A voice speaks to my mind.—I can follow you, magesmith.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
— Your horses can’t run forever,he adds.
No kidding.
“He’s right,” Sephran calls from behind us. “What’s the plan?”
I have no idea, but I do know I’m not going to shout it into the air. “He’ll hear anything you say,” I call over my shoulder. At some point I’m going to have to reckon with everything that just happened between Sephran and Malin, but this is not that point. “So shut up.”
Mostly because I need tothink.
A snap and whistle sounds from behind me, followed by a crack of wood. A second later, it happens again.
“Silver hell!” Leo snaps. “Was that a crossbow?”
It happens a third time, and one of them cries out behind me.
If we stop, we’re dead. “Who’s hit?” I shout.
“Clipped me,” Sephran calls back.
Good, I think. “Stay low!” I snap. “They can’t see in the dark.”
The scraver’s voice comes from above.—I can.
I grit my teeth and fight for a plan— but I’ve got nothing.
Jax glances over again. “We’re going to run out of woods,” he says. He’s already breathing hard from the exertion— another reminder that he’s not a soldier. He might have been training with them in his free time, but that doesn’t mean he was ready for days of riding without a break. It doesn’t mean he was ready for us to run for our lives.
I wish I knew how many were following us, and how many guards and soldiers are among them— though it might not matter. Violence has long been glorified on the other side of the mountain. Even the wealthiest noble knows how to fight.
As if we could fight off a crowd of that size either way. There are only five of us, and there weredozensof them.
Then Jax looks over again. “Magic?” he calls.
I don’t know what he means, but then he flicks his eyes skyward before glancing back at me. “He already knows you used it.”
Meaning I could use it again.
Aside from the one time Alek tried to kill me, I’ve never used magic in battle. I know Grey can repel an enemy when fighting one- on- one, and he once made an entire courtyard full of people collapse at once. I don’t know how much power or focus it would take to accomplish either option— and I’ve never tried.
But I do know how to start a fire.
“Hold the line,” I call to Jax. “Straight out— don’t stop.”
Then I don’t wait for a response. I simply sit deep in the saddle, brace with my heels, and cue Mercy to whirl. We’re galloping hard, but we run drills often, and she drops her haunches to slow, skidding in the dirt. Behind me, Malin and Sephran shout and swear as they veer to avoid us, but I can’t worry about them now. We’ve got too many people behind us and a scraver overhead.
Before Mercy even comes to a stop, I’m swinging down from thesaddle, grabbing hold of her breastplate, and landing in a run to absorb the impact. As soon as I’m on the ground, Mercy prances in a tight circle around me, clearly done with these maneuvers. Fifty yards back, horses are crashing through the woods, and I know I only have seconds. Sparks and stars are already flaring in my vision. I’m so used to tamping them down, rejecting any hint of magic to keep it all hidden.
This time, I let it flare like a bonfire. The magic surges in my blood, light filling my eyes until it’s nearly impossible to see.
Calling a flame was one of the first skills Grey ever taught me. The intent was for basic survival— a fire can keep you warm and cook a meal.
But fire can also repel an enemy. It worked on Alek once, and I feel rather certain it’ll work on everyone following us.
I drop to touch the dried underbrush around my feet and let the magic surge. Fire bursts around my feet, and Mercy blows hard through her nostrils, jerking back to the end of the reins.
