courtiers caught Veronyka’s attention, and the recognition she felt was almost enough to jolt her from the dream.
Tristan.
No, that couldn’t be right. This man was older than Tristan, but he had the same eyes, the same strong nose and stiff posture. Something in her mind clunked into place, and she knew this was Cassian she looked at. A much younger Cassian, but the distinctive widow’s-peak hairline was evident, along with the indents that would become dimples on either side of his mouth when he smiled.
What she was seeing . . . it must be the past, then—but whose past? She looked at the girl next to her again. There was something familiar about her, but of course, Veronyka had been visiting this girl in her dreams for years.
A low rush of murmurs drew her attention. A stillness had come over the dying man, and a healer moved forward, checking his hands and neck before shaking her head and drawing the blanket up over his face.
The hated woman let out a wail, but it was nothing to the fierce chasm that had opened inside Veronyka. She clutched at the hand she still held as all around the room, the richest and wealthiest people in the empire turned in her direction and bowed. . . .
Veronyka awoke in the dark. She was more tired than when she’d fallen asleep, and her eyes were dry and puffy. The dream had been strange, but what had come before it had been stranger; Azurec’s Day had delivered Veronyka the pieces of her old life again, except they didn’t fit back together as they once had.
Xephyra’s arrival had helped clarify things, putting Veronyka’s position into perspective. Her bondmate did not belong in a cage, and if that meant Xephyra didn’t belong here, with the others, then neither did Veronyka.
It made her ache to think of leaving Tristan behind, of what they might have become together if things were different.
But as she’d said to Val: If things were different, she’d be a Phoenix Rider.
Veronyka slipped out of the barracks before sunrise. She doubted Tristan would come by for their predawn run, but she wanted to avoid it in case he did. There was no point in pretending or getting her hopes up, and she wasn’t ready to see him just yet.
The stars were still out, her only companions as she made her solitary way through the stronghold. She had several hours until she had to report at the Eyrie, and she sensed Xephyra sleeping comfortably through the bond. Her time was her own.
She started in the grassy field in front of the village, where the remnants of the previous day’s celebrations still remained. The obstacle course was gone, but after so many nights spent going through the exercise, Veronyka could still see it in her mind’s eye. This was where everything had changed for her, and it was where she felt most at home at the Eyrie.
Though the sky was growing paler to the east, Veronyka could pretend this was any other night, that Tristan was by her side, and everything was as it had been. But in that scenario, Xephyra was dead. So instead Veronyka imagined a new reality, one where she and Tristan did the obstacle course together, Rex and Xephyra by their sides.
Her heart lifted, and she let the vision dissipate.
Next Veronyka wended her way through the village. She spotted Old Ana hunched over her summer squash, tugging up weeds, and Lars, the metalsmith, waved as he started the fires for his day’s work.
The stables were dark and quiet, the calming rustle of sleeping animals the only sound to punctuate the silence. Veronyka soaked it in, running her hands along horse flanks and murmuring soothing words as she passed. She poked her head into the fenced area where the dogs slept and received several sleepy tail wags in response.
The dining hall was mostly empty, so Veronyka took her time over a warm meal of oats and honey. Morra was busy getting started on the baking for the day, though she paused long enough to give Veronyka a wink and to slip an apple into her hand as she passed.
Veronyka forced her muscles to smile and kept her mind guarded as tightly as she could as she said her silent goodbyes.
At first light Veronyka reported to the Eyrie for duty, just as the commander had instructed.
She was eager to see her bondmate. Maybe once she did, she’d have the strength to do what needed to