Page 61 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

The Blood Fae were retreating, their dragons vanishing into the clouds like black smoke curling back into the sky.

And Hein…

Hein was roaring.

A cry of fury and loss, echoing down to the shore like a storm’s final word.

The sand was cold against my soaked armor, but I was already pushing to my feet when the dragons began to descend.

Hein landed hard, wings flaring wide, tail lashing as he hit the ground in a rush of wind and gravel. But?—

There was no one in the saddle.

“Where is he?!” I screamed, stumbling forward as Cordelle jumped from his mount, eyes wild.

He pointed upward.

I turned, and my breath caught.

Kaelith was descending from the clouds, wings stretched wide, talons full.

Clutched between her claws was Zander, his body limp, his cloak soaked and trailing like broken banners in the air.

Cordelle’s voice was shaky. “He—he was hit with a direct blast of lightning. Kaelith caught him before he went under the water.”

Kaelith landed with a grunt of effort, laying Zander gently onto the sand with all the reverence of a dragon laying down her own heart. We ran to him, the others close behind me—Jax, Riven, Ferrula, the lowborn squad at our heels.

And then I saw it.

The hole in his shoulder.

Charred. Jagged. Still smoking. It cut through armor, muscle, and bone, his uniform burned and clinging to the blackened flesh beneath. His chest rose in shallow, stuttering gasps, each one weaker than the last.

“He needs a healer,” I said, dropping to my knees, my hands hovering helplessly above the wound.

Remy approached slowly, his expression unreadable. “He won’t make it to one,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry, Ashlyn.”

I stared at him, uncomprehending. “What are you saying?” My voice broke. “That Zander will die, because he helped me?”

Remy didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to.

The silence that fell across the beach was heavy. Cordelle’s jaw trembled. Riven looked away. Even Ferrula, usually fierce and unshakable, looked shaken. Riven touched my shoulder in comfort.

And the lowborns…

They bowed their heads.

Cowards, I wanted to scream.Do something!

But Kaelith’s voice cut into me like a blade.

You must save the prince. He is essential to our survival.

I can’t heal others,I cried in my mind.Only myself. I don’t know how?—

You will. You must. You are Stormborn. Your bloodline is powerful.