragon was both beautiful and terrifying, like lightning that streaked too close across a night sky.

“Trespassers in our land get eaten.” The deep masculine voice rumbled right through her core, but it wasn’t the dragon in front of her. Layala whipped her head around to the left where the half-human, half-dragon giant of a male stood. Charcoal-gray scales covered where skin would be, great membranous wings spanning at least twelve feet wide spread behind his frame. Was he over seven feet tall? He towered over Thane by at least a head. Light-silver hair was tied back into a tight braid that reached the top of his thighs. He wore a red waistcoat perfectly formed to his muscular physique, with gold embroidered trim around the wrists and down his chest. Black trousers with knee-high boots. Layala was surprised to find no weapons on him, at least none that she could see.

Thane held up his palms in a surrender gesture. “My name is Thane Athayel. I am—”

“The elf king.” The half-shifted dragon cocked his head to the side, in an almost bird-like way. “Or traitor king, depending on who you ask. I’m aware.”

Thane pursed his lips. “I ask for an audience with your king.” He sounded calm and confident, nothing like Layala felt.

A hot puff of breath washed across Layala’s back, billowing her hair and sending a wave of fear through her body. How close was the dragon now? She felt like he was inches from touching her.Don’t turn around, don’t turn around.

“On what grounds?”

“On the grounds that I am a king and what I have to say is for his ears only. But I will say it has to do with the Black Mage.”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed. “We have no obligations in your war.”

“No one knows better than I that you’d rather hide in your mountains behind high walls like cowards than help us against a great enemy.”

Layala almost choked in surprise. Maker above, did he truly say that? She wanted to smack him. The growl behind them made the ground shake, and yet the half-shifted dragon burst out laughing. Piper took a small step closer to Layala’s side. Siegfried whispered something that sounded like a threat.

“I heard the great Thane Athayel had no fear. Usually rumors are but that.” He smiled revealing white, human-looking teeth and took a step, and then another circling around them. His animal-like eyes spent a fair amount of time assessing Thane then his attention drifted to Layala. The corner of his mouth twitched, his slit pupils narrowed, and his nostrils flared. He lurched for Layala. In a flash, Thane’s fingers cinched around the dragon’s neck, and he stood between her and the threat. “Touch her and I’ll rip your throat out,” he snarled. “Don’t think your dragon scales will save you fromme.”

Chapter29

Layala felt Thane’s power hit her in a burst, a thick cloud coating everything nearby like an invisible damp mist. It pulsed in wave after wave, water lapping against a shore. Layala’s ears began to ring; she’d never felt the severity of it like this before.

The two males stared at one another. Surprisingly, the two full dragons behind them didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. They must fear for their companion’s life, assessing Thane as a true threat.

The Ravens tensed; Leif tugged Layala’s shoulder, silently asking her to step back. She didn’t move.

The half-shifted dragon took in a deep breath through his nose and clicked his tongue like he tasted the very air. “It’s been a long time since I smelled the magic of the old gods.”