Page 168 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

I stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where she’d stood. The silence was heavy, and I hadn’t even managed to take a full breath before the main door creaked open.

Zander entered with sharp purpose in his stride, the corners of his jaw tight with tension.

“I got a report that Solei was seen on the premises,” he said, his voice clipped.

I snorted. “Your spies are just as good as the Order’s.”

He didn’t smile. “But not as loyal, apparently.”

I met his gaze without flinching. “She came to warn me.”

His jaw ticked. “And you listened?”

“I heard her,” I corrected. “There’s a difference.”

“What did she say?”

“She said the king’s days are numbered, that something’s happening in the court. She thinks the Varnari have already infiltrated the royal guard. And she warned me that they want you dead.”

Zander’s expression didn’t change, he didn’t pale, didn’t flinch, but I could see the flicker of something behind his eyes. It was there, just for a heartbeat.

Then he scoffed. “I’m not going to start panicking every time your sister crawls out of the shadows with another cryptic message.”

“She’s not wrong this time.”

“She’s always playing an angle, Ashlyn.”

“I know that,” I snapped, stepping toward him. “I don’t trust her. But I believe her.”

Zander stared at me for a long, taut moment. The storm behind his lavender eyes built slowly, carefully, until it settled into something harder.

“You believe she wants to protect me?” he asked, quieter now.

“No,” I said. “I think she wants to protect me.”

His expression softened just a breath, just enough for the truth between us to shift.

“And if she’s right,” I said, “then you’re walking into a war without knowing where the daggers are hidden.”

Zander exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair.

“For the record,” I said, “I hate that I believe her. But I do.”

“Then we prepare,” he said finally. “Because I’d rather be wrong and alive… than right and dead.”

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

The air was sharp with tension as we stepped onto the Ascension Grounds, the wind curling around the banners like it, too, was holding its breath. The sun hung low behind thin clouds, casting long shadows across the stone.

I felt it before I saw it, the shift. Something was wrong.

The guilds stood aligned beneath their respective banners, silent, orderly… but too still. Their gazes flicked toward us, then away, as if they were unsure whether to look or pretend we didn’t exist.

Thrall Squad stood in our usual place, no banner, no title. Just a tightly bound knot of bodies that had survived fire, death, and betrayal.

The Lowborn Squad was beside us again, grouped tightly, but quieter than usual. Teren stood tall, arms crossed, eyes flicking across the field like a man bracing for a storm. Not even Kaila cracked a joke. Camus didn’t blink.