Her gaze rose to the livid scar across his temple. “That is what hit you?”
Tyrez nodded. “The parasite is a greater risk, but father needs to be aware of what he faces.”
“I will tell him.” She shook her head and put her hand on his arm. “Take care of yourself, brother. We are going to need you.”
She followed in Cara’s wake. Two of the soldiers glanced toward Tyrez before striding after her, their expressions unreadable.
But not hostile.
“You are exiled?” Ash frowned at him. His eyes flickered with color as though his thoughts raced.
“You didn’t foresee that?” Tyrez asked, curious and a little uneasy.
Ash shook his head. “I—don’t know. Every time Demeti zaps me, it takes me a while to regain my memories.”
Tyrez had to grind his teeth together. Releasing the snarl might be misinterpreted. “Demeti. He’s the eldest son?” he asked.
Ash looked away. “He’s a vicious bastard. And powerful.” He swallowed. “Too powerful.”
Tyrez’s gut twisted tighter. The note in Ash’s voice...
He’d always considered Rindek the greatest evil. But it seemed that the monster had spawned something even darker than himself.
And now they had nothing to stop it from rolling across the realms—and leaving chaos in its wake.
33
Tyrez paced through the tunnels of the Gryphons’ home.
It wasn’t a constructive use of his time. He knew that, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. His feet had to move in tune with his restless thoughts.
The endless maze unfolded before him. Within the Gryphons’ expansive mountain home, he could pace forever. But the stone walls weighed on him. Pushing him deeper into frustration, rather than relieving him.
He was a Dragon. And for Dragons, most everything began, and ended, in the air. So he headed for one of the many exits and took himself to the sky.
The moment a thermal lifted beneath his wings, his stress levels dropped and his mind cleared. At least, as much as it could, considering the current circumstances.
An empire without an army wasn’t destined to live a long and happy existence, not with an Archmage gunning for them. And his son—according to Ash, Rindek’s son was powerful.
What were the Emperor’s plans? With the Legion in pieces, the Dragons needed every able-bodied warrior they possessed. But what good would they be if Rindek used the parasite against them?
With that single weapon, the Archmage had effectively removed the Dragons from the equation. The healers had no solutions for the issue—each parasite had to be searched out and destroyed within the body, one by one. Fortunately, the parasites tended to cluster in groups. It helped the process.
The Gryphons were still working on warriors in the meadow. Many would never recover from the damage they had sustained.
No Dragon could prevail against that parasite.
Movement, down near the gateway. Even from a few thousand feet up, Tyrez’s keen eyes deciphered a group of Dragons coming through. As they took wing for the short flight to the Gryphons’ mountain, they expanded in size.
The Gryphon sentinels fell in alongside. Although the Gryphons were large by human standards, the Dragons dwarfed them. Ten Dragons assembled around one whose grizzled muzzle and tattered wings bespoke his great age.
There was no mistaking his father. Nor the one who remained human, riding on the back of Razir.
To many, the sight was impressive—eleven full-sized flying Dragons. But Tyrez spotted the raggedness to the formation. Razir and two others were in perfect sync. His brother was Legion, as were the other two palace guards. They were older Legion Dragons, teachers for the trainees assigned to guard the palace. They hadn’t been involved in the battle.
The other seven were new recruits, and it showed in every beat of their wings. Much younger, and smaller, than regular Legion soldiers, they’d been through the basic training program but lacked any real experience.
Only the best would have been selected for this duty. And if this was the best they had to select from...
