Blake POV
The message arrives the way my brother does everything—quietly, precisely, and with the unmistakable intent of putting me on the defensive without ever raising his voice.
A single dragon lands in the outer receiving chamber bearing Nitras’s sigil. His wings are folded, posture respectful, expression carefully neutral. No weapons drawn. No challenge offered. Just diplomacy wrapped around a blade.
I don’t bother sitting.
“Nitras accepts peace,” the dragon says evenly. “For now. He proposes a united front to confront the king.”
For now.
The words echo in my mind like a measured heartbeat.
The fortress hums beneath my feet, old wards reacting subtly to the shift in power. Blaze stirs under my skin—not in anger or hunger, but recognition. My brother never offers peace. He offer
