Page 1

Chapter one

HYACINTH

I have died a thousand times.

Died in every second without Ardan. Died in every day Taft stayed locked in the prisons below my feet. Died with every new face Ata wore to cope with her pain.

But every day, I’ve been reborn.

Reborn with more fire and rage burning in the corners of my soul than the day before.

I’ve found that death is easy, living is what hurts.

So I have let it hurt. Let it hurt with each excruciating breath that fills my lungs, knowing that, some day, when I’m called back to the Gods, I can hold Ardan in my arms again and tell him I did not break.

I wrapped my fingers around the spike in the center of Nithra’s spine and hoisted myself onto her back, my shadows sliding tight around her belly to hold me in place.

She had healed well—I could still smell the ointment Andrues had made for her flowing out from underneath her scales.

Marigold and honey, the same salve he had used to heal my burns.

This had become our nightly ritual these last few months, taking to the skies when they were at their darkest and Nethkar slept below us. She stretched her wings, the canvas of them pulling taut against her bones as she let out a low huff.

Where are we flying tonight child?

Her voice was tired and I could tell she needed rest. We both did.

We had trained together all day. Well, I had trained. She had soared around, trying every maneuver to shake me off so I could learn how to remount mid-flight, all while she was taking control of my vision. I had thrown up not once, but six times in the process of free-falling from the skies.

“The perimeter, then over Pri’s,” I said down the fastening, bracing myself as she thrust us into the heavens. I clenched my thighs around her as the night-chilled wind whipped through my curls. Letting my shadows bind me in place, I flung my arms into the open sky and closed my eyes.

This. This was my sanctuary.

I opened my eyes as we leveled out, focusing my energy on the fastening, willing my vision to shift.

If you force it, it will not come .

I groaned at her words.

Only twice had I successfully shifted into dragon sight on my own and it had been by accident.

I had spotted a wolf in the trees below us, prowling toward a group of children reading in an open field.

It was the fear I felt that made my vision snap.

Fear that made it snap on the night Ardan— I shook my head, pushing the thought from my mind.

The perimeter is clear, Nithra stated as she plunged closer to the ground, pulling up just above the treetops to see the candles flickering in Pri’s cottage windows.

I didn’t like the idea of her and Wren being so far from the castle—so far from us if something were to happen.

So, I had made her a deal that every night she would light undying candles and place them in her window so I knew they were safe.

If those candles were not lit, something was very, very wrong.

Nithra pulled back up into the sky.

She knew the routine, knew seeing that candle was all I needed before I would call it a night. Her wings beat against the midnight air, and I let out a small breath as the castle grew larger in front of us.

Everyone was safe.

“I want to train for an extra hour tomorrow. I should be learning faster than I am,” I said as Nithra’s talons clasped onto the railing of my balcony. Inky wings flowed from my back, lifting me from her spine and setting me on the railing beside her.

Sleep child. Your mind will not learn if your body is not strong , Nithra said as she pushed off the balcony and disappeared into the night. I stared after her for a long moment, knowing she was right but scared that I wouldn’t be ready to fight when the time came if I didn’t push myself now.

“Are we safe?” Landers’s voice flowed to me on the crisp breeze and I could hear the smirk in his tone without looking up at him. I smiled, pushing a curl behind my ear as I jumped off the railing.

“Your kingdom is secure,” I said with a dramatic bow before meeting his eyes and stepping through the open glass doors into our bedchamber.

“If you keep this up for much longer, I will need to appoint Elric to a new role.”

I rolled my eyes, unbuttoning my leather jacket and flinging it onto the back of the emerald chair that sat in front of the fireplace. I flicked my fingers toward the hearth, igniting the wood as I turned to face him.

“Good, I have a bone to pick with him anyway. I didn’t see one guard on patrol tonight.”

Landers stepped forward, brushing his knuckles against my cheek as he swept a section of curls over my shoulder.

“We are safe, Hyacinth. You are safe.”

I let out a huff of air and pressed my cheek into the palm of his hand. “I’m going to talk to Pri again. I really don’t like her out there, all alone.”

“She is not alone,” Landers said, sitting down on the end of the bed and leaning back onto the palms of his hands, the muscles on his bare chest flexing with the movement.

“You know what I mean.” I crossed my arms over my chest, pushing my lips together in a hard line.

“Come here.” He reached his hand out to me and I looked at it, releasing a long breath as I intertwined our fingers and let Landers pull me toward him.

He swept his arms behind my knees and pulled me onto his lap.

Straddling him, I let my nails scratch at the back of his head as his fingers kneaded into my thighs.

“You have every right to worry—I understand why you do—but my wards will hold. They will give us a warning if anyone tries to break into Locdragoon.”

I nodded, my forehead falling to his. With a sigh, I responded. “I’m exhausted. I think Nithra’s goal in training today was to kill me.”

Landers chuckled as I rolled off his lap and onto my back, the blankets rustling underneath me as he began to unlace my boots.

“I see she failed. So you must be learning something.”

I scoffed. “Learning that puke tastes just as bad mid-air.”

“Lucky for us, you have those beautiful wings to break your fall,” Landers said, a grin spreading across his face as his fingers slid up the length of my legs and hooked underneath my waistband.

I lifted my gaze to his and raised my hips, his green eyes dancing in the firelight as he pulled my leathers down my thighs, letting his thumbs caress my skin with the movement.

My magic flared at Landers’s touch, light radiating out of me. A deep chuckle left his throat as he placed his lips on the top of my foot, planting a trail of soft kisses up my legs, over my hips. and onto my stomach.

My head flew off the bed as he pulled away and I propped myself onto my elbows. “Uhm, excuse me, my King, but your lover demands release.”

Landers laughed, the sound so beautiful against the quiet night air.

“You need rest, Hyacinth. You have not slept more than a few hours in days.”

“No, what I need is you— now .” I raised a brow at him as he lowered himself back onto the bed and climbed over top of me.

Our chests pressed together as his breath flowed through my lashes.

He pushed himself against my naked thigh, the hardness of him forcing a sharp breath to fill my lungs as I stared into his eyes.

“Rest, and once you have, I promise to fuck the exhaustion back into your bones.” His voice was a low rumble as he pressed his lips against the base of my throat.

I groaned, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I would just like The Stories to know that not once have you ever listened when I’ve told you to rest,” I shot back as he pulled his lips from my neck and smirked.

He pushed himself from the bed and walked over to the desk in the corner of our bedchamber, leaning against the ledge. Propping myself onto my elbows, I watched as he ran a hand through his hair then crossed his arms over his chest.

“Taft is not giving us anything,” he said with a deep sigh as his hands fell to clench the edge of the desk. My stomach plummeted as I pushed myself fully upright.

I knew what they had been doing to him in the dungeons all these months—the torture that was inflicted on him in an effort to retrieve information. Every time Landers or Elric had pushed and bled him for information, the only response they ever received was a request to see me.

“Do you really think he knows anything more than what he told us the night he came here?” I asked.

“I do,” Landers said, nodding as he ran a hand down his face. “He is hiding something, and though I believe his greed and jealousy played a role in his betrayal, I do not believe that is all there is to it.”

“I talked to Asrai,” I said with a sigh.

“When Taft arrived at the academy, he would never tell her where he came from, and she’s never seen him use more than lesser magic, even when he was appointed to the War Council and his use of it was approved.

He always refused to tell me where he was from, or anything about his past.” I paused, my brows furrowing.

“I thought it was odd, but I just assumed it was too painful for him to speak about. Most children that ended up there had horrific beginnings, so I didn’t press him for answers. ”

“I think it is time, Hyacinth,” Landers said, his gaze holding mine as my back straightened.

I knew this moment would come, knew that eventually I would have to be the one to pry the answers from Taft, but I wasn’t prepared for the rage that would flood back into me at the thought.

“We can’t just give him what he wants,” I clipped, crossing my arms over my chest. “We can’t let him control this situation.”

Landers tilted his head ever so slightly and studied me.

“ You are in control, Hyacinth,” he said, his voice softening as he sensed the anger and anxiety flaring inside of me. “You are the one on the outside of those bars, the one that decides whether he lives or dies. He cannot hurt you, not here.”