Fucking shit!
I grunted, trying to free my legs, but the ice was so tightly wrapped around my ankles, my feet wouldn’t budge.Fuck it. I reopened the water valve. Thanks to the desert heat, and my efforts, it only took me a few minutes to finally manage to set my feet free. Few precious minutes, though.
They were faster than me, there was no doubt in that, but I was sure they didn’t know that the quickest way to the school was through the castle’s underground passage.
In as little time as possible, I snatched the nearest inconspicuous weapon—a dagger—and sprinted until my heart’s thunderous beats could be felt through my ear drums and my lungs threatened to explode inside my chest. I dashed through the servants’ quarters and thankfully found Farah right where I thought she’d be at this time of day.
“Where’s Sabriela?” I asked, catching my breath.
“Why are you panting? Is everything okay?”
“I need to find Sabi. Where is she?”
“She took Yuri and Ira to school. The twins wanted to play with their new marbles before school started, so they left early. Is everything all right?”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Despite my every muscle beckoning me to rest, I leapt into another sprint. My shadows ran with me as the flickering lights from the torch fires illuminated my way along the underground corridors.
I shielded my eyes against the bright sunrays as I exited the tunnels. I climbed the steps towards the school entrance two at a time. Throwing the door open, I carried myself into the hall by my own momentum. As I was hurrying towards the schoolyard, a woman caught my eye.
“Excuse me, Teacher!” I rushed towards her.
“Who are you and what are you doing h—?”
“Have you seen the Belzari twins?”
“We are not allowed to discuss the whereabouts of our students,especiallythe Belzaris.” She hushed her voice upon the mention of the king’s twins. “And this is the king’s property. I will ask you to kindly leave.”
“Please, they might be in danger!”
“For all I know,youcould be the danger. Now, I will ask you one last time to leave.”
I looked behind her, the schoolyard not too far away. “Listen to me, do not let anyone inside, do not let anyone out in the playing yard and sound the bell.” I dashed towards the yard, ignoring the protesting teacher, but turned my head momentarily to bellow an order, “Sound the godsdamned bell!”
I almost bolted out of the open door at the sight of Sabriela. She was laughing, watching the twins playing. And I almostshouted her name, but my legs stiffened and my voice died in my throat when I glimpsed it.
The Phoenix was silently perched on top of the red monument. Embers of fiery orange and red danced around it as if the flames themselves were alive and breathing. The hairs on my body stood on end. I waved both arms at Sabi, but she was too focused on the twins to see my desperate attempts. She did not see the Phoenix either.
I need to decide between shouting or running towards them.
I had almost made my decision when I glimpsed two figures zipping down the dunes, one dark, one white. I watched them with one eye, the rest of my body hidden behind the doorframe.
Aegir and Eldric disappeared from my vision, hidden behind the towering red monument that stood at the centre of the grainy yard. But they must have been close now, as I watched the Phoenix leap off the monument, gliding into a spiralling descent. His landing was aimed towards Sabi and the twins.
“No,” I whispered to myself in panic.
As soon as the Phoenix touched the ground, it shifted, feet replacing talons. The desert somehow felt hotter and a feverish wave hit me, followed by an awful smell of burning rot that had me covering my mouth.
Sabriela yelped, grabbing both twins by their arms. She tried to hurry them away, but the Phoenix—now in the form of a burning man—entrapped them in a ring of fire. My heart raced at the sound of their screeching screams.
The bastard was usingchildrenas leverage.
I was about to leap out the door but halted once more as I heard Aegir’s harsh voice. “Let them go!” I could not see him with the monument standing in our way, but I had never heard him speak with such a demand.
“You’re a little too far from home, Prince Aegir Hailin of Silch, Lord of theIceVanguard, don’t you think?”
“As are you. Let them go and let us talk like civilised men.”
