Ashlyn The council chamber doors slammed shut behind us, and the heat of Dragon Valley pressed in again. The air smelled of smoke and iron, heavy enough to cling in your lungs. None of us spoke at first. Gretorian’s words were still circling like vultures. Haden stalked ahead, jaw clenched, shoulders tight. Curt muttered curses under his breath as we started down the steps, sweat slicking his neck. Chase tried to whistle but it came out cracked, so he gave up. Lechandray stayed at my side, quiet, but her eyes kept cutting toward me like she was trying to read the thoughts I wasn’t ready to share. Sheetal stirred inside me, restless, and it made my skin itch. Consort’s soul. Gretorian’s voice kept echoing. I shoved it down. We were halfway down the first terrace when shadows dropped in front of us. Dragons. Not the massive ancients perched on the higher ledges. These were young, cocky, barely older than the kids spitting flames below. Four of them, all in partial shifts—scales g
AshlynWe hadn’t climbed into Dragon Valley to meet a dragon elder. We were here for the witch.The chamber smelled of smoke and molten stone. Shadows moved along the walls where dragons watched from higher terraces. But in the middle of the chamber wasn’t a scaled beast or an elder in dragon form. It was a man.No—something wearing the shape of one.He stood draped in robes of red and green that shimmered like scales when the firelight caught them. His lips were deep, blood-red, like he’d just drunk from a chalice. His eyes were snake-green, narrow pupils cutting through us. He smiled when we walked in, slow, deliberate, like he already owned the room.“Visitors,” he purred. His voice was velvet, low, and smooth enough to make my wolf tense. “The wolves come crawling to Dragon Valley.”Haden stepped forward before anyone else could answer. His shoulders were squared, his voice flat. “We were told there was a witch here. We need answers.”The man’s smile deepened. “Then you’ve found h
Ashlyn The ride down into Dragon Valley felt endless.Stone stretched above and around us, a ribcage of dark rock lit by veins of molten glow running through the walls. Heat pressed in thick, heavy, and alive. By the time we hit the bottom, the air was damp with steam, my shirt sticking to my skin.“Jesus Christ,” Chase muttered as the doors opened, fanning his collar. “It’s like walking into a sauna run by Satan.”“Shut up,” Lechandray said, elbowing him as we stepped out into the cavern.“No, really,” Chase carried on, ignoring her. “We’ve got wolves who live in forests, panthers in shiny-ass towers, lions strutting in domes, and dragons? Dragons decided ‘hey, let’s just live in Hell.’”I snorted before I could stop myself.Curt clapped him on the shoulder. “At least you won’t freeze to death.”“Yeah, but I might cook to death,” Chase shot back. “We’re all gonna end up like rotisserie chickens by the time this is done.”The cavern stretched wider the further we went, the ground dip
KravThe apartment was quiet when she stepped inside. I’d left the door unlocked for her. City lights bled through the wide glass windows, casting blue lines over the black stone floor. All the panels were dim, but they flickered awake when she walked in, reacting to her steps the way they did to mine.She hesitated at the door like she was crossing a line she couldn’t uncross. Her eyes roamed the kitchen counters, the wall of glass, the faint pulse of the floor veins. Finally, her gaze slid to me.I was leaning against the window frame, arms folded, watching her.“You came,” I said.“I shouldn’t have,” she answered softly.“Then why did you?”Her lips curved, not a smile but close. “Because I needed to.”I didn’t move until she set her bag down. When she did, the room seemed to shrink. My panther shifted under my skin, restless. My dragon stirred, warm and insistent. The Honshu in me knew her. It always had.I pushed off the frame and closed the space between us. She stood still as I
Keiral The lab was quiet except for the hum of the machines and the soft scratching of Mira’s pen as she logged samples. Dax leaned over one of the new spectrometers Panther City had shipped in last week, muttering to himself as he tried to balance the calibration. I was bent over a tray of roots I’d sourced from the market—hibiscus, dried sandalwood, ground wolfsbane. Everything smelled sharp, bitter, the kind of scents that clung to your clothes even after you left.Mira wrinkled her nose. “This stuff stinks.”“Then don’t breathe so hard,” I said, not looking up.“You’re in a mood,” she muttered.“I’m in a lab,” I corrected. “Which means you should shut up and work.”She grumbled but went back to it. Dax shot me a look that said he wanted to laugh but knew better. I’d been short all morning. Too many tests, too many files piling up, and too many reminders that I wasn’t home in the Valley.I was halfway through grinding sandalwood when the door hissed open.Ellan.He stepped inside
Keiral The conference room in Panther Tower was bright and modern. The walls were glass, the table steel, and a low hum from the ward anchors sat in the frame like an invisible warning. The far wall was a map screen waiting to be lit. The city stretched far below us.I arrived early with a tray of files. Krav was already there. He stood near the corner with a mug, reading from a slim folder. He didn’t pretend to notice me. He didn’t have to. His focus was on the room itself. He watched exits, he tracked shadows, and his eyes kept returning to the door.I set the files down and slid an envelope across the table.“Vitals,” I said. “Mira’s morning draw.”Krav opened it, scanned the numbers, and nodded. “Holding.”“Better than last night,” I said.“Good.” He folded the sheet into his folder and set it aside. His voice stayed flat, but I heard the relief buried under it. “She stays off the public floors.”“She knows,” I answered.The door opened and Ellan walked in with three of his counc