She didn’t move. I pressed on.
“You are the smartest, toughest, most skilled fighter I’ve ever seen. I know that isn’t saying much, coming from me, but it’s still true. And if Arrow Fitzroy can’t see that, then make him see it.”
Her head tilted down just enough to tell me she was listening. Her braid slipped forward as she let out a long, tired breath.
And then, without a word, she shook her head, threw her braid back, and stormed across the ring toward River. Fallon swung up into the saddle, still not looking at me. Not once. She shifted her weight, guiding River away from the clearing, away from me.
Watching her ride away from this conversation, from me, ripped something open in my chest. Then the words — those words I’d repeated to myself for over a year — spilled out uncontrollably. I’d always thought they were mine. Spoken in my mind, with my voice. Only now did I realize—they were never mine.
They were hers.
I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted with everything I had, “You are meant for more!”
River froze mid-step. Fallon slowly turned in the saddle. Even from thirty feet away, I could see the streaks of tears tracing down her cheeks.
My fists clenched at my sides, and I echoed the words across themarekem. “You are meant for more.”
Chapter 33
I was not just any elemental. Not just any soldier. Not just any person.
I was Fallon Fitzroy.
And I was meant formore.
I kicked open the war -room door with my heel. It slammed against the stone wall, echoing like thunder. The hinges rattled. Silence dropped like a curtain. Every head snapped toward me.
My elements boiled in my veins, begging to be unleashed, but I reined them in.
Chest heaving, I let the silence stretch. I met every pair of eyes—one by one—until they dropped away. Until only his remained. Everyone else sat, wordless. Everyone but him. His knuckles whitened around the two tomes we had fought to retrieve.
River padded in behind me and growled as I rounded the table and stepped toward my father.
“I am the soldier who found the runaway men from the Watch,” I said, voice low and tight. “I risked my life to gather the objects now in your hands.” My voice rose. “Scarlet Thorne and Istood before the Mareki Gem in the Eternal Tomb.Weactivated the first tome.Wefound the second.Wehave done what no one else has.”
I took another step forward, grounding myself like the elements I command. “I will go on this mission to Tyria’s stronghold, General Fitzroy. And I will complete it.” I raised my chin, unblinking. “Because I am more than capable—whether or not you acknowledge it. You made sure of it.”
River edged closer, her wet nose brushing my arm as she settled at my side. Around the table, chairs scraped across stone—soldiers shifting to make room for her. No one dared stop her.
Arrow’s hazel eyes burned, hard and unreadable, but I held his gaze. I refused to flinch. His finger tapped the table three times before he finally turned and laid the tomes down.
He surveyed the room. “Leave,” he commanded, voice rough and low.
One by one, the soldiers filed out. Silence thickened as the last of them pulled the heavy door shut, the latch clicking firmly into place.
Now only the three of us remained—my father, River, and me.
Arrow’s shoulders stayed squared, his breath slow and measured. He was composed—more so than I could claim for myself. My chest rose and fell too fast, breaths shallow. I forced myself to stand tall, matching his cold steadiness.
He stepped forward, looming. “You want to lead the mission to Tyria’s stronghold?” Softer now, but no less commanding.
“Yes, sir,” I answered, chin high.
He glanced at the tomes, then back at me. “We don’t know if there is a third. And if there is, there’s no telling it’ll be at this drop. You understand therisks?”
“I do,” I said. “Yes, sir.”
He nodded once, then held the tomes out. I took them carefully, feeling their weight settle into my arms. My fingers traced their spines before I looked up again. “Thank you, sir. We won’t let you—”
