Page 47

He nodded. “Let’s try something different.”

It became a warzone within my skull—sharp glass penetrating the perimeter, finding my weaknesses. He burrowed a hole within, dust and debris contaminating my thoughts, planting an image in my mind.

And… suddenly I was trapped.

I was bare, bowing to him as he wore a crown. It was a world where I lived under his reign. My lips were on his in the next frame, his hands on my body. Frozen inside his mind existed a reality where he was a Serpent, and I was beneath him.

Bowing to him. Married to him.

“Damien, stop!” I shouted, my voice cracking.

I reached for the dagger hidden beneath my skirt, but the trance he’d trapped me in withered away as he pinned me down. My blade clanged against the wood below.

“Once you’re stripped, you’ll have nothing,” Damien said. “But you can stay with me, Sev. We could be happy together.”

He thought I’d enjoy that fantasy—even thank him for the possibility of his savior complex. “No,” I said firmly, my voice cold.

Damien stifled a laugh. “You think the king will let you live because you’re bonded to a Serpent?”

I exhaled sharply. “No.”

He grabbed the dagger from the dock and slid it back into the sheath along my thigh. His hands gripped my waist, his body pressing firmly against my cracking ribs. “Did you think I’d hurt you?”

His pounding chest weighed against me. My fingers skimmed along his ribs, where I felt the hidden sheath of his blades. “I will never live under your reign.” I tried to grab it, to yank it out, and place it between us.

“Your enemies should be your friends, Sev. You learned this on day one.”

I swallowed bile, choking on the weight of my own words. “And what do they say about lovers?”

His thumb traced a fallen tear along my cheek. “That two should not feast with only one fork. You are not my lover. That kiss between us was a mistake.”

I stared up, willing the tears to stop. If that fantasy came true, I’d become my mother—a woman who had lived beneath the power she once held. Beneath the reign she could have claimed and the followers she could have led with her unstoppable wrath.

And for once, I saw us clearly.

Rivals.

Naraic’s wings were scabbing over, and I’d finally taken my first full breath in over a week. With Ciaran resting beside him, I sat with them after my eventfu l shield training with Damien.

Gods, I needed to clear my mind.

It was two weeks until the Serpent Bid, and every day seemed to blur into the next.

I had a sword, nearly onto my second. I’d won the Skyfall race, but was that kind of power feared?

Would they see through the metal and ash and decide I wasn’t worth the risk?

Would Father allow them to kill me right then and there?

We had four days off for the annual Harvest Festival, and most students with flying enigmas had already left for home.

I spent the last hour with a quill and paper, trying to phrase a letter to Mother that only she would understand.

How did Thaw go? Have Father’s shakes gotten worse?

I tried to be everything I wasn’t. I spent a week in the Winter realm, only to be called to Summer and bonded to a dragon.

I won Skyfall and had dinner with the king.

I’ve bonded with a Gemini dragon whose other rider is a Serpent.

Academy life is nothing like I expected. I could use your guidance.

Love, Severyn Blanche.

I’d written this out a dozen times—crumpled paper strewn at my feet. I’d probably never send it. The chaos that would ensue when Father saw my flame and knew his title was doomed kept the words in my hand instead of the mail.

Ciaran rumbled behind me, raising her wings as Archer approached. He tossed dried chicken heads toward Naraic and Ciaran. Naraic roared, snapping one mid-air.

Archer nodded as he mounted Ciaran, his speckled blue eyes meeting mine as he adjusted a bag strap. “Where are you going?” I asked.

“Somewhere I’m not surrounded by children,” he replied, raising a brow. “If you insist on specifics, I’m going to see my brother Kian in Ravensla.”

I scoffed. “We are all adults here, in case you forgot. You’re only two years older.” Dark clouds gathered above, cloaking the field in shadow.

I realized then that I always felt him when he left—the pull of the tether snapping along the borders of each country. I didn’t have it in me for him to go again, for those nights to suck me into their silence, for anxious thoughts to rattle my bones as I waited for him to return—injured or worse.

“I must have forgotten.” He grinned, his tone playful. “You seem to disobey every one of my commands like a child.”

“Can I come with you?” The words escaped before I could stop them, and I wished I could immediately pull them back. “Naraic doesn’t like being away from Ciaran for too long. I should also visit the country I’m supposedly up to rule…”

“Naraic is seventy-one years old. He can manage three days without his sister. And besides, who will keep Damien occupied?”

“Damien is twenty-two years old. He can keep himself occupied,” I shot back. “Besides, I need air. And before you point out that I’m standing in a field, I mean I need to get off this damn island for a few days.”

His lips pressed into a thin line, and I braced for the refusal. What I was asking bordered on inappropriate. “Fine,” he said finally, his tone clipped. “But I won’t stop for you. It’s a six-hour flight to Ravensla. I hope you understand that.”

I forced myself to suppress the grin threatening to rise. “I understand.” My fingers laced behind my back as I tilted my head, feigning innocence. “I mean, I did win Skyfall. Perhaps it’s you I’ll be stopping for.”

I left with nothing but the clothes on my back.