AFTER THE POINTLESS MEETINGS ELARA HAD SAT THROUGH, THE official declaration of war from the three nations would have come as a surprise. However, Iya’s latest attack had made it a necessity that they stop arguing and put their signatures to paper.
As promised, Lightbringer had returned to Beacon after two weeks—and as promised he had severed another dragon bond. This time, however, when an ultramarine named Alzina had flown off with him after destroying a bridge and setting fire to several carriages, her Riders, Petra Rowland and Hanne Gifford, had ended up in the hospital. Unlike Signey, their souls had not survived being torn from their dragon bond. Unlike Signey, combat Professor Rowland and her daughter were now comatose.
In the aftermath, two Riders named Tonya Mantle and Grady Rivas had abandoned Langley to join Iya. Which meant he now had their dragon, Blaze, at his disposal, as well. Langley was down to three dragons: Stormborn, a sage dragon bonded to Giles Crawford and Arran Hyland; Nizsa, the sage dragon bonded to Professor Smithers and his husband; and Azeal, the carmine dragon bonded to Torrey and Jesper. Iya had eight: Lightbringer, Blaze, Alzina, Zephyra, Ignatz, Cruz, Goldeye, and Irontooth.
No one in their right mind would risk having to face down eight dragons without allies. The declaration had followed swiftly.
Signed by the leaders of each country, it promised swift and unforgiving retaliation against Iya if he didn’t immediately cease his hostilities against Nova and its surrounding landmasses. Elara thought it a bit strange that they would leave the door open for him to attack the other continents—Epoch, Solaris, and Luna—or the islands of Kaere, Isalina, and Marién, but that part was at least predictable. After how hard Aveline and Professor Smithers had worked to get the leaders to care about their own people, it would be near impossible to get them to care about anyone else’s.
Instead of going home, Elara had headed to Beacon with Signey. Torrey and Azeal had picked them up, their expressions grim, and Elara spent her days in meetings with Barret that she recapped for Aveline in a fire call at the end of every day. Luckily, Cherry had reacted with predictable indifference to not having Elara’s help. “You would have just gotten in my way,” she’d said on one fire call. “Just let me know if you find anything interesting in those Joyan books.”
And so, four days passed without Iya’s surrender. Elara sat in an armchair with her feet tucked under her, the fireplace roaring before her as she fire called the queen to discuss the upcoming retaliation. The National Hall was even emptier now that Iya had attacked Beacon twice, but all the fireplaces were lit whether a fire call was happening or not. It was the cold season, after all.
“For the flight to Hearthstone,” said Aveline, “how many drakes will you need?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to send in any drakes,” Elara replied, smoothing her skirts. “They take a long time to rebuild, and we’ll need them all if this goes south.”
“We cannot beg the empires for military aid and then refuse to send any of our own.”
“We’re not refusing. I’m our military aid.”
Aveline was silent for a long moment. Then she laughed. “How did that feel to say?”
“Weird,” Elara admitted, a smile tugging at her lips. “But I really do think we’ll be fine. Joya del Mar and Étolia are sending armies. Torrey, Signey, and I will fly in on Azeal. I already know how to fight from dragonback, in case they can’t get me on the ground. As long as we maintain the element of surprise, this could turn things in our favor without the drakes.”
“I will trust your judgment then. And Elara?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Good luck.”
Elara closed her eyes as the fire call ended, wishing she were back in San Irie like Aveline. Then again, Aveline was likely more equipped to deal with the protests there than Elara was, and Hearthstone was far closer to Langley than it was to San Irie. It made the most sense for her to be here to call on the gods if Iya came back, but there was so much going on. She was homesick for a home that would never again exist. Homesick for her simple, peaceful life, with her best friend and her sister.
“There you are,” said Torrey, before raising her voice to someone out in the hallway. “I found her!”
That someone turned out to be Signey, who waltzed into the room in her riding leathers, her dark curly hair in a messy side braid. She and Torrey wore matching dragon ear cuffs, but while Torrey was, as always, wearing black lipstick and dark eye shadow to contrast with her pale skin and gold hair, Signey’s lips were rose pink and her lids were lightly darkened with eye shadow. Her freckles were visible across her almond skin, making her look younger than usual.
Torrey darted across the room to grab the chair next to Elara’s. Signey sank down on the arm of Elara’s chair, engulfing Elara in her honeysuckle scent. Every breath was exquisite torture. They were no longer at odds, but they hadn’t had the time to talk, either. She didn’t know whether to lean in or away.
“Elara,” said Torrey, her legs thrown over the side of her chair, “tell Signey she’s a delight.”
“You’re a delight,” Elara said automatically.
“I rest my case.”
Signey rolled her eyes. “Torrey thinks the other Riders will let me break their dragon bonds if I just ask nicely. No one is that delightful.”
“You met with them?” Elara asked.
Now Signey was looking down at her lap, tracing a seam in her fireproof trousers. The light in her eyes was smothered, like a candle blown out. “Right before Tonya and Grady left. It… went poorly.”
“You can’t blame yourself for those cowards switching sides,” Torrey said fiercely. “Anyone who would join a genocidal dragon to keep their bond doesn’t deserve one.”
Signey curled in on herself. “I’m just… Maybe I could have said it a better way. If I’d been better—I practically drove them into the arms of the enemy. This isn’t—I’m not—I don’t know.”
“I offered to let you break my bond first. That show of trust might be enough to sway them.”
Signey was shaking her head before Torrey had even finished her sentence. “One broken bond is just a liability. Either we break all of them or none of them. I won’t experiment with you on the hope that others will follow your lead. I can’t even get them to follow mine.”
The self-loathing that wrapped around Signey was so thick, Elara feared she would choke on it. Torrey’s face was full of protective anger, but Elara just felt sad. Sometimes, she forgot that beneath Signey’s walls and confidence was someone vulnerable and insecure about her ability to live up to her own standards.
She placed a hand on Signey’s arm. “Torrey’s right. You didn’t turn them into traitors. They chose that path.” She paused. “And you are delightful.”
The corner of Signey’s mouth curled upward. Just a little, but it was enough.
“I know Jesper would make some sort of grand speech,” said Torrey. “So, in his absence, I’ll do my best. You’re a born leader, Signey. You hold it together when the rest of us are collapsing.” Her blue eyes flicked to Elara. “Sometimes, you hold it together a little too well. But whether or not you trust us to catch you when you’re falling apart, there isn’t a person alive who can doubt how much you care about people. If you talk to them again, they’ll see reason. I know it.”
Elara was struck by the sudden realization that Signey and Torrey might have talked about her. About them.
Her cheeks reddened, but she forced herself to smile and nod. “That was a very good speech, Torrey.”
“Thank you.” Torrey beamed. The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as usual, but Elara wasn’t going to be the one to point that out.
Signey rolled onto her feet, her movements as sinuous as water. When she caught Elara watching her, she paused, uncertain, before giving her another small smile. Elara’s longing was like a physical ache, and she couldn’t muster up a smile in return. Instead, she watched as Torrey got up as well, too quickly to be natural. Elara glanced between them, wondering if either of them had been alone since Signey had lost her bond and Torrey had lost her co-Rider. If they were both compensating for the silence in their den by spending even more time together.
Her chest ached. She’d been so busy with the state of the world, she had forgotten to worry about her friends. Even now, beneath the part of her that was concerned and guilty was a part of her that hoped the two of them would be able to fight separately when the time came. Her empathy had become another casualty of war.
The thought chilled her to the bone.
Signey paused at the door after Torrey had left. “Are you going to be okay tomorrow? With your sister and everything?”
“Are you?” Elara volleyed back.
“Probably not.”
“Yeah. Probably not.”
Signey nodded as though that was the answer she had expected, and then she was gone. Elara stayed there long after her footsteps had faded, just staring into the fire. But no matter how much time passed, she couldn’t get warm.