Page 130 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

You are not staying out of trouble, I see.

Siergen’s voice curled into my thoughts, silk and smoke, threaded with humor that never quite masked the edge beneath it.

I slowed, scanning the open space with narrowed eyes.Where are you?

Not at the castle,he responded smoothly, as if that explained anything.

I sighed aloud and began walking again, making my way toward the Ascension Grounds.I have missed you.

Really?he asked.I was under the impression that Hein’s rider was keeping you busy.

I rolled my eyes.You know his name is Zander and that is personal.

He chuckled.If you say so beauty.

I smiled.Have you been gone long?

Long enough to miss a few assassination attempts,he said dryly.And I’ll have to leave again soon. There are many concerning things happening on this continent.

Are you going to tell me what you’re actually doing?

There was a pause, then a soft, familiar chuckle in my mind.No. But I will tell you this—War isn’t coming, Ashlyn. It’s already here. You just haven’t seen the front line yet.

A chill moved down my spine.

Siergen…

Be careful,he said, and his presence began to slip away, like smoke through cracks in the mind.Even dragons can be outmatched when they don’t see the blade coming.

Chapter

Thirty

The door creaked softly behind me as I slipped into the barracks. The fire in the wall sconce had been lowered to a soft glow, casting long shadows across the room. Most of the squad was already in bed, blankets pulled up, but no one was asleep.

Voices carried low and easy, the kind of conversation you only had in the safety of worn walls and familiar faces.

“Hey,” I said quietly.

Riven popped her head up from her bunk, grinning. She pointed to something on my bed wrapped in cloth. “I grabbed you some sweetbread from the dining hall before they cleaned up.”

My stomach growled on cue. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry.

“Thank you,” I said, crossing the room and sitting on the edge of my bunk. The sweetbread was still warm, cinnamon clinging to my fingers as I took a bite.

“So…” Riven asked, shifting to lean on her elbow, a wicked gleam in her eye. “What happened?”

I chuckled. “Nothing like that, if that’s what you’re implying. But I did talk to Quinn and Meri.”

Jax sat up a little straighter, the blanket slipping off his bare chest. “That healer Meri?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice dropping. “Something’s going on.”

The room went quiet.

“Quinn doesn’t have much in the way of security. His guards think it’s ‘babysitting duty.’ And Meri told me healers are being pulled from Warriath and reassigned to outer regions without explanation.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Jax said, rubbing a hand over his short-cropped hair. “This place is supposed to be the safest in the kingdom.”