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I let out a gusty sigh. “Can’t I try this in the ocean?” I asked. The water would take the edge off and make things easier—it helped me get to sleep at night when the hunger pangs would have otherwise kept me awake.

“No,” Ylena said sternly. “The ability to clear your mind even when you’re experiencing pain and discomfort is an important skill that you must learn before completing the Umnar. A weak mind cannot bond successfully with the inner dragon—the beast will dominate you instead, and you will be left a slave to its urges, rather than the other way around.”

“Oh,” I said, taken aback. I hadn’t realized such a thing was possible. “Have you ever seen this happen before?”

“Yes,” Ylena said softly. A faraway look entered her eyes. “My younger sister, Celi.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. I hadn’t known Ylena had a younger sister—that I had another aunt on the dragon side of my family. “What happened to her?”

“The beast swallowed her mind,” Ylena said. Pain tightened her regal features, her lips pressing together as she relived the memory. “She lost the ability to speak and interact with the other dragons, as well as much of her empathy and compassion. She killed livestock and razed several crops before my father eventually ordered her to be chained. She withered away in captivity, and passed away a year later.”

“That’s horrible.” Pity welled inside me, and my fingers flexed with the urge to reach out and offer Ylena comfort. But even though we’d grown closer since she’d agreed to help me, the bond between us was more student and teacher than it was familial, so I wasn’t sure a hug would be well-received.

“It is,” Ylena agreed, “and I don’t want that to happen to you. So shut out your earthly woes, and focus on the task I’ve set for you today.”

She left me on the porch, and I closed my eyes again. The hunger pangs hit me, loud and insistent, but I focused on my breathing, trying not to allow my body to distract me. Eventually, the pangs faded away and my mind cleared, enabling me to think once more.

Be specific about your future,Ylena had told me when she’d first explained what she wanted me to do this morning.What deeds do you want to accomplish, what goals do you hope to achieve over the next hundred years? What do you want your life to look like, and who do you want in it?

That last part was easy enough. I knew I wanted Einar in my life, as well as my mother, Gelsyne, and Leap and Mavlyn. I wanted children, once Nox and the shadow creatures were vanquished and the world was safe. But was defeating Nox and having children all I wanted to accomplish?

“I continue to serve my people and safeguard my realm, because the Radiants gifted me with my power for a purpose.”Lady Axlya’s voice echoed in my head.“That purpose was not to hide away in a pocket of safety, where my abilities and my mind are of no use to anyone. And that is not your purpose either.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I was taking advice from that conniving biddy, after everything she’d done. Yet, now that I was sitting here trying to envision my future, I realized she had a point. I hadn’t been given these powers, been born a daughter of dragons and fae, only to slink off after I fulfilled the terms of the prophecy. It would be a waste if I didn’t use my spirits-given talents to make the world a better place, not just for myself and my friends, but also for the future generations.

I was a child of dual abilities, dual races, dual perspectives. There had to be a way to use that as an advantage, to bring everyone together and create a better version of Ediria than the one we struggled under. I just needed to figure out how.

26

Mavlyn

Three days later, Leap and Mavlyn quietly crept out of the house, using the back garden entrance to avoid the neighbor’s attention. The two were dressed in heavy disguises—Mavlyn as an elderly fae woman, dressed in elegant clothes she’d found in Lyra’s aunt’s closet, and Leap as her grandson, his signature spiky hair tucked beneath a cap.

“I can’t believe you actually came up with this idea,” Leap said, sounding almost gleeful as they headed up the street. They turned a corner onto the main road, which would lead them to the city center. “It’s a lot ballsier than I gave you credit for.”

“I don’t think it’s ballsier than anything else we’ve done,” Mavlyn said, tucking her hands into the pockets of her cloak. The snow flurries that had plagued the city over the last few days had finally stopped, so people were out and about, running errands or visiting friends and family. “We’ve stormed and broken into castles, temples, and fortresses. This should be child’s play compared to that.”

“Yes, but we had the element of surprise in most of those scenarios,” Leap reminded her. “And the one where we didn’t, the temple break in, was where we got caught.”

Mavlyn raised her eyebrows at Leap. “I never thought you’d be the voice of caution.”

He shrugged. “I’m just saying, we need to be prepared to bail the moment we get a whiff of any guards coming our way. We almost got arrested last week.”

“We will,” Mavlyn promised.

In truth, she was more nervous about doing this than she’d let on. As Leap pointed out, they didn’t have the same element of surprise they’d enjoyed in their other endeavors—Lady Mossi had been alerted to their presence, which was why they’d decided to wait a few days before putting their plan into action. It would have been prudent to wait longer, but the recruitment drive was ramping up today, so they couldn’t. They needed to act.

It took them twenty minutes to reach the square where the main recruitment center was located. The square was relatively busy, but she was still able to spot the two people she was looking for next to the fountain in the center, their hoods drawn over their heads to hide their features.

“Good morning,” Mavlyn said, strolling up to them. “Fine weather we’re having, aren’t we?”

The taller of the two grinned at her, lowering his cloak. It was Roylan, but he’d hidden his midnight hair under a cap, and had used herbal magic to lighten his skin and change the shape of his mouth. “Fine weather indeed,” he told her.

Rina lowered her hood as well, revealing striking red hair and golden-brown eyes. “You do the ‘posh, elegant old lady accent’ very well,” she said, sounding amused. “Are you going to be able to keep it up all morning, though?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Leap said, smirking. “She’s been practicing it for days.”

“Do you have the pamphlets?” Mavlyn asked Rina.