Altair answered instead. “No doubt she is extremely important to her people, and we will hold her for ransom to force their compliance.”
I gaped at Altair, my hand momentarily falling away from the sword hilt. “Forgive me, Majesty, but you should have consulted me on this before the mission. Even if the aerial cavalry managed to capture her, how will they control her power?”
“Through her horse,” a deep, gravelly voice said. It sounded slightly distorted coming through the mask.
I stiffened as I turned to look at the creature that called itself Ozul.
A loud pounding on the emperor’s door interrupted us. “Enter,” Altair said, his tone deeply annoyed.
Rhea strode into the room, her normally lightly browned skin looking pale. Rhea was one of the best scouts we had, with a real knack for reconnaissance and returning without the enemy having any idea they were being spied upon. She’d perfected the art our people had of schooling her features to appear statuesque, but now, she looked completely undone. Her hair was a wild halo around her head, having escaped its braided knot at the base of her neck, and her eyes were so wide I could see whites all the way around.
“What is it?” the emperor asked, and by his restraint, I could tell he realized as I did that something was wrong.
“Captain Suna and her squadron are all dead, Majesty,” Rhea said, her voice shaky. “Their eagles, too. I saw it with my own eyes.”
My eyes widened at her words, and not just because the whole squadron had been wiped out. Emperor Altair hadn’t consulted me on which squadron to send on this mission. If he had, I certainly wouldn’t have recommended her. I had never had the chance to punish Captain Suna for her role in Lieutenant Callum’s death due to her negligence. Now, though, it seemed that the royal with the wind power had done my job for me.
“Did you locate the girl?” he asked sharply.
She shook her head. “We engaged in battle with a small group of Children, and amongst them was the girl with the power to control the wind. We were unable to capture her.”
Altair didn’t look at me, but I was staring at him, both eyebrows raised. “What happened?”
“She raised her hands to the sky, and a series of unnatural cyclones appeared out of nowhere. My eagle and I were flying at a higher altitude and were able to escape, but the others were caught within and smashed to the ground.”
“Thank you for your report, Rider,” Altair said, and Rhea bowed and left.
“Her ability will change the tide of this war,” I said. “The fact that she took down nearly an entire battalion on her own doesn’t bode well. We have no hope of capturing her now.”
Altair had been watching Ozul quietly, but now he turned his attention back to me. “There may be another way.”
12
Zara
General Isa interrogated me about my power as we traveled the short distance to the canyon. Naomi had ridden ahead to brief the others on the casualties of the battle and to tell them that General Isa hadn’t lifted the order to hide in the canyon’s cave system. Not until we could be sure the Zephyrians wouldn’t send another wave.
“Can you call upon it at will?” General Isa asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, my voice thick. I knew what General Isa wanted from me, but I couldn’t bear to face it. “I’ve only used it twice now, and that was when I felt like we would all die if I didn’t.”
General Isa nodded thoughtfully from astride Kamil. I had already told her about being attacked on my own before, when we had left my home camp. She had reacted with a mixture of horror and intrigue.
“You’re at your most powerful when you’re defending someone else. That makes sense given your mother’s healing abilities. You have a family history of saving others.”
I wasn’t sure this had anything to do with Ama’s abilities, but I nodded to show I was listening.
“If we positioned you strategically, do you think you could call upon enough of the power to take out numerous battalions of Eagle Riders?”
I closed my eyes and took a breath. It was the question I dreaded but, at the same time, understood. She was the leader of our failing army. Of course she would want to use my power as a weapon.
“I don’t know,” I told her, but I thought of the way the wind felt when I was connected to it. Like there was no end to its vast strength. At the same time, I felt as though it would drain me until there was nothing left. Even now, my heart seemed to beat sluggishly. My breaths came harder, like a horse sat on my chest.
She regarded me with her sharp eyes. “I think you do.”
“It hurt my bond with Shazeera. I can’t hear her thoughts. I can’t communicate with her at all—last time it lasted for an entire day. I don’t know what it will do this time.” I put my hand on her neck, my voice breaking. “If I channeled the wind’s power for longer, to knock that many Eagle Riders out of the sky, it might sever our bond completely. There also seems to be a physical consequence—it feels like it’s draining all my energy even when I connect with that magic for just a short time. If I use too much, it may drain me completely. I just don’t know.” Talking so much had me panting. Shazeera eyed me with concern as I struggled to slow my breathing.
General Isa looked out across the plains as tears streamed from my eyes. “It exacts a terrible price from you, First Daughter,” she said finally. “And we will talk with your mother to see what she thinks the risks are.” She and Kamil came to a stop, and she turned to look at me as Shazeera halted, too. “But I will tell you this. We are on the verge of being destroyed as a people. At this rate, the Zephyrians will overtake us within mere months.Although we can’t say what this emperor will do, we know historically his father killed the royals of conquered countries and forced the people to give all of their resources to the Zephyrians.”
