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“Spit it out!” he barked.

“I had to—uh. But I—uh—couldn’t leave my post,” I stuttered, staring at my feet to add a bit of humility to my act.

His eyes darted past me to the puddle on the stone step. “And you just thought you’d use this place as your personal latrine? You disgust me, guard,” he sneered. “Wait for me at the top of the stairs. Move!” Avoiding the puddle, he marched down to the archive door and checked it was locked. Then I heard him following me back up to the first floor of the tower.

“I expect a certain level of respect from towerguards. Something you have clearly not demonstrated.” Without warning, he shoved me against the wall, pinning my neck with his forearm. With his other hand, he reached for his knife. “If you move, it’ll be the last time you ever do.”

My heart thundered defiantly in my chest. Kah was silent, but I could almost hear him reminding me it would blow our cover if I ripped Thrailkull’s guard commander limb from limb. Because if we were back in Askeland, that’s exactly what I would’ve done.

Instead, I clenched my fists as Bloodbain cut three deep slashes in my cheek. Blood trickled down my jaw.

“As of this moment, you are demoted to the mineguards. The filth of the mine seems to suit you. If I ever see those three scars in my tower again, this knife will find a home right there,” he said, poking my chest with his finger. “You will clean up that mess down there, surrender your sword, and report to the mines immediately.”

“Yes, Commander.” Even though it was faked, the obedience tasted bitter on my tongue.

I wipedthe blood from my jaw as I marched down what seemed like a thousand flights of steps into the deep mines underneath the Obsidian Tower. My cheek was burning. Though I knew my Kovakian magic would heal the cuts in a day or two, that didn’t quell my seething anger against the guard commander.

At first, I had no intention of following his orders to report to the mines. From listening to the guards talk, I knew what was down there. Workers in chains. Moans and cries. Starvation and death. It was a gateway to the shadowlands. A hell on earth. But the new moon was only weeks away, and we weren’t any closer to finding the stone, even with our new theory about the mythical Zavien tribe. Since we’d been here, we’d scoured the forge, the tower grounds, outbuildings, guard quarters, all levels of the tower that weren’t under construction, and now the archives. The malarite mine was the only place left to search. And I refused to return to Askeland without the stone.

The deeper I descended along the stairs, the colder, darker, and damper it became. When the stench of body odor and sulfur became unbearable, I knew I was almost to the mine entrance.

“Don’t touch the malarite,” Kah warned. “If you lose your magic, I don’t want to be stuck in this necklace forever.”

“Noted.”

Last winter, none of the tribal kingdoms in Eastlandra had ever heard of malarite. At the end of the Iron Wars, the Rathalans had been all but annihilated, those remaining driven to the distant southeastern borders of Eastlandra, where they were believed to have died off centuries ago.

But they didn’t.

When the Rathalans attacked the Jakeen city of Kallanon last winter, the city fell in a matter of hours. The Jakeens living there were slaughtered or enslaved, their impenetrable skin no match against the Rathalans’ malarite weapons. That’s when dark rumors began to carry on the wind …

The enemy is regaining power.

A deadly mineral has been discovered.

The Rathalans are building an army.

War is returning.

Kallanon became Malengard, and word spread of weapons that could strike against magic, not just flesh. By the time the news traveled all the way to the Kovaks in Askeland, the other tribal kingdoms had already realized we may not have the means to oppose such a threat.

But then, the Rathalans fell silent. No other cities were besieged. No other tribespeople were killed. They’ve remained hidden behind their towering black walls ever since. Some people suspected they’d abandoned the stronghold, but the black smoke rising from their stolen city and the rumors of people who strayed too close disappearing told another story. Now, Kah and I were probably the only ones who knew exactly what the Rathalans were up to. I feared what would happen if—or when—Lord Thrailkull decided to unleash his newfound power on Eastlandra.

Skies, I couldn’t think about that right now. I needed to focus on finding the stone … and not being caught or killed in the process.

Down in the mine, there were several guards standing near the entrance, waiting for orders to start their nightly shift. I slipped in line beside them.

“Guards, I want the malacks awake and working by sunrise,” the mineguard in charge directed, pacing in front of us. “In the meantime, you better keep that blazen Kovak bear under controluntil the minemaster returns in the morning. I can’t risk another incident with that stupid beast. And if anything happens, I’ll be reporting to the minemaster that it wasyourfault.” He glared at each of us in turn.

A Kovak? Here?

“Andyou,” the mineguard barked, stepping so close I could smell his rank breath. He eyed the fresh cuts on my cheek.

My fingers slowly curled into fists.

“Wipe that blood off your face,towerguard.” The last word dripped with contempt. “And get to work!”

When he dismissed us, I took off into the mines, heading away from the others. “Kah, did you hear that? They’ve captured a Kovak,” I said under my breath, anger surging through my chest at the thought of the Rathalans imprisoning my people. I wondered if this Kovak was from Kadden. The two largest Kovak kingdoms in Eastlandra were Askeland and Kadden. Lila was from Kadden, and unlike Askeland, there was no mountain range to protect their city from the growing threat of the Rathalans.