Page 84 of Fallen Nocturne

He carries me onward without a word, letting the silence press in around us.

“Can you?” he suddenly asks me. “Can you forget?”

I turn the question over in my mind. I want to say yes. I want to bury the entire humiliating encounter and never think of the sound of my name in his voice again.

But I already know I would be lying.

“No,” I admit. “Probably not.”

Something that might be a smile flickers across his face. “Neither can I.”

Chapter 11 Rhianelle

Inotice the blood first.

Tiny spots of it, dried dark against the pale stone of Coral’s sleeping area. At first I think she’s injured herself during training. Perhaps she accidentally scraped herself against the rough cliff face. But when I run my hands over every inch of her body, I find the source.

It’s from her back.

Some scales along her spine are missing. I notice more are loose, lifted at the edges, raw pink skin visible underneath. My fingers hover over the damaged areas, afraid to touch. “Coral, what happened?”

She makes a guilty sound low in her throat and turns her head away.

Panic floods through me. I need to tell Landon.

I know he’s back because I saw Dorcha in the flight yard earlier. He’s been checking on us more frequently, the golden string drawing him to me even when he has a dozen other duties.

I press my forehead to Coral’s neck. “I’ll be right back.” She makes a low sound of protest as I pull away.

My feet are already moving. The corridors blur past me and I take the stairs two at a time. A pair of soldiers flatten themselves against the wall as I rush past. One calls after me, but I barely hear him. My thoughts are filled with the blood beneath Coral’s scales.

Landon will know what to do.

My mate has spent centuries among wyverns. He understands every movement of their wings, every shift of their tails, every sound that leaves their throats. The golden string hums louder with every step, pulling tight in my chest. His quarters are just around the next corner. A guard posted outside opens his mouth but I push past him, my hand already on the door.

I do not knock.

I find him in his room, bent over a stack of reports. They’re covered in his handwriting, information from fae traitors who hate the Fae King and his mistress. I worry constantly about the danger Landon places himself in by spying on Avalon. I’m scared that one day the king might catch him.

He looks up when I burst through the door.

“Rhianelle? What’s wrong?” His chair scrapes sharply against the floor as he rises.

“It’s Coral,” I say, catching my breath. “She’s bleeding. Her scales are coming off.”

Landon is on his feet immediately. The reports scatter forgotten across his desk. He’s already following me toward the door before I can say another word. We move quickly through the corridors.

My heart pounds in my chest. Coral is waiting where I left her, her body still turned away from me. Landon kneels beside her to examine her injury. I watch his expression shift from concern to something darker.

“We need to get Tarian here,” he says quietly.

Word spreads fast in the residence. Landon’s legion arrives before Tarian does. They begin gathering around us. Theo comes first, drawn by the urgency in Landon’s voice. Glenn and Kieran follow him into the enclosure. Eacharn remains near the entrance, his expression grim.

Their wyverns crowd the open courtyard beyond them. Pyraxis lowers his copper head, watching Coral through the doorway. Even Nightshade makes a low, unsettled sound.

I move closer to Coral.

The legion has never made any secret of its distrust of me. Their words are usually polite enough, but I see the questions in their eyes whenever Landon stands beside me.