Page 123 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

“What do you need to work out, Zander?”

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Dorian’s boots echoed softly on the stone as he approached, posture straight despite everything he’d endured. I instinctively stepped away from Zander, though I doubted it made much difference. The heir apparent wasn’t a fool, he noticed the heat still lingering between us, the space just a little too tight for a lieutenant and a prospect.

“Zander,” he said, pausing just a few paces from us. “I was looking for you. Remy said you’d be here.”

Zander muttered under his breath, “Of course he did.”

Dorian, cleaned and composed, wore a fresh tunic beneath his breastplate, only a faint dent marring the steel where he’d been struck. He looked every bit the prince again, well-rested, sharp-eyed, and unreadable.

“What do you need?” Zander asked. “Are you feeling better?”

“I’m good. Meri patched me up,” Dorian said with a nod. “But we have an issue.”

Zander’s posture stiffened. “What kind of issue?”

Dorian’s eyes flicked to me, and for a moment, something flickered behind his gaze, hesitation, calculation.

“Can we trust her?”

Zander didn’t flinch. “Yes.”

Dorian accepted that without protest, but his next words came faster. “I just received an order from our father. He wants me to gather more commoners with magic, prospective riders, warders, even infantry.”

My brows lifted, but I shouldn’t have been surprised.

“The nobles are already unhappy with the recent additions,” Dorian added.

I let out a short, humorless grunt. “That figures. Because only nobles make effective soldiers, right?”

Dorian shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. The issue isn’t with the army. It’s with the Fourth Guild. Infantry, healers, and warders are acceptable. But riders…” He looked at me again. “That’s different.”

“You don’t want commoners in Fourth Guild,” I said flatly.

“I was skeptical,” Dorian admitted. “Until Foran explained something I didn’t expect. Dragons who bond with commoners aren’t bonding with nobility. There’s a difference in our magic.”

I blinked. “Kaelith said something like that. She told me she’s never bonded a halfling, because my magic didn’t exist in your bloodline.”

Zander nodded slowly. “So they’re not just picking outliers. They’re choosing riders who can complete the bond.”

“Exactly,” Dorian said.

“Which means if we add more riders… we’re not taking dragons from the nobles. We’re adding dragons to the realm,” Zander said.

“I agree,” Dorian said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “But we have another problem.”

Zander’s eyes sharpened. “What now?”

Dorian’s expression shifted, frustration rippling across his otherwise composed face as he glanced between me and Zander.

“Since we both know our father didn’t write that order,” he said tightly, “we can assume that Theron has a plan.”

I nibbled my lip. “He likely needs to replace the warders you lost. But he doesn’t want to alert the other kingdoms that our defenses are failing.”

Dorian paused, considering that, then arched a brow. “That’s astute. My brotherisin charge of Warriath’s internal security. If the wards are falling, and he’s keeping it quiet… he’s already controlling the narrative.”