What are we going to do? Rhett grumbled with frustration within his dragon’s mind.

  Silas had been flying north for several hours, but neither had a clear plan for what to do next. Ever since leaving Ruggeweyn, they had been trying to come up with something—anything—that would allow them to take back Jux without suffering catastrophic losses.

  But so far, nothing seemed like a suitable idea.

  Silas could fly straight to Jux now, setting Drurus’s army ablaze where they stood. His fire alone could turn the battlefield to ash. But that kind of attack would put countless innocent people in harm’s way. There was also no telling what kind of weapons Drurus had brought with them—or if they had designed anything new to kill dragons.

  Every kingdom had something tucked away for defense against them. Sylvaris, for instance, had giant crossbows mounted on the towers outside of Casshire. Steel bolts coated in poisonous oil would be shot out at any enemy dragon, slowing them down. However, if Drurus had been planning this war for over a year, then there was no telling what kinds of weapons they could come up with during that time.

  I think either way we look at this, Silas said after a long silence. We need more soldiers. Otherwise, we’re stretching our forces too thin and risking too many lives.

  Rhett exhaled loudly. As much as he hated to admit it, his dragon was right. Without reinforcements, their plan to retake Jux was dead in the water. But abandoning the city wasn’t an option either. It was the biggest city on the border between Sylvaris and Drurus, and more importantly, it was home to hundreds of his people. People who had no doubt fought back when the foreign army began its invasion. People who were likely suffering right now…

  And, if Drurus’s army were allowed to go deeper into Sylvaris, then the bloodshed would only continue.

  So… where do we get more soldiers? Rhett questioned grimly. We’ve already mobilized every able-bodied fighter across the kingdom, and Mathias made it abundantly clear that Vespera’s men aren’t to be put on the front lines.

  Silas didn’t answer right away. He was thinking, scanning the horizon as he flew. They needed an ally—someone nearby who might be willing to fight with them. Then, as the dragon looked to the west, an idea came to him.

  What about Riven?

  Riven… The kingdom where their mother was born. Up until recently, their uncle, Yasir, had ruled as king. But six months ago, he stepped down, passing the ring onto his son, Zayn. It had been a long time since Rhett had seen Yasir—not since Yasmin’s death. But Zayn? He was almost certain he hadn’t seen his cousin since they were children.

  Growing up, he hadn’t visited Riven often. In fact, he could count the visits on one hand.

  Do you think Zayn would even consider helping us? Rhett questioned hesitantly.

  Flying all the way to Siphia, Riven’s capital, would delay his arrival to Odlem by at least two days. That was two more days where Tristan and their army risked being spotted before they could reach Walford. Time was not on their side.

  I don’t really see any other options, Silas countered, already shifting his wings to change course. Unless you have a better suggestion?

  Rhett scowled, knowing there wasn’t one.

  Just fly, you stupid lizard… he muttered, resigned to the fact that they had no other choice.

  They flew through the night and into the early morning. By midday, Siphia finally came into view.

  The capital of Riven was built along the southern edge of the Tislow Expanse, a large lake that split the kingdom in half. The lake itself sat atop a plateau, with waterfalls on the southernmost edge that branched into two large rivers. Perched at the top of the falls was the royal palace, a structure made of white stone from the cliffs below and roofs the same blue as the water. Towers lined the outer walls, while tiered gardens stretched down partway along the waterfalls.

  As Silas soared over the city, horns blasted from the watchtowers below, announcing his arrival. The dragon’s gaze locked onto the palace, instantly finding the large circular window overlooking Siphia—the King’s Study.

  Shadows shifted behind the glass, watching as he approached. Rhett had no doubt that two of them were Zayn and Yasir. From there, they would be able to gauge whether the dragon flying toward them was a friend or foe.

  Rhett’s jaw tightened anxiously. What if Emmett had already reached out to them? What if Riven had already agreed to turn against him?

  But as Silas descended, landing in the front courtyard, no armed guards rushed out. No archers were waiting for him on the rooftops, and no one seemed upset about his arrival.

  Since Riven wasn’t greeting him with hostility, unlike Ruggeweyn, Silas felt comfortable enough to shift. As his body morphed from scales to flesh, Rhett reached into his bag, pulling out his clothes. He dressed quickly as a servant stepped out of the palace.

  “Greetings to His Majesty,” the man said with a deep bow. “Please accept my apologies for the lack of celebration upon your arrival. We were not expecting you.”

  “This was a last-minute decision,” Rhett replied, fastening the button on his trousers. “Is Zayn available? I need to speak with him.”

  “His Majesty and the Crown Father are expecting you upstairs,” the man nodded. “If you’ll follow me.”

  Rhett walked behind the servant, following him through the entrance hall and up the grand staircase. At the top, the servant stopped in front of a set of heavy double doors, pushing one open just enough to step inside.

  “His Majesty, King Zayn, and the Crown Father Yasir will see you now,” he announced before walking away.

  Rhett entered the room, immediately recognizing the two blonde men sitting inside. The younger man, Zayn, sat in the king’s chair behind the desk with a dark-haired child in his lap. The older man, Yasir, lounged on a nearby couch with one hand wrapped around a glass of wine while his other arm stretched over the back of the couch.

  “Cousin,” Zayn greeted. “What a surprise. Typically, kings don’t enter another dragon’s territory without advance notice.”

  “I would have written to you if I’d had the time,” Rhett admitted, stepping forward. “But I need your help.”

  “To fight against Emmett?” Zayn arched a brow.

  “How did you know about that?”

  “We received a letter from him two days ago,” Zayn answered as he pulled open a drawer and retrieved a rolled parchment. He glanced at it briefly before tossing it onto the desk. “Emmett requested our aid in fighting you.”

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  “He’s still alive?” Rhett murmured as his eyes went wide.

  “What do you mean, ‘is he still alive’?” Yasir questioned, sitting up straight as he set the glass aside.

  “My brother has been sick,” Rhett sighed before turning back to Zayn. He reached for the parchment hesitantly. “Can I read it?”

  Zayn exchanged a glance with his father before nodding. Rhett unrolled the letter, scanning it quickly.

  “Emmett has always been sick,” Yasir said as he stood to his feet, approaching the desk. “So what makes you question if he’s still alive?”

  Rhett’s expression fell before letting the letter fall onto the desk.

  “Because the last time I saw him, he was close to death.” He looked up, meeting Zayn’s gaze. “And that is neither his handwriting nor his signature.”

  Yasir exhaled loudly through his nose, crossing his arms.

  “All right,” he scowled impatiently. “Enough of these vague answers. What the hell is going on?”

  “You know how Emmett has always been cold?” Rhett inquired softly.

  “Yes,” Yasir nodded. “Because of his dragon’s mutation. Yasmin spent years searching for anyone who could help make things even remotely tolerable for him.”

  “Well, just over a year ago, things started to change. He didn’t seem cold anymore. At first, we thought it was just the winter—his health always improved then. But as the seasons passed, we realized he never got cold at all. In fact, he started running fevers for the first time in his life. And his temperament changed, too. He became irritable and paranoid.”

  “What did the healers say about this?” Yasir questioned with furrowed brows.

  “That’s the problem,” Rhett groaned. “By the time we realized something was wrong, he was already too far gone. He refused medical help and refused to speak to my father or me. We even reached out to Kenna to see what she thought.”

  “And?” Yasir pressed.

  “She recommended some treatments, suggested healers from other kingdoms,” Rhett answered with clenched fists. “Not that any of it mattered. Because I don’t think it was an illness… I believe he was being poisoned.”

  Zayn stiffened, holding the child in his arms a little tighter.

  “Poisoned? By who?”

  “And how could Emmett’s dragon not burn it out?” Yasir added.

  “Because the poison suppressed Blaise,” Rhett murmured as steam began to seep from his shoulders.

  “Who would dare do that?” Yasir demanded in a low voice.

  “Cerys… Anwen… someone from Drurus,” Rhett replied angrily. “They are the ones who would benefit from his death.”

  Yasir glanced at the floor before turning toward his son.

  “I think you should send Omar out of the room.”

  “I agree,” Zayn murmured, shifting his attention to the boy in his lap. He gently lowered his head to meet the child’s gaze. “Omar, I need you to go find your mother and stay with her for a while.”

  “But you promised I could stay,” Omar pouted as he gripped onto his father’s sleeve.

  “I know, but we are about to discuss things you are too young to hear,” Zayn sighed, setting the boy down on his feet.

  “I am a dragon—not a child!”

  “Omar!” Yasir warned with a hiss.

  Before the boy could argue further, Rhett crouched down slightly.

  “Little prince,” he said gently. “There is a conversation I need to have with your grandfather and father. A discussion between kings.”

  “But Papa says I’ll be king one day,” the boy stated stubbornly.

  “That’s right,” Rhett nodded. “And when that time comes, I’ll speak to you instead of them. Alright?”

  Omar hesitated, glancing between the three men before sighing dramatically.

  “I guess that’s fine,” he muttered, dragging his feet as he walked toward the door.

  Once he was gone, Yasir turned back to Rhett.

  “Now, why blame Drurus? Do you have proof?”

  “When Emmett left, he wasn’t doing well—at all,” Rhett stated as he leaned against the desk. “He barely knew who I was, couldn’t remember Blaise, and kept asking for Mother—like she was still alive. It was as if he had regressed to being a child again. And physically? He looked like he was at death’s door: skin and bones. He couldn’t even stand without someone holding him up. I swear to you, he was too weak to even lift a cup of water on his own. So, tell me how that man—who could barely breathe—goes from being bedbound to suddenly wanting a throne and declaring war against me?”

  “He doesn’t,” Zayn interjected with a frown. “Not without someone pulling the strings.”

  “Exactly,” Rhett gestured toward the letter on the desk. “And what’s conveniently left out of this is that Drurus is backing my brother’s claim. If they win, and Emmett dies in the process, then that leaves the perfect opportunity for Arnav to step in and take the throne.”

  “Alright,” Yasir said as he ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s say this…elaborate theory is correct. What exactly do you want from us? Because you and Julian must be very desperate to come to Riven for help.”

  “You’re right,” Rhett admitted without hesitation, surprising Yasir and Zayn. “I am desperate. Drurus has already crossed my borders. They’ve taken over Jux and Walford. I don’t have enough soldiers to push them back, which means more of my people—my kingdom—are at risk with every day that passes. And worst of all? I don’t even know if my brother is alive or dead. At the very least, with my father, I got closure when they sent me back his head.”

  For a few seconds, neither Yasir nor Zayn spoke. They only stared at him with furrowed brows, processing what he just said. Finally, the older man broke the silence.

  “Arnav killed Julian?”

  “Someone did,” Rhett whispered as he looked to the floor. His breathing became uneven, but he forced himself to keep his composure. “All my father wanted to do… was bring Emmett home.”

  “Alright, I’ve heard enough,” Zayn declared, rising abruptly from his chair. “We’ll help you in your fight against Drurus.”

  “Son,” Yasir warned. “Shouldn’t we discuss this first?”

  “We already have!” Zayn snapped, putting his hands firmly on the desk. “The moment we received the letter from Emmett, we knew something was off! So why sit here arguing about it? If the tables were turned and your head had been sent back to me, I’d already be flying into Dunstead, ready to tear the city down—brick by bloody brick.”

  “Honestly, that was my initial plan,” Rhett interjected.

  Yasir sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. Finally, he turned and walked over to a large bookshelf against a far wall, looking through a row of maps.

  “Fine. You’re right,” he muttered. “No sense wasting time debating what we already know to be true.”

  He pulled out a large parchment and unrolled it onto the desk, revealing a map of the kingdoms north of the Sea of Bain.

  “So tell us—what are your plans? If Drurus has already taken over much of your northwestern cities, how will you take them back? And what kind of help are you getting from Vespera?”

  “How did you—”

  “Look. I’m old, not stupid,” Yasir interrupted, tapping a finger on the map. “You can’t begin to fathom how many times my sister complained about you treating Kenna more like a mother than her. But that’s beside the point. How many of her sons are fighting with you?”

  “Only Jesup… barely,” Rhett admitted. “Kenna was reluctant to send any of them to war, and the fact that I even have Jesup is more than she was willing to give. Matteo, Ashur, and Noah are serving as messengers between our kingdoms, but beyond that? Mathias only gave me a couple hundred men who can fight, not on the frontlines but as a last line of defense.”

  “But the odds don’t seem to be in my favor,” he continued with a frown. “I am still several hundred men short. Not only that, but it‘ll be two dragons against Arnav’s four.”

  “Make that three,” Yasir corrected with a smirk. “I’ll be fighting, too.”

  “Might as well make it four,” Zayn added.

  Rhett stared at them in disbelief.

  “You can’t be serious. Both of you want to fight? Why?”

  “Because this is a chance to reclaim what was stolen from us,” Zayn answered as he pointed to the map, tracing a line with his finger. “Drurus took Riven’s lands hundreds of years ago, and this war gives us the perfect opportunity to take them back. Originally, our kingdom stretched from the Sea of Bain, across the western tail of the Nocktals, and up to Lake Velmora. My father and I will go there. While you engage Drurus’s army from the east, we’ll attack from the south and catch them off guard.”

  “As much as I support you reclaiming your lost lands, that doesn’t change my main issue,” Rhett said, crossing his arms. “I still lack the manpower to take Jux.”

  “Do you have enough men to take Walford?” Yasir inquired.

  “I believe so,” Rhett nodded, though he wasn’t sure why Yasir was shifting the focus away from Jux. “From my last flyover, Walford didn’t appear to have more than a hundred and fifty men stationed there.”

  “Perfect.” Yasir leaned over the table, tapping a spot near the mountains. “Here’s what we do. We send two hundred men through the Ironclaw Pass, which connects Riven to the borders of Drurus and Sylvaris. You said you have three dragon princes serving as messengers? Send one to meet our forces at the pass the night before you push on Jux. By the time your men reach the city, mine will be striking from the rear. You begin the battle, and we take them by surprise. Once Jux is secured, we push north and drive the rest of them out of your kingdom.”

  “No need,” Rhett interjected with a shake of his head. “My men from Onlon are already in Vespera, marching toward the edge of the Lotus Marshlands. They, along with Jesup and his forces, will head south through Plymmyswoode toward Jux.”

  “Then does the two hundred men we’re offering you sound like enough?” Zayn questioned as he leaned forward.

  “It’s more than enough,” Rhett said with a nod. “Thank you. But… is land all you want in return for your help?”

  “Most definitely,” Zayn replied with a satisfied smile. “The people of Riven will sing our names for generations for restoring the kingdom to its former glory. And unless Drurus has completely ruined it, the land is rich—good for farming, livestock, trade.”

  “If you’re sure, then so be it,” Rhett stated as he reached out, shaking Zayn and Yasir’s hands.