Soon every man and woman chanted the words, their strength gaining momentum across the camp.
Gyiu’rak threw me a baleful glance. “Curious, that they should listen toyou,Maia Tamarin,” she rasped in a low voice. Her head tilted.They don’t know yet, do they? Shall I tell them?
I went very still. My nails had grown so sharp that simply curling my fists made my palms bleed.
What are you afraid of?Gyiu’rak spoke without making a sound, sliding into the inner crevices of my mind.Are you afraid that they’ll try to kill you? That they will fear you? Let them. Soon they will all be dead—
“Leave!” I barked at the demon. “Go now.”
My words hung in the air, the sound of my voice so thunderous that snow trembled off the trees.
A smile curled over Gyiu’rak’s tiger lips. “Very well.”
Without warning, she lunged, attacking the soldiers nearest her. As their screams pierced the air, a plume of smoke enshrouded the tiger and she vanished.
The chanting had stopped, and the air was thick with fear and uncertainty.
No one had surrendered to the demon, yet she had triumphed. Before, the soldiers had only heard stories about her power and invincibility. They hadn’t witnessed it until now.
But Lady Sarnai has a demon, too,I thought.Me.
“How can we fightthat?”
“She can’t die. What chance have we?”
“We’re doomed.”
“We still have the Lord Enchanter!” I heard Keton shout. “And—” My brother’s eyes met mine, and I shook my head.
“The enchanter did nothing while we fought for our lives at the Autumn Palace. He no longer has power.”
At my side, Edan tightened his fists.
“Show them,” I urged him. “Show them they’re wrong.”
“It is not my magic that will save us,” he replied. “It’s yours.”
Much as I wanted to deny it, I knew he was right.I can’t hide forever. Not if I want to save A’landi.
Flicking off my gloves, I stepped into the middle of the camp and raised my claws. The wind swallowed the gasps that followed.
“Many of you have wondered about my eyes, why they glow red as a demon’s. And my hands.” I raised them, extending my claws. “They are part of the price I paid to make the dresses of Amana.”
Keton stood at the front of the soldiers, a mass of hundreds, all waiting to hear what I was going to say next. I inhaled, avoiding my brother’s gaze.
“I am a demon.” I let the words ring in the air, taking care to look as many men and women in the eye as I could. To show them, in whatever way that I could, that I was still Maia. That I would not harm them.
I swallowed, taking in the fear in everyone’s eyes, the curled lips and tense jaws. Edan touched my elbow, nudging me onward.
“In our legends,” I continued, “the first demons were created by the gods themselves, gods who grew restless in heaven and wanted an immortal race to do their bidding. So they soldered parts of men and beasts together to create a new kind of creature. When the mother goddess learned of them, she sent her children—the stars—to chase the demons from heaven onto earth. Since then, the stars have stood guard over the demons to make sure they never return to heaven.”
I held out my amulet. “Demons and ghosts are vulnerable to the power of the stars, which I will harness to keep A’landi safe. To keep all of us safe.”
Cracking open my amulet, I released a beam of starlight, silver and gold, and dazzling with all the colors of the heavens. It was not a true show of my power, merely a gesture to ease their fear, but it worked. Heads lifted, eyes glimmered. Threads of hope wove through the crowd.
“It isn’t my magic that will save us from Gyiu’rak!” Edan shouted to the crowds. “It is Maia Tamarin’s!”
“I will fight Gyiu’rak,” I pledged, “and Lady Sarnai will defeat her father. But the shansen’s army is strong. We need all of you to help us, so we can win back A’landi’s future.”
