Page 180 of Severed Heir

“He wouldn’t,” I said—but doubt curled around the words like smoke.

“Think, Severyn,” Rok said, sharper now. “He severed the bond with his beloved dragon. An heir is always replaceable. That’s the foundation of the Serpent Academy.”

Maybe I was. The fifth to claim. Grasping at the edge of a dying title, with false blood in my veins. The heir of a realm I’d never truly belonged to. And that sinking feeling? I’d known it before.

Rok raised his hand, voice rising. “Who will fight? We won’t get another chance before the Forgotten strike again. Next time, it might beyourhome.”

Bridger stepped forward. “I will.”

Three others followed, their steps slow and uncertain.

“I’ll fight,” Kian said, gripping his daggers like they were the only things keeping him upright.

Rok snorted. “Of course you will. You’re a guard.”

“Oh.Right. Everyone was doing it. Seemed dramatic,” Kian muttered, mostly to himself.

“You’re a coward,” I snapped, my voice brittle with anger and something close to grief.

Rok’s expression shifted. “And you,” he said coldly, “are weak. You’ll never survive as a leader.”

But it wasmypower that had sealed Demetria’s shields.Myblood that spilled to make Archer’s heir. I did survive.

Rok threw a dagger at my boots. “Take it. Combat class starts now. And that blood won’t clean itself up in the dungeons.”

I glared at the dagger but said nothing as I picked it up. Then Damien’s hand brushed my elbow, and I flinched back. “Please go away,” I said, barely holding it together.

He glanced at the dagger, then met my gaze with an unsettling calm. “I’ve seen the terror in your mind. You won’t be mopping up blood.”

I forced back the sting of tears. “Honestly, Damien—fuck you. You knew this would happen when he siphoned your quell.”

Damien scoffed. “Looks like your little plan backfired, Sev.”

Kian stepped in, uncertain. “Look, I don’t know what happened, but if you lose in combat, they’ll use that weakness against you. Can you two just... get along? For everyone’s sake?”

Damien didn’t even look at him. And I realized this was their first time speaking in years. Kian’s swollen eyes said it all. There’d been no reunion between them.

I gestured to both of them. “Between us? I could say the same for you two.”

The last time they’d seen each other was six years ago, before Damien was sent to that strange boarding school he had mentioned a few times.

Kian shoved his hands deep into his leather pockets. “He’s an elite now. He doesn’t care about me.”

As much as I hated Damien, Kian deserved a proper family. So, I shoved Damien forward. “Hug him. He’s your brother.”

Damien raised a brow, arms slowly unfolding. “Being inflicted by Severyn isn’t exactly a blessing.”

Kian laughed and yanked him into a rough hug. “I tried flirting with her once. Archer didn’t take it well.”

“Of course not,” Damien said flatly. “What’s more romantic than risking everything to sleep with your dead best friend’s sister?”

Kian shoved him back. “Watch it. I don’t like the way you talk about her.”

Damien’s gaze sharpened. “So, you two are close now?”

“Closer than you and I,” Kian muttered. “I don’t see you for six years and this is how you treat me?”

But Damien didn’t smile. Didn’t flinch. “You never believed me about our mother.”

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