“The end of the beginning.”
Too fucking cryptic.
“We fly north,” I declare. “Blackbird? Do you understand?”
He shows me that he does when he banks steeply to the right.
The sun is setting up ahead, but the natural darkness will help us stay hidden. We’ve already traveled far enough toward the west that Thaden’s village is a mere speck in the east, although the dark plain is still very visible.
On our other side, to my left, I can make out the heaviest concentration of thunderbirds, their lightning flickering through the air, as well as the castle where Queen Karasi is situated.
But the white-haired girl was right. The path we’re taking right now sits cleanly between the two.
She gives a loud sigh at my choice, but then she points toward the east—a final look back. “Do you see the edge of the dark plain? It has spread farther west even in the last day. Now my magic has fed it even more.”
My forehead creases. “Your magic pushed it back.”
“No, Asha,” she says so quietly that I nearly don’t hear her. “I’ve made it worse. Saving you was my only purpose.”
I risk another glance back—a final glance. Even from this distance, it’s clear that blight has extended farther along the wide plain.
The girl clears her throat. “It will spread even faster now, and the fae will become desperate soon. They will push west, and the humans will go to war.”
I wish I could deny the girl’s prediction, but Tamra described to me how badly the fae are hurting. I’m certain Queen Karasi will only act in her own best interests, but she won’t let the blight reach what remains of her people. After all, she can’t be a queen without people to rule over.
I wish I could ask Blackbird where Erik is. The last I saw of them both, Erik was leaping off Blackbird’s back onto Graviter Rex’s neck. They must have been separated somehow…
My heartbeat quickens at the possibility that Erik’s in trouble.
With my heart in my throat, I monitor Galeia’s breathing—shallow but constant. The ground beneath us is rocky and sharp, impossible to land on, and I pray we reach a safe spot soon.
As the air becomes colder, I fight off the chill, shivering in my tunic and pants and trying to keep Galeia warm, too.
I don’t mind when the girl presses in behind me, but she seems to be doing it more for my benefit than hers. She isn’t shivering at all despite wearing nothing more than a dress. Actually, I’m not even certain how she’s keeping it from flying up in her face. Still, the darker it gets, the warmer she gets.
“What should I call you?” I call back to her, my teeth chattering.
“In my original tongue, I am calledCaoilainn Liadan.”
I try to repeat it, but it’s nearly impossible while I’m shivering. “C-C-C…”
“How about you call meCailey,” she says, seeming to pick some of the most prominent sounds from her name and piecing them together.
I give her a nod, and that is all before I concentrate on staying alive.
Finally, I spot firelight ahead, along with the outline of a wall that appears to surround a gathering of buildings.
It looks quiet, with only a few silhouettes of people patrolling the wall.
I don’t imagine that our welcome will be warm, but I’m prepared to invoke General Glass’s name if I have to. The Einherjar may be savage, but they revere the Valkyries. I’m certain they won’t risk harming the child of one.
“Down there,” I say to Blackbird.Finally. “On the flat land next to those rocks. We can set down and?—”
A sudden gust of wind rushes up around us, coming out of nowhere, its force snatching the words from my mouth. At thesame time, an enormous, scaled body shoots into the air right in front of us.
I don’t have time to wonder how we didn’t see it.
Blackbird shrieks and attempts to evade it, but the new beast knocks into us.
