Suddenly he could hear them, the crackle and snap of their wings as they swept at the air, and then they were descending to the beach. One by one, they shifted form even as they made contact with the ground, and now Dion was looking at Eiric, along with an assembled group of twelve tall, angry eldren.

Eiric had changed, he could see at a glance. He was as lean as ever, with sharp features and skin as white as snow, contrasting with his golden eyes. But he now had a powerful, regal presence and wore a crown of twisted laurel leaves on his head, although he was clad in the same deerskin clothing as his companions.

Eiric only had eyes for Liana.

He’d barely changed his form before he was rushing toward her, ignoring everything else. Breathing heavily, his face revealing ragged emotion, his eyes widened as he inspected the bruises on her face. He took her hand and held it up, examining the bandage on her arm.

‘My love . . . I felt your pain from a world away,’ he said softly. ‘Liana, tell me. Who did this to you?’

When Liana lowered her head, Eiric turned his golden eyes on Dion, his expression of rage naked and raw, but Dion met his gaze firmly.

‘We should not be fighting each other,’ Dion said, regarding the man who had once been his friend. ‘You and I, we were once close. We need to stand together as we did before. For our enemy – our true enemy – did things to Liana, and to me, that must be avenged.’

‘Who are these people?’ Eiric said in a low, urgent voice.

‘They are the descendants of Aleuthea.’

Eiric looked at his brethren. ‘Dalton, Caleb, all of you . . . Wait here.’ He turned back to Dion. ‘You and I, Dion, King of Xanthos . . . It appears we need to talk.’

He then reached out to stroke Liana’s face.

‘I will be back soon, my love. We are going to repay these people for everything they did to you.’

‘They chained her, collared her?’

Dion nodded.

Eiric’s fists were clenched at his sides. ‘We won’t leave a single one of them alive. At least this king is dead.’

‘It was all Chloe . . .’ Dion shook his head. ‘She was incredible. Tore their magic apart. I’ve never seen anything like it.’

‘So, Dion . . . Where does this leave things between you and me?’

‘I tried talking to you—’

‘You deployed your soldiers against us.’

‘I had to,’ Dion said. ‘I’m half-eldran, but I’m the ruler of a human kingdom, and Queen Zanthe of Tanus is our ally.’ He tried to keep the ire out of his voice. ‘You didn’t even reach out to me before you attacked the mines.’

‘What else was I to do?’ Eiric scowled. ‘It’s our territory. You humans will never give up your quest for metal.’