Page 40 of Severed Heir

“You’re in Demetria, Vera. The egg is mine.”

“Don’t call me Vera,” she snapped. “Perhaps we’ll let the dragon choose who is worthy when it hatches.”

“Fine,” the man growled. “But who’s going to care for the damn thing in the meantime?”

“Me,” she bit out. “I have motherly instincts.”

The man looked like he was debating whether to perch on the egg himself, like some territorial chicken.

Vera.

I only had seconds to memorize the sharp angle of her jaw and the emerald blaze in her eyes. The man beside her looked almost like Archer, with short dark curls and shadows coiling near his boots.

And the woman… she could’ve been my grandmother. This wasn’t just a memory. It washer, Veravine Almera.

The portal spat me out a moment later, boots slamming into frost-slick ground. Snow clung to my scorched sleeves. The cold hit fast and unforgiving, slicing through my clothes and stealing the breath from my lungs.

Before I could find my footing, something hard slammed into my side. “Kian?” I gasped.

He cursed violently, plunging his blistered hands into the snow. “Shit! How the hell did my brothers survive you and that damn flame? I think I’m going into shock.”

“You don’t put burns in snow, you idiot,” I snapped, grabbing his arm and yanking him upright. “Cold water only. It’s basic first-aid.”

“Well, sorry I’ve never been lit on fire and dumped into a frozen hellscape before,” he hissed. “This is a first for me, alright?”

I punched him weakly in the shoulder. He dramatically staggered back two steps, clutching his arm like I’d just run him through.

“Kian,” I said through chattering teeth, “you could’ve been killed. Why would you follow me?”

His hazel eyes burned through the falling snow as he shook the ice from his dark, cropped hair. “Because Archer told me to,” he said, voice rough. “He told me to protect you, you stubborn idiot.”

Steam rose from Kian’s palms where they pressed into the snow. “And despite what you think,” he muttered, voice ragged, “the snow feels better than your damn lectures on first aid.”

I turned away, heart pounding hard enough to drown out the cold. “I know he’s your brother, but you don’t always have to listen to him.”

“You forget the part where I carry shadows now,” Kian said flatly. “He’s not just my brother. He’s my ruler.”

“I’m angry at Archer,” I said softly. But it didn’t matter. Because part of me still reached for him anyway.

Kian exhaled slowly, then winced. “That looks painful,” he muttered. “The mark on your spine.”

“My mark?”

“Severyn!” Myla’s voice rang out over the snow. “Thank Gods ash leaves a trail, or I’d never have found you in this frozen valley.”

I straightened, keeping my back away from her. “Who else is coming?”

“Antonia, eventually. Fraser should be here any minute to help with the snow beasts.” Her gaze swept the barren landscape, wide with awe. “How far are we from your home?”

I hesitated. “About an hour.” Truthfully, I wasn’t sure. Father never let me wander this deep into the forest, but I wasn’t about to admit that.

Her eyes dropped to my scorched sleeves. “Sev... your clothes, are you okay?”

Before I could answer, Kian stepped forward. He slid his jacket off and draped it over my shoulders without a word.

“My shadow quell makes this weather bearable,” he said quietly. “You need it more than I do.”

“Kian—” I faltered. He’d seen the mark. He knew.

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