Page 96 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

Solei.

Or someone using her signature.

I shoved it into a hidden pocket in my armor, unsettled, but too trained to panic in public.

Was it a warning?

Or a threat?

Another hit squad?

I grabbed a plate of food, but the eggs felt like ash in my mouth. I barely forced down a bite before a shadow fell over our table.

Zander slid onto the bench beside me, his jaw set in a grim line.

“We have to go,” he said, skipping any form of greeting.

I straightened. “Where?”

“Thubia.”

Riven tensed beside me.

“Why?” I asked, already knowing I wouldn’t like the answer.

Zander’s eyes met mine, something dark and sharp flickering in their depths.

“My brother Dorian was just attacked.”

We rushed from the dining hall, plates forgotten, boots thudding against the stone as we sprinted into the morning light. The Ascension Grounds were already in motion, dragons circling in the sky like rippling scales of color and power.

Kaelith landed hard beside the others, her massive wings sending gusts of wind whipping through the yard. The others followed—Temil’s orange tail swishing low, Hein’s massive form gliding in with all the force of thunder behind it.

“How did they know?” I asked, grabbing my saddle off the rails.

Zander hefted his own onto Hein’s back with practiced speed. “The same way I did,” he said. “Dorian’s dragon, Foran, called for help.”

“Do you know where he is?” I asked, adjusting the straps across Kaelith’s back.

“Yes,” Zander said without hesitation. “His power saved him, but the riders who were with him… they didn’t make it.” His eyes darkened. “Including one dragon.”

My breath caught.

Only one thing could kill a dragon.

“The Blood Fae,” I whispered.

Zander nodded once, grim and furious.

We mounted in silence, the gravity of the mission settling across us like weighted armor. The others didn’t speak, but the tension crackled through the air like a storm waiting to break.

“They were badly outnumbered,” Zander continued as Hein shifted beneath him.

“What is his power?”

“Battle manipulation,” he said. “He can see the outcome of a fight once it starts. He can also see alternate outcomes and what maneuvers to make in order to survive. Since he can control the flow of combat, the dragon and his men who died had to have perished in the first wave.”

Damn.