“Come try me, princeling.”
“All right then,” Auron said, hands suddenly wreathed in fire. Blake held his arms out, and two large blades shot into his grip. Malissa’s knives flew from her belt and hovered over him in an arc identical to the one I’d seen when he killed in the Arena.
“By the god of war, I hate when he does that,” Malissa complained, but only seated herself on one of the low platforms to observe.
Everyone watched the two powers circle each other, interest sparking from every warrior.
Only they didn’t get a chance to start.
The earth shook, followed by a burst of light before the Diviner appeared, red robes streaming behind her.
“Demons have started attacking the borders of the Red Phoenix Dominion,” she said, her voice urgent. “If they invade, the Red Anchor shall fail after the Silver one. There is little time. We must leave at once for the Silver Anchor. Stow your weapons, prepare yourselves. We leave at noon.”
And then she was gone.
Lian looked stricken, her body frozen even as the other firensclustered around her, panicked. It was Auron who halted their frenzy.
“You heard her. We must prepare—”
“What of our families?” one of them shouted.
Auron shook his head. “We must focus. Our task is here, with the Silver Anchor first.”
“Blazing hell! Why should we fix the Silver Tyger’s Anchor while our people are attacked? Who is to say the Silvers won’t abandon us the moment their Anchor is fixed?”
“Silvers are as steadfast as the metal we command,” Blake declared, stepping toward the firens. “All the Anchors must be secured to keep the Demon Realm sealed. It would do us no good to have only one Anchor fixed. We shall travel together to the Red Anchor as soon as this is done. We joined the Raveling to secure them all before the twelfth—”
“Our people could be wiped out by then,” Lian said, her voice heavy. I didn’t miss the quick look she shot toward the Azures, who stood quietly along the edges.
The Azures, who had lost everything to the largest demon attack the world had yet seen.
I wondered if this might be the moment when everyone finally understood that the Serpent Lord was behind the attacks, when any remaining belief that the Azures had led them to the slaughter at the Wedding of Flame and Sky would finally be laid to rest.
“My heart hurts for your people. I know what it is to lose everything and I do not wish that on anyone,” I said, taking a step forward. “The way to save your people is to repair the Silver Anchor as quickly as possible. This is a divine quest. The gods have chosen us and set the order in which the Anchors must be restored. We can do this together.”
45
We traveled higher and higher on the lotus toward the Starborn Peak, which Ire bragged was on his clan’s land. Being back in the Silver Tyger Dominion felt ominous.
The Red Phoenix firens looked distraught and tired, worried about their dominion.
Everything about this journey felt grim, in stark contrast to the wonder of our first ride to the Haven of the Gods. Now we could be traveling to our deaths.
Once we were dropped at the base of Starborn Peak, the lotus spiraled back into the ground and disappeared. Immediately each dominion began setting up tents. I worked with Jace to block off an area for the tygers to roam and sleep for the night close to each of their Bonded’s tents—which would make them more docile and less likely to start a fight.
The Red Phoenix fire sirens huddled close to their blazing hearth, which they kept burning high, wrapped in layers andmuttering about the chill. The Azures, by contrast, seemed to thrive, the fresh air and proximity to the wood revitalizing them.
I finished the enclosure closest to Ire’s tent. “Careful, Azure.” He smirked, stepping close and eyeing me in a way that made Flame growl. “You’re in Frostbane territory now, and I don’t appreciate yins who think themselves powerful in my lands.”
I rolled my eyes but stepped away.
The Onyx warriors kept to the shadows, speaking low as they watched everyone, their camp quiet and cold as a grave. Preparations to repair the first Anchor continued, but the weight of what lay ahead had started to settle into the bones of the group like the last of the winter frost.
I trained with the others, packed rations, and checked Flame’s gear, but the heavy mix of anxiety and anticipation never left me. Tomorrow we would begin our journey up the mountain, and I didn’t know what we would face. I didn’t know how we would fix the Anchor. Citizens of the Red Phoenix Dominion were dying, and we needed to complete this first repair as quickly as possible. I said a quick prayer to Kuan Yin, goddess of compassion, for the people of the Red Dominion, and for the firens.
The snow had mostly melted. Water dripped from the branches, pooling in the mossy ground, and tiny blossoms—pale pink and white—had begun to open.
Calla dropped beside me in a loose sprawl. Her green tunic clung to her lean frame, layered over snug sleeves, and her leather leggings were streaked with pine needles. Her war hammer rested on one shoulder.
