“Trying not to.” Rhiannon and I sneak along the battlement wall, turning the corner toward the field—

I run into Mira so hard that I bounce backward.

“Shit!” Rhiannon exclaims as she catches me.

“Don’t you at least check the corners?” Mira lectures, folding her arms over her chest and staring me down in a way I might deserve. Fine, I definitely deserve.

“In my defense, I didn’t think you’d be there,” I say slowly. “Because you’re supposed to be on patrol.”

“You were acting super weird at dinner.” She tilts her head to the side and studies me just like we’re kids again, seeing way too much. “So I switched shifts. Do you want to tell me what you’re doing outside the walls?”

I glance at Rhiannon, and she looks away.

“Neither of you? Really?” She sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. “You two need to sneak out of a heavily fortified defensive position because…?”

I look up at Rhiannon. “She’s going to figure it out anyway. She’s like a bloodhound with stuff like this. Trust me.” My stomach clenches.

Rhiannon tilts her chin. “We’re flying to my family’s house.”

Mira blanches. “You think you’re what?”

“We’re flying to her village. It’s like a five-minute flight, according to Tairn, and—” I start.

“Absolutely not.” Mira shakes her head. “Nope. You cannot fly off like you’re on vacation. What if something happens to you?”

“At her parents’ house?” I ask slowly. “Because there’s some major ambush planned on the off chance that we might just be dropping in?”

Mira’s eyes narrow.

Shit. This is not going well and, given the death grip Rhiannon has on my arm now, she doesn’t think so, either.

“We’d be in less danger visiting her parents than we are at Basgiath,” I argue.

Mira’s lips purse. “Fair point.”

“Come with us,” I blurt. “Seriously. Come with us, Mira. She just wants to see her sister.”

Mira’s shoulders dip. She’s softening, and I mercilessly go in for the kill.

“Raegan was pregnant when Rhiannon left. Can you imagine not being there with me if I had a kid? Wouldn’t you do anything, including escape a heavily fortified defensive position, if that meant holding your niece or nephew?” My nose scrunches as I brace for her answer. “Besides, with the hero of Strythmore at our side, what could possibly go wrong?”

“Don’t even start with that.” She looks at me, then Rhiannon, then back at me again before groaning. “Oh, fucking fine.” Her finger comes out swinging when we both grin. “But if you even think about telling anyone, I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your natural life.”

“She means it,” I whisper.

“I believe it,” Rhiannon answers.

“You’re here two days and already breaking the rules,” Mira mutters. “Come on, it’s quicker to cut down this path.”

An hour later, Mira and I are stretched out on the cushioned benches that flank both sides of the dining table at Raegan’s house, watching Rhiannon rock her nephew by the fireplace, lost in conversation with her sister as her parents and brother-in-law look on from the nearby couch.

Watching them reunite is worth everything.

“Thank you for helping us.” I glance over the table at Mira.

“You would have done it with or without me.” Her smile is soft as she watches the family, curling her hand around the pewter mug of wine Rhiannon’s mom was kind enough to bring earlier. “Figured at least this way I’d know you’re safe. What other rules have you broken, sis?” She sips her wine and cuts a look my way.

A smirk tugs at my mouth as I lift one shoulder. “Maybe a few here and there. I’ve gotten very good at poisoning my opponents before challenges.”

Mira nearly spits out her wine, slamming her hand over her mouth.

I laugh, crossing one booted ankle over the other. “Not what you were expecting?”

Respect shines in her eyes. “I honestly don’t know what I expected. I was just desperate for you to live. And then you went and not only bonded one of the most powerful dragons alive but a feathertail, too.” She shakes her head. “My baby sister is a badass.”

“Not sure Mom would agree with that.” I rub my thumb over the handle of my mug. “I’m not exactly manifesting a signet yet. I’m solid at grounding and can hold a pretty strong shield, but…” I can’t tell her the rest, the gift Andarna has given, at least for now, to me. “If I don’t manifest my signet soon…”

We both know what will happen.

She quietly studies me in that way she has, then says, “Here’s the thing. If you want your signet to manifest, then stop blocking it by thinking it has anything to do with Mom. Your power is yours and yours alone, Vi.”

I squirm under her scrutiny and change the subject, my gaze dropping to her neck. “How did that happen?”

“Gryphon,” she answers, nodding. “Near the village of Cranston about seven months ago. Thing came out of nowhere in the middle of a village raid. The wards went down, and usually my signet gives me a little immunity from the enemy wielders, but not their fucking birds. Took the healers hours to stitch me up. But it gave me a pretty cool scar.” She tilts her chin to show it off.

“Cranston?” I think back over the Battle Briefs. “We never learned about that one. I…” Common sense tells me to shut my mouth.

“You what?” She takes another drink.

“I think there’s way more going on along the borders than what we’re told,” I admit quietly.

Mira lifts her brows. “Well, of course there is. You don’t expect Battle Brief to relay classified information, do you? You know better than that. And honestly, at the rate our borders are being attacked, they’d have to devote all day to Battle Brief in order to dissect each assault.”

“That makes sense. Do you guys get all the information?”

“Only what we need. Like, I could have sworn I saw a riot of dragons across the border during this attack.” She shrugs. “But questions about secret operations are above my pay grade. Think of it this way—if you were a healer, would you need to know the details about everyone else’s patients?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Exactly. Now tell me, what the fuck is going on between you and Dain? I’ve seen less tension on a crossbow, and I don’t mean the good kind.” She gives me a look that leaves no room for excuses.

“I needed to change in order to survive. He wouldn’t let me.” It was the simplest explanation for the last nine months. “I got his friend Amber killed. She was a wingleader. And honestly, everything with Xaden just pushed us so far apart that I don’t know how to repair our friendship. Not to what it was, at least.”

“The execution of that wingleader is common knowledge. You didn’t get her killed. She got herself killed by breaking the Codex.” Mira studies me for a quiet moment. “Is it true Riorson saved you that night?”

I nod. “Xaden is a complicated subject.” So complicated that I can’t identify my own feelings. Thinking of him only jumbles me in a way that leaves me tangled in knots. I want him, but I can’t trust him, not in the ways I want to. And yet in other ways, he’s the person I trust most.

“I hope you know what you’re doing there.” Her grip tightens on her mug. “Because I distinctly remember warning you to steer clear of that traitor’s son.”