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“You shall not touch her!” came a shout from the top of the breach. “Return to your vessel.”

I had to squint to see who it was, and my heart skipped in alarm.

Takkan.

All this time, he’d been scaling the breach—and he had the amulet!

“Return to me!” Takkan shouted again.

Bandur’s eyes turned liquid with anger, but he had no choice. He dissipated into smoke, and as the amulet sucked him back inside, the mountain trembled once more.

“We need to go!” Andahai shouted, dragging me by the arm as aftershocks rattled the forest. “Let’s get back to the basket. Cast the curse.”

“But Takkan—”

“Benkai and I will help him. He’s on his way. Go!”

My heart roared in my ears, but I ran, stumbling as the earth quaked. My lungs were burning by the time I spied a slip of bright silk through the trees.

“Cast the curse!” called Hasho as he helped me into the basket. “Hurry.”

Ducking into the basket, I ripped my satchel open. The pearl glowed at my touch. The last time I had wielded its power, I had barely survived. Gods knew what would happen this time.

It floated above my palm, dark and bright at the same time, as if it were eager to go to work. Before I lost my nerve, I spoke the words I’d rehearsed and dreaded: “Protect my brothers as you did once before. Turn them into cranes so we might return you to the Wraith.”

I said it only once, imbuing every word with meaning, as if it were a sacred vow. In turn, the pearl listened. And miracles of Ashmiyu’en, it obeyed.

Its light flooded over my brothers, reaching even the ones farthest from me—Andahai and Benkai, who were still running into the forest with Takkan.

Tears pricked my eyes as I watched them begin their transformation. Their swords thumped to the ground, their human yells and cries cut short as their necks and limbs stretched, black feathers sprouting along their throats and tapered wings bursting from their fingers. Then, at last, six familiar crimson crowns painted their heads. Fully transformed now, they flapped frantically toward me, and in a brilliant flash, all of the pearl’s light came rushing back inside. Its halves snapped shut, emitting a shock wave that sent me flying back against the basket.

As I pulled myself up, a legion of eagles, hawks, and falcons pierced the clouds. True to her word, Kiki had recruited dozens of birds to fly with us. Together with my brothers, they grabbed the ends of the basket’s ropes in their beaks.

“Wait!” I shouted. “Wait for Takkan!”

He was close, and he leapt for the basket, fingers catching its woven edges.

I reached and grabbed him by the arm. “Got you,” I breathed, pulling him up.

He landed on top of me, and the impact knocked us both to the floor. We’d made it.

Everyone’s aboard! Kiki shouted to my brothers. They beat their wings and accelerated upward until we were soaring over the treetops. Their snow-feathered wings were a familiar sight, and the thrill of skimming past the clouds a familiar feeling. My ribs tightened as I watched my brothers fly. It was as if we’d gone back in time. I hoped they wouldn’t regret placing their faith in me once again.

When the Holy Mountains of Fortitude faded behind us, I let out a long exhale. Using the pearl had exhausted me, and my body begged for rest.

I crawled over to Takkan. “That was the most reckless, most foolish—”

“Bravest thing you’ve ever seen?” Takkan finished for me.

He touched my cheek. He was breathing hard, and I bit back any further rebuke. “It was brave,” I said.

I helped him to slip Bandur’s chain over his neck and watched the amulet swing down over his chest. It was as black as obsidian, with a crack in the center not so different from the Wraith’s pearl. A demon’s instrument.

“Sleep,” I said, sweeping my fingers over Takkan’s forehead. And I couldn’t tell whether it was my enchantment or his exhaustion that did it, but his breathing steadied and his pulse evened. His hand didn’t let go of mine.

I lay my head on his shoulder, tucked my feet next to his, and spread a blanket over us for warmth. The last thing I saw before I too fell asleep was the glint of the amulet, and as my brothers carried us over land and sea, a demon’s laugh echoed into my dreams.

I woke to the wail of the night sky breaking.