“Incendar has a few traveling bands of nomads,” Ky says. “A hundred years ago, they lived in the mountains, but as more and more people mined for iron, they dispersed into the hills.” He pauses. “My father used to say they were a blight on Incendar, because they refused to fight in the war.” He shrugs a little. “But I can’t use soldiers who don’t want to be there. There aren’t many of them. They don’t cause too much trouble, so I leave them alone.”
Callum scoffs. “They’re a little crazy.”
“And they hate outsiders,” says Nikko.
“They’re still my people,” says Ky—but he sighs.
We’ve drawn closer to the crest of the hill, and he lifts a hand to signal to Captain Zale. Another scream peals over the mountain, and it tugs at my heart. The pain in the sound is piercing.
And then I realize why: it reminds me of the moment my mother died.
“It doesn’t matter who they hate,” I say. “Someone clearly needs help.”
“Or someone ispretendingto need help,” says Asher.
I grit my teeth and nudge my heels into my horse’s ribs anyway.
Ky grabs my horse’s rein before the animal can take off. I glare at him and try to yank the rein free while the horse prances underneath me.
His expression is resolute, his grip tight. “We are not riding heedless into danger, Princess.”
Asher glances between us, but he says nothing. Up ahead, Captain Zale rides to the top of the hill and surveys the valley below. After a moment, his horse whirls, and he jogs down to us.
“It’s a small Suross encampment,” he says. “Two of their huts are on fire.” He pauses, and I can feel the weight of unspoken communication between the king and his captain. “It’s spreading. They’re pulling buckets from the stream.”
That scream won’t stop echoing in my head, and I can’t tell if I’ve heard it again or if my thoughts just won’t let it go. My heart pounds hard against my ribs, and I try to jerk my rein free again. “Then we shouldhelp.” When Ky’s grip doesn’t give, I snap, “You just said they’re your people! You can stop the fire!”
He ignores me, his hard gaze shifting to Asher. “Draeg forces often try to lure me out by torturing my people with fire. Would your Hunters know to do the same?”
The words send a chill through me, but Asher lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve never hurt someone else to get at a mark,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean another Hunter wouldn’t.”
I grit my teeth. “If you won’t help,Iwill.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help them, Princess.” Ky looks back at Captain Zale. “Did you have a clear sight line?”
He nods. “The whole valley. They seemed panicked. It doesn’t feel like a trap.”
Ky gives a decisive nod. “Nikko. Hold the crest. Cal, keep the perimeter. We’ll check it out.” He finally looks back at me. “Stay here.” His eyes shift to Charlotte. “Both of you.”
She gives a dutiful nod. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
But I glare back at him. “I’ll stay on the crest of the hill with Nikko.”
He runs a hand across his jaw. “Fine. Asher—”
“I can help, too.” He says this a little bitterly, like he expects to be told to remain at the crest with me and Charlotte. But Ky just nods, whirls his horse, and leads his soldiers away.
The billows of dark smoke are getting thicker, clouding the sky. From the crest of the hill, the damage is worse than I expected. The straw roofs of two mud huts are entirely ablaze, but the fire has spread to the dry grass, blazing red flame crawling through the brush like something alive. As I watch, a gust of wind blows sparks onto a third hut, the straw catching immediately. Two trees have also caught, fire climbing the trunks, reaching for the dry branches. Ky was right that the settlement seems small. Only a dozen people can be seen running with buckets to the stream, sloshing half out on their way back to try to attack the fires.
But then my eyes fall on the woman who’s screaming, because she stumbles away from a burning hut, where she’s trapped by a field of fire. She wasn’t visible a minute ago, so it’s possible Ky and his men haven’t even seen her. Her circle of safety is quickly dwindling, and I watch as the king and the others reach the bottom of the hill. I wait for Ky to sketch the sigils that will bring all of this fire under control, so she can run to safety.
But...he doesn’t.
He’s calling orders to his men, but he’s too far for me to hear the words clearly. The soldiers have leapt off their horses, and they start going for buckets, too. I look to Nikko, my heart suddenly in my throat. “Why isn’t he stopping the fire?” I demand. “Why isn’t he using his magic?”
Nikko frowns a little, like I’ve asked an unexpected question. “His magicsummonsfire,” he says in that rough-quiet voice. “He cannot stop it.”
Charlotte gasps, and my breath stops in my chest as those words sink in. I remember the king summoning a sphere of fire to hover above his palm.
