Chapter 34

Kaelan

Hanna emerged from an archway, her figure cutting a stark contrast against the cold, gray stones of the castle. ”Where are you going?”

Her voice was sharp, angry. I bristled.

Then her features softened, molding into an expression of playful mischief. ”You”re not sneaking off without me, are you?”

”Of course not. I was looking for you. We need to escape to Caer Far.”

“Escape?” she murmured. “Kaelan, there’s a terrible toxic fog outside. We’re trapped here.”

I shook my head. A toxic fog? “We’re in danger. I’d rather take my chances with the fog.”

She stepped closer to loop her arms around my neck. ”Why Caer Far, my love?”

My love? Hanna usually used other words for me.

“It’s Thorne’s home,” I said.

The warmth of her embrace lingered as she pulled away, but a calculating glint surfaced in those beautiful blue eyes.

”You think Caer Far will be your sanctuary?” Hanna blurred, and I caught a glimpse of Seraphine’s face. I froze, trying to play along while I made sense of what to do next. “Tell me why?”

I couldn’t let her know I had that mental link with Thorne. Maybe he was the only way I could hold on.

She mused aloud, her voice taking on a sing-song quality that sent chills down my spine. ”Because of Thorne?”

“Yes,” I said, not wanting to reveal that Thorne’s family would help me with the fog of confusion that had settled on me.

”Sweet Kaelan,” she cooed, tracing a fingertip along my jaw. ”Did he manage to reach you through your bond? It won”t matter soon. You”ll forget all about it...” The finality in her voice was like the closing of a door.

She turned and began to walk away.

“Forget what?” I called after her.

But she was gone.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed as I wandered the castle. I traced the same pathways over and over, until a harsh man’s voice rising from a nearby room rooted me in place.

My heart raced at his angry tone. Then I realized it was my father, and that was why I had frozen; I was too familiar with his anger and what it meant for me.

“You need to stop the fog, Seraphine. I can’t be trapped here.”

“Be patient, Edric. Your sacrifice will allow me to control where my mother attacks.” There was a smile in her voice. “Can you imagine how panicked she must be, with her monsters under my control?”

“I can,” he said dryly. “And I can imagine what she’s plotting for us both.”

“Oh.” Her voice was pouty. “You aren’t certain that I can win?”

Edric didn’t bother to answer.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll clear a path for you, if you do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Have the protections on Caer Far taken down.”

There was a long, dark pause.

“Why? My people will have questions?—”

“Don’t let them question you, Edric. You’re king. Thanks to me, you’ll stay king.”

I backed away down the hall. I had to remember what I’d just heard. I had to find a way to warn Thorne so he could protect his home.

And then a whisper startled me.

Then two girls were running to me. I didn’t recognize them, and my hand went to reach for a hilt—that wasn’t there. My hand closed on empty air.

But they stopped abruptly, looks of horror washing across their faces. They kept their distance as the tall, curly-haired one said slowly, “Kaelan. It’s Jaia.”

“I know,” I lied.

“And Azora,” the small one said. “We’re your friends. ”Come on, we have to get you out of here.”

Her hands trembled, but her eyes were resolute.

I’d seen that look before. It felt familiar, like a shadow of a memory I was reliving, and a sense of protectiveness washed through me.

And it broke through the enchantment’s hold.

Without hesitation, I pulled them both into an embrace. They were cautious, then melted against me, hugging me back hard.

”My little sisters.”

They exchanged a look. I had the feeling I’d never have called them that typically, when I wasn”t drunk on some enchantment.

They weren”t really my blood, but after years of battle and hardships, they might as well be. “How did you get here?”

“It was a journey,” Jaia said. “You owe me.”

I frowned at her. It was such a vague answer, and given the choking fog Seraphine had us under…

I had to wonder if this was really Jaia and Azora, or just another tormenting illusion. ”Let”s go, then. We have to leave.”

That would be the test. If they were really my friends, they would help me escape.

And if not… I’d tried to avoid violence because I was afraid I’d make the wrong choice. But if I knew for certain… I could kill them, take their weapons, be ready to protect Hanna.

We slipped through the dim corridors. Azora moved ahead, quick and silent; no one ever saw how capable and dangerous she was.

Azora suddenly swiveled on her heel and walking backward, asked, ”Remember the three-headed monster we killed?”

The memory rose from the back of my mind. ”How could I forget? You two have never stopped arguing about who took down the second head.”

”Because it was obviously me,” Azora threw back over her shoulder with mock indignation.

”Sure, if ”obviously” means not at all,” Jaia shot back.

“I remember fighting together,” I said, trying to hold onto that memory.

Because even if they weren’t real… our past was. I had friends I could trust. Azora, Jaia, Thorne, Dare. Hanna. Their faces flickered by in my memory, each of them anchoring me to reality.

“We”re still fighting,” Jaia said. “Together, right? Don’t give up.”

Her words anchored me, kept me tethered to the here and now. But as we approached a door, a thick, swirling mist seeped inside.

I moved to the window instead, looking through. The toxic fog had grown dense, a deadly blanket smothering the landscape. It clung to everything, promising a slow paralysis and a sleep from which there would be no waking.

“It’s okay,” Azora told me gently, laying a hand on my arm. “We didn’t come without a plan.”

“Do we ever come without a plan?” Jaia asked me with a smile. “We’ve got a shield to get through the fog.”

“Kaelan!”

We all spun to face the girl who had just run up behind us, her chest heaving.

There she was, Hanna, with her strawberry-blond hair and concerned eyes. Relief flooded me. My wife. My strength.

Even before Jaia bristled beside me and said, “Seraphine. You’ve taken on a prettier face, I see.”

Hanna’s teeth parted in a smile, but it wasn’t Hanna’s smile. My gut twisted.

“You think you’re a warrior equal to any of the men, don’t you, Jaia?” she mocked. “But you still fall back on insulting my appearance because you’re forever a little girl on the inside.”

”Seraphine.” I spat her name, trying to tie it to her face, to keep from having her face blur again into Hanna’s.

”Kaelan,” she cooed. Her mischievous features twisted into Seraphine”s smirk, her eyes gleaming with malice.

Then, as if the spell had regained its hold, Hanna”s face returned, her expression wounded, her eyes brimming with tears. ”What”s wrong? Kaelan, why were you trying to abandon me? Haven’t you done that enough?”

I clenched my fists, feeling another lurch of confusion. “Jaia…” I gritted.

I knew the woman I loved, and this—this was not her.

Unless…

“It’s not Hanna,” she told me gently.

“It’s not Jaia!” Hanna snapped back.

I looked at Azora, who could never lie to me, unlike Jaia. Azora’s face was etched in pain, and it took me a second to understand.

She hurt for me.

A yelp split the air, accompanied with a blur of motion. My gaze snapped to where Jaia and Hanna stumbled, locked together.

”Kaelan, help me,” Hanna pleaded, her voice breaking with a tremor that tugged at my heartstrings. Her eyes, wide and shimmering with unshed tears, locked onto mine, a silent plea echoing in their depths. “Protect me!”

“Don’t,” Azora’s voice was sharp with fear. “She’s lying. She’s pretending Jaia attacked her…”

”Stay back,” I warned them, my voice rough. I couldn”t—wouldn”t—let Seraphine”s trickery use me against the ones I cared about.

With a surge of willpower, I embraced the shift. My wings unfurled with a powerful snap, and my tail whipped out, cracking open the door.

”Kaelan!” Jaia called.

Hanna—no, Seraphine—stared up at me, her act faltering as she faced the dragon I”d become. Her eyes held a flicker of uncertainty.

Without another word, I grasped her in my talons and rose into the green cloud that choked the sky.