Page 119 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

I couldn’t take my eyes off the beast, transfixed by its eerie grace. But I’d been so caught up in the sight of her that I hadn’t seen the rider.

The man who slid down from the saddle moved with familiar ease. His hair was slightly longer than I remembered, and a faint scar marred his right cheek—a souvenir from a fight I wasn’t there to stop. But his eyes… those warm, honey-brown eyes that used to soften every sharp corner of my life—they hadn’t changed.

The major shook his hand. “Welcome back, Remand.”

I staggered back, the world spinning. My chest constricted, and my vision blurred as the name sank in—Remand.

“No.” The word fell from my lips before I could stop it.

Riven’s hand gripped my arm. “What is it?”

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the man standing at the podium—the man I had spent a year mourning.

“That’s Remy Cole,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “My fiancé.”

My chest heaved, breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. I felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside out—a storm raging beneath my skin.Kaelith?My incoherent thoughts struggling to reach her before she answered.

Are you dying?Her voice was sharp, edged with irritation and something that felt uncomfortably close to concern.What is causing this distress? It hurts... so much.

I swayed on my feet as her presence settled inside me, her mind linking with mine. It felt like double vision—the world blurring as her sight layered over my own. Through her eyes, I saw the hazy outline of a tiny red dragon in the hatchling grounds. The little creature stumbled, its fragile wings stretching for balance. But Kaelith’s focus shifted—sharp, unwavering—back tohim.

Your mate lives,Kaelith said.

He isn’t my mate.The denial hit my mind like a whip.He was working for the king. He used me. Just like everyone else...

The bitterness coiled inside me, and pain rippled through my chest so fiercely it felt like something might shatter. Kaelith’s roar tore through my mind, deafening and raw. Our connection snapped like a stretched wire, and I staggered back.

I couldn’t see her, but Ifelther rage—a furious pulse building across the castle grounds.

Your males are untrustworthy,she hissed in my mind.

A moment later, a bone-shaking roar echoed from the dragon isle, the sound so powerful that conversations stopped and heads turned toward the mountains.

All excepthis.

Remy stood frozen, his gaze flicking to Katama before slowly turning—right at me. His eyes locked onto mine, and for the first time since I’d met him, I saw something I never thought I’d see. Shock.

But he recovered fast. Too fast. The careful blank stare of an assassin replaced it, his face smooth and impassive—a mask I once knew far too well. He stood straighter, shoulders squaring like he could will the moment away.

But I wouldn’t let him.

I let him see it—the tangled mess of my emotions—the betrayal that churned inside me like poisoned water, theheartache that never really left, and the rage that burned hotter than Kaelith’s fire.

I clenched my fists, ready to step forward—to say something,anything. But before I could, a massive shadow passed overhead.

Kaelith.

She landed hard enough to rattle the ground, her talons gouging the dirt as her wings flared wide, creating a wall of muscle and scales between me and the podium.

The entire courtyard froze, all eyes locked on her. She loomed like a storm cloud, smoke curling from her nostrils. I felt her fury radiating off her like heat from a forge.

He betrayed you,Kaelith’s voice growled in my mind—but I knew she wasn’t speaking to me.

Remy was still staring. But this time, the cold assassin mask couldn’t quite hide the flicker of something else beneath it—something haunted. Somethingbroken.

But I didn’t care. I clenched my jaw, fingers digging into my palms. Whatever he was feeling, whatever regret he might’ve had—it didn’t change the fact that he’d left me to grieve a man who’d never even been dead.

Katama moved swiftly, her powerful frame sliding between Kaelith and Remy. Her long, venomous fangs glistened as her lips curled back in a snarl, her scaled body shifting in a defensive arc that forced several squads to back away.