Sgaeyl Quotes

I lift my flight goggles as Tairn walks off with Sgaeyl, their tails swishing in rhythm. It’s a little thing, but it makes me smile.

They’re a mated pair, Tairn and Sgaeyl. The strongest bonded pair in centuries.

Quit telling Sgaeyl about my sleep habits,' I grumble at Tairn. 'I'm not dignifying that demand with a response.' 'Andarna is my favourite.

Oh, Violence, you're going to have to learn to shield against Tairn or his escapades with Sgaeyl will drive you mad- or into someone's bed.

You are an inconvenience for which there is no adequate measurement" Sgaeyl "Do not lecture me on the laws on my kind. Or you will learn how comfortable i am breaking them" Tairneanach

How many times has he read me? How many pre-thoughts has he eavesdropped on? Do I actually love him? Or did he just say what I wanted to hear? Do the things I needed in order to— “Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him—toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.

Less than a minute’, Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him-toward us. ‘That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.

Do not speak to her as if death is a possibility,” Tairn snaps, slamming his own shields around us both, an impenetrable wall of black stone, blocking out Xaden and Sgaeyl.

You told me that Sgaeyl was bonded to your grandfather, which makes you a direct descendant. If a dragon bonds a family member, it can strengthen a signet, but a direct descendant will either produce a second signet…or madness, and you seem pretty sane to me.

Did you step in?' Dain demands. 'Did I what?' Xaden arches a dark brow and levels a look on Dain that would make a lesser person wither. 'Did I see her outnumbered and already wounded? Did I think her bravery was as admirable as it was fucking reckless?' He turns that stare on me, and I feel the impact all the way to my toes. 'And I would do it again.' I raise my chin. 'Well-the-fuck-aware,' Xaden roars, losing his temper for the first time since I met him on Parapet. I pull in a quick breath, and Xaden does the same, as if he's just as shocked by his outburst as I am. 'Did I see her fight off three bigger cadets?' His gaze pivots to Dain. 'Because the answer to all of those is yes. But you're asking the wrong question, Aetos. What you should be asking is if Sgaeyl saw it, too.

Xaden's head snaps in my direction. 'Violence?' I take a step and then another, holding my frame upright with muscle memory I didn't have last year, and begin to cross. Xaden swings his legs up and then fucking jumps to his feet. 'Turn around right now!' he shouts. 'Come with me,' I call over the wind, bracing myself as gust whips my skirt against my legs. 'Should have gone with the pants,' I mutter and keep walking. He's already coming my way, his strides just as long and confident as if he was on solid ground, eating up the distance between us as I move forward slowly until we meet. 'What the fuck are you doing out here?' he asks, locking his hands on my waist. He's in riding leathers, not a dress uniform, and he's never looked better. What am I doing out here? I'm risking everything to reach him. And if he rejects me... No. There's no room for fear on the parapet. 'I could ask you the same thing.' His eyes widen. 'You could have fallen and died!' 'I could say the same thing.' I smile, but it's shaky. The look in his eyes is wild, like he's been driven past the point where he can contain himself in the neat, apathetic façade he usually wears in public. It doesn't scare me. I like him better when he's real with me, anyway. 'And did you stop to think that if you fall and die, then I can die?' He leans in and my pulse jumps. 'Again,' I say softly, resting my hands on his firm chest, right above his heartbeat, 'I could say the same thing.' Even if Xaden's death wouldn't kill Sgaeyl, I'm not sure I could survive it.' Shadows rise, darker than the night that surrounds us. 'You're forgetting that I wield shadows, Violence. I'm just as safe out here as I am in the courtyard. Are you going to wield lightning to break your fall?' Fine. That's a good point. 'I... perhaps did not think that part through as thoroughly as you,' I admit. I wanted to be close to him, so I got close, parapet be damned.' 'You're seriously going to be the death of me.' His fingers flex at my waist. 'Go back.' It's not a rejection, not with the way he's looking at me. We've been sparring emotionally for the past month, hell, even longer than that, and one of us has to expose our jugular. I finally trust him enough to know he won't go for the kill. 'Only if you do. I want to be whereever you are.' And I mean it. Everyone else- everything else in the world can fall away and I won't care as long as I'm with him.

Quit telling Sgaeyl about my sleep habits,” I grumble at Tairn. “I’m not dignifying that demand with a response.” “Andarna is my favorite.

You cannot!” Sgaeyl shrieks. “I chose you!” But Violet chose me, too.

Less than a minute”, Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him-toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.

Let’s feed her to Sgaeyl,” Rhiannon whispers as we pause.

Wait. What are you saying?” “They’re a mated pair, Tairn and Sgaeyl. The strongest bonded pair in centuries.

If Sgaeyl is right, and signets reflect who we are at our core, then I’m exactly as Xaden nicknamed me…Violence.

Sgaeyl didn’t even tell me. Chradh told Garrick.” He shakes his head. “I wasn’t just angry, Violet. I was terrified.

It doesn’t escape my notice that Sgaeyl stands between Teine and Fann, Ulices’s cantankerous Green Swordtail, not next to Tairn, which either explains or is a result of his surly mood this morning. Mom and Dad are fighting, and everyone knows it.

He scoffs. “And as for losing the shadow wielder, she would be emotionally inconvenienced, that is true.” I scoff at his bluster. “An emotional inconvenience? Is that what I am to you?” If so, then we don’t need to worry that my death would cause Tairn’s, or Sgaeyl’s and Xaden’s. “You’re currently a prize annoyance.

Three days?' Dain fires back, leaning in. 'You couldn't make it three days?' 'It has nothing to do with him.' I interrupt, setting my dragon down with a little more force than necessary. 'That's up to Tairn and Sgaeyl.' 'You never considered that it was you I couldn't stay away from?' I crook my right arm and jab it into Xaden's biceps. He doesn't mean that. Not when he's still adamant that kissing me was a mistake. And if he does... I'm not going there... 'Now, now, you'll give our little communication secret away if you can't keep from being so... violent.' He barely restrains a smile, obviously loving that he gets the last word.

Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him— toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.” My gaze flashes to his. “Don’t read my…whatever!” Tairn stalks toward me, his head low and his teeth bared as he places himself at my back. “I didn’t.” The saddest smile I’ve ever seen tugs at Xaden’s mouth. “First, because your shields are up, and secondly because I didn’t have to. It’s all over your face.

We're all learning today. You need to learn how to stay on, and I need to learn why the hell it's so hard for you," he answers. "Andarna needs to learn how to keep up. Tairn needs to learn how to share his space in a tighter flight formation, and every other dragon but Sgaeyl is too scared to fly closer." Tairn chuffs in agreement we approach. "And what is Sgaeyl learning?" I ask, eyeing the giant blue dragon. Xaden grins. "She's been leading for almost three years now. She's going to have to learn how to follow. Or at least practice." "Dragon relationships are absolutely incomprehensible." I murmur. "Yeah? You should try a human one sometime. Just as vicious, but less fire.

We can pretend I’m not here, just for the sake of the exercise.” Xaden sets his dragon on the table and leans back in his chair, draping his arm across the back of mine, a move that makes Dain grit his teeth. “Give Aetos here the position we all know he craves.” “Don’t be a dick,” I whisper. “You haven’t even seen me start to be a dick.” My head turns so fast that it swims, and my mouth drops open as I stare at the side of Xaden’s face. That was his voice…in my fucking head. He turns, the golden flecks in his eyes catching the light, and I swear I hear him laughing in my mind, though his lips are closed, tilted in that pulse-quickening smirk of his. “You’re staring. It’s going to get awkward in about thirty seconds if you don’t stop.” “How?” I hiss. “The same way you talk to Sgaeyl. We’re all gloriously, annoyingly linked. This is just one of the perks. Though I’m starting to wish I’d tried it sooner. The look on your face is priceless.” He winks and turns back to the table. He. Fucking. Winked. And is that a hint of a smile?

You want me,' I put my hand on his chest and feel his heart pounding. 'And I know that scares you even though I want you just as badly.' He stiffens. 'But here's the thing,' I hold his gaze, knowing he could bolt at any second. 'You don't get to dictate how I feel. You might give the orders out there, but not in here. You don't get to tell me we can fuck but I can't fall for you. That's not fair. You can only respect what I choose to do. So we're not doing this again until I want to risk my heart. And if I fall, then that's my problem, not yours. You're not responsible for my choices.' His jaw clenches once. Twice. And then he pushes off the wall, giving me space. 'I think that's for the best. I'm graduating soon, and who knows where I'll end up. Besides, you and I are chained together because of Sgaeyl and Tairn, which complicates... everything.' He retreats one step at a time, the distance more than just physical. 'Besides, with all that pretending, I'm sure we'll eventually forget last night ever happened.' The way we're looking at each other tells me neither of us is ever going to forget. And he can avoid it all he wants, but we're going to end up right here time and again until he's willing to recognise what this is. Because if there's one thing I know for certain, it's that I'm going to fall for this man- if I haven't already- and he's halfway there, too, whether he realises it or not. Turning my back on him, I walk to the shattered halves of my throwing target and pick them up before heading back across my room. 'I never figured you for a liar, Xaden.' I shove the halves at his chest. 'You can get me a new one when you're ready to come to your senses. Then we'll blow off some steam.' I throw the aggravating man out.

Don't do this. Riders are known to die during War Games, and she's safer with me.' Dain argues. 'Anything could happen once we're away from Basgiath, let alone you taking her beyond the wards.' 'I'm not dignifying that with a response. This is an order.' Dain's eyes narrow. 'Or has this been your plan all along? To separate her from her squad so you can use her to get your need for revenge on her mother?' 'Dain!' I shake my head at him. 'You know that's not going to happen.' 'Do I?' he fires back. 'He's made a big deal out of the whole if-she-dies-I-die thing, but do you know it for a fact? Do you know Tairn won't survive your death? Or has it all been a ploy to earn your trust, Violet?' I suck in a sharp breath. 'You need to stop right now.' 'Please do quit while you're behind, Aetos,' Xaden seethes. 'You want the truth? She's a fuck of a lot safer with me beyond the wards than she is with you within them. We both know it.' The look in his eyes is similar to the one in Sgaeyl's, and it dawns on me why she chose him. They're both ruthless, both willing to annihilate whatever stands between them and what they want. And Dain is in Xaden's path.

By killing people?” I cry. If Sgaeyl is right, and signets reflect who we are at our core, then I’m exactly as Xaden nicknamed me…Violence. “By defeating invading armies before they get the chance to hurt civilians. You want to keep Rhiannon’s nephew alive in that little border village? This is how. You want to keep Mira alive

Quit telling Sgaeyl about my sleep habits,” I grumble at Tairn. “I’m not dignifying that demand with a response.” “Andarna is my favorite.” Tairn snorts.

Xaden isn’t only twice as ruthless, but he’s dangerously unpredictable.” I blink. “Wait. What are you saying?” “They’re a mated pair, Tairn and Sgaeyl. The strongest bonded pair in centuries.

Sgaeyl

Why are you even here?” Dain challenges. “No offense, sir, but we weren’t exactly expecting senior leadership on this trip.” “You’re more than aware that Sgaeyl and Tairn are mated.” “Three days?” Dain fires back, leaning in. “You couldn’t make it three days?” “It has nothing to do with him,” I interrupt, setting my dragon down with a little more force than necessary. “That’s up to Tairn and Sgaeyl.” “You never considered that it was you I couldn’t stay away from?

I love you,” Xaden says as the wyvern closest to me banks away from the wards, falling into a turning dive, only to gain speed and climb again, leveling out behind the lead two before flying straight for us. “Even if you believe nothing else I ever say, please believe that.” “Do not speak to her as if death is a possibility,” Tairn snaps, slamming his own shields around us both, an impenetrable wall of black stone, blocking out Xaden and Sgaeyl.

Xaden is leaning against the tree, his arms folded across his chest, and behind him, watching with narrowed golden eyes, her fangs exposed, is Sgaeyl, his terrifying navy-blue daggertail.

Sgaeyl watched me kill another cadet for bullying Garrick during Threshing. She says she chose me for my ruthlessness, but I think I just reminded her of my grandfather. —RECOVERED CORRESPONDENCE OF LIEUTENANT XADEN RIORSON TO CADET VIOLET SORRENGAIL

You can't!" Sgaeyl shrieks. "I chose you!" But Violet chose me, too.

Don’t be a dick,” I whisper. “You haven’t even seen me start to be a dick.” My head turns so fast that it swims, and my mouth drops open as I stare at the side of Xaden’s face. That was his voice…in my fucking head. He turns, the golden flecks in his eyes catching the light, and I swear I hear him laughing in my mind, though his lips are closed, tilted in that pulse-quickening smirk of his. “You’re staring. It’s going to get awkward in about thirty seconds if you don’t stop.” “How?” I hiss. “The same way you talk to Sgaeyl. We’re all gloriously, annoyingly linked. This is just one of the perks. Though I’m starting to wish I’d tried it sooner. The look on your face is priceless.” He winks and turns back to the table.

You cannot!" Sgaeyl shrieks. "I chose you!

The same way you talk to Sgaeyl. We’re all gloriously, annoyingly linked. This is just one of the perks. Though I’m starting to wish I’d tried it sooner. The look on your face is priceless.

What about the black dragon?” the first-year next to Jack asks. “There’s one here, right?” Jack’s face lights up. “I want that one.” “Not that it’s going to matter.” Professor Kaori flicks his wrist and Sgaeyl disappears, and a massive black dragon takes her place. Even the illusion is bigger, making me crane my neck slightly to see its head. “But just to appease your curiosity, since this is the only time you’ll ever see him, here is the only other black besides General Melgren’s.” “He’s huge,” Rhiannon says. “And is that a clubtail?” “No. A morningstartail. He has the same bludgeoning power of a clubtail, but those spikes will eviscerate a person just as well as a daggertail.” “Best of both worlds,” Jack calls out. “He looks like a killing machine.” “He is,” Professor Kaori answers. “And honestly, I haven’t seen him in the last five years, so this image is more than a little outdated. But since we have him up here, what can you tell me about black dragons?” “They’re the smartest and most discerning,” Aurelie calls out. “They’re the rarest,” I add in. “There hasn’t been one born in the last…century.” “Correct.” Professor Kaori spins the illusion again, and I’m met with a pair of glaring yellow eyes. “They’re also the most cunning. There’s no such thing as outsmarting a black dragon.

lift my flight goggles as Tairn walks off with Sgaeyl, their tails swishing in rhythm. It’s a little thing, but it makes me smile.

She’ll be full-grown in a year or two, but some are slower than others,” Sgaeyl answers. “And if I thought she’d actually bond, I would have objected harder to her Right of Benefaction.” She chuffs at Andarna in obvious disapproval.

Do you think he could be plotting against Navarre and still have bonded Sgaeyl?” I ask, my cheek against his blanket. “I did at first.” His hands move down my spine, pressing into the knots that made lifting my arms almost impossible that last half hour of training tonight. “But then I bonded Cath, and I realized that dragons would do anything to protect the Vale and their sacred hatching grounds. There’s no way any dragon would have bonded Riorson or any of the separatists if they weren’t honest about protecting Navarre.

What’s your second signet?” His eyes widen, and the blood drains from his face as his hand falls away. For the first time, I think I’ve actually managed to shock Xaden Riorson. “I know you have one,” I whisper as the pounding continues. “You told me that Sgaeyl was bonded to your grandfather, which makes you a direct descendant. If a dragon bonds a family member, it can strengthen a signet, but a direct descendant will either produce a second signet…or madness, and you seem pretty sane to me.

I chose him for his inability to relent,” Sgaeyl reminds me. “Not helpful at the moment. Do I need to remind you of what he’s carrying?” “Fine. But only so this conversation ends.

Sgaeyl watched me kill another cadet for bullying Garrick during Threshing. She says she chose me for my ruthlessness, but I think I just reminded her of my grandfather. —Recovered Correspondence of Lieutenant Xaden Riorson to Cadet Violet Sorrengail

It’s the wards,” Tairn says. “They didn’t feel like this at Montserrat,” I tell him. “They’re stronger here, and since your signet has manifested, you’re more sensitive to them now.” His tone is tight, and when I glance back over my shoulder, I note that all the soldiers give him a wide berth, taking a path off to the side of the field. “You don’t have to watch my back,” I say, reaching the top of the ramp. “This is an outpost. I’m safe here.” “There’s a drift on the other side of the mountains, a mile beyond the border. Sgaeyl just told me. You’re not safe until you’re behind the walls or with the wingleader.” I don’t bother reminding him that Xaden isn’t a wingleader anymore as my stomach jumps into my throat. “A friendly drift?” “Define friendly.

What had Sgaeyl said about signets? It reflects who you are at the core of your being. It makes sense. Mira is protective. Dain has to know everything. And Xaden…has secrets.

Tairn told me he felt Sgaeyl get very angry last night,

There’s something in that trading post. We all feel it,” Tairn says as he banks with Sgaeyl,

This can’t be happening, but it is. “It’s nothing personal,” the soldier says, crawling forward onto the three-foot-deep wall. I gasp for breath and cough at the first full inhale. There has to be a foothold below. There just does. This isn’t how I die. My feet search and I can feel the ridges, but there’s nothing substantial enough to support my weight. “It’s just money,” he whispers from his knees and reaches for my hands. Oh gods, he’s going to— “No!” Power floods my veins, but there’s nothing to do with a strike this close. “Just money,” he repeats, lifting my hands from the stone. Xaden. Sgaeyl. Tairn. This will kill us all. The soldier lets go. I scream, the sound so shrill it tears my throat, and I slide, scraping my forearms raw as gravity drags me down, the top of the turret fading from view, but my fingers grab hold of the tiny lip at the edge…and cling. My heart lurches into my throat as my feet scramble. No foothold. Barely any handhold, and my shoulders start to wail as I dangle. “Just let go,” the soldier urges, crawling forward again. “It will be over before you—” His eyes bulge and he gurgles, grabbing for his throat and the dagger whose tip protrudes a few inches below his chin. Someone has shoved their knife in through his spine.

Let’s put your theory to the test. You want me to demand the truth? To ask you something real?” I hold his gaze and steel my heart. “Please, do,” he challenges. “What’s your second signet?” His eyes widen, and the blood drains from his face as his hand falls away. For the first time, I think I’ve actually managed to shock Xaden Riorson. “I know you have one,” I whisper as the pounding continues. “You told me that Sgaeyl was bonded to your grandfather, which makes you a direct descendant. If a dragon bonds a family member, it can strengthen a signet, but a direct descendant will either produce a second signet…or madness, and you seem pretty sane to me.” He inhales sharply and forces his features into a mask. I shake my head and scoff. “So much for asking. I just can’t figure out why Sgaeyl was allowed to choose you, how she got away with it. How you both did.

Six dragons surround the top of the chamber, standing wing to wing, and I make my way to Tairn, who stands beside Sgaeyl, as I would expect. “How is Andarna?” I ask him, taking my place between his forelegs and peeking over the stone-rimmed edge into the chamber where the wardstone sits a hundred feet below. “She’s not responding when I reach out.” “She’s been questioned by the elders, and her actions were found justifiable,” he answers. “But to slay another dragon is a heavy mark upon the soul, even when in defense of yourself or your rider.” “That’s why you only took his eye instead of killing him.” I stiffen as Xaden approaches, refusing to look his way as he moves into position with Sgaeyl. “I should have ended him then. I will not hesitate when faced with a similar predicament in the future. She now suffers with a burden that should have been mine.” “I’m proud of her.” “As am I.

You’ve always deserved better than me. And no one knows,” he repeats, his voice dropping. “Because if they did, I’d be dead.” “Why would—” My lips part, and my pulse jumps as my head starts to swim. He has to have full control. He has to make snap character judgments. He has to intrinsically know who to trust and who not to. In order for the movement to have been as successful as it was within the walls of Basgiath, he has to know…everything. Xaden’s most pressing need is information. Tairn shifts, angling his body toward Sgaeyl instead of beside her. Oh gods. There’s only one signet riders are killed for having. Fear churns in my stomach and threatens to bring up what little I’ve had to eat today. “Yes.” He nods, his gaze boring into mine. Shit, did he just— “No.” I shake my head and take a step backward out of his shadows, but he moves as if he takes the step with me. “Yes. It’s how I knew I could trust you not to tell anyone about the meeting under the tree last year,” he says as I retreat another step. “How I seem to know what my opponent has planned on the mat before their next move. How I know exactly what someone needs to hear in order to get them to do what I need done, and how I knew if someone remotely suspected us while we were at Basgiath.” I shake my head in denial, wishing I’d stopped pushing like he’d demanded me to. He crosses the space between us. “It’s why I didn’t kill Dain in the interrogation chamber, why I let him come with us, because the second his shields wavered, I knew he’d had a true epiphany. How would I know that, Violet?” He’d read Dain’s mind. Xaden is more dangerous than I ever imagined. “You’re an inntinnsic,” I whisper. Even the accusation is a death sentence among riders. “I’m a type of inntinnsic,” he repeats slowly, like it’s the first time he’s ever said the words. “I can read intentions. Maybe I would know what to call it if they didn’t kill everyone with even a hint of the signet.” My eyebrows jolt upward. “Can you read thoughts or not?” His jaw flexes. “It’s more complicated than that. Think of that breath of a second before the actual thought, the subconscious motivation you might not even be aware of in your mind, or when instinct drives you to move or you’re looking to betray someone. The intention is always there. Mostly they come across as pictures, but some people intend in really clear pictures.” Tairn growls low in his throat and lowers his head at Sgaeyl as a rush of something bitter and sick floods our bond. Betrayal. I slam my shields up, blocking him out before I’m lost to his emotions, already struggling with mine. He didn’t know.

Xaden’s lifted hand is raised at his chest, clenched in a partial fist, and wrath chills his eyes as he stares up at the viscount, whose feet kick for the ground. Tecarus tears ineffectually at the shadows strangling his neck and, from the garbled sound of his breathing, he’s slowly asphyxiating. “Xaden, please don’t!” Cat cries. Xaden’s grip only tightens as the rain dissipates to a drizzle. Tecarus gurgles, and fliers draw their weapons, but one growl from Sgaeyl is enough to keep them from advancing on Xaden. I lower the portion of my shields that allows Xaden in, then send every ounce of my love down the bond. “I’m all right.” He tears his gaze from Tecarus, the barely caged fury in his eyes making him nearly unrecognizable. “Loosen your grip on his throat,” I say calmly. “He can’t answer questions if he’s dead.

pauses, like he’s going to say more, but turns away instead. As he heads back to Sgaeyl, I can’t help but note both of the important men are walking away from me right now, in opposite directions, and given the one I’ve chosen to follow, my life is about to change forever.

His mate told him,” I whisper. Sgaeyl called for Tairn.

Sgaeyl is the most powerful of them all.

That’s up to Tairn and Sgaeyl.” “You never considered that it was you I couldn’t stay away from?

Tairn’s bonds are so powerful, both to mate and rider, because he’s so powerful. Losing his last rider nearly killed him, which, in turn, nearly killed Sgaeyl. Mated pairs’ lives are—” “Interdependent,

I would strongly recommend you rethink your actions,” a voice—his voice—demands from across the field to my right. My scalp prickles as each of our heads swivel in his direction. Xaden is leaning against the tree, his arms folded across his chest, and behind him, watching with narrowed golden eyes, her fangs exposed, is Sgaeyl, his terrifying navy-blue daggertail.

Will you forsake me now?" I ask [...] "What is there left of you to forsake?" Sgaeyl lowers her head and steam guts down the canyon, reminding me of the moment she found me in the forest at threshing. "You tell me." I lower the ice and let her in.

The shadow wielder is not my concern.” “Sgaeyl is.” The saddle’s straps dig into my thighs, a constant reminder that I can’t keep my seat without it. “Sgaeyl would never be taken down by something as puny as a gryphon.” He scoffs. “And as for losing the shadow wielder, she would be emotionally inconvenienced, that is true.” I scoff at his bluster. “An emotional inconvenience? Is that what I am to you?” If so, then we don’t need to worry that my death would cause Tairn’s, or Sgaeyl’s and Xaden’s. “You’re currently a prize annoyance.

Do you ever tire of your own voice?” she questions, soaring a little closer to Sgaeyl.

delivered the luminary—a ring nearly as tall as Sgaeyl of vibrant blue crystals—

Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him— toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.

Sgaeyl snarls at Brennan, baring her fangs and taking one threatening step in his direction, her claw fully extended in a series of sharp talons. “Hey! That’s my brother,” I warn her, putting myself between them. “She’s aware,” Brennan mutters. “Just doesn’t like me. Never has.

And yet you know everyone’s secrets, don’t you? Everyone’s intentions?” That’s why inntinnsics aren’t allowed to live. The implications of his signet hit me with the force of a battering ram, and I stagger backward like the blow is a physical one. How many times has he read me? How many pre-thoughts has he eavesdropped on? Do I actually love him? Or did he just say what I wanted to hear? Do the things I needed in order to— “Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him—toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.

Watch your back,” Xaden warns, his voice already fading as he flies east with Sgaeyl on a mission I’m not privy to. “I didn’t have time to question every flier about their intentions.

Sgaeyl says she has never run from a fight, and today will not be the first. And I’m not going to stand by while innocent people are dying, either.” He shakes his head. “But I’m not going to order any of you to join me. I’m responsible for all of you. None of you crossed that parapet because you wanted to. None of you. You crossed it because I made a deal. I’m the one who forced you into the quadrant, so I won’t think less of anyone who wants to fly for Eltuval instead. Make your choice.” He tears his hand through his hair. “I don’t want you in harm’s way.” In a perfect world, that would be all I need to hear. “If the others get to make a choice, then so do I.” His jaw flexes. “We’re

You cannot!” Sgaeyl shrieks. “I chose you!” "But Violet chose me, too.

Let me know if he has any venin locked away in a box as a surprise test,” Tairn says, flying in the same direction Sgaeyl took.

You cannot!” Sgaeyl shrieks. “I chose you!” But Violet chose me, too. I reach.

Do you ever tire of your own voice?” she questions, soaring a little closer to Sgaeyl. “Never

Do you ever tire of your own voice?” she questions, soaring a little closer to Sgaeyl. “Never

What happens to me if you turn?” My hands curl at my sides. “What happens to Tairn and Sgaeyl if you give in?” Xaden’s jaw flexes. “Do venin get once-a-week visits?” I take a step closer and lift my chin. “Does their bond survive you turning? Does ours? You and I are tethered for life, Xaden Riorson. Am I expected to turn with you? Is that the only way to keep our dragons alive if you give up?

Three days?” Dain fires back, leaning in. “You couldn’t make it three days?” “It has nothing to do with him,” I interrupt, setting my dragon down with a little more force than necessary. “That’s up to Tairn and Sgaeyl.” “You never considered that it was you I couldn’t stay away from?

Panchek’s cowering, traitorous ass, putting himself between Sgaeyl and me… He’s a problem.

Panchek’s cowering, traitorous ass, putting himself between Sgaeyl and me… He’s a problem. Not because he’s more lethal. Not even because he’s supposed to be dead. But because I. Can’t. Kill. Him. I could no more raise a blade to his throat than I could Violet. The bond between Violence and me is the kind of magic that has no explanation. The bond between Berwyn and me is the kind that should never exist, and now that my Sage has another sibling he can use against me…I’m screwed.

When I look up, everyone is staring at me. “What? I kept the gryphons close and paired dragons with similar flight strengths”—my gaze finds Xaden’s, and he’s not amused with my group pairings—“except for ours. Tairn and Sgaeyl have the best chance of staying in contact when separated if the rest of these islands have the same level of magic. It’s better for the group if they split for the day.” He arches his scarred brow. “Just you and me today, honey bear.” Garrick swings his arm over Xaden’s shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he leans in and whispers. “I’ll take good care of you.” He flashes a dimple.

Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him—toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.” My gaze flashes to his. “Don’t read my…whatever!” Tairn stalks toward me, his head low and his teeth bared as he places himself at my back. “I didn’t.” The saddest smile I’ve ever seen tugs at Xaden’s mouth. “First, because your shields are up, and secondly because I didn’t have to. It’s all over your face.

Tell her the truth. He loathes her,” Tairn suggests. “As does Sgaeyl. The life-giver is lucky she wasn’t scorched this morning, though I do believe Sgaeyl is still contemplating her options.

Trust me, she’s not impressed by titles.” Xaden looks over at Sgaeyl. “If you want to, I understand, but her death would be incredibly inconvenient. Can you pick a guard or something?

They’re a mated pair, Tairn and Sgaeyl. The strongest bonded pair in centuries.” My mind whirs. Mated

¿No te cansas nunca de oírte? —le pregunta ella al tiempo que se acerca un poco más a Sgaeyl. —Nunca —le asegura Tairn.

Xaden needs you,” Andarna says, but I can’t move. “Tairn and Sgaeyl wait with him.

You’re beginning to think—” Tairn starts. “Like Brennan?” I suggest as the wyvern enter our airspace. “Like Tairn,” Sgaeyl answers,

I chose him for his inability to relent,” Sgaeyl reminds me.

I glance past Berwyn, past Sgaeyl and the venin, to my new brother and the unconscious dragon lying in the valley beyond the canyon, guarded by seven wyvern. How could he do this? Choose this after watching me stumble and fall over the last five months. How could he willingly walk the path I’ve fought like hell to leave? He’s the last person I ever would have expected to turn, and yet here we are.

You let this happen to him?” Sgaeyl snaps.

Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him—toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.