Creatures of another Age, fire drakes were no ordinary demons...and not only because of the deadly flames that warmed their bellies. If the ancient written accounts were true, only five of them were ever Made, created for the sole purpose of drawing Teivel's shadow-wrought chariot from the Afterlight to the realm of the living and back again. Together, the fire drakes had enough firepower to level cities and burn kingdoms to the ground. They were never seen without their masterâexcept once, in the Age of Shadows, when they broke free of their prison in the Afterlight and Teivel remained behind, still bound by his siblings' divine blood. The warders saw to it that they were returned to their prison, and the prison walls were resealed. That was a thousand years ago.
"A fire drake?" Sam exclaimed, rattled at the very idea. "But they're trappedâ"
"With Teivel in the Afterlight?" Azi finished for her. "I thought so tooâuntil rumors started about a year ago of a monster preying on humans in some of the outer coastal cities. We left it to the Sun Sisters; it wasn't worth getting into a pissing fight over a few isolated incidents. When the Arbiter formally requested the assistance of the imperial army, we knew the reported attacks were more than what they seemed. Then the Arbiter told us of the dozen sisters she sent, only two returned to the convent, one of them in a coffin, burnt beyond recognition."
"What happened to the others?" Sam asked, fearing she already knew the answer.
"There was nothing left of them to bring back," Azi said grimly. "A coalition of sisters and imperial soldiers was sent to look for them and remove any remaining threat. They reported back to say half the countryside was razed to the ground, just like in the stories of legend."
Sam asked, "Did they manage to kill it?"
Azi glanced at the emperor then shook his head. "No. The coalition brought back rumors from the neighboring inland villages and saw evidence of the destruction it wrought, but they never saw it for themselves. The sister who survived the previous encounter claimed it was a fire drake, but it seemed so farfetched no one believed it. I didn't believe it. Until today I saw it with my own eyes, terrible and beautiful just as the old legends said." His featured hardened as he focused his next words on Braeden. "The legends also say the fire drakes would let no one but Teivel ride them, not even the daem. So what does that make you?"
With a mirthless smile, Braeden gave the same answer he once gave Sam and Tristan. "My mother was a human. My father was not."
"You're one of Teivel's children, then," the emperor said, making no effort to blunt his words.
"Yes," Braeden agreed, looking Emperor Kazan straight in the eye. "But I am no more my father than you are yours."
The emperor flinched, causing Sam to wonder just what sort of man his father had been and how his people remembered him. Was the old emperor a monster too?
"Such a thing isn't possible," Azi said stoutly. "No child of Teivel can procreate, or the world would be awash with creatures like you."
"He is not a creature," Sam snapped, leaping to Braeden's defense. "In Thule, he and I fought side by side to protect our people from demonkind. He is a manâa good man. He is not the enemy."
"Then explain the fire drake," Azi said, unmoved by Sam's little speech, "and why it obeyed you like you were the Betrayer himself."
"I don't know," Braeden bit out. "I took a chance, and it worked. Why it worked I couldn't tell you. But I can tell you this: I'm not the only one who can control them."
Azi jumped to his feet. "Them? The entire stable escaped their prison?"
"I've seen four," said Braeden. "I don't know about the fifth."
Azi ran his fingers through his beard, his hand shaking. "There's one fewer of them now. I suppose we have you to thank for that."
Sam scooted closer to Braeden so that her hip touched his shoulder. "I told you, he's on our side."
The emperor raised an imperious black brow. "Our side?"
"The side of humanity," she flung back at him. "When the Gods damned fire drakes have returned to this world, that's the only side that matters."
"Enough, both of you," Azi snapped, his dark eyes flashing with annoyance. Satisfied they were both suitably chastened, he fixed his gaze on Braeden. "You said there are others besides you who can command the accursed beasts. Who?"
"They call themselves the Shadow Sisters. And they have three fire drakes under their command. They had four, till I stole one from them."
Azi stared at him intently. "Who has the fifth?"
"I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess?" Braeden shot Sam a knowing look.
"Oh Gods," she groaned aloud. The last thing they needed was for the High Commander to have another weapon to use against them.
"What?" asked Azi and Emperor Kazan in unison, wearing identical irked expressions.
Sam dropped onto the edge of Braeden's cot and rubbed her face in her hands. Her own head was spinning with questions and half-solved mysteries. She wished she could speak with Braeden alone and ask him everything she wanted. How had he escaped from the convent? Who were these Shadow Sisters, and did they have anything to do with the ten Sun Sisters who disappeared along with him? But first she had to convince Emperor Kazan and Azi that Braeden was an ally. Which meant telling them the truth, but leaving out a few important details. "It's a long story, and I don't know all of it. But you should know the real reason Iâweâcame to Rhea." Or part of the real reason, anyway. She drew in a big gulp of air and breathed it out slowly. "We're searching for aâa cure, for a very particular ailment. Or we were, before we got separated."
"A cure for what?" asked the emperor, frowning.
"It's not important," she hastened to say. They didn't need to know about Braeden's tattoo or the risk it posed, not only to him but to anyone who crossed the High Commander. "We thought the Sun Sisters might have some answers for us, or at least be able to point us in the direction of someone who would."
"Well, that was foolish," the emperor said with a snort. "Those old biddies keep their secrets tied up tighter than a novice's maidenhead."
"Kaz!" Azi scolded.
The emperor rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a prude, old man. Besides, you know it's true. They claim they're protectors of the realm, but they spend more time protecting themselves and whatever it is they have hidden underneath the temple."
"You mean the dungeons?" Sam asked dubiously. That was no great secret.
"Trust me when I say you aren't missing anything," Braeden piped in, ignoring her warning glare. "What Sam doesn't want to tell you is that I was kept in the dungeons as the sisters' prisoner."
"Braeden!" she squawked.
He just shruggedâmore of a forward jerk than a shrug with his wrists pinned to the bed. "They were going to find out eventually."
"I was going to ease into it," she muttered.
"What was your crime?" asked the emperor, sounding more curious than wary. Gods, he was young.
Braeden lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few long seconds before responding. "The sisters accused me of perpetrating a massacre in Rhea about a decade ago."
Azi gave him a sharp, searching look. "Was Nasrin involved?"
"She was the lead witness in his trial," Sam spoke up, her forehead creasing. "Why does it matter?"
Azi swore and began pacing across the small room. "Because your aunt is still obsessed with that child she killed ten years ago. The one they called the aliah. She went a little mad afterwardâout of guilt, I assume. It can't be an easy thing to kill a child, no matter what crimes they committed. She refused to believe the child was truly dead and started seeing the aliah everywhere. Did you know the convent was forced to send her home to your grandfather for a year to recover?"
Sam shook her head. "Kameko never said anything about it."
"She probably doesn't know," said Azi. "I wouldn't have known myself if I hadn't run into Nasrin while visiting with the general. She was not herself. To be frank, I was surprised when she was deemed fit enough to return to the convent." He squinted at Braeden. "You do have the same unusual coloring as the aliah. Nasrin must have taken one look at you and demanded vindication."
"How can you be so certain she's wrong?" Braeden asked as Sam muffled a groan. Why was he always quiet when she wanted him to speak and loquacious at the worst possible moments?
Azi's mouth lifted at the corners. "Well, for one, the aliah was a girl."
A/N: Clearly I have zero restraint...but v. v. excited to share these couple o' plot twists! LMK what you think! Also, the "aliah" and "daem" names are really not working for me...I may go back and change them (even in this first draft) if I can come up with something better. Naming things = not my strong suit.