As we take up our formation in the air, I trust Cassia and the two men to keep up. The determination on their faces when I passed them told me they won’t let me down.
We have to reach the female Oracle before our enemies do.
I must possess her before either of the other two kings can.
She’s the first female Oracle born since the False Queen shattered our world. This is the first chance we have to break the curse that binds us in an endless war against each other.
Finally, I know where she is. But so, too, do my enemies.
The handwritten message I received was clear: The Oracle is hiding in the coastal village called Perotia, but thisinformation was sent to all three kings. It’s up to us who gets to her first.
The message’s origin is unknown. It came without a seal or any other identifying mark. The handwriting was inscribed in the common script, without flourish, and because it was slipped in with other messages, the fae who brought it to me couldn’t tell me how it got there.
It could be a trap or a ploy, but I can’t risk ignoring it.
Within minutes, we’ve soared across Starlit City toward the western coast.
The Iron Kingdom is wedged between the Frost Kingdom in the north and the Ember Kingdom in the south. Even though the three kingdoms are of a similar size, the location of my kingdom between the other two puts us at significant risk of attack from both sides.
As for the west and east, the western mountain range that we’re flying toward forms a near-impenetrable border down that side of all three kingdoms, while in the far east, the earth is nothing more than dust, miles and miles of barren land, its air polluted with dust storms.
We face another challenge on our journey west.
A visceral shudder passes down my spine as the bloodlands come into view in the distance, a place of pure darkness.
Roiling, black clouds cover a vast portion of the northwestern corner of my kingdom, and not a single ray of light can penetrate the dark magic that’s held within it.
A snarl of frustration follows my shudder.
The coastal village of Perotia sits in a nearly central location between the north and south. Because of the elongated shape of the bloodlands, the most direct route to Perotia is through its southern tip.
But I can’t risk taking Cassia through that dark place. Nomatter how determined I am to reach the Oracle before my enemies do.
I tell myself it won’t cost me too much time to go around, urging my eagle to fly faster to make up the shortfall as we fly wide of that cursed place.
Finally, we approach the vast mountain range that stretches from the north to the south, sheltering the coast behind it.
Years ago, my father tried to send an army through one of the few narrow passes in these mountains. I understood the tactical need to control the coast. The Iron Kingdom would finally flank the other two kingdoms, giving us an advantage.
But it was a fucking massacre.
My father knew the pass was too tight. He knew he needed an airborne army, which he was close to building. All he had to do was wait another year for the youngest flock of eagles to fully grow.
His senseless pride led to the decimation of half the Iron Army as Ember and Frost Fae picked them off from both sides, andstill,he screamed for more soldiers to push through the pass.Stillsent more men and women to slaughter.
I grit my teeth at the memory of his screaming mouth.
The mouth I punched.
I was only fourteen, but I was stronger than I should have been—a strength it was dangerous to reveal. But I knew the only way to stop my father was to break his jaw so he couldn’t speak another command.
It was a cruel relief when someone slit his throat that night.
My nightmare only continued.
And it won’t end until the female Oracle is found and her power is conquered. One way or another.
Perotia now lies directly ahead. We’ll reach it as soon as we cross the mountain range. In the distance, thesparkling sea is a vast azure-blue expanse, a beckoning tranquility, a promise of peace that feels too far away and nearly impossible to attain.
