“I know what you’re thinking.”
It was this assessment of her character, the implication of their closeness, that unmoored her. A reminder of what they had once been, and what they had become.
Yuri motioned at one of the other upturned crates. “Take a seat.” He was shuffling papers on the makeshift table, drawing out space for them, doing anything but meeting her gaze.
Ana sat, studying the snowhawks at the other end of the room as she waited. The birds cooed softly and stirred, blinking intelligent eyes, and as she watched, one soared in through the tent flap with a rolled-up scroll attached to its leg.
She turned her gaze to Yuri and said nothing. When, at last, he looked up at her, he paused. They hadn’t had the chance to be this close to each other in so long, and she watched him take in her face, the bruises on her cheeks and scratches on her flesh, her new sickly pallor and the rings beneath her eyes.
Yuri let out a breath, and something in his expression melted. “Deities, Ana. What happened to you?”
She attempted a smile. “If you’ve ever wondered what happens when someone loses their Affinity.” The joke struck hollow, scraping against her chest, and she was once again reminded of the abyss inside her where her Affinity had once been.
Yuri frowned. “I don’t understand.”
She began recounting to him her discoveries in the past moon, of how the Kingdom of Bregon had been embroiled in a decades-long scheme to reproduce siphons, deadly weapons capable of transferring Affinities, and how Morganya had planned to seize that technology, unbeknownst to Bregon. Then, she delineated her journey to Cyrilia, her capture by Morganya, and what she had learned during her imprisonment.
“And now, the siphons are still missing with Sorsha Farrald,” Ana finished quietly. “If they reach Morganya…”
“She’d be invincible,” Yuri finished. She could see thoughts warring in his eyes: that theyshouldn’tbe conversing in strategy, that they were meant to fight on different sides of a war. Yet curiosity won out, and he asked: “Is there a way for you—and the other Affinites—to get your powers back?”
It was the question she’d asked herself in the stretches of sleepless nights. The one that drifted back to haunt her thoughts when she found herself unoccupied for a moment.
“I don’t know,” Ana admitted. “But this is related to whatShamaïra told me last night.” Her heart clenched at the thought of the friend they’d left behind. They had been so close, yet not close enough. “She seems to believe the siphons will make their way to Morganya. And that if that happens, Morganya will nothesitate to siphon Affinities—Shamaïra’s, and those of other Affinites—to make herself infinitely powerful.”
And once Morganya had the siphons, she would search for the Deities’ Heart—whatever that was.
This, however, Ana kept to herself.
Yuri stood and began pacing, speaking his thoughts aloud. “We rescued a number of Affinites from her holding cells in Iyenza last night—it was why we were there in the first place. They told me the Imperial Inquisition was preparing to transport them to Salskoff in the next few days.” He looked up at her, understanding dawning on his face. “Our scouts reported that Morganya’s been arresting all Affinites found to oppose her and her regime.”
The news was chilling, confirming her worst fears. “She wants to siphon their Affinities, growing her power while destroying her enemies in a single blow,” Ana said quietly. “She could take the power of all those who oppose her and bestow it upon those who are loyal to her. She could take as many Affinities as she wanted, without limit.”
Yuri’s hands fisted. “So we must find the Farrald girl.” His gaze sharpened, the fire returning to those familiar coal-gray eyes. He was focused intensely on her, his stance leaning toward her, hanging on to her every word.
This was her chance.
Ana nodded and began to unspool the threads of her strategy.“King Darias—the Bregonian monarch—is currently recovering the research done on these siphons. He is meant to provide an update soon.” She watched Yuri cautiously, taking in every shift in every line of his face. “The King put together a task force of scholars dedicated to unearthing the research that was done on these siphons in the past decade.”
Yuri frowned at her. “So?”
“We need to cooperate with the Bregonian government. I returned with a thousand of their troops under my banner, before Morganya attacked.” She did not mention that they might all be lost—that the only thing she had left of them was the garnet amulet Daya had gifted her, hanging around her neck. “Help me reach them, Yuri, and we’d have an army to help us seek out the siphons—and put a stop to Morganya’s plans before…”
She trailed off. Yuri’s expression had shifted, his eyes narrowing. “Yourforces,” he repeated. “You want me to help you reach your forces—forces you secured with the backing of the BregonianKing—so, what, you can attack the Northern Crimson Forces and destroy us to take the throne? Another monarch, stepping on our backs to wear your gilded crown?” He stood, his jaw clenched, and in his eyes, Ana saw a shadow of the man who had drawn his dagger to kill her back at Iyenza.
I think what happened with Mama affected Yuri the most.Liliya’s words echoed in her mind.He was…different. Darker.
He blames me,Ana thought with sudden clarity. In his eyes, it was the monarchy’s fault for the way the world was. For the suffering of Affinites, for this war and the casualties it brought.
And she was its very last living and breathing symbol, still sitting before him, alive, where his mother was not.
The thought stung, that someone who had once meant the world to her could despise her with such passion. And if she could not win him over right now, all was lost.
Ana leaned forward. “Yuri,” she said, her tone softening. “I’m not fighting so I can take back the throne.”
He blinked.
“Shamaïra told me that Sorsha Farrald will reach Salskoff precisely two weeks from now. We will need to stop her from handing a siphon to Morganya, at all costs. And for that, we need an army.” She paused, forming her tone to soothe. “If I can reach my troops, then together, we can stop Morganya before it’s too late. And if we can stop Morganya, then we can work to begin building a world we want.” She shifted, leaning to draw back the flap of their tent. “A world like this, right here.”
