ADRIAN

Tristan crouched low. “Follow my lead,” he said, his tone clipped, commanding. The air around him thrummed with his influence, his power brushing against the edges of my mind, that familiar pressure that made obedience feel like instinct.

He didn’t need to say more, Cassian and I fell beside him, silent shadows in the mist.

“I know where they’ll be,” Tristan muttered, scanning the trees. “The Academy wouldn’t risk the royals being too deep in the ...