Unable to resist the urge now that Kal had brought it up, Lykor sifted through Aesar’s thoughts, living the past through his eyes.

As Kal’s rooms vanished around him, Lykor’s physical body tensed, seeing Vesryn across from him in Kyansari’s library, a century ago. But the coercion’s demands didn’t extend through time like this, moments passed and gone.

His awareness faded into Aesar’s memory—the day that started the beginning of the end.

CHAPTER 11

AESAR

A CENTURY AGO

Eyes sliding toward the hushed debate, Aesar glanced at his mother and Thalaesyn sequestered in a corner of the library. Framed by an expansive wall of windows that stretched the height of the research tower, their table overlooked Kyansari’s glass spires.

Attendants bustled around the queen, categorizing what she and Thalaesyn had determined to be helpful as they researched what had caused the infertility of their entire race. The pair had been studying for decades, organizing the archivists and investigating the affliction that evidently ran rampant across their realm.

Shamelessly sparing a glance toward the library’s atrium, Aesar briefly locked eyes with Kallyn. Heart abruptly banging against his ribs, he ripped his gaze away, clearing his throat.

The youngest in their guard, Kal—as he preferred—was hardly a quarter century older than Aesar and his twin. Despite his youth, Kal had advanced through the warrior’s ranks.

Considering the shadow Kal’s older half-brother, Elashor, cast in the court, their captain’s ambition came at no surprise. But Elashor’s influence with the king hadn’t secured Kal his position. Kal had set himself apart, training to be a weapons master on his own.

Aesar found the presence of their guards in the library more than a little excessive with the capital’s peace. Even the uncivilized humans didn’t risk crossing Alari’s closed borders.

Regardless, their presence was entirely Vesryn’s fault. The queen had assembled a contingent of their personal wardens years prior, thanks to his twin.

Vesryn had plucked every scorching pigeon from Kyansari’s skies with nets of force, shooing the entire corralled population of birds through a portal. Needless to say, the palace’s Winter Lunar Solstice that year was one the nobles weren’t likely to forget. The servants were still cleaning up feathers nearly a decade later.

Vesryn’s exaggerated sigh across from him had Aesar glancing at his twin, who was picking at his nails with a jeweled belt knife. Fully aware that Vesryn deliberately tried to elicit a response, Aesar ignored him.

His brother had yet another new pair of polished boots sprawled on the table, his life’s ambition seeming to be never wearing the same clothing twice. As if noticing his masked irritation, Vesryn’s eyes flicked to him.

Aesar’s attention inadvertently sauntered over his brother’s shoulder to their captain again. Arching a brow, Vesryn twisted around, glancing at Kal.

If you need a private corner to slip off to, Vesryn said through the bond, turning to face him with rowdy delight tugging at his mouth, the tenth level has an excellent alcove tucked away in that labyrinth of bookcases. You wouldn’t believe how effective those heavy curtains are at muffling sounds. He ran the blade’s edge under a nail, amusement rippling off of him. There’s a shelf at the perfect height for bending someone over. I discovered—

Aesar scowled and battled his mortification, his harsh retort cutting his brother off as he fired back his own response. That’s hardly appropriate for his position.

Are you implying you’re the one who’d rather be bent over? Vesryn chuckled when Aesar rolled his eyes. If you’re too shy, I’ll ask him on your behalf. I can’t handle these flirtatious looks for much longer. The tension between you two is so thick, it’s making my—

Throwing out a hand, Aesar punched out a pulse of force. He knocked Vesryn backward, sending him toppling over his chair.

Vesryn growled, picking himself up from the floor. “Are you finished nosing through your books yet?” He sheathed his blade irritably with a rasp of leather against steel. “I thought we were flying today.”

Aesar pointed at the tome open before him, tapping the picture.

Vesryn’s annoyance vanished, eyes lighting up before he rushed to his side. “Did you find more pictures of harpies?”

Aesar swatted Vesryn’s wandering hands away from volume. He switched to communicating through the bond, not wanting to attract attention from his twin’s lack of modesty. I’m not showing you drawings like that again since you can’t stop jerking off to those books.

I’m offended that you think I require books to help with that. Vesryn’s attention darted back to Kal. It’s your fault, anyway. Your insistence to maintain this stubborn celibacy simply because he’s our guard is driving me—

Aesar rubbed his forehead, speaking out loud to interrupt his twin. “This is more interesting than your concerning fixation on harpies.”

Aesar glanced at his mother and Thalaesyn, who were still preoccupied with their quiet conversation. He lowered his voice anyway, directing his brother’s attention back to the volume. “This tome has me questioning the myth of dragons—I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

His twin retained his excitement despite the absence of those fabled female shapeshifters. Leaning forward, Vesryn trailed his fingers over the faded picture of a black dragon that appeared to be chained to the ground.

Vesryn tilted his head. “What’s wrong with it?”

Aesar pointed to depicted waves of glimmering light. “I’m not sure, but it looks shackled by some type of magic.” He assumed it was Essence connecting the dragon to the Aelfyn female holding a glowing prism above her head.

As his twin peered closer, Aesar sensed Vesryn’s puzzlement through the bond. “Does the crystal she’s holding look like the Heart of Stars to you?”

A thrum of energy had Aesar’s attention whipping to the library’s entrance. In radiant white robes outlined by silver threads, King Galaeryn swept into the atrium, conversing with General Elashor. Aesar could only assume they were discussing the pressures from the council, as they always did. Divided by the prospect of diluting elven blood, discussions of intermingling with the humans to preserve their race had been the only topic in the palace for decades.

Aesar nudged his twin. “Let’s ask our sire about this—he knows everything.”

Pushing back from the table, Aesar nearly dropped the tome in his enthusiasm to discover what the king knew about dragons. Following closely, Vesryn’s boots clipped his heels.

Essence-infused gems studded in the king’s ears splashed rings of light as he turned from his exchange with Elashor. Their sire’s brows rose as they approached him, a beam of sun glancing off of his silver hair. “I had hoped you two wouldn’t follow in your mother’s footsteps. Surely there’s a better use for your time than lurking among the shelves.”

Before Aesar could voice a defensive response about how the elves’ survival could very well depend on the queen’s research, Vesryn interjected. “As soon as you can answer Aesar’s question about dragons, we’re flying.” Vesryn shot him a glower. “Naru and Trella have been restless since they fledged.”

The king’s jade eyes hooked on the open volume in Aesar’s hands before darting to Elashor.

After that, Aesar’s memories were a blur. He didn’t even register the lash of magic ripping the tome from his fingertips before darkness erupted from his sire.

Shadows engulfed the library, blocking out the sun spilling in through the windows as rending cleaved the air. Launched back with a blast of force, Aesar landed halfway across the atrium, punched to the ground. Air whooshed out of Vesryn, crashing to the marbled floor beside him.

A wave of pressure pinned them to the ground. Aesar’s panicked thoughts collided with his twin’s as the library attendants screamed, the room crumbling around them.

The darkness receded nearly as fast as it had appeared. Light reentered the chambers as scattered papers fluttered like falling leaves. Vesryn had thrown himself nearly on top of him, acting like an anchor in a storm. They both were bound to the floor, prisoners to the king’s shadows.

Blade unsheathed—something Aesar had never witnessed before outside of sparring—Kal had somehow reacted to position himself in front of them. As if he could challenge both Elashor and the king. If Kal had fabricated a shield, the king’s rending had sliced through the ward, claiming him as a hostage too.

Aesar’s mind darted to Vesryn’s. His brother’s fear clashed against his through the bond. Kal drew his sword on the king. A frantic terror bludgeoned his chest. Aesar’s hearing droned to a muted buzz as he tried and failed to summon his power. Essence sputtered like a guttering flame as he struggled uselessly in the rending bind, unable to stand.

Galaeryn’s wild eyes rampaged around the atrium. He sneered, dividing a look between the queen and Thalaesyn, now on their feet, surrounded by their own shields. Their mother’s eyes blazed with wrath as her gaze landed on them incapacitated on the ground.

The king had spared nothing, tearing apart the entire library. Shelves lay broken on the floor, along with countless books ripped off the walls. Aesar’s eyes popped, his stomach pooling with dread. His sire had even shattered the windows, scattering glass everywhere.

Why did he do this? he asked Vesryn as silence encased the room.

The snowstorm of papers didn’t have time to settle before the king spun on his heel, stalking out of the library with Elashor trailing behind, clinging like a shadow.

CHAPTER 12

LYKOR