As soon as he was gone, I leaned over to Jae to whisper. “A bird? How is a bird going to help us? Tell me this is not that one grand idea you had.”
“Of course not.” Jaevid shot me a look. “I can talk to it. Demigod, remember?”
“Riiiight.” I tried not to laugh, but it still came out as a choking snort.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I snickered. “I just can’t wait to see the look on Lurin’s face when you do.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“What?” I feigned an insulted gasp. “Me enjoy you interrogating one of the blockheads who constantly mocked and bullied me as a child? Never! And frankly, I’m wounded you’d even suggest it.”
Jaevid rolled his eyes.
“I don’t suppose you could tell him the bird is a sacred, ancient forest spirit he now has to pay homage to for the rest of his life?”
“Not a chance.”
I sat outside, my legs threaded through the woven railing of the deck that overlooked the jungle below. Jae was inside, still meeting with Lurin and some of the other scouts … and the bird. It wasn’t something he needed me there for. And, being the only one standing around without some variant of gray hair and pointed ears, called back uncomfortable memories from my youth. Maybe because Lurin was there, and he’d been one of the guys from my past I’d hoped I would never run into again.
From where I sat, I could barely make out cracks of open daylight between the trunks of some of the trees. We were only a mile or so from Maldobar. Here, the air was cool and moving, tasting faintly of the chilled winds beyond the jungle. It was early spring in Maldobar. When I’d left, there was still snow on the ground. My last memory of the place, apart from the scorched desolation I’d left at Barrowton, was telling Vexi to leave.
I pursed my lips at the thought. Vexi was a wild dragon. She’d picked me to be her rider—which was arguably the worst choice she could have made. I still didn’t understand why. I wasn’t a soldier. I barely passed as a scout. I couldn’t understand what that was supposed to mean for me. What kind of dragonrider would I make?
The sound of footsteps and voices approaching interrupted my thoughts. Jae and Lurin were saying their farewells. My old elven rival still looked flustered and embarrassed as they shook hands. I took some small amount of satisfaction in that as I got up to meet Jae.
The bird, a pigeon, was perched on Jae’s shoulder with a little scroll of paper tied to one of its scaly orange feet. I barely got a look at it before it took off into the jungle, making steam toward Maldobar.
“Well?”
“I’m sending word ahead of us to find this Lamb person. With any luck, they will be able to help us get into the tower,” Jaevid replied with a sigh.
I tried not to dwell on the idea that my survival hung on whether a pigeon with a brain the size of a pea would deliver a message. Gods and Fates. “All right. So, what’s next?”
“We figure out how to get to the tunnels.” He led the way down one of the staircases wrapped around the tree trunk. It spiraled down to the jungle floor, depositing us right in the middle of the encampment.
“Okay. Suicide. Got it.”
Jaevid’s fingers brushed the hilt of his scimitar. “Nothing so dramatic. But we are going to need your companion’s help to get inside.”
“You want Noh to help us?” My stomach clenched. “Not that I wouldn’t enjoy cutting up more Tibrans, but unless you mean to carve our entire path to Northwatch in blood—”
“Noh can do a lot more than just kill,” he corrected. “But since you haven’t completed your ritual, it’ll be risky.” He flicked me a glance, as though silently asking if I was willing to push my luck that far.
“If you’re suggesting it, then it must be our best option. What do you want me to do?”
Jae stopped walking and faced me, his mouth set in an uncomfortable line. “You’ve already seen that he can bring you into the Vale. But just as he can materialize anywhere in this world at will by crossing over from the Vale, he can also move you to a different location.”
I frowned. “Is this something Paligno told you about?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s called valestepping. Noh can create a portal within himself that we can step through, bringing us from one location to another instantly using the Vale.”
“What’s the catch?”
Jae shifted, his brows drawing together as he looked down. “It’s one of your most costly talents, even with the ritual complete. It could kill you, Reigh. I’ll do my best to feed your soul enough of my power to do it, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work.”
It took a few seconds for that to sink in.
“And that’s not the only risk,” he added.
“Of course not.”
“Noh could almost certainly get us within the tunnel, but we will have to get close. The shorter the distance, the less likely it is to harm you.”
I had been joking about the whole suicide thing, but this was beginning to sound like exactly that. “How close are we talking about here?”
Jae grimaced. “Two hundred yards would be pushing it.”
My shoulders sagged. “This is your idea? Get us within firing range of any half decent archer in the Tibran army, have Noh magically poof us into tunnels packed with angry soldiers, and hope there’s some mysterious, sympathetic party named Lamb there to help guide us to the tower at Northwatch?”
“Yes.” He ran a hand through his ash-colored hair as he looked up. “I’m open to suggestions.”
I dropped my arms to my sides and gaped at him. “You’re insane. You do realize that, right?”
“I doubt you’re the first person to tell me that.”
I was ready to bet money on it.
“Good, as long as you’re aware.” I let out a deep sigh and gestured ahead, toward the boundary line between Luntharda and Maldobar. “Well, we’re wasting time. Let’s go try not to die.”
PART THREE
JENNA
EIGHTEEN
Thunder shook the tower around me.
No, not thunder. This was something else. Something I knew from the deepest corners of my soul. My eyes flew open.
It was a bellowing war cry—a dragon’s mighty roar.
My heart seized in my chest, sending a bolt of pain through my body. Staggering to my feet, I limped to the only narrow window in my cell. The Tibrans had taken their time trying to break me. Argonox was most likely hoping that throwing me to his wolves would soften my resolve and make me more willing to negotiate. He was wrong.
No sooner had I wrapped my hands around the cold iron bars than the huge, blue scaly body of a monstrous dragon surged past, swooping through the air on powerful leathery black wings. Plumes of orange and red flame exploded against the darkness of the night, revealing the smoke rising from the city. Dragons, dozens of them, were descending upon the outer city limits of Northwatch.
The tower shuddered again. I lost my balance and fell, landing against the cold stone floor of my cell. The eerie wail of the war horn began to scream in the night—a sound that was meant to call our men to arms now screeched to warn our enemies. The shouts of men, clatter of armor, and stomping of boots echoed down the corridors. Whatever was happening, it was focused on the city. Surely, my father wasn’t thinking of trying to retake Northwatch with all the riders we had left.
Back on my feet, I pressed my cheeks as far as they would go between the bars of the window, straining to see anything I could. The thatched roofs in the city below were burning. Tibran legions were forming ranks, scrambling to position their spear- and net-hurling war machines to fire at the dragons that made diving passes and showered the streets with scorching venom.
A feral scream tore past my lips, ripping past all the agony that crippled my body. Tears made cool trails over the flushed heat of my cheeks as I tried to shake the iron bars. If those were my dragonrider brothers—I would have
given the very last breath from my body without hesitation to be out there fighting with them. Just let me out! Give me a blade! I would carve every bit of my dignity back out of Tibran flesh.
“Miss Jenna!”
I turned at the sound of Aedan’s voice. He appeared at my cell door, gripping a tall, spear-tipped halberd in one hand. His face, armor, and hands were coated in a fresh spray of blood that dripped from his chin and shoulder pauldrons.
“What, by all the Gods and Fates, is happening out th—?” My voice died in my throat as two other young men stepped in to flank him on either side.
With long, scruffy red hair tied in a ragged braid down his back and his squared, boyish face sporting that mischievous grin—I knew Reigh right away. He wore a similar spray of crimson across his body and there were dark, heavy circles under his light amber eyes.
But the man on Aedan’s other side, standing a head taller than the other two, just the sight of him made my heart stop. His eyes caught the torchlight like aquamarines and his dark silver hair framed his strong jawline as it fell to his shoulders. I could just make out the faint line of a scar running from his left brow, over his eye, to the top of his cheek. There was something undeniably forthright about the way he stared back at me, and it put a warm shiver down my spine.
I knew that face, that scar, that look.
My legs buckled, and I crumpled to my knees. I couldn’t hold back the sobs. Jaevid Broadfeather had answered my prayer.
“I couldn’t get the key to the door. Argonox guarded it too closely.” Aedan looked to the others, his face blanched with frantic terror. “Can you open it with your magic?”
“Move,” Reigh growled as he shoved the other two out of his way. He stepped forward to grip the bars of my cell, his face twitching and his jaw clenching.
“Reigh.” Jaevid’s voice rang with concern. “You’ve pushed yourself too much already. If you do much more, you’ll—”
“Back off! I didn’t come all the way here just to leave her in this hellhole because of a stupid locked door.” Reigh squeezed his eyes shut. “I can do this.” His body shook hard, convulsing with his spine curled and his head thrown back. He let out a cry like the howl of a beast, and the places where his hands touched the bars began to swirl with black smoke. The iron shriveled, decaying and rusting in a matter of seconds. The rot spread until it consumed the entire cell door, leaving nothing but a heap of ruddy ash on the floor between us.
Reigh jerked back suddenly, bearing pointed canine teeth like an animal as the colored rings of his eyes glowed like red coals in the gloom. He doubled over, wheezing and gasping for shallow breaths as though he were in pain. But when Jaevid rushed over to help, he cringed away and snarled. “Don’t touch me! I’m fine.”
Jaevid’s fractured expression suggested otherwise.
“Miss Jenna, we have to hurry. They’re closing down the tunnels and barring the exits as we speak.” Aedan crouched down beside me, his brow drawn into a look of worry. “Can you walk?”
“She has two broken ribs, a fractured jaw and ankle, several infected cuts, and a concussion,” Jaevid said firmly as he moved toward me, purpose in every step. “Not to mention she’s severely dehydrated. She’s lucky she can stand at all. I’ll carry her.”
“C-Can’t let me have one moment to look awesome, can you? Just had to show off your divine power, too?” Reigh wheezed.
Jaevid didn’t retort. Before I could object, he swept under my back and knees, lifting me easily into his arms. He carried me out of that putrid Tibran cell as though I were something delicate.
I choked on my words, unable to keep the tears at bay. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged myself against him. I was terrified it wasn’t real—that I’d wake up and find myself back in that cell again. But every frantic breath filled my nose with his earthy smell. With my head against the crook of his neck, I could hear his heart beating. Jaevid Broadfeather was holding me. Everything about him was strong, warm, and alive.
He was … real.
Reigh was standing upright again, although his face was as pasty as a corpse and the circles under his eyes seemed darker than ever. “Okay, Lamb, where’s Aubren?”
Aedan opened his mouth to reply.
“Phillip.” My voice was so weak, I wasn’t sure anyone would hear me, so I gripped the front of Jaevid’s tunic to get his attention. “P-Please. Find him.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding. Phillip is here, too?” Reigh’s eyes went wide before shooting Aedan a scorching glare.
He swallowed. “I … well, technically, yes, but—”
“And when, exactly, were you planning on sharing that with the rest of us?” Reigh shouted in his face.
Aedan shrank back, his strange elven eyes flicking anxiously back and forth between the rest of us. “I-I didn’t think it mattered. The message only mentioned the prince and princess. And that man is … he’s not … I mean … ”
“Out with it!” Reigh bellowed again.
“He’s not himself anymore.” Aedan’s voice trembled with fear. “They took him into the containment block for the final phase of the switchbeast transition. He’s been inside a whole day. There might not be anything human left of him by now.”
My stomach wrenched, but I had nothing to throw up. “Please, gods, we can’t leave him here,” I begged. “I won’t abandon him!”
“We don’t have time to get them both,” Aedan urged. “Prince Aubren is being held in solitary detainment on the first floor. The fastest way there is the freight elevator, but the longer we wait, the more soldiers will be down there to reinforce the primary entrance into the tower. We must go now!”
The constant wail of the battle horn crushed down over us like a stone fist, filling the silence. My heart stopped and started, threatening to let the panic kill me.
“Go,” Reigh murmured suddenly. “Get Phillip. He’s closer by, isn’t he?”
Aedan’s jaw went slack. “Yes, but—”
“You two find Phillip and take him and Jenna out of here through the roof exit.”
“And what about you?” Jaevid’s jaw hardened, his eyes burning with quiet rage.
“I’ll stick to the original plan and get Aubren. I’m not leaving my brother here.”
From across the dim corridor, the two young men locked gazes. The air was practically sizzling with raw tension as they stared one another down like a pair of angry wolves.
“You could die,” Jaevid warned.
Reigh smirked. “There are worse things than dying, especially for the Harbinger.” He glanced my way, his smile fading for an instant. His eyes flickered, searching mine, as though he wanted to say something. Then he winked and flashed a halfcocked grin that made my insides go numb. “Just make sure she makes it. Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”
Aedan led the way down the halls of Northwatch tower. We moved fast, but with extreme caution. Whenever a company of Tibran soldiers came close, Aedan signaled and Jaevid immediately ducked into the nearest alcove or doorway, clutching me against his chest. I clung to him, my body shaking out of control. If they found us, I wouldn’t be able to fight. I didn’t even know if I would be able to run. I was helpless and depending on him to get me out of here alive—a helplessness I hated. Breathless seconds ticked by and we waited for Aedan to whistle, signaling us to move again.
Meanwhile, a thousand questions buzzed through my head like a swarm of wasps. How was any of this possible? What had brought Jaevid back now? Would Reigh make it? Would we? Was my brother still alive? And Phillip … what had Argonox done to him? Would we make it to him in time?
All my racing thoughts stopped instantly as we rounded a corner into what had once been the roosting area of the tower, used to house dragons for the riders stationed here. Like everything else, the Tibrans had wasted no time repurposing it for their schemes. Now the stalls were sealed like cages, and through the bolted doors came the muffled snarls, growls, and cal
ls of animals I couldn’t identify. There was a strange, acrid smell mingling with the ambient stench of blood in the air.
Jaevid shuddered and came to a halt, his arms tightening around me as his expression skewed.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I had to know.
“These creatures.” He grimaced. “Something’s not right. They’re strange. Their presence feels almost human, but it isn’t. I can’t explain it.”
“Are you all right?”
His mouth twitched briefly into a halfhearted smile. “I’ll manage.”
“Here!” Aedan called to us. He was standing in front of one of the stall doors, tugging futilely at the heavy chain and padlock that had been put there to keep anyone from going in … or out.
Jaevid stooped long enough to put me gingerly back on my feet before he eyed the door. “You’re sure this is the one?”
“Without a doubt.” Aedan nodded. “Can you break the lock? Or maybe the chain?”
“I’m afraid corroding metal isn’t one of my talents,” he admitted as he eyed the large rolling door that sealed the stall from roof to floor. “Luckily, the rest of it seems to be made of wood. That, I can work with.”
“We should stand back,” Aedan warned as he grasped my arm. He tried to gently urge me to move away.
I shrugged him off. “No! I want to see! I have to know if Phillip is—”
“Miss Jenna, please.” His wild, bizarre elven eyes searched mine earnestly. “If the venom has overtaken him, your friend will most likely attack us. He won’t remember anything about who he was before. He will be one of them—a switchbeast—and they are incredibly fierce, especially when cornered.”
I struggled to steel myself. “I don’t care. I need to see him.”
A loud crack made us both turn. Jaevid stood before the massive wooden door, his hands stretched toward it. His jaw tensed. His eyes narrowed. He clenched his teeth and the palms of his hands began to glow with ethereal green light. The wooden boards of the door responded immediately. They groaned and swelled, beginning to bend and sprout leafy branches that twisted toward the ceiling. Jaevid parted the door right down the middle like a living curtain.
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