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Valek waves us off. “We can have this discussion in a week, during our routine clan meetings.”

Aya slips her hand out of mine and steps forward. “But the Mer need guidance, and they’re here to make sure Wintermoon is a safe space for their pod. They need Stormscale.”

“Get back, wolf girl. You aren’t ruler over this clan…” He narrows his eyes at her. “Yet.”

Heat rushes into my face as my dragon shoves toward the surface. Uncle or not, I’ll burn his cabin down for talking to her like that.

Hazel pushes forward and snaps, “Don’t speak to Aya that way.”

He rounds on her. “Who is alpha of Ash Clan? I am. You come to ambush me, to overrule my authority.” He’s shouting now. “I have spoken with King Amir, and my word is final. We have no dealings with the Mer.”

Hazel isn’t done, but Dominic grabs her wrist. “Let’s go, Hazel. This is not our business.”

She glares at him and turns to us.

My mother nods at her. “Go, Hazel. I’ll fill you in later.”

Hazel scowls and goes with Dominic. He glances back at Aya on his way out. “Welcome to Ash Clan,” he says, then pats my father’s shoulder as he passes. Politics be damned, Dominic has been his best friend since I was a hatchling.

My dragon has heard enough. I push Aya behind me and step up to Valek. “Since I’m the future alpha, I’m overriding you. We can’t keep punishing my father’s bloodline because you want to hold a grudge.”

“Future alpha” does it. The clan goes quiet, and boots thud up onto porches all over the village until it’s only Valek, my parents, Aya, and me in the clearing.

Aya turns toward Sam’s cabin, where Lauren is fighting to get down the steps to us. Sam has his arms locked around her waist and won’t budge.

“You don’t know the first thing about a grudge, boy,” Valek snarls.

“That ‘boy’ comment you elders love to use on me like it’s an insult.” I snort and check on Aya. She gasps. My eyes must already be glowing. “I have my Aya now. I don’t give a shit what you call me.”

I turn back to him. “I’m not throwing Stormscale away for this clan. I’ll leave before I do.”

“Ezra! Valek! That is enough!” Lauren shouts from the porch.

Sam pulls her back. “No, baby, this needs to happen.”

She grumbles and stays put. My mother returns to my father’s side and takes his hand.

Valek gets up in my face with his breath scorching my cheek. “You don’t have a clue what I’ve been through and what I’ve sacrificed for this clan. You weren’t there, boy. When my parents called Sam and me to the courtyard and my mother put Claude, just a hatchling, in my arms and told me she was going to stay with our father.”

His scent turns heavy and bitter. “We were young—too young to know what to do with a hatchling. We stood there in the moonlight, Claude wailing in my arms, as our parents walked away. They told us they were going to try and reason with Stormscale and the other dragon clans.” He swallows hard. “That was the last time we ever touched them.”

He pins me with his orange stare. “Do you know what happened to them? Do you know how they died?”

I shake my head.

“Your grandfather,” Valek says. “Tyrion’s father executed them for treason when they refused to join the battle. My father told us to take the clan and flee to the mountains. Stormscale and the other clans took his refusal as betrayal.” His hands are trembling now. “There was no mercy. No trial. No chance to explain. They burned my parents alive with dragonfire while Sam and I were forced to watch from a distance, Claude crying in my arms.”

He goes quiet. “Stormscale.”

My stomach turns over. My grandfather burned my mother’s parents alive, and she was the baby wailing in Valek’s arms. I find her beside my father. She still has his hand in hers and doesn’t let go. His head is down and stays down. I have no answer for any of this, but I don’t give up an inch of ground. My dragon won’t have it.

“But they didn’t know it was all a lie,” I rasp. “Aya Bailey burned that sanctuary and blamed King Amir. Stormscale thought they were fighting for the women and hatchlings she killed.”

“I don’t give a shit,” he roars. “It’s bad enough I have to live with a wolf who carries a Bailey witch’s name, and a Stormscale.”

“Valek, that is enough,” my mother warns.

“I will not get over it,” he shouts. “I will never get over it. You expect me to let Stormscale erase the identity of Ash Clan?” He steps closer with his dragon pushing against his skin. Heat pours off him. “I’ll kill you first for it, boy.”