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The fact you can feel its presence has to be a good sign . I flicked off the bedcovers and swung my feet onto the floor. Damon remained nothing more than a spicy scent in the air, and the symbols he’d etched onto the floor continued to send warm shadows pulsing through the room. Did the knowledge on how to use it come through to you?

It strange. Your memories in mine. I see what you did, how you use.

All my memories?

Flame related.

Which made sense. By transferring that particular set, they were giving Kaia and the other drakkons a base on which they could more quickly learn the best way for them to deploy flame. How the witches had plucked those specific memories free, I had no idea, but it did at least explain why my brain still felt on fire, even if the overall body ache had drastically decreased.

How are Yara and Rua?

Yara feels heat, frustrated can’t use.

I frowned. And Rua? Is she okay?

Mind heated. Not sure.

Mind heated? I had no idea what that meant, but maybe the Prioress would. Is she lucid?

What lucid?

Talking clear in her mind.

Is young. Young not always lucid.

I smiled, even though concern flickered through me. If Rua wasn’t entirely lucid, did that mean Hannity wasn’t? She’d probably looked the worst of all of us last night. Warn them that when the fire does come through, they’ll need to practice somewhere where they can’t hurt anyone else. Either on wing or in the upper cavern.

Already up in cavern, waiting.

And you?

On wing, hunting with Gria. She hungry, I hungrier.

May the capra be fat and lazy for you both, then.

Are. Had two already. Need more.

My stomach rumbled as she said that, despite the fact I’d eaten more than I normally did last night. I climbed down from the platform and walked over to the scribe quill, ordering a pottage, breads, and cheese as well as shamoke, then headed into the bathroom for a much-needed bath. The food arrived as I was getting dressed, and my father was right behind it.

I sat on the bench to pull on my boots. “You didn’t have to come here—I was going to report once I’d had breakfast.”

“I may be king, but not even I dare disobey the queen. She ordered me to check on your condition, and check I will.” His gaze scanned me as I approached. “You look... different.”

I frowned and poured us both a shamoke. “Different how?”

“More alive.” He accepted his cup with a nod, his brows creased. “There’s this odd air of strength about you now that wasn’t there before.”

I raised my eyebrows, amusement lurking. “Are you saying I previously exuded an air of weakness?”

He laughed. “Of course not. It’s just different—stronger.”

“More drakkon-y?” I picked up a bowl and motioned to the pottage.

He shook his head. “Perhaps. Was the spell successful?”

“Well, we’re all alive, so that’s something.” I paused. “Have you had any report from the barracks? Kaia told me Rua is feeling off, and if she is, maybe Hannity is.”

“No, but I can order a check done, if you wish.”

I waved the suggestion away. “It’s probably best if I take the Prioress down there, given it might have something to do with the spell.”

He nodded. “Do the drakkons now have fire?”

“Not yet. The Prioress said our ‘essences’ need to heal before we know whether the transfer was successful or not.”

“Do you still have fire?”

“No.”

“That is not a good development.”

“As the Prioress said to me, I am more than my flames.” I shrugged, a movement that belied the inner uncertainty. “I’m still a captain, and I have no intention of giving the position up until I absolutely have to.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Given it seems Aric is about to hit our doorstep again, that may not be anytime soon.”

“Then you know where he is?”

“Not specifically.”

“And Gayl? She’s not been able to enlighten you?”

“Gayl has disappeared.”

I just about choked on my pottage. “How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps we should ask Damon. Where is he, by the way?”

“That is a great unknown. I take it you’ve received no reports of either of them leaving?”

His frown deepened. “No, and I would have.”

“Then perhaps it has something to do with the active spell over there.”

I pointed toward it with my chin, and he glanced over his shoulder. “What spell?”

I frowned. “You can’t see the markings on the floor?”

“No.” He glanced at me. “If there’s a spell, perhaps it was a deliberate choice of his to make it visible to only you.”

“Possible, though I was seeing it before he completed it. I guess we can question him about it when he gets back.”

If he got back.

“Is it worth questioning the Prioress?”

“You can certainly try. I got absolutely nowhere. What room is she in, by the way?”

“The Blacknut suite.”

Blacknut being a tree that emitted a spicy, citrus scent that seemed to linger even when the tree was harvested and made into furniture. I finished my pottage, then scooped up some more. It seemed Kaia wasn’t the only one who couldn’t fill her stomach. “What’s Mom doing?”

“Waiting on news from Katter. Their scouts reported ship remains and bodies being washed up on Green Bay, and they’ve sent a small team to investigate.” He grimaced. “She won’t leave until she hears back from him.”

My breath caught. “You don’t think Garron is amongst them, do you?”

“I can’t see why he would be, given he was land defense, not ship.”

“Maybe they managed to get a few ships out of the harbor before the riders destroyed it.”

“If that is true, then this wreckage suggests they didn’t get far.” He drained his shamoke and rose. “I had best get back.”

I rose with him. “How much closer have the Mareritt gotten?”

“A couple of miles out by all accounts, and their numbers are vast according to the scouts who’ve managed to get close.” He paused. “We’ve lost contact with Marcon’s team, though.”

“Marcon is too canny a soldier to be caught unawares by the Mareritt.” Though it was also true that even the canniest of soldiers could be overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers. I really hoped that wasn’t the case. “If they’re so fucking close, we should be able to see?—”

“They’re using a wide sheet of fog to cover their precise location and numbers,” he cut in.

I swore softly. “Does the fog roll up to the wall?”

“Not yet.”

“Meaning they’ll have to break cover to attack us, and even if they do have more of those large mobile tubes with them, we should have ample warning.”

“That is the hope.” He dropped a kiss on my cheek. “You’re to remain off duty for the rest of the day—your mother’s order, but one I entirely agree with, even if I’m also aware you will discard it the moment you deem it necessary to do so.”

I laughed and impulsively hugged him. “I do love you both; I hope you know that.”

“Of course we do. Now, you’d best be letting this old man leave while you settle down and eat that mountain of food you have happening there. Anyone would think you’ve been given your drakkon’s appetite.”

“It’d just be my luck to get that and nothing else.”

He laughed. “Túxn has smiled on you your entire life, Bryn. I’m thinking she’s not about to abandon you now.”

“And I hope she’s listening to that comment and taking it as a compliment, not a challenge.”

He left. I sat down and made my way through said mountain of food and finally felt the pangs of hunger subside. Once I finished the shamoke, I rose, grabbed my coat, then strapped on my sword and my knife. My gaze fell on my bow and quiver—abandoned up until now in favor of Mom’s—and instinct twitched. I wasn’t sure why, but given the continuing sense of doom pulsing through the background of my thoughts and the nearness of the Mareritt, I wasn’t about to ignore it. I slung the quiver and bow across my back, then opened the door and walked around to the guest quarters, my footsteps echoing softly. My leg, I couldn’t help but notice, no longer ached. Perhaps the transference had gifted me with some of Kaia’s fast healing and it had finally settled those grumbling muscles.

The guard near the Blacknut suite saluted as I approached. “Is the Prioress in?”

“Yes, Lady Bryn.”

“Thanks.” I stopped in front of her door and knocked loudly. The sound echoed and, after a few seconds, steps approached. The door opened to reveal the Prioress in a loose brown gown, eating a slab of cheese on bread, looking much fuller in the face than the last time I’d seen her.

“Bryn,” she said, seeming surprised to see me. “You’re awake. Obviously. Do you wish to come in?”

“No, thanks. I’ve reports that both Rua and Hannity are overheating. I was wondering if you could come down to the military section and check Hannity for me.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure what I could do, given I’m a blood witch, not a healer?—”

“What if her natural ability to control her inner flame has been disrupted by the spell?” I cut in. “What if the spell didn’t fully transfer?”

“If it didn’t, she will die. There is no spell that can prevent that. If she is running hot, then perhaps your best option would be to get a healer to her and get her core temperature down until her body and mind have had time to adjust.”

I swore and thrust a hand through my still-wet hair, snaring several strands from the plait. “Where did Damon go? Did he take Gayl with him?”

“You know I will not?—”

I raised my wrist and shoved up the coat’s sleeve, showing her the bracelet he’d given me. “He said this was designed to protect me from Gayl’s thoughts, but does it also prevent Aric from reading them? Because he’s on his way here, and he’s the only reason you could be so afraid of sharing Damon’s current location.”

“The gift runs through her mother’s line, not Aric’s. He cannot read minds, for which we are eternally grateful.” She bit into her bread and contemplated me while she chewed. “Now, young woman, you had best go see to your friend. You will need their help with what comes.”

“For Vahree’s sake, will you lot stop speaking in riddles and just tell me the?—”

I stopped, because the witch stepped back and slammed the door in my face. It was tempting, so damn tempting, to order the guard to batter it down, or, better yet, slice through the thing with my sword, but I resisted the urge to do either.

Mainly because her words had deepened the sense of doom gathering within.

I swore again, then spun on my heel and raced down the hall, taking the steps two at a time and racing out the doors. The wind clubbed me sideways, forcing me to slow to catch my balance. The air felt thick and heavy, and overhead, lightning flashed. I softly counted and barely reached three before thunder rumbled.

The storm was close, and it was big.

And that doom I sensed... it was as close as that storm. So close I could almost taste it.

I started toward the hospital, then stopped. Harnesses... I might have geared up the drakkons, but ours were still hanging on the hooks in the cavern. I swore yet again and ran for the store, quickly searching the shelves for the older-style climbing harnesses and eventually finding them stashed at the very back. I grabbed three, then continued on to the hospital, my heart beating so fast my chest ached. The day nurse looked up as I all but slammed into the reception area, her expression alarmed. “Is there a problem, Captain?”

“I need the services of a healer who can deal with a deep fever whose source may or may not be strega based.”

She hesitated. “I think Riki might be the?—”

“Summon him, now.”

“ Her ,” the nurse snapped, but nevertheless made the call.

I paced the floor as I waited, my body cold, still empty of the flames that generally kept me warm. The barrier remained in place, though at least pain no longer accompanied it.

“Captain Silva?” a cool voice behind me said. “There’s a problem?”

I swung around. The woman was tall and blonde, with pale skin that suggested either she or her parents were not Arleeon born. “Yes, I have a soldier with a deep fever?—”

“Was she caught in the recent downpour by chance?” Riki cut in. “Because we’ve a number of infantry personnel come down with hectic fevers over the last twenty-four hours, but the military hospital is far from overrun and more than capable of dealing with it.”

Hectic fever was an unpleasant ague that came with wild swings in temperature along with chills and sweats. I’d had it once, and that was more than enough. “Yes, but what afflicts Hannity is likely linked to her strega fire ability. I need you to gather your kit and come with me.”

It was an order, not a request, and she acknowledged it with a nod. “I’ll be two minutes.”

She disappeared back through the door, and I resumed my pacing. Riki returned on time, and, without a word, I spun and led the way out. It was a long journey down through the various tiers, one made longer by the growing depth of my inner anxiety. The guards at the entry point into the military section opened the gates as we neared; a third soldier waited on the other side and saluted as we entered.

“Commander Vaya has ordered me to escort you to Scout Gordan’s bunkhouse.”

Meaning my father had ordered it and Vaya had passed it on. There was no other way Vaya could have known I was coming down here.

“Thank you, soldier.”

He saluted again, spun round, and marched off at a good clip. We hurried after him. The military section was basic in layout—four squarish quarters around a central rectangular core. The latter contained the mess, hospital, administration, and the commanders’ and captains’ accommodation. The closest two quarters contained the barracks for the regular soldiers, and the far one, those for scouts. The coursers were stabled behind them. I knew where Kele was quartered but had no idea where Hannity was, so it was lucky I didn’t have to waste more time checking with admin.

We followed the wide path straight through to the core, then around to the left of the main admin building, and all around me, the preparations for attack were ongoing. The barracks, like everything else in Esan, were made of black stone, but many of their exteriors had been painted with various images and symbols representing the various squads housed within them. My squad—housed to the right—bore depictions of a gray hawk with flame coming from its claws. Kele’s squad—housed in the section behind my squad’s—were represented by a fiery courser. Hannity’s group was in the rear left section, and the barracks’ front wall bore a fiery fist.

There were several soldiers lounging out the front when we turned the corner, but they were all kitted up ready for action. They all snapped to attention as we approached.

“At ease,” I said. “Is Hannity Gordan inside?”

“Aye, Captain,” a lean man with a heavy red plait said. “We had the medics out to her early this morning, but I don’t think she’s any better.”

“Do you know what they gave her, if anything?” Riki asked.

“Some sort of tea to bring her temperature down?—”

“Meaning she was lucid at that point in time?” Riki cut in.

The lean man nodded. “She was also given a painkiller to take at four-hourly intervals. They said it was likely hectic fever, as it’s going round, and she was soaked when she came.”

“A natural assumption under normal conditions,” Riki said. Her comment was aimed my way, even if she didn’t look at me. “May we go inside?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He opened the door, then stepped aside so we could enter.

I thanked and dismissed our guide, then followed Riki in. Like most of the barracks, this one held six beds, and five were empty. The sixth had privacy curtains drawn around, and even from here I could hear the restless stirring and occasional soft moan.

Hannity really wasn’t in a good state.

Riki tsked and hurried over, sweeping aside the curtain, then knelt beside the bed and touched her fingers either side of Hannity’s forehead. She didn’t say anything, but energy flickered from her to Hannity via her touch, meaning she was one of our mind healers.

After a few moments, she sat back on her heels and looked at me, her expression alarmed. “What on earth happened to her? Her biometry is all over the place, and partially filled with an essence not her own.”

“The three of us underwent a spell to share our strega fires with the drakkons.”

“With the—” She stopped and shook her head. “Why on earth would anyone in their right mind want to do that?”

“Because it might be the only way to defeat what comes.”

She snorted. “We’ve been defeating the Mareritt?—”

“I’m not talking about the Mareritt, but rather the gilded riders.”

“Those people on metal birds? There’s not enough of them to be a threat to us, surely?”

“On that, you would be wrong.” I waved a hand toward Hannity. “Can you help her?”

Her gaze returned to the younger woman, and she wrinkled her nose. “Her body fights what has been done to it, so I can’t give any guarantees. But if I can force her into a coma and get her core temperature down, it should help her body’s natural healing ability.”

An ability that had, hopefully, been enhanced with Rua’s innate fast healing. “Do that then, please, and if you could stay here and keep an eye on her?—”

“Indeed, because the next couple of hours will tell the tale of survival or not. But I’d be checking on the third member of this group if I were you.”

“I’m about to, but thank you.”

She nodded and swung her kit from her back. I hung a climbing harness on the nearby clothes hook, then left Riki to it, providing a quick update to Hannity’s bunkmates before hurrying over to the next quadrant and Kele’s quarters. There was no one sitting outside and little noise coming from within.

Thankfully, she was not only awake but sitting on her bunk reading. She glanced up as I entered and, to my relief, looked her normal self aside from the few wisps of pain still haunting her gaze. “Bryn, what on earth are you doing here?”

“I came to see how you were faring.”

“Why? What’s happened?”

I sat down on the edge of the bed and grimaced. “Hannity’s not doing well.”

“Ah fuck, that explains Yara’s comments about Rua.”

“What affects one affects the other,” I said grimly. “If nothing else, this confirms that the spells did bind us to our drakkons.”

“Won’t do either race much good if for every two we bind we lose one.” She put her book down. “Is there anything the medics can do?”

“There’s a specialist healer with her now.”

“Then there is nothing either of us can do except pray. While we wait, you want to grab some grub? I know the mess is not up to palace standards but?—”

I laughed and slapped her leg. “I lived here for more than ten years, remember. It was only after the marriage declaration that I went back.”

And reluctantly at that.

She grinned and bounced to her feet. “Let’s go eat... why are you clutching climbing harnesses?”

“Because we left ours in the cavern, and I think it best we keep them close in case we have to call in the drakkons and mount in a hurry.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Is that instinct speaking or mere caution?”

“Hopefully the latter, but the Mareritt are moving toward us in numbers, and we need to be prepared for anything.”

“Huh.” She stepped into the harness and hauled it on. “When my roommates mock me for wearing it, I shall remind them that I ride a drakkon and they never will.”

I laughed and, after slipping on my own harness, turned around and walked out, Kele close on my heels. I couldn’t help noticing that the air felt thicker, more dangerous, and overhead, the dark skies were ominous and heavy.

“Looks like we’re about to get a drenching,” Kele commented. “Might want to pick up the pace a little, boss.”

“We were told not to strain ourselves, remember,” I said, almost absently, my gaze searching the skies, looking for... I had no idea what. But something was coming. Something bad.

As thunder boomed overhead with enough force to rattle nearby windows, something thick and round trailing fire behind it arced across the sky and exploded in the tier beyond the military zone.

A heartbeat later, the sirens sounded—and it wasn’t just the normal alarm. It was the one that signaled all fighters to the wall.

Esan was under attack... and it was big .