Chapter One

THE view through the arrow slit revealed only a narrow slice of rocky, inhospitable wasteland.

Still, Kaile continued to stare out at the barren landscape as he tried to figure out how he ended up locked in a tower cell.

He had a fairly good guess about where he was. The terrain, coupled with what he could see of the fortified manor house below him, matched Jelverck’s description of Velia’s Grey Tower. The former fortress of the Grey Enchantress.

Despite missing a chunk of memory between leaving Obelarr City and waking up on the cold stone floor, Kaile remembered enough to know the Tower had been his intended destination.

Discovering the possibility that Isadora and Velia may have been allied before the Enchantress was defeated had left everyone unsettled. Which meant it was imperative someone re-check the fortress to be sure nothing had been missed when Jelverck and Sterling investigated the Tower.

Kaile decided that someone needed to be him. It was the perfect excuse to slip away on his own.

To escape the shadow Beckett’s oracle had cast over him.

From the moment his packmate had first taken Kaile aside to share what he’d seen, the words had been a constant, silent refrain.

“I saw you and a White Dragon. The sense of danger was…”

Just the memory of his vision disturbed Beckett so much, he hadn’t been able to finish the thought.

And that, more than anything, chilled Kaile to the bone.

Especially when there were two rare White Dragons in his life now.

Despite being a drake rather than a wolf-shifter, Jack was pack. Family. More so than the vipers who’d washed their hands of Kaile when he was still a child. He would do anything to ensure Jack never again suffered because of the unique properties of his blood.

And then there was Jack’s long-lost sister.

Helena.

With her dark hair and deep, mesmerizing blue eyes, she’d drawn Kaile from the moment he first met her. The stubborn strength and unflappable calm that defined her every word and action only made her more intriguing.

The idea of being even tangentially responsible for harm coming to her tortured Kaile with guilt, fear, and fury.

To protect Helena and Jack, Kaile had no option other than to stay far away from them both.

With the Keres and the Mirror King on the loose, everyone in his unique, expanding, cobbled-together family was working to stop the treacherous cabal. The pack had scattered across the continent, doing everything possible to thwart Isadora’s crazy, dangerous scheme before she managed to return unrestrained magic to the world, harnessed under her cruel control.

Kaile intended to do his part, as well.

A brief visit with Viscount Cedde in the dungeon confirmed Isadora had been in contact with Velia. And that the dowager Countess believed some books or relic of importance might still be hidden in the Grey Tower.

It was the perfect place for Kaile to do something useful while staying far away from Jack and Helena.

Eager to be away, Kaile had set out the next morning for the wasteland that surrounded the Grey Tower.

Of course, he’d offered his friends a vague deception of searching for a contact somewhere south to keep them from worrying about his true destination.

So Kaile was very certain of where he was. And even why he’d ended up there.

But the how remained blurred and uncertain.

And, more disturbingly, so did the how long.

Spring had been just easing into full bloom when he’d left the Obelarr Palace Complex.

But now, creeping bright green weeds rose defiantly between the rocks of the wasteland. And the temperature was warm and pleasant.

As far north as Kaile believed he was, that could only mean that summer had well and truly begun.

And that, somehow, Kaile had lost weeks of memories.

With a sigh, he stepped away from the narrow window to glare at his prison.

The first clear memory he possessed after leaving Obelarr City was waking up a few days ago in this cramped tower room.

The pounding of some miserable soul stomping up what sounded like a hundred steps had roused Kaile from heavy slumber. A litany of bitter, muttered complaints accompanied the unhappy progress. Whoever it was had stopped only long enough to shove food and water through the slit in the bottom of the door before lumbering away again.

Groggy and confused, exhaustion weighed Kaile down. But ravenous hunger had gnawed unrelentingly at his stomach until he’d found enough reserve to drag himself to the bowl. And he’d fallen on the bland gruel like it was the finest palace feast.

It was only after he’d licked the dish clean that Kaile found the wherewithal to take note of his surroundings.

Stone blocks made up the walls, floor, and ceiling of his cell. Two arrow slits let in thin trickles of light. The wall opposite the openings held the heavy oak door under which the food was delivered. There was no handle on the inside, and even leaning his full weight against the wood didn’t budge it a bit.

And the buzz of magic that raced through Kaile every time he moved near the door told him it was more than a conventional lock keeping him confined. Something long-forgotten inside him had risen to the surface, prodding and testing the magic, before slipping back into quiescence when it was clear the magic wasn’t free to be used.

With a shiver, Kaile sternly reminded himself that wasn’t a possibility. Helena’s gift had confirmed that his magic was blocked. Just like most everyone else in the world. He couldn’t access his power, even if he wanted to.

A whisper of uncertainty, however, remained in the thrum of his heart when he got too close to the bespelled door.

Ignoring the unsettling sensation, Kaile curled against the far wall and fell back to sleep almost immediately.

It had taken another day of rest and another tasteless meal delivered by his unhappy jailer before Kaile had enough stamina to walk across the room and look out the window.

In the days since, he’d regained some strength and energy, but fatigue seemed to be his constant companion. Whatever had happened to Kaile in those missing weeks, it had taken a hard toll on him.

With no weapons, tools, or magic relics to open the door, Kaile had turned to guile. His best efforts to engage and charm his jailer, however, were met with nothing but silence during the daily deliveries.

Still, his options were limited, so Kaile readied a new, carefully crafted overture to try each mealtime.

A soft scraping sound on the stairs took him by surprise, however. It was the wrong time of day for a meal. And the noise sounded nothing like his usual visitor’s bad-tempered approach.

Whoever was climbing the steps was making every effort to be stealthy and quiet.

Hope flared to life and Kaile held his breath. Despite his subterfuge about heading south, could one of his pack be looking for him?

He exhaled slowly and silently as cynicism reasserted itself.

No one knew he was here.

So the person approaching could not be here to rescue him.

Yet, anyone working with his jailer would have no reason to sneak around the tower. So it was most likely someone who didn’t belong here, either.

Hopefully, someone Kaile could charm, cajole, or bribe to help him get away.

Kaile rolled his shoulders and eased closer to the door, quietly calling out, “Who’s there?”