Page 25 of Daring the Drakarn Warrior Lord
She wouldn't.
Would she?
"And your mate will do as commanded," Rath said, his tone casual. Too casual.
The words hung in the air.
Silence stretched between the three of us, heavy and damning.
Then Nyx turned his head, slow and steady, to look at me. His expression said everything his mouth didn't need to.
"Hells," I breathed.
Before Rath could make another jab, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside. A young messenger, barely past his novice trials, skidded to a halt at the sanctum entrance. His chest heaved, scales flushed dark with exertion. He had his wings heldin tight to his back and looked a bit overawed to be in front of me.
"Warrior Lord." He bowed, nearly losing his balance. "A message from Commander Khorlar."
My spine locked. Khorlar wouldn't send a messenger unless something had gone catastrophically wrong. Was it Ignarath? We didn't war over the sacred holidays, but I wouldn't put any treachery past them.
"Speak."
The youth straightened, held out a slip of paper. His claws trembled as he extended it. "The Commander said it was urgent, my lord. That you'd want to know immediately."
Khorlar's sharp script cut across the page in three damning lines:Your mate joined the blessing ceremony with the other warriors. She's entering the Skalanth.
Ice flooded my veins.
"No." The word came out flat. "No, she wouldn't."
Gods damn it.
"Hells." I crumpled the message in my fist. "Damnation!"
The messenger flinched back.
Rath moved closer, reading over my shoulder. His expression shifted. Confusion, then understanding, then grim resignation.
"Well," he said carefully, "at least now we know where she is."
The truth washed over me. Terra was entering the Skalanth. Despite what we'd said. Despite my warnings. Soon, she'd be in the maze of corridors and traps.
My mate was competing against warriors twice her size with advantages she'd never possess.
I was moving before I'd made the conscious decision, wings spreading, ready to launch myself toward the exit.
Rath's hand caught my shoulder. "Don't."
"She's out there."
"I know."
"Alone. Vulnerable. Facing gods know what obstacles and warriors who already hate her." My voice came out as a snarl, barely recognizable. "I'm not standing here while she risks her neck for their approval."
"Yes, you are." Rath's grip tightened, claws digging in just enough to ground me. "Because abandoning your post one hour before the trials begin will give Karyseth exactly what she wants."
"I don't give a single damn about what Karyseth wants."
"You should." Rath moved to block my path entirely, his bulk filling the space between me and the exit. "Those yellow-robed priests are everywhere today. Watching. Waiting for any excuse to claim you're unfit to lead. That your human has messed up your judgment. That you value her over Scalvaris itself."
