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‘Just as well,’ Kipp said between ragged gasps, resting his hands on his knees. ‘You’re awful at it.’

Cal gave a strained laugh, and Thea felt her own face split into a manic grin, but the shouts from nearby snatched the moment of victory from them. Thea yanked both her friends behind cover to survey the situation at hand.

‘From what I can tell, there were a handful of totems left in plain sight, which Seb and his lackeys are scrapping for.’ She watched as Seb struck down a fellow shieldbearer and reached for something on the ground.

‘That bastard hasn’t got a fucking drop of honour, has he…?’ Kipp murmured, watching their common adversary dish out orders to his comrades. ‘So much for being worthy.’

‘We knew that already,’ Cal replied quietly.

Thea heard Kipp swallow beside her.

‘This…’ he started. ‘This isn’t what I thought it would be… How does this make us better protectors of the realm? Stealing totems from one another? Turning on each other like this?’

‘I suppose they think it makes us stronger,’ Thea said, not taking her eyes off Seb and one of his companions who had discovered another totem. ‘It’s supposed to weed out the weak, show people’s true colours.’

‘All it does is make people desperate and unpredictable,’ Cal muttered. ‘All the shieldbearers should be working as a team. Surely that’s the point?’

‘Not if there are only thirty totems and fifty shieldbearers.’ Thea countered. ‘Come on, we need to make a move.’

Kipp’s brows shot up. ‘You want to fight Seb?’

Thea watched the way the bastard strode about the clifftop, like he had nothing to fear, like he had a right to be there.

‘I do,’ she said at last. ‘But not today…’ She turned away from the carnage at Seb’s feet and pointed to the other isles. ‘Weshould head to the other islands, where the others haven’t been. There are bound to be totems hidden all around.’

‘Would have been nice just to pick the first ones up we saw…’ Kipp muttered.

The islands were scattered down the coast of Thezmarr, the howling winter winds whipping between them. Thick chains linked them, allowing her and her friends to climb across to the next island. They were keen to put as much distance between them and Seb as possible. No good came from having that bastard on their heels.

The second island was far larger than the first, more than just a column of rock amidst the waves. Thea found herself taking the lead as they took in their surroundings. Jagged white boulders lined the ground, but as they moved further inland, the terrain opened up, revealing a descending valley, framed by unusual thin trees with an array of large emerald green leaves shooting from their tops.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this…’ Thea murmured.

But Kipp was already moving towards the strange gorge, his boots sliding over loose scree. ‘There’s a totem down there.’ Kipp said. ‘I can feel it.’

A thrill raced through Thea. While they had been told about the magic of the totems, she wasn’t sure what to expect, or how much to believe from the stories. But the excited gleam in her friend’s eyes told her that it was true, that the totems had a presence, that they had power enough to call to a worthy warrior of Thezmarr.

‘It’s like… It’s like a cyren song,’ Kipp murmured, fascinated.

Soon, Thea felt it too: a soft melody, beckoning them towards it. Cal’s expression revealed he was experiencing the same pull.

Icy wind whipped through the gorge, cold enough to sting Thea’s face and hands, but she gritted her teeth and forged on,desperate to obtain a totem for each of them. Then, they could celebrate in the Great Hall.

‘There!’ Kipp shouted, darting forward to a plinth-like rockform where the chasm opened up.

Thea spotted the gleam of iron atop its craggy ledge.

Thea’s scalp prickled. It couldn’t be that easy.

The sound of something snapping, the twang echoing through the canyon. Thea whirled around. Was it an arrow being loosed? Was it a —

Something nearby gave a loud groan.

A huge boulder at the top of the valley was suddenly moving, rolling towards them and gaining speed. It took up the entire breadth of the gorge, designed to flatten everything in its path.

Thea’s gaze darted to Kipp, where at his feet lay a broken cord. ‘It was a trip wire!’ she shouted. ‘Grab the totem andrun!’

The boulder hurtled right for them, demolishing everything at a terrifying speed. There was no way they would be fast enough to outrun it.