Page 182 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

“Back to the landing grounds,” Zander called out, his voice sharp. “We’ve got incoming.”

I followed his gaze toward the sky and saw five dragons cutting through the air—two red Swifts, a green Clubtail, a brown Swordtail, and an orange Swordtail. They flew in tight formation, seamless and precise, like they’d spent their entire lives together.

The moment they landed, all five riders swung down in perfect unison—efficient and effortless. These weren’t fresh cadets. These were seasoned warriors.

One of the tall, dark-haired men broke away from the others and jogged straight to Tae. Without a word, he extended his arm. Tae grasped it, their forearms locking together in a tight grip.

“Tae, you son of a whore,” the man said with a grin. “What are you doing here?”

Tae barked out a laugh. “If I didn’t know you loved my mother so much, I’d punch you in the mouth, Teren.”

Teren grinned wide, unbothered. “I was talking about your father.”

I couldn’t help but smile at their banter. Teren turned his attention to the rest of us, his gaze sweeping over the squad.

“You’re traveling with some fine-looking ladies,” he drawled, his grin widening. Then his eyes landed on Zander. “Too bad you had to ruin it by bringing him.”

Zander’s expression remained cold. “This is Thrall Squad,” he said flatly. “Show some respect for fellow riders.”

Teren’s face lit up like a child at Yule. “The new commoner squad?” He turned to his own squad, throwing his hands in the air. “Looks like we got a promotion!”

“Hardly,” Tae shot back. “I was assigned to Thrall because I have one commoner parent.”

Teren huffed. “Story of our lives, my man. Lowborn has been assigned to the outer kingdoms for three years.”

“Lowborn?” I asked.

Teren nodded. “Technically, we are Warborn, but once our parentage was discovered, we were assigned here. The royals refer to us as the Lowborn Squad.”

The man who’d ridden the green Clubtail stepped forward, his hand extended toward Zander. “It’s good to see you, Lieutenant Rayne,” he said with the kind of respect that wasn’t forced. “How can we be of assistance?”

“We were sent to inspect the raided warehouse,” Zander explained. “What are you doing here?”

“And who are you, exactly?” Jax asked.

The man with the green Clubtail smiled politely. “I’m Luthias.” He gestured toward his group. “You’ve met Teren. The ladies are Ayda and Kaila.” He pointed to the other tall male. “And that is Camus.”

“We were assigned to patrol the coastal villages,” Teren added. “We’ve been tracking suspicious movement for weeks. Looks like it brought us to the same place as you.”

“Great,” Zander muttered. “More questions, fewer answers.”

“Maybe not,” Teren said. “The tracks in the forest east of here—they aren’t fresh, but someone’s been moving supplies inland.”

“You didn’t think to mention that sooner?” Jax snapped.

Teren’s smile widened, sharp and confident. “We were just about to investigate when we saw your dragons land.”

I didn’t miss the way Teren kept glancing at me, curiosity sparking in his eyes. I forced myself to keep my expression neutral, but deep down, I knew one thing. This mission just got a lot more complicated.

Zander’s voice was firm as he introduced us. “This is Thrall Squad. Ashe, Jax, Eilvin, Riven, Naia, Tae, and Cordelle.” He gestured to each of us as he spoke, his eyes flicking between the lowborn riders. “After we follow the trail, we’ll eat and catch up.”

The petite redhead, Kaila, shot Cordelle a wink, and I didn’t miss the way his ears turned pink. Before Cordelle could even stammer a response, Tae stepped in front of him, blocking Kaila’s view with a grin.

“Honey,” Tae said with a playful smile, “if you need entertainment later, I’m happy to oblige.”

Kaila shrugged, like she wasn’t opposed to the idea. Teren chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “Alright,” he said. “Call your dragons. We should be able to check the trails and get back by nightfall.”

We turned toward the clearing and called to our dragons. They descended from the sky like shadows cutting through the morning light. Kaelith landed with a powerful gust of wind, her scales catching the sun and gleaming with an almost metallic shine.