Ishudder, torn between terror and awe. I’ve done it. I’ve truly shifted forms. And I wear the blessing of the All of All. My crown. The one I left behind at Bircharbor.
A roaring hiss comes from behind me, and the mirror disappears like a violet puff of smoke. I’m back in the cave, although the purple haze remains. Time, however, has unfrozen, revealing King Ustrin towering before me as an enormous orange fire lizard. His beady black eyes are narrowed, nostrils flaring with rage as his tongue lashes out of his mouth.
Gasps and grunts and growls come from the fire fae. I hear whispers uttered, first too quiet to hear. Soon I realize it’s one thing repeated.Unseelie Queen of Fire.
I meet Aspen’s eyes. For a moment I’m scared of what I’ll find in them. I’ve seen him as a stag, but...can he accept me like this? His voice comes through the Bond.You’re beautiful, Evie.
My heart swells, burning away the remainder of my doubts. I turn my attention to Ustrin.
With slow, slithering steps, he moves toward me until he’s positioned between me and the cave’s exit. “Fight me,” he taunts. “Prove your worth, fool girl.”
I know what needs to be done, but I can’t do it here. Not where the fire fae—my fae, my people—could get caught in the crossfire. I feel a calm warmth in the back of my mind. Something tells me to turn myself over to it. As I do, my vision becomes clearer, my sense of awareness sharper. Information streams through me at once—every angle of the cave walls, my own weight, size, and shape. But I don’t have to think about it or even process it. I just know it in an instant.
I lower into a crouch, springing off all four paws. I soar over Ustrin’s scaly shoulder and land on an outcropping of the cave wall next to him. Scrambling to maintain purchase, I feel a weight sliding from my head. The crown. I try to right myself, but the crown clatters to the floor. I look from it to the fire lizard. Before I can make a move, hot orange flame shoots from his mouth, incinerating the crown.
I can do nothing but stare in horror as the gift from the All of All glows red, melting and shifting until what remains is a pile of shapeless molten metal. “No,” I gasp.
“There goes your gift from the All of All,” Ustrin says. “It was never a sign of their favor. You were never worth their blessing. Now submit to me!”
My heart sinks, eyes still locked on the melted crown. Is this my answer? Am I truly not the alpha blessed by the All of All? How did I ever think I could be?
You are more than that crown.The words shatter my stupor and I meet Aspen’s eyes from over Ustrin’s shoulder.Do not accept defeat, Evie. The crown was gifted to you from an intangible realm. It exists outside physical form.
I don’t think I can beat him,I reply.He’s too strong.
He isn’t stronger than you are. You’re the Unseelie Queen of Fire.
His words strengthen me, and I stand firmer on the stone.
“Submit to me,” Ustrin says, oblivious to my silent exchange with Aspen.
Wear the crown,Aspen says.
Returning my attention to the cave walls, I launch over the fire lizard to another outcropping that places me behind him. He hisses, whirling around as I launch again, landing on the floor of the tunnel. I take off, my flames lighting my way. Even if they weren’t, I have a feeling I’d be able to see in the dark regardless. Ustrin’s claws scrape the stone as he tears out of the chamber, hard on my heels.
I know he can’t attack me until I attack him first, but I’m not willing to risk him getting too close. As I clear the mouth of the cave, I keep running, my mind processing risk and reward as I seek favorable ground. A clearing ringed by enormous trees comes into view, and I spring toward it, my four paws pounding the earth with ease as if I never had only two legs before. As I reach the other side of the clearing, I skid to a halt and whirl to face the fire lizard.
Grass and earth turn beneath Ustrin’s claws as he enters the clearing, flames dancing over every scale. His movements aren’t as graceful as mine, his thick limbs slow and lumbering. “Tired of running? Ready to face me?”
I assess the clearing, calculating the arrangement of trees, the grass, the glowing mushrooms. I note every rock and branch, pinpoint which smells belong to which animals lurking nearby. I’m still without much of a plan, but something inside me knows all of this is important. I take in Ustrin’s size compared to mine. Even though he’s slower than I am, his size makes up for my upper hand in agility. There’s no way I can win by dominance of strength. And he’ll never concede to me the way Nyxia’s mother conceded to her. What other ways can I prove myself the alpha?
Ustrin’s voice bellows through the night. “Fight me!”
I shudder at the rage fueling his tone. It’s now or never. I may not be able to win by physical attack, but it’s the only thing that can start this. Lowering into a crouch, I let my fire curl around me. Then I dart forth, paws pounding the earth as I charge the fire lizard. As I approach, he doesn’t so much as flinch. Before I collide with him, I turn to the side and swipe out with my back legs. My claws make contact with his scales, but all they meet is firm resistance. I tear back toward the opposite end of the clearing, spinning to face him in a defensive posture.
Ustrin remains where he is. His tongue flicks in and out of his mouth, then hissing laughter fills the air. “That’s all you have? A swipe of your dainty little paws?”
“We’re just getting started,” I say. It’s the first time I’ve attempted to speak out loud in this form. I’m startled to realize I didn’t form the words with my mouth. I’ve witnessed many unseelie who communicate without the need to move their lips, but it’s still jarring to do it myself, no matter how natural it comes. However, the surprise only lasts a moment before my instincts prevail over all else.
“You’re right about that.” Ustrin opens his maw, and an orange glow surges forth. The ball of flame barrels toward me, almost faster than I can react. I roll to the ground, but the fire skims my side, extinguishing my flames where it touches and replacing them with scorched fur and blackened flesh. The pain feels the same as the burns I caused myself after Mother’s trial. At least these wounds seem to quickly subside, as my own flames return, pink, purple, and aqua lapping over my ribs, repairing the flesh and restoring my strength.
I right myself but scramble along the ground to avoid his next blast. This time, the fire skims my fluffy white tail, most of the blast hitting the tree behind me. I speed across the clearing, blasts of heat soaring close enough to feel, one right after the next. I pause behind the wide trunk of a tree. My eyes flash to the clearing, finding patches of burning grass, charred trunks of trees, scorched stone.
Again, that calm warmth pulls me in, and my attention sharpens. I hear several mice burrowing beneath the earth, desperate to flee from what’s happening above ground. I hear the fluttering wings of a moth in the tree overhead as it draws near a patch of flame. I hear Ustrin’s claws tearing the dirt as he plods toward the tree I’m hiding behind. Even before he opens his mouth, I know what’s about to happen, the sound of the fire stirring in his throat now familiar to me.
I try not to flinch as flames lap toward me, burning the trunk of the tree I’m hiding behind and searing the tips of my ears, my tail, the edges of my fur. With a breath, my fire repairs the damage to my body, and I dart out of my hiding place to another tree. Again, I focus on the sounds, the sights, the smells. A patch of earthy mushrooms glow nearby, but there’s a stronger aroma to my left. It’s pungent like the mushrooms, but mingling with it is the scent of decay. I look toward the source, finding an enormous tree nearby. From sight alone, it looks just like any other tree. But as my eyes seek the boughs overhead, I see it bears no leaves, no fruit. I hear termites scurrying inside the bark, sense the hollowed patches within the trunk.
Another ball of flame soars my way, but this time I sprint out from behind the tree before it strikes it. I seek the dying tree, circling around it a few times to snag Ustrin’s attention. He tears across the clearing, mouth opening wide as he prepares to launch another ball of flame. I skirt around the tree just as the flame hits it. However, he doesn’t stop there. Ball after ball strikes the tree, the heat searing me. One misses the tree and sets the grass aflame near my feet. I dance away, then peek around the trunk. Ustrin is now only several feet from the tree, tongue lashing in and out of his mouth.
