Page 121 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

He held my gaze, nodding. Anxiety squeezed at my lungs. I strode back to the table to stare at those papers again and cast my mind back… but it only galvanized my conviction.

Alexi intervened in Bren’s training, secretly sending her out to find those troops that only he knew of. And when we’d taken the men, the king’s army took them for interrogation. Not Furyknights. I’d waited for the King’s assurance that they’d discovered which land they belonged to, but we’d been so distracted by Ruin’s squad dragon showing up and revealing the Draeventhall mess…

Had they been Alexi’s men all along? Put there to convince me someone was coming for the kingdom?

And then, while I believed we’d successfully thwarted one attack, I was forced to prepare to overcome the next.

I’d been convinced someone was coming for my king. And his kingdom…

But I was wrong.

From the first, none of this had been a plot to dethrone Alexi. All along, it had been a plot to get me and Kgosi out of Vosgaarde so these strange dragons—that Ruin somehow controlled—could remove us to infiltrate and take over the Vosgaardian herd.

My king, pretending trust and admiration of my skill, had pushed my mate out of the kingdom, knowing I’d follow. He’d insisted I leave, that no one else could be trusted. And I’d believed him.

God, what a fool I had been, believing all his philosophical bullshit about admiring my honor, about wishing he could be a man of action as I was. All his admiration for the dragons—and yet his disdain too. Calling them beasts. Uncaring of the emotional weight they carried…

All the signs had been there, and I’d been blind to them, because a powerful man called me friend and listened to my advice.

But I’d been manipulated.

Honor, integrity, leadership, strength… I’d espoused those values from the first, battled with the king to keep them at the forefront.

But, Alexi didn’t want an honorable herd with wisdom and strength to hold their men accountable and keep Vosgaarde on the straight and narrow. He wanted flying death cannons. Cavalry in the sky. Beasts that would take orders and serve men, and conquer the world for him.

And apparently, Ruin had found a way to deliver that.

A wave of dark, heavy grief—defeat—washed through me and clenched my stomach.

Even if Kgosi and I fled, flew back to Vosgaarde to keep the herd loyal and put Kgosi back under their protection, it was clear there would be war on an epic scale, but between dragons. And our enemies apparently held no scruples. No men to which they were loyal, or who softened their heart towards humanity. Just a willful horde of destruction. And I could see how it would play out.

Kgosi wouldn’t relinquish his herd to Carnage.

Ruin wouldn’t give up the chance to lead the most powerful army in the world.

If we didn’t stop this before those dragons were ordered to attack, everything would be destroyed in the pursuit of it.

The only recourse was to kill Ruin and Carnage. Both of them.

‘Perhaps the Creator has given justice into your hands after all, Donavyn?’ Kgosi said, though there was no joy or pleasure in his tone. Only dark, heavy weight that matched the sinking pit in my stomach.

“I need to talk to my dragon,” I breathed, turning for the door. But Voski was at my side, grabbing my arm, whispering vehemently.

“Sir, no. There is a plot for your murder—one they expect to bear fruit in hours.”

“Not today, though.” I pointed out. “Bren’s doing her piece. We’ll have confirmation soon if Ruin’s the one setting the deadline—”

The door swung open and Bren swept in, looking so beautiful, Gil behind her and hurrying to Voski, as my mate rushed to me.

“What is it? What’s happened? I could feel you, but I couldn’t reach you.”

I blinked and took her hands. I had closed my mind to her? I hadn’t meant to. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t… We think we’ve figured out what’s going on, but… what are you doing back here so early?”

“I already got what we needed, and I felt you—Donavyn, what’s happened?”

I looked at Voski, who’d intercepted Gil and was muttering in his ear, clearly filling him in. I took a deep breath. “Did you confirm?”

Bren nodded. “As clearly as I can without revealing too much—Hanson is working on Ruin’s timeline, and the day after tomorrow is it. Whatever occurs the morning after the festival ends… Hanson believes it will cement their partnership and leave no room for me.”