She was dead.
The matebond was empty and his wife was dead and the thought landed in Maddox's chest like a blade between the ribs and stayed there.
The only reason he was still upright was because the body keeps moving after the mind has stopped, and his body had been trained to move in exactly these conditions for exactly these reasons.
Maddox saw Ryker below.
Black armor. Blood on his face. A sword in each hand because his dragon fire was gone and the man underneath the dragon had never needed fire to be lethal. He was holding the eastern flank with a line of warriors fighting on muscle memory and adrenaline, and the line was bending.
Maddox: Ryker. I am here.
The mindlink carried for the first time. Weak. Fragmented. Enough.
Ryker: Maddox. Do you have fire support?
Maddox: Negative. Seven dragons. Fire dampened on entry.
Ryker: Then why the hell are you here.
Maddox: Because you are.
