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“Do you know that even if it were repaired, I couldn’t read it?” There was a twist of secrets on her lips, ones that her frown told me she would not spill. “It chose you, or you would never have found it,” she said. “That should worry you more than it seems to.”

She didn’t know that I had handed over the codex to Kit and the Nomad without hesitation, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell her of my real failure. The book had never mattered as much as our carefully laid plans to reclaim what had been taken from us.

All I could think to do was change the subject. “Was it you who asked for all those books to be stolen?” I had thought it was Aster.

Morlan nodded. “We are rebuilding our library in an old Annatalian Earthworld temple. One your great-uncle tried to destroy when he forced his people to worship the Sky.”

So that was where all the books I stole went—to Morlan, not Aster. Then it was she and not Aster who’d sent the notes and the missions.

“Child, knowledge and memory are one of the greatest powers.” She stood and gripped my shoulder as she shuddered, and I startled. “By the Wolf Moon you’ll wake, or you’ll still. That’s what the book is whispering.” Her gaze lingered on my bag, and I drew it closer. “Twelve days to change everything.” She glared at me, waiting for me to challenge her. Or for an agreement, but I gave her nothing.

I hugged the bag to my chest. The night had spun too far out of my control and worry goosebumped my skin.

“The cursed phoenixes are not my problem. I’ve other plans.” Even without the codex to mend, I would get to the Ruckus as Thorn suggested and find her loyalist. Get help in the hunt for Ember.

She tsked. “Go to the wagon and sleep. Inside is the only protection we can give you on the second night. Take the sleep while you can. Before the Rider flying overhead comes down here.”

My gaze snapped toward the dark sky, and I allowed a grim smile to spread. “I’d welcome the chance to take another one down.” But my words sounded far surer than I felt.

Morlan’s fingers dug into my arm, and my anklet heated as hot as the embers on the fire. My mouth opened in a silent cry. I dragged up the skirt of my dress to see what she was doing. “Stop… What are you…?”

She muttered the words, “Earth, stone, and sea remember.” The anklet burned, and my amulet heated against my chest. “Change for me.” She had made my hair dark brown and a lot longer, and I staggered backwards with the force of her power.

Her gaze swept over me. “Seems the fates don’t want your features changed again. They want you to be who you are. So I’ve done what I can.” She gave me a wry smile and winked. It was the type of look that filled me with dread.

11

In the freezing desert night, the thinning veil between the worlds was easier to see. The stars were brighter, and the moon was sharper. The faint purple glow that haloed the clouds told of impending danger. The madness-inducing YuleMots would descend over the camp hour by hour until midnight struck, saturating the sky with otherworldly magic never meant for us. Even now, their glitter danced on the breeze and surrounded the snowflakes—they appeared majestic, but they were deadly.

Without flames to ward off the YuleMots, mortals succumbed to endless sleep, violence, or hysteria, leading them to walk blindly off the side of the Canyon or into the sea. So many had disappeared… just as the phoenixes had.

Danger lay in the blackness above me, but without knowing if Ember and Thorn were safe, it was hard to care about what night it was or what the YuleMots could do if I stepped away from the fire.

I didn’t sleep in the wagon with Morlan and Patrik. Instead, I decided to lie by the fire. I would watch it even if they wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be staying the night anyway. Above me, a white phoenix glowed silver in the darkness as it dived through the clouds and circled the caravan of wagons and tents. Its watchfulness, more than its potential attack or landing, unnerved me. It stalked us travellers on the ground.

Further away, two others circled, but they kept their distance. And I couldn’t work out their colourings. Had they all gone mad already? Were they all waiting for the right moment to attack?

My shoulder itched, and the remaining broken book, now hidden in my pocket, hummed against my leg. I didn’t know what either meant, but it wasn’t good.

Morlan and Patrik had gone to bed in the wagon and pulled the door shut tight, seemingly unconcerned about my imminent escape. Which was worrying. But escaping the city walls for the first time in a decade ignited a strange urgency within me. To go further, explore more… If I couldn’t help Thorn get back to Annatalia and confront the General, I could at least get to the Ruckus and see if she had loyal followers there. Start to build her a rebellion of her own.

As soon as the campsite hushed into a tired lull, I could steal a horse—even though I’d not been on a horse since I was a child—some food, and set out for the Northlands. There was no satisfaction in knowing that I would cause these people hardship to get what I wanted. But I had done everything for the rebellion over the last few years until it had become clear just how much we were being kept in the dark. When we asked questions, we were dismissed. We were considered too low in the pecking order to be informed of their plans, when in fact, Thorn was heir to their throne.

When Ember and Thorn were placed on the list to be married off, and news came of this General who wanted to rule, it was time to act.

From that point on, anyone who stood between Thorn and her throne had to be removed.

The image of Patrik making stew by the fire and chatting to me itched at my memory. He had acted so ‘normally’ considering he had once been a Phoenix Rider. I’d seen Lex fall from his phoenix and his bird go up in a blaze of white-blue flame. Aster had told me he’d been taken to the Northlands Prison, but that was ten years ago. Was he like Patrik? Or was he wild and mindless? If he were, that was reason enough to try and break the curse. But I had no idea how to do that, and I no longer had the codex that might have told me. The fates were laughing at me even before the dangers of Yule were in full force.

A phoenix shrieked a warning call in the sky above me, hunting. Phoenixes bound to Riders roosted in their Sky Towers, especially on the nights of Yule. These weren’t bound phoenixes. They were crazed rogues.

Creeping toward the horses made me hitch up the hem of the beautiful dress Ember had made. The dress would serve me well and keep me warm through the freezing desert nights, but it wasn’t designed for agility.

I checked that the cuff on my left ear was still secure. If the cuff came off when riding through the desert, unimaginable pain would cripple me. It had happened long ago when I tried to walk through the city’s arches.

The horses, all tied along one rope, shifted restlessly beneath the never-ending sky. They had feed and water buckets on poles, and each had ribbons in its mane that identified the owner. I had intended to take the fastest-looking one, which was also a wild guess, as my equestrian knowledge was a decade old. In the end, I settled on a cream-coloured mare that was at one end. She looked good—mainly because her owner had forgotten to take off her saddle.

“And what are you up to now?” The deep timbre of the voice was faintly recognisable and laced with amusement.