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The wall of tension between Rake and I was as solid as a slab of concrete. We were still glaring at each other in silence when a knock sounded on the door, then it slid open.

Dragons were speeding in from the distance, circling the battlefield from above. A red one, just like the one we’d helped… and several more in other colors. Dragons hated dark magic as much as any creature—especially since they were particularly vulnerable to it. Were they here to help defeat the Dark King?

One Faeside day earlier… Fiska led us deeper into the woods, to a Gate just barely visible as a shimmer in the air between trees.

Aeldyn’s POV This human place smelled wrong. The soaps Azra left me were pleasant, but the air in the apartment had a tinnish, metal scent. It did not smell like nature.

“What agreement did you make, Lena?” Rake’s wary voice asked again. I hugged my mom’s journal to my chest and turned to face him.

“Yes, the red dragon has fallen,” Fiska said as she shoved the last of the scattered supplies into her sack, “and now we need to move.” She strode toward the edge of the clearing. “If we hurry, we may still reach Teionyr before the Dark Fae army does.”

Aeldyn hurried to the passenger door of my truck and slid in, scooting to the middle of the bench seat.

I pivoted sideways, gaping between Rake and Chairman Hart. “You know each other?”

We continued to channel our magic steadily into the dragon for a few more moments.

We dropped onto the damp pavement of the townhouse subdivision, where the scent of recent rain still hung in the air. The old Fae woman’s familiar front stoop stood in front of us, her orange door glaring at us in begrudging welcome.

Pops and I re-entered Rake’s med room, with Chairman Hart directly behind us. The door slid shut, closing us in.

The trees snapped under the weight of the red dragon’s body as it plummeted, writhing and flailing. It almost looked like it was wrestling with something.

Aeldyn continued, her voice breaking. “I never saw her, but… my mom’s energy was there. After that, I just kept going back to Aeden and opening it, hoping…” She sighed. “But she was gone.”

Only once I was back inside the med room, with Rake still unconscious on the table in the blood-stained robe, did I realize the nurse’s summons could’ve been a trap.

Fiska led us briskly through narrow paths between the trees, cutting a deliberate trail through the woods to where they curved around a bend of rocky foothills.

I dropped the postcard through the tiny rift Aeldyn had opened, catching a glimpse of Striker as he finished off a Shadowhound and turned around toward the Gate.

“She was heir to the House of Ordas.” Chairman Hart smiled patiently, the kind of smile kindergarten teachers give to that one kid who just isn’t quite getting it. “The LeyGuard is comprised of four Houses, descended from each of the original founders. The magic of each House is distinct, aligned with a specific element—Earth, Fire, Water, Air—though the way the gift manifests is unique to each individual. Some become Runists, some Wielders, some Arcanists, but the specific e

I stiffened. “Fiska?” I knew that voice anywhere, but I still gaped in shock as she stepped out of the trees. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Mother!”

Brone My runed bullet hit its mark.

The woman stepped further into the med room, holding an ornate metal box in her hands that looked almost like a jewelry box. She turned to Dove and Quinn. “Please report to the conference room downstairs. Mrs. Chen has some questions for both of you.”