Page 80 of Lana Pecherczyk

CIRCA 200 YEARS AGO

Hours after Cielo left to find something worth trading for Nikan, Manfri was still sitting on the treasure hoard with their new friend under the watchful Collector’s eye.

The moon hung high in the night sky, cold air nipped their skin, but their spirits remained oddly buoyant, considering their circumstances. Manfri liked to think he had something to do with that. His innate facetiousness tended to anger opponents yet humor allies simultaneously. It was all entertainment.

Never once did he doubt Cielo would circle back for them.

He occupied the time by telling stories about the adventures awaiting them in Cornucopia once Cielo returned, from exotic food to potent drinks, and high-stakes gambling to delicious mischief. These inevitably spiraled into tales of carousing he and Cielo had already shared.

Upon hearing his stories of debauchery, the Collector squawked bitterly, “You’re an imbecile. You waste your treasure on experiences you will not recall.”

“Better than to be isolated here from everyone,” Manfri fired back, braver now that he knew they’d escape soon. Surely Cielo wouldn’t be long.

“And this is what you want?” she asked Nikan suddenly. “Instead of being heir to my fortune?”

“I never wanted this—” Nikan gestured around them at the jewels still shimmering in the darkness. “I hate it. I hate what you’ve done to me. I would have murdered you in your sleep if it wasn’t for some stupid sense of…” His words trailed off, lips flattening.

The Collector canted her head, studying her son as though he were a puzzle she couldn’t decipher.

How could she not understand his emotions?

Bird brain,Manfri concluded.That must be it. Too many feathers upstairs.

“He returns,” she announced, standing to face the direction in which Manfri could see nothing but stars and distant clouds beyond their canyon spire.

As she hopped toward the platform’s edge, Manfri pressed his hidden dagger into Nikan’s palm and whispered, “We can still…”

They might stand a better chance of maiming her while she was distracted by a new treasure.

But Nikan shook his head. “I just want to be done with this place.”

Cielo landed with a flurry of feathers and wind-blown hair, huffing and puffing. He pulled a small metal cylinder from his jacket with a wince. Manfri stepped closer to see better in the darkness. His friend’s cheeks burned bright from windburn, but his eyes appeared dull, his lips pinched with pain. While shifting helped heal a crow, it wasn’t always complete—he might still be injured after what had been done to him earlier.

Metal glinted in the moonlight as Cielo tossed his prize to the Collector. His sigh of relief echoed against the hoard as the Well reconnected with him, flooding his system with life-saving energy. Mesmerized by the sparkling item coming her way, the Collector captured the forbidden item with her winged, taloned hands. Unlike Cielo, who’d trained himself to master the debilitating pain from losing magic, she cried out and seized with shock, drooling as her eyes bulged.

“Go!” Cielo roared.

All three crow shifters launched into the sky, beating their wings furiously until their limbs burned and nothing filled their ears but rushing air and pounding hearts. Even though the Well enforced their bargain, safety lasted only as long as the distance between them and the Collector continued to widen. She could be right behind them now.

Cielo surprised them again by activating a portal stone in mid-air. The three sailed right through the electric circle, only turning back upon hearing a screech of fury. Cielo quickly deactivated the portal stone. The last thing they saw was the silhouette of the crow queen standing atop her treasure hoard, hunched over her prize.

They flew through darkness, hearts hammering with fear. While Cielo refused help initially, by the time they neared Cornucopia, his wings had faltered too many times. Manfri and Nikan took hold of his arms and carried him the rest of the way.

When the city’s bright manabee-powered lights appeared, Manfri couldn’t hold back his thought: “I hope she fell from her spire before she recovered.”

“Nah,” Nikan answered under his breath, wind buffeting his long, dark hair as they descended. “She’s too indestructible. She’s probably already taken the treasure to her secret trove. I’ve seen her transport items in a bag and return empty-handed.”

“What did you trade?” Manfri asked Cielo. He wouldn’t put it past his crafty friend to have somehow tricked the Collector. To have tricked them all.

Cielo shrugged. “It was the item I stole from Crystal City the first time I visited a few years back.”

Manfri made the hand sign for an apology. “I know it meant a lot to you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just have to return and steal something else.”

Manfri was the only one who knew how hard Cielo had trained to claim it, only to be unable to boast to his family because it was made from forbidden metal. Someone inside Crystal City—probably that girl—had warned him not to take it. Of course, the fastest way to get Cielo to do something was to forbid him.

None of them wanted to be punished by the Guardians. Despite being raised by a violent father who demanded perfection, Cielo defied expectation and became the most daring thief Manfri had ever known. The thought of following his friend’s example—of being that brave—sent equal parts admiration and envy coursing through him.