Page 43

‘Nor did I, until we travelled back from Harenth. But I’ve been friends with Malik for ages.’

‘Isn’t he the big fellow who doesn’t speak?’ Cal asked.

Thea shrugged. ‘He doesn’t need to speak.’

Cal nodded. ‘Fair enough.’

A thunderous rumble from out to sea snatched her attention away. Across the expanse of dark water was the Veil, towering taller than ever, a wall of roiling mist descending from the sky, where a storm brewed.

‘We should get moving,’ Thea warned, trying to ignore the spark of interest from her magic. Her hand went to her fate stone, checking it was still there. For so long, Thea had resented its existence, and now she sought its comfort, hoping it would continue to repress the magic that threatened to spill out of her.

She pushed ahead, following the swish of Dax’s tail around each bend in the path, leaning forward in the saddle to make things a little easier for her mare as the incline increased. But there was no ignoring the storm that broke out across the sea. Thunder and lightning cleaved through the air, and Thea could only close her eyes and brace herself against the onslaught on her senses, and the way it called to the crackle of magic in her veins.

She forced herself to inhale deeply through her nose, and exhale through her mouth. The same technique Hawthorne’s little list of exercises specified for calming the mind before a battle. But it was no use —

The storm dragged her under.

* * *

A girl, no older than twelve, stood on the edge of a cliff, looking out to the raging sea below. She wore a patch over her right eye, while her matted copper hair whipped around her face in the wind.

Anya.

She faced the bleak horizon, as though something she desperately sought was somewhere out there, waiting for her. The girl’s clothes were little more than tattered rags on her too-thin body, her feet bare. She inched towards the rocky edge.

Thea’s heart seized.She’s going to jump.

But the girl didn’t take another step. Her knees didn’t bend in preparation for her final leap.

She simply stood on the edge, as though she belonged there, as though she had lived on the precipice of death her whole life.

Thunder clapped in the distance, and the girl didn’t so much as flinch.

But her gaze flicked to where Thea stood.

As though for a moment, in the flash of lightning, she’d seen Thea too.

* * *

A sharp bark sounded, penetrating the vision. Thea started in the saddle, gripping the horn with a gasp.

Cal and Kipp were riding so close their horses were whinnying in protest, but both young men’s concerned gazes were trained on her. Ahead, Dax barked again, as though he sensed her coming back to them.

‘What the fuck was that?’ Cal demanded, scanning Thea’s face as she gathered herself.

‘What was what?’ she managed, her throat feeling raw and swollen.

‘We didn’t know if you were having some sort of fit, or if you’d passed out,’ Kipp blurted, his whole lanky body tense as though he’d expected to have to catch her. ‘I mean, you didn’t even have that much fire extract, Thea…’

‘I’m fine,’ she muttered, her voice thick. Her magic, her connection to the storms – it was getting out of control. First she had hurt Wren, now this? How long before she had an outburst and revealed who she was to the realms?

‘No one ever believes that old chestnut,’ Kipp informed her, his face still serious.

‘I must have fallen asleep. I… I haven’t been sleeping well,’ she told them.

‘Nightmares?’ Cal asked.

‘Something like that.’