The others have closed in around us. Selene’s face is pale, her gold fire extinguished. Aisling’s healer’s hands hover near me, ready to intervene. Nasyra watches with knowing eyes—she grasps, perhaps better than anyone, what it’s like to be consumed by power you didn’t ask for.
“You were glowing.” Rurik’s voice holds none of its usual humor. “White fire everywhere. The stones started melting. For a second, I thought?—”
He doesn’t finish. Doesn’t need to.
“But you sealed it.” Drayke’s voice is measured, assessing. “You opened the Crown, wielded its power, and sealed it again. Can you do it again?”
The question cuts through the aftermath. Practical. Strategic. The question of a king planning a war.
“Yes.” I force steel into my voice. “I can do it again.”
“You barely sealed it this time,” Auren says quietly. His arms haven’t loosened. If anything, he’s holding me tighter, as if he can keep me safe through sheer force of will. “I watched you fighting it. Another few seconds?—”
“Another few seconds and I would have found my balance.” I pull back enough to meet his eyes. “It surprised me. The intensity of it. But now I know what to expect. I won’t be caught off guard again.”
“Tamsin—”
“I can do this.” I cup his face in my still-trembling hands. “I have to do this. Ulrik’s defenses won’t break for anything less. And I won’t—” my voice cracks slightly “—I won’t let you fly into that battle without every advantage I can give you.”
Something shifts in his expression. The fear doesn’t disappear—I don’t think it will, not until this war is over and we’re both still breathing. But something softer joins it. Something that makes my chest ache in the best possible way.
“You came back,” he murmurs. Low enough that only I can hear. “When I called. You came back.”
“I told you.” I press my forehead against his, not caring that everyone is watching. Let them see. Let them know. “I have something to come back to now.”
His hand slides into my hair, gripping gently, possessively. The touch grounds me more effectively than any magic. Reminds me who I am when the Crown’s power threatens to make me forget.
“The Crown,” Aisling says, her practical voice cutting through the moment. “What did it feel like? I need to know what we’re dealing with if something goes wrong during the assault.”
I pull back from Auren reluctantly, turning to face the healer. His arm stays around my waist, supporting me. I lean into the contact.
“It felt like...” I search for words adequate to describe the indescribable. “Everything. Every ability I have, amplified until I couldn’t tell where I ended and the power began. I sensed your fires—” I nod at the Fire-Bringers “—and they felt small, candles next to what was burning inside me. I saw the wards around this courtyard, every thread of their construction. I could have unraveled them. Rebuilt them. Done anything.”
“The stones.” Nasyra’s quiet voice draws attention to the ground around me. Scorch marks radiate outward from where I stood, the rock blackened and partially melted. “You weren’t trying to do that, were you?”
“No.” I stare at the damage. “That was just... overflow. Excess power bleeding off because I couldn’t contain it all.”
“If that’s overflow,” Selene breathes, “what happens when you actually direct it?”
“Ulrik happens.” Zyphon’s rasping voice cuts through. He’s moved closer, his violet-cracked presence darker than usual. “His wards. His defenses. Eight centuries of accumulated power, shattered in seconds.” His mouth twists into something that might be a smile. “I’d call that acceptable overflow.”
“We move at dawn.” Drayke’s voice carries command. “A full day’s flight to reach the stronghold. Tamsin, can you hold the Crown open for an extended assault?”
I think about the power. The seductive whisper of limitless possibility. The way it tried to consume me even in those few seconds.
“Not indefinitely. The Crown draws on life force as well as magical reserves. Extended use would...” I hesitate. “Would burn me out. But I can hold it long enough to break his defenses. Long enough to give you an opening.”
“And then?”
“Then I seal it and fight with what I have.” I lift my chin. “I’m still the most powerful Fire-Bringer alive, with or without the Crown. Ulrik won’t find me easy to kill.”
Auren’s arm tightens around me. I feel his disagreement in the tension of his muscles, the way his jaw goes tight. But he doesn’t argue. He knows, as I do, that this is the only way.
“Dawn,” Drayke repeats. “Rest today. All of you. This will be the hardest fight of our lives.”
The gathering begins to disperse. Rurik claps Zyphon on the shoulder, murmuring something that makes the shadow dragon’s mouth twitch. Selene takes Drayke’s hand, pulling him toward their quarters. Aisling lingers, her healer’s eyes assessing me one final time before Rurik appears at her elbow to lead her away.
Nasyra pauses beside me. Her mismatched eyes—one purple, one pale pink—hold mine for a long moment.
