Page 149 of House of Ashes

Not so much as a single wyvern-rider, across their vast network of news and gossip, had a single sighting. There were hundreds of wyvern-rider outposts spanning the bay separating Akalla from the Wildlands; one of them would have seen her. Kirana couldn’t travel on Garnet for days on end without stopping for a resupply.

Alriss had questioned the wyvern-riders and ferrymen in every outpost that wasn’t held by enemy Houses, and by the time she arrived in Sylvaene Eyrie, she’d come to an inescapable conclusion: Kirana had vanished without a trace.

But Akalla was a vast continent. We could fly for months, even years—and never find so much as a shred of evidence as to where she’d gone.

Rhylan shaded his eyes, gazing out over the peaks of the mountains for a reddish wyvern that simply wasn’t there. Since Alriss had returned with the news, a frown had been permanently etched across his features.

“Rhylan…” I laid a hand on his arm. “Do you think it’s possible Undying Light lied to Alriss? Kirana would be a valuable political prisoner if they’re planning to move against us at the Second Claim.”

I knew he was hurting, that the potential loss of another sister was cutting him up inside, but we didn’t have the luxury of falling apart now.

One of us would have to remain cold-hearted, and consider every possibility.

Alriss had brought us a message from Tyria, which hinted between the lines that she would consider joining us. News of Zerhaln’s destruction—and the annihilation of the Bloodied Talons—had spread far and wide across Akalla. With Yura’s loss of the exile band, her position was greatly weakened.

But Tyria did not dare put anything more committed into words, not now. Not with three contenders preparing to vie for the throne.

Sylvaene Eyrie was in a precarious location, with the Gilded Skies and Undying Light to the west, and the Iron Shards and Raging Tempests to the south.

If Yura managed to bring the Iron Shards and Raging Tempests into the Court of Brightfire, Tyria would find her House completely surrounded by enemies.

And as badly as we needed the Jade Leaves in our Court, the more practical side of me couldn’t blame her for avoiding a strongly-worded commitment.

With Tyria’s reply, and the news of Kirana’s disappearance, I had immediately gone to the library and pored over the map, charting out the most likely course Kirana would have taken. Thanks to Viros’s logbook, I knew her course had brought her over Koressis, over the western edges of the Jade Leaves’ territory, and from there she was confirmed to have landed in Everael.

And just south of Everael was an open shot to the Wildlands. She should have made it over the channel…and yet not a single rider claimed to have seen her.

My stomach had clenched as I sorted through the myriad possibilities. At this moment, standing on the dragon terrace of Jhazra Eyrie, watching Rhylan obsessively scan the horizon, I was sure that Pyrae and Tashan had to have kept Kirana, and lied to Alriss about her departure.

Because I could not bring myself to fathom anything else. Not without proof.

Rhylan finally exhaled, his breath steaming in the icy wind. As the sun fell, the temperature had plummeted rapidly. “It’s possible…but we’d need Tyria’s aid to invade them and retrieve her.”

He took my hand, wrapping his fingers through mine, and for once his skin was freezing cold.

I cupped his hands in both of mine, trying to warm them, and gave the horizon my own perfunctory scan. I knew perfectly well she wasn’t going to appear, Horde or no Horde, and at this point I couldn’t give less of a damn if she’d made it to the Wildlands or not.

I just wanted her home and safe.

“At the Second Claim, I’ll ask them outright. Threaten Pyrae, and Tashan will fall in line. If they have Kirana, we’ll find out.” I rose up to kiss his pale cheek. The bruises from his fight with Kalros had faded to a sickly yellow-green. “And if they do…we’ll find an ally to join us in retrieving her. Everything will be all right, Rhylan.”

“I wish I could believe that.” He blinked, finally pulling his eyes from the sky, and managed a perfunctory smile. “But I appreciate it. I really do.”

My heart ached for him. I wished I could do more, especially after the last few days of him caring for me, but…I was one draga. If I had my own wings, if I could breathe fire, I could go after her on my own.

I was hamstrung by my own lack of power, and it galled me.

“She’s alive.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “She’s out there somewhere. Kirana is clever. We’ll find her.”

He leaned his head on mine, and after a few minutes of silence as twilight deepened, we finally tore our eyes from the empty horizon, turning away from the windows.

Viros was polishing a saddle behind us, his eyes elsewhere. Since Alriss had returned, the entire House knew that Kirana was missing.

The tension was a palpable hum in the air, everyone holding their breath as they waited for news of whether she was dead or alive.

And Rhylan paced the dragon terrace, unable to keep his gaze from the windows.

I knew it was hopeless, but I couldn’t stand here and watch him drive himself mad. “We’ll fly the planned route ourselves. Tyria won’t turn us away if we land in Sylvaene. From there we can push into Undying Light’s territory and look around the wyvern outposts ourselves. It’s possible she was seen, and the riders are keeping their mouths shut about it.”

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