Page 104 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

He was pale, his arm tight around my waist, but his voice was firm. “The Blood Fae have a member with a skill like Remand’s. Another can create a container, a kind of stasis pocket, that lets him transport multiple targets at once.”

I frowned, my mind catching on the term. “Stasis pocket?”

“A space between time,” he explained. “Just long enough for someone like Remand to move them.”

I blinked. “Convenient.”

“Terrifying,” Dorian corrected, and then added, “and useful.”

Right. Battle manipulation. He could see the pattern of war like pieces on a board.

“Why didn’t you give us any orders during the skirmish?” I asked.

His lips curved slightly against my shoulder, amused. “How do you know I didn’t?”

I hesitated. “Well… I don’t.”

“I ran every scenario as soon as the first strike fell,” he said, voice quieter now. “Every variation that ended in a win for us… you called that wave.”

My breath hitched. “Oh. So youknewhow the battle would end.”

“I would’ve intervened,” he said, “if you’d made another choice.”

A beat of silence passed between us, and then I asked, “Do you want to return to Foran?”

“I would,” he muttered, “but jumping down to Kaelith tore open the wound at my side.”

“Shit.” I leaned forward instinctively, bracing us both.

Kaelith,I called, urgency biting into the bond.You need to fly faster. We need to get him home.

Then hold on,she growled, wings tucking tighter.

And we moved, the world blurring around us as Kaelith tore through the sky like vengeance with a name.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

We were all bone tired when we landed at the Ascension Grounds.

Even the dragons staggered slightly as they touched down, their wings dragging as if the air itself had finally grown too heavy to hold them aloft. We’d at least had the benefit of resting in the saddle. They’d carried the weight of battle and riders without pause.

Dorian slumped against me halfway through the descent, and I had to keep him awake, nudging his shoulder, calling his name through clenched teeth until Kaelith’s claws struck the stone with a final, heavy thud.

The moment we were down, I slid off her back and scrambled to Dorian’s side. He was pale, eyes fluttering.

“Stay with me,” I whispered as I eased him out of the saddle.

Riven sprinted over before I could unbuckle the last strap. “Want help?”

“If Kaelith will let you.”

Kaelith huffed, smoky heat curling from her nostrils, but her head dipped in permission. Riven didn’t hesitate. Her hands flew over the harness with practiced speed.

Kaelith was already launching skyward by the time Zander pulled Hein’s final strap and joined me with ragged breath.

Together, we half-carried, half-guided Dorian toward the healer’s quadrant. Meri met us at the entrance with her night robes rumpled and her copper hair falling from its braid, but her eyes sharpened when she saw Dorian.