Jassyn shook his head, struggling to keep calm, but urgency laced his tone. “Vesryn, we need to leave.” The wind sped up, whipping curls in his face. Visibly closer, the Maelstrom’s eerie lightning crackled and flashed, ripping at the sea.

“He’s had enough,” Jassyn repeated, scalp prickling.

“I’ll do it myself,” Vesryn growled. He stalked toward the magister, shadows angry, swirling in his wake.

Jassyn threw himself between them, realizing that his cousin intended to sever the knots of coercion with the brutal force of rending. “You could damage his mind. Irrevocably.” Jassyn’s stomach pitched in a sea of dread, keenly aware of his inability to stop the prince. “We could lose everything the king tried to conceal, not to mention Magister Thalaesyn’s sanity.”

Vesryn shoved past Jassyn’s shoulder, shadows coiling around his hands as he grabbed for the magister. Jassyn had heartbeats to consider snatching one of his golden daggers to tether his cousin. If he could have his mentor restrain Vesryn like Serenna had with rending, they might jointly buy enough time to settle the prince.

Before he could roll a blade to his fingers, Jassyn’s body seized, a numbness zipping through his veins. An electrifying charge coalesced under his skin, shooting down his arms. Vesryn’s eyes widened with his.

Lightning had hurtled from the clouds, straight into Jassyn’s fists.

Staggering away from Thalaesyn and the prince, Jassyn wrenched his arms closer to his body. Horror crystalized in his chest as the wave of sparks danced between his fingertips. This isn’t happening.

Jassyn’s gaze whipped to Vesryn, then to Thalaesyn, and then to the light striking between his trembling hands.

“I—” The power flared, expanding to an orb the size of his head. Jassyn stumbled out from the roof’s shelter, panic compressing his ribs. Every muscle tensing from the effort of dragging in labored breaths, he frantically considered what to do with the lightning twisting in his palms.

His eyes flitted to the sky, blinking back rain, like there would be an answer in the storm. The earth’s magic left me when I released my hold on the ground, but I have no idea how to dispel lightning!

“You need to get out of here,” Jassyn said, backing away further, shaking water out of his face. “I—I don’t know what’s happening.”

Neither the prince nor Thalaesyn moved, both wide-eyed and staring at the electric web.

Panting now, Jassyn extended his arms, the clash of magic surging through his bones. Purple and blue sparks spilled out in waves instead of dissipating like he desperately willed. If anything, the sizzling globe of power surged in response.

“You need to portal out of here,” Jassyn pleaded, alarm rising in his throat. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Vesryn opened a gateway and unceremoniously shoved Thalaesyn through. Closing the rift, he approached Jassyn, joining him in the rain. “This is…unexpected.” The prince tilted his head, attention riveted on the spinning sparks. “Care to explain?”

Stinging sweat and sea spray dripped into Jassyn’s eyes, but he didn’t move for fear of this foreign magic spiraling even more out of control. Terror had him blurting a confession.

“I channeled something in the earth.” Jassyn swallowed past his panic. “During the wraith attack. I don’t know what I did, but I felt something. A different power. I called roots from the ground. That’s—that’s what happened in front of the Spire.” His chest constricted, waiting for Vesryn’s reaction. “I…I think I can access elemental magic.”

Vesryn’s brows drew together, a sign of his intensive thinking. “Is it like Essence?” As if charmed, the prince lifted a hand to touch the magic bouncing around his palms.

“Don’t!” Jassyn yelled, jerking his arms away from his cousin. His mind raced to process the question, fear sundering his lungs. “I think it’s actually lightning.”

Vesryn’s eyes lit up with manic excitement, reflecting the blue glow from Jassyn’s fists. The prince grinned, clearly not frightened like he was. “Then wield it.”

CHAPTER 17

SERENNA

In the dracovae’s valley, the sun crested over the mountaintops, quickly burning off a faint layer of fog. Despite how occupied he seemed, Serenna kept a wary eye trained on Naru’s razor-sharp bill. Settled on the ground with his raptor-taloned feet tucked under his body, he idly picked at the remaining scraps of rabbit. Serenna wrinkled her nose as his rubbery tongue flicked over the grass, licking every drop of gore.

Vesryn swung a saddle over Naru’s feathered shoulders. When the dracovae rose, the prince ruffled his obsidian neck, stirring out a puff of dust from beneath his plumes. Even someone as tall as Jassyn could walk under the beast’s chest without stooping. Beyond his front legs, Naru’s feathers morphed into leathery scales, his fin-like lizard tail trailing on the earth.

Serenna joined the prince at his side, watching him expertly cinch the multitude of straps, fasten the buckles, and tighten the clasps on the intricate contraption. She voiced her concerns about falling off, but Vesryn assured her that if she slipped, he’d halt her descent before she splattered on the ground. Which really did nothing to ease any of her anxious nerves.

“How do you steer Naru while you’re flying?” Serenna asked, noting the absence of any type of halter or bridle.

“I ask him,” Vesryn said, tugging on a group of knotted ropes as if ensuring their reliability. “By sending telepathic images.”

Serenna’s brows rose as Naru blinked his double eyelid, white iris scanning her and the prince. “Does he listen?”

Vesryn released an amused snort. “When it suits him.”

“Sounds like you’re perfect for each other,” Serenna muttered. She reached out to stroke the soft plumes on Naru’s neck. “What about rangers who don’t have telepathy?”

“The dracovae are trained to respond to the pressure of your feet on their sides and the way you shift your weight.” Vesryn adjusted loop lengths on the stirrup ladder, running down from the peak of Naru’s back. “They’re also intelligent enough to understand and follow a variety of verbal commands.”

As the prince continued talking about whatever else the rangers did to pilot the flying beasts, Serenna’s attention wandered. His nimble fingers raced distractingly over the saddle’s straps, deftly tying the leather. Her pulse skipped, recalling how rough his palms felt gliding against her body last night and—

Vesryn’s hands halted, twitching over a buckle. He angled toward her, an incredulous question scrawled across his forehead. Forgetting herself and the inconvenient fact that the prince could read her reactions through the bond, Serenna’s cheeks blazed with embarrassment.

She cleared her throat, struggling to recall Vesryn’s last few words. “What was that?” Shifting her weight did nothing to alleviate the sudden ache hammering between her thighs.

“Should I be concerned about your self-control?” Vesryn emitted a self-satisfied chuckle, obviously detecting her feelings since she didn’t have her mental barricades in place. “Perhaps you’d rather…” he trailed off, amusement settling into his features as he glanced over her shoulder, “…spend the day romping in the valley?” The prince’s attention veered back to linger on her lips.

“Is—is that an option?” Serenna stammered, the flush now racing to the tips of her ears for voicing the brazen question.

One side of Vesryn’s mouth quirked, drawing her awareness straight to his dimple. Taking a predatory step closer, his eyes glittered like sea glass in the sun. A shiver spiraled down Serenna’s spine when the prince curled a finger under her chin. “Oh, I think you could persuade me,” he breathed, hovering his lips above hers.

As Serenna rose on her toes to meet his mouth, the prince tapped the end of her nose. “It is rather tragic that we have work to do first.”

Serenna crossed her arms with an irritated huff, forcefully expelling the suggested images of her and the prince tangled in the meadow. Of course he’s all business.

“Anyway,” Vesryn said, returning to finish fussing over the saddle straps, cinching a girth over the scales behind Naru’s front legs. “The Aelfyn intentionally bred the dracovae to fly with us, but ultimately these featherbrains are the ones deciding who they’ll permit as riders.” Naru wrapped his neck back to watch the prince, clacking his beak as if interpreting the slight. “Luckily for you, Naru appreciated the rabbit treat you prepared for him, so he doesn’t mind if you ride along with me.” After securing a final knot, Vesryn gave him a pat, turning toward Serenna.

The prince slid his hands over her hips, tightening his fingers across her waist as he reeled her closer to him. A swell crested and tumbled in Serenna’s stomach, capsizing all coherent thought.

Vesryn’s eyes traveled over her face. “I can give you the best chance at a fledged dracovae choosing you as its rider.”

Breaking free from the spell in his gaze, Serenna registered what he was implying. It wasn’t like she had any better options, but she hadn’t yet decided if she wanted to join the rangers or if that was just what the prince desired.

Stubbornly shaking her head, Serenna said, “I’d rather earn a position.”

Vesryn’s hands dropped away as she retreated a step, separating herself from the bias he freely offered. A muscle flexed in his jaw, his silent disapproval sparking a prickle of worry.

More words spilled from Serenna’s mouth to explain. “I imagine the rangers who worked for their rank would object if I’m shown any favor or given special privileges.” She glanced away, staring at Naru’s mate, Trella, in the distance. The morning sun drenched her vibrant plumes as she preened her white feathers. “You’ve already done more than you should’ve by choosing me as your champion for the tournament. I’ve done nothing to deserve it besides having random chance form this bond.”

Sensing the prince’s annoyance and displeasure twisting together, Serenna hesitantly met his gaze. Vesryn held her stare for an uncomfortable moment before his irritation spiked. Her breath snagged in a startled gasp when he seized her arms, dragging her back toward him.

“This is the last time I hear you say that you’re unworthy.” The prince’s words were a fierce growl, imbued with annoyance. “The stars chose to link us.”

Serenna swallowed, scorched by his ire. Does he want me or this bond? Her heart whipped into a whirlwind of confused emotions as he leaned closer.