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“It’s you I want, Senaria,” the king said, his voice rumbling with sincerity. “To give you the life I should have offered years ago.”

“I have the life I want now.”

“Write your own contract with me,” he said urgently. “Put in any clause you need to feel safe.”

“You are only the first to offer.” I remembered Anneli’s advice. “Having my every wish is indeed intriguing, but I owe it to the others to consider their petitions before I can decide.”

Tarian said nothing more. We’d reached the part of the dance where partners switched, leaving Tarian no choice but to reach for the dowager in rustling pink silk. Her perfume was cloying, and I turned away—into the waiting arms of Eydis Khoth.

He was resplendent in formal clothes, an exotic testament to his homeland in fitted black trousers and a tight, short jacket edged with scarlet jewels. “You should come to Alek’sa Santeri,” he said as he took my hand. “Enjoy our hospitality.”

“I’ve already enjoyed a hint of your hospitality and found it lacking.”

His grin was all teeth. “You insult Iskaral.”

“Who?” Disdain darkened my tone as I circled away, freeing myself from his grasp.

“The wyvern I gifted to you,” Eydis Khoth said. “Since the name Bogo was already taken, I named him Iskaral. He was disappointed with your…rejection. ”

“I don’t condone torture. Considering how you’d chained that creature, it’s miraculous that he’s still standing.”

“The High Mage has scruples.” Eydis reclaimed my hand and followed the intricate dance steps with more skill than I expected.

“How refreshing, although torture is a deceitful word. But the rumors about your…mother…are quite intriguing. They say she used a dragon to burn the queen’s son.

Or perhaps your mother did the burning herself and blamed it on the dragon. ”

“You lie.”

“Have they mentioned what a Skyborne mage can do?” he taunted. “You talk to the dragons. This is well known. But what is not known…dragon fire cannot harm you. And if you are sufficiently provoked, you can summon your own fire. Burn…everything. Buildings. Trees. Enemies. Without injuring yourself.”

Hadn’t Camael talked about a Skyborne mage having dragon fire during the ritual?

The music changed, but the man from Alek’sa Santeri refused to release me as a partner, his hold punishing.

“Your value isn’t with dragons. You rival them with an ability to destroy that is not mindless but with purpose.

I’d be wary of a queen interested in vengeance and a king who acts as a false savior. A high mage who keeps secrets.”

“And some man who admires snakes?” I asked.

He nodded. “So it is. A snake always strikes with intention.”

“While he hides in the rocks.”

“You have a…fondness for dragons,” Eydis said pityingly.

“And yet, you do not understand them. Or their Draakon. But wh at shame does he hide? One so deep that dragons burned away the pain? They changed him into a monster. This is the difference between enemies and why I will kill him. He seeks relief in oblivion, while I offer passion. In my desert, you’ll learn the difference between living and existing, and you will choose to come alive. ”

I stared over his shoulder. “I never did well in the desert heat.”

Eydis Khoth leaned in, his mouth inches from my ear as he murmured, “But with me, you will beg to burn. I will see you naked in the moonlight, High Mage. I will touch you, taste you, own you, and you will thank me.”

Blood pounded in my head. I stared at a distant image painted on the wall, blurred by the glimmering mage lights. As the music faded, Camael approached and frowned.

“The moon has phases,” he said to Eydis. “It is not always full, and secrets hide in the dark. Do not doubt the Stone Tower’s commitment to their high mages.”

“So it is,” agreed Eydis as a woman in quilted dark clothes glided to his side. “Aska leads my Shadowblades. Allow me to introduce her.”

“Your assassins need no introduction, Khoth.” Camael made little effort to soften the threat. “You are bound by the agreements made upon entry to Shiala. No blood is to be shed here tonight.”

The woman, Aska, hadn’t smiled, and I wondered if an assassin’s threat caused the tension settling in the room.

Voices faded mid-sentence. The rattle of glassware ceased.

But when Eydis Khoth disappeared with Aska at his side, I turned toward the doorway the way a flower turns toward the sun. With a knowing of what I’d find.

Kion Abaddon stood on the wide threshold. He wore a formal jacket; the black color magnified the silver in his hair. His trousers fit his hips and long legs. Glittering around his throat was the curse tablet that set my teeth on edge.

Camael had followed Eydis Khoth from the feasting room, but Halla Taja took his place close to my side. Aggression aged her.

“What have you drawn upon us?” the queen hissed. “That stunt today with the dragons. Of course, he would notice.”

“The Draakon of Dangira isn’t above coming on his own.” Tarian closed in to stand at the queen’s side. “He’s been hunting Senaria for months. He had her, lost her, and now he wants her back.”

“Tell me.” Halla Taja turned toward Tarian. “How many dragons does Thales believe Dangira hides?”

“They are rare and dying every day.”

“So you claim, and yet, you chase after the Skyborne like she’s a dog escaping from the leash.”

“The purpose of this banquet was hardly a secret,” said Tarian stiffly. “Perhaps you wished to drive a bidding war by inviting him here.”

“His presence only invites blood and I will not tolerate it.”

“ You will not tolerate it?” Tarian’s lips thinned. “The Draakon and Eydis Khoth fighting over the same bone? What outcome other than blood did you expect? ”

The argument distracted them. I walked to Anneli’s side. She linked her arm through mine as Kion Abaddon took one step. Then another.

No one spoke. Not the king, the queen. The entire banquet hall took the same collective breath while Kion crossed the room, walking as if he was fully armed when he wore no weapon and rival mage power surrounded him.

I forced myself to breathe. He halted, his gaze sliding toward me, but nothing…nothing more than ice glittered in his eyes when he said, “They tell me I should bid on your services.”

I hoped the rocketing of my pulse went unnoticed with all the attention on Kion. The beautiful Angel of Death. The almost king, a man far more noble than the actual king and queen in front of him.

I rooted myself in place. Raised my chin, felt the answering ice in my veins. “Do you have an offer to make?”

His head tipped. “I don’t forgive you, Senaria. You’ve harmed my dragons too many times.”

The menace in those murmured words was sharp enough to bleed me. I thought of all the crimes I’d committed, the harm that I’d done without realizing it. The dragon silence that hurt so many people. Just today, Bogo had risked his life for me. And Sarnorinth. Although Sarnorinth didn’t count.

My chest ached beneath the guilt, but I still said, “They aren’t your dragons if I can talk to them.”

“You are not invincible,” he snarled.

“And you are no longer unique,” I answered in kind. “You and I share the same power, and you do not frighten me. ”

“Soon, he will be obsolete,” Anneli said with a strange smile. “His moods are volatile and his desires dark, but his influence is waning.”

Halla Taja smirked. A muscle flicked in Kion’s jaw that left me uneasy. But games had to be played. I was the High Mage. I needed to exert power in a room filled with enemies. Mine. His. Those who met him face-to-face and those with assassins who hid in the rocks, while he stood alone.

I smiled slowly. “Shall I ask Sarnorinth to return? Let him decide which of us he prefers?”

Tension held the silence together. No one breathed or moved until the clatter of a falling instrument broke the thrall.

With a nervous laugh, the minstrel recovered, and the musicians began a frantic rendition of another dance tune.

Conversations started up again, and Halla Taja said, “Your entire family died during that awful mess at Celandine, so who is left to mourn you? I’d say, no one.”

Kion shifted his gaze to her, and I flinched when the queen lifted her chin.

“Do you still remember your brother?” she asked.

“Or…is he as forgotten as the others?” Halla Taja glanced around; her smile was blade-thin.

“Did you know? The boy was only five. Such a tragic end, all alone. The Draakon was too busy watching his father bleed out at Celandine. His mother died the same night. So much pain and loss because of dragons. It’s impossible to claim they’re a benefit. ”

“Until you need them,” Kion said agreeably, although the edge in his voice had the men stiffening .

“Not for much longer,” the queen said. “Dragons are fading. Soon there won’t be enough of them to bother with. Or bother with you. Not when we have a Skyborne mage.” The skin around her mouth whitened. “You should leave.”

Kion, the man who had played in the mud with Bogo and broke my heart with his smile—he smiled now. One last smile before he pivoted away.

Halla Taja turned to herd Tarian and the crowd toward the feasting tables.

The minstrels clanged away with a merry tune while I struggled against the shaking that wouldn’t stop.

“Don’t fight it,” Anneli said, taking my arm and leading me through an arched door and into the cool night. “Breathe,” she ordered. “The cold will settle you.”

“It’s…”

“Mage energy. You haven’t learned to control the emotion yet.”

The garden was empty, with a few mage lights flickering like lightning bugs in the foliage. But the muscles in my throat clenched. Would my life always go in circles? Would I fight the same unwinnable battles over and over because I couldn’t learn whatever lesson they were trying to teach me?

Sarnorinth said he’d given Kion another penance, but he hadn’t said what it was, and Kion had ripped my heart to shreds with those few words… I don’t forgive you.

“Pain has consequences,” Anneli said as she pressed her lips against my temple. “When the cut goes deep enough, it exposes what we truly fear. What we hide from ourselves. You want to protect him, even though he’ll destroy you for it.”

“No,” I denied.

“I am you at your core, Senaria. Your emotions are mine, all the hate, the fear, the impossible desire. I’ve known Kion Abaddon for more than a century.

There are moments when he wants love more than life, but he can’t change.

He’s been cursed. He’ll never love you the way you want to love him.

But despite that, despite what he said just now, he didn’t come here to hurt you. ”

I jolted. “You talked to him?”

“He found me before I dressed. I’ll admit…” Melancholy tainted her smile. “For an instant, I’d hoped he was here for me. But Kion can be quite persuasive when he holds a blade to someone’s throat, and it’s you he wants. When he explained why, I agreed with him.”

She brushed the hair from my cheek. “You were very convincing. Tarian was preening while Halla Taja had her knives out. They find hope in what they witnessed. Even Eydis Khoth.”

She paused and spun enough magic to shield our conversation.

“An army waits in the Pass of Sorrows, not far from here. Kion believes it’s Tarian, poised with his red priests.

If Nikias isn’t leverage enough to win your commitment, they’ll attack Shiala and take you by force.

Halla Taja can’t fight when she relies on the Stone Tower for protection.

But the mages are deceitful. They’ll hand you over if Tarian’s offer is high enough.

Eydis hides his assassins in the mountains with plans of his own. You must leave. Now. ”

My heart pounded. “You’ll come too?”

“I’ll leave, but not with you. The enemy believes you and Kion are bitter rivals. Tonight, they’ll feast, and in the morning, they’ll discover the loss. With both of us gone, they won’t know which way to chase.”

She urged me through the formal gardens, following the path we’d taken the day I killed the styrmir worm, through the cloaking pines, thick with mist.

A man stepped from the trees.

“Hurry,” Fennor whispered, taking my arm. “The Draakon is waiting.”