“I don’t have any other choice, sir,” he said, watching Harlow’s cheek twitch at the words. “I’ve seen what chaos and fear can do. And I love this country—I love my family and the people here. It seems to me that if I want them to be safe, the only choice I have is to protect this city from threats. Whether those come from the inside or outside.”
He looked away from Harlow, eyes catching on the bone as he tapped it on the desk in a perfect syncopated rhythm.
“I will do anything and everything to protect the people of Suvi,” he continued. “I don’t think I have a choice but to do so when I see the city suffering.” The words weren’t a lie. Perhaps that was why Harlow only nodded, a gentle smile on his face.
And then it disappeared.
“You are friends with Junior Major Ocon?”
Ian’s stomach dropped, though his mask stayed firmly in place. “I don’t know if friendship is the correct word,” he said. “His brother and I were close.”
“I remember. You and Leon joined the king’s men together.”
Ian swallowed back the lump in his throat. “We did, yes.” He didn’t hide his discomfort. He’d learned over the sun cycles, it was best not to fake emotions, but rather to use them. “I always felt guilty after his death. The day the bomb went off, I was there. I didn’t see anything wrong. I didn’t catch the resistance, and Leon died because of that. So, I’ve tried to watch over the boy.”
Harlow nodded. “You know, my great-grandfather worked in the palace. He worked for the king’sgrandfather.”
“I didn’t know, sir,” Ian said, unsure where this story was going.
“He was serving dinner the night of the uprising, when the Dragonborn tried to assassinate the king over peace talks. After it was all over, they said he had a chance of killing one of the Dragonborn terrorists—he’d had a butcher knife from the kitchens and he was a large man, larger than me. He let that terrorist escape instead. He was tried and executed for his crimes, leaving my great-grandmother alone to raise their three children.”
Ian swallowed. Harlow’s eyes were burning with such hatred for a betrayal that took place before he was born.
“My family carried the weight of his crimes for sun cycles. I entered the king’s men bearing his name until I wiped the city of his memory through my own deeds. I made sure that people knew I didn’t tolerate disloyalty.”
“Of course not, sir,” Ian said. His lips were numb, his chest aching with the pressure of keeping his breathing steady.
“I received troubling news from General Luna,” he said, suddenly pulling the bone back, pressing it against his chest as if it were a weapon.
Ian went pale. Fear thudded through his chest. “Sir?” he asked.
“We must find a way to control the dragons. Theywilldo what we say. As you said, we don’t have a choice but to protect this country from the threat they pose. The Dragonborn will destroy centuries of progress in their quest for power. I willnotlet that happen. That dragon in there will bow to my will. That is the only option.”
Ian’s fingertips tingled, and he tasted metal on his tongue.
What did you do, Fox?
Harlow opened his mouth and Ian waited, but the door snapped hard against the wall behind him, the entire wooden structure of the office shaking.
“Sir,” Junior Sergeant Graci said before Harlow even had a chance to snap at him about privacy and protocols. “You need to come see this. It’s the dragon. It’s started acting strange—it’s—just come see.”
Harlow crossed the room in two strides, the bone still clenched in his fist. He placed a firm handon Ian’s shoulder.
“We’ll finish this conversation later,” he said, and left with the junior sergeant.
Ian stared down at the bloody handprint Harlow had left on his shoulder. Dread coursed through his body as he followed them out, the handprint a physical weight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SOFIA
Sofia and Chalia scouted ahead, flying low along the snowy slopes, ducking into crevices and caves when they saw them, trying to find sufficient protection against the wind and snow. The sun was nearing its zenith when they found a cave tucked behind an outcrop of rocks. Sofia practically cried when she stepped inside, enveloped by the hot, damp air. It smelled of sulfur, but she didn’t care. She closed her eyes, savoring its heat. Sweat prickled along her brow, not from exertion but from the humidity in the air, and she thought of the rainforest. The cave was perfect. It wouldn’t matter that there was only a scattering of trees outside with which to build a fire. They’d be safe and warm here for as many days as they needed.
By the time she returned to the cave with the entire heat-starved group, the sun had set, and they were navigating by the moonlight. The tension of the day’s journey released as the others stepped into the cave and felt the heat of whatever hot spring hid away in the shadows. She hadn’t bothered to explore originally, but as they set up camp, she noticed a few dark tunnels reaching farther into the mountain at the back of the cave.
“Tomorrow, we’ll leave for the dragons’ nesting grounds,” Micael said, handing Sofia her ration of dried wolf meat and nuts. The meatwas a pleasurable mix of salty and smoky—so long as she ignored the stringy texture.
Sofia nodded, eyeing the rest of the group. Whatever arguments Clarita and the others had had seemed to have been worked out during their hike. Fox was silent beside her, and she felt his unease in the stiff set of his shoulders.