Page 96 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
Zandyr had to be alive. He had to. No Serpent could take down the mighty Dragon.
I told myself I was worried because of the uncertainty of my situation. I couldn’t stay here, not without Zandyr and whatever protection his name gave me. Would Adara help me escape back to the Protectorate? I wasn’t sure I’d be safer there.
One of the warriors on the gurney had darkening, raised veins crawling up his right leg from two large bite marks. My stomach roiled as the guilt beat at me.
“Cut it,” he hissed at the healers looming over him. “Cut it before it gets worse. Now!”
One of the healers raised the ax in his hands.
I ripped my gaze away as the warrior bit onto a piece of leather. The hiss of the ax through the air, the crunch of the bone, and his shattering roar ghosted after me in the crowd.
War.
This is what a Clan war looked like.
Loss and blood and stolen limbs.
In the distance, I spotted a familiar golden head, and I raced toward him like my life depended on it.
Ryker washed a wound on his arm, the water in the bucket quickly turning crimson.
“He lives, Lost Daughter,” he said before I even breathed his way.
He’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive.
“Where is he?”
“He heard The Calling as we were marching back,” Ryker said, not looking at me. “No Blood Brotherhood member can ignore it. It’s a miracle he fought it long enough to stay byour side to make sure every single one of us got back safely to Phoenix Peak.”
A Dragon always protected his own, above all else.
I sucked in a breath. “Zandyr finally found something to lose.”
“Some would say that whatever he’s found should have remained lost.” His glistening eyes slashed toward me before narrowing on a group of Citadel guards hurrying toward us.
Screw Ryker and his slights. I had no time for them today. “I heard some people die during the ritual.”
“He won’t,” Ryker said with absolute certainty. “He’s more likely to take down the entire mountain with his power than die on top of it.”
The hollowness waned, relief taking its place and making my traitorous heart soar.
Zandyr was alive.
He was coming back to Phoenix Peak.
The gods did show mercy occasionally.
“Does Allie know you’re here?” I asked, eager to change the subject when Ryker’s eyes seemed to notice the abrupt change in me.
His hand stilled in the water. “She knows I’m on a mission.”
So no, Allie did not know Ryker had been risking his life to protect his Clan’s borders. “What is it with you Brotherhood members and secrets?” I asked.
“They’ve kept us alive and thriving so far. Why stop?”
“Secrets can get people killed.”
“Or saved.”
