Page 203 of Severed Heir

She spun, giggling, and pointed. “That one.”

Archer’s smile was soft. “The star of Severyn has a nice ring to it.”

The girl tugged on my hand. “Can I see your flamey?”

I bent closer, brushing her cheek. “My fire? What would you like to see?”

“A dragon in the stars. Or… a flower.”

“A flower,” I said. I lifted my hand, and flame shimmered skyward, unfurling into the shape of a glowing hellebore. Then, with a grin, I drew a dragon beside it. Or tried to. It sort oflookedlike a dragon… maybe more like a stick-figure beast with wings.

She gasped anyway. “My sister rides a wyvern!”

Her smile. Her silver hair. The way her lashes framed a gray-flecked gaze. Something twisted inside me. I had seen those eyes before in an academy bunk, in a war camp, even when she hovered over me cursing.

She looked like Antonia.

“Who’s your sister?” I asked, voice soft.

The girl glanced up. “Tonia. She’s a guard.”

My breath caught.

“She’s also my friend,” I said quietly. Antonia might have disagreed with that. She had only granted me three hours, but it had meant something. And I wasn’t letting it go.

“Really?” The girl’s silver-flecked eyes widened, awestruck.

“Yes. She’s powerful.”

Archer knelt beside her. “Selna, one day, you’ll ride a dragon.”

She blushed, whispered something I couldn’t make out, then bolted across the square toward a woman I assumed was her mother.

I turned to him, squinting. “Warn me next time I find out you’re great with children. Gods.”

He stood, a faint smile playing on his lips as his arms slipped around my waist. “The child ran away from me.”

“That’s beside the point.”

His smile faded. “Why didn’t you tell me you were still holding the shield?”

“Barely,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to let go.”

“You’ve guarded my realm better than I ever have,” he murmured. “Wrathi doesn’t deserve you. But it needs you.”

“You still have to bond with a dragon,” I said, trying for lightness. “No one will ever compare to Ciaran.”

His voice broke. “It’ll be the second hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

I looked up at him. “And the first?”

He hesitated. “Severing our bond.”

I swallowed. “Where is she?”

“Waiting,” he said. “For her next rider.”

“It feels wrong.” I looked into his face, searching. “What did they do to you?” My voice barely carried.

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