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He was right. There were as many happy faces as there were angered.

“Why? I’ve been told the people wanted my return.” I couldn’t bring myself to say more. All I could focus on were the looks of disdain. My stomach rolled as the force of the magic tried to break free.

“The ones who look at you with loathing—they are starving. They are sick. They know magycris is in short supply. They know crystals are not being excavated, and their homes and vehicles will not be powered.”

“And how is that my fault?”

“It is your fault that it’s not fixed, Saviour. You’ve been here for two days and not lifted a finger to help them.”

“Two days isn’t enough to undo all that’s gone wrong.”

“The city heard of your awakening months ago. They knew you were coming. And since you’ve got here, not a word has been said to them. They don’t trust you can help them.”

Cloudine raised a hand to quiet the crowd. If she thought I would give a speech, she’d see the side of the Ikhor that the Guardians feared.

“The Ikhor has returned, as you have seen. We have come here today to promise the people that she is working with the Elders to implement changes to our city.”

“When will our supplies come back!” an angered man screamed.

The crowd waited for a reply that didn’t come.

Farther back, someone else yelled, “My children are sick. There isn’t enough magycris to heal them.”

The crowd shouted complaints at the stage. I jumped when something smacked against my leg. A rotted piece of fruit landed at my feet, staining my dress. The yelling in the crowd stopped.

I held myself composed while my ears pounded.

Eyes down. Don’t react …

“The farms can’t run without our AO tools. I can’t afford to grow anymore.”

“Why do they think I can fix these things?” I asked Audel.

“The legends say the land will be fruitful with your return.”

Another rotted fruit hit the stage, and the Elders tried to calm the crowd.

My jaw clenched hard enough that it made my teeth hurt. I pulled at the skirts of my dress, but nothing could distract me from the faces in the crowd. The ones who were angry were fighting with those who were cheering for my return.

The Eagle had convinced me I could be a hero.

I thought I was being given a chance when I came to this city.

Things had been changing—I had listened to Ollo’s advice to be brave and the Eagle’s advice not to be pathetic.

But heroism had to come with a desire to help people.

That desire was quickly fading. Not everyone deserved it.

A putrid smell assaulted me when a fruit hit my cheek.

I froze.

My vision tunnelled.

“Saviour, are you hurt?” Coudine was at my side, but she backed away when she looked down at the wooden boards we stood on.

“Get off the stage! Get off the stage,” she warned, moving away from me. Flames erupted at my feet, sending shocked cries through the street.

“There are rumours that Guardians are on our shores!” a woman yelled.

“You said the Ikhor would replenish the lands!”

The Elders fled the stage as more fruit was thrown, and the flames spread farther.

My hitched breathing was difficult to hear over the growing roar of the raging heat. A glowing light leaked from my skin, illuminating the stage where I stood alone. I met the shocked stares of the people. “Send one more piece of fruit my way,” I warned, “and I will show you something to fear.”

Some backed away at my display of magic, running from the stage.

It wasn’t even a fraction of my magic—they didn’t know fear. They were lucky I had a strong grasp on my little box inside. The hardest emotion to control had always been my anger.

“Livy!” Maev came rushing past retreating citizens. She stopped before the stage, eyeing the flames creeping toward the crowd. “I have something that’ll help you.” Maev held her hand out to me. “Please. Come with me.”

“Maev.” Her voice had burst the bubble I was trapped in—my box stopped rattling, the flames died down, and my mind cleared enough to realize I had been losing myself in the magic.

It was her worried, navy-blue stare and the friendship necklace wrapped around her neck that calmed me down and doused the flames.

“That was a lovely visit with your people,” I spat.

Maev had returned me to my room after I had taken one last look at the crowd, none of them smiling or cheering, and walked away. They were lucky I was strong enough to control the magic, and that Maev interfered.

And that was a revelation in itself—I controlled it now. I could call it forth when I wanted. I owned the power.

Maev pulled open the golden doors, entering my rooms. “You have to understand, Livy, those were not the best representation of our citizens.”

“You mean the ones who threw rotten fruit in my face?”

“Peaceful citizens don’t attend these demonstrations. They’re out shopping, not interested in conflict. You stood before those who like to push buttons and demand actions. Of course, a crowd of angry people will show you the dark side of a society.”

“What’s in that bag?” I gestured to the tan-coloured bag slung over a shoulder.

“Oh!” She pulled it forward. “More crystals. I have located a storage room with buckets full of them to be sent to a waste centre. I filled my bag and will go back later for more. Here.” She passed some to me. “I saw you already filled the ones I brought yesterday.”

“Maev, the Elders demanded to know what I would do with the magic. I—I told them I plan to give it back to the gods.”

Her face fell. “I suppose that’s better than telling them you can fill the crystals.

You will be paraded around the land for the rest of your life.

” Maev reached into the bag, adding crystals to my pockets.

“I’ve already started preparing for us to leave.

I just need more time to get the airship.

I don’t want us rushing off to the shrines unprepared.

” She played with the straps of the bag, toying with a loose string.

“There have been reports of Guardians on the borders again. The Elders may ask you to protect the city. And if the Guardians are on the borders?—”

“The Guards could be there.” Meaning they might have word on Ollo. But it also meant they were here to attack. “I am not fighting the Guardians. I’ve said this before.”

“And how about defending innocent people?” Maev argued.

“I never chose this role.” The temperature rose. “How can you ask me to defend people who threw rotten fruit at my face? I didn’t promise to come here and play hero.”

“You wouldn’t have to play. You can be a hero. You have magic.”

“This isn’t even my city. These aren’t my people. It’s not any of your business who I defend or why. It’s my choice. I am the one with power! I am the one who decides. If they so desperately want my power, I can go back there and show them what it’s really capable of.”

“Liv,” Maev interrupted, moving away from me. “Something’s off?—”

“No. Maev, I won’t listen to it. I don’t care what the excuses are.

I am being used.” I walked to the bucket of crystals, lifting several in my palm.

“I deserve to choose who I protect. Do I think I need to stay in your city? No. Do I have any allegiance to you? No. I am the Ikhor. I go and do as I please. I saw how people treated me in the streets. I am practically a god to them. They fear me.”

Maev took a breath. “I know you Liv, and this isn’t you.” She grabbed me by the arms, pushing the hair from my temple. She scanned my face. “The whites of your eyes have nearly gone black. You’re letting your anger win. Don’t let your anger corrupt you.”

I pulled away from her. “What do you know of my anger? You haven’t been there to watch the Keepers trample over me, silence me, chase me to my death. I have been tormented and controlled until I was a shell of a person. I won’t be used and controlled for my magic.”

“You didn’t let the bad stuff that happened before change who you were. But this? You’re letting it get to your head.”

I let out a strange laugh. “And why shouldn’t I? I could have given them hope. They can fuck off if they think I will give them anything now.”

“Excuse me?” Maev stepped in front of me.

“I get that you never had people accept you back home. I get that you’ve been through a lot in the Guardian lands and on our journey here.

But now you’re getting pretentious. You’re acting like your powers are something to be proud of.

They aren’t yours, I’ll remind you. You’re taking credit for something that took over your body, that you’ve endlessly reminded us that you want to be rid of. ”

The back of my neck burned, sweat gathering there.

“So that’s what this is now? Putting me in my place?

Wanting my power and then not wanting me to use it.

You parade me in front of your people to display to them what I can offer.

Then, show me that people don’t actually like me.

You need my magic, and I’m supposed to suck it up? ”

“I am your friend, Liv! I like you, and not because you have power. I like you because we get each other. Because you listen to me, and you don’t shut me out like everyone else.

So listen to me now. You’re losing it. You’re losing the battle against yourself.

If you don’t pull back now, you’re going to turn into the evil that everyone believes you are.

And then? You won’t have any friends. Not even real ones. ”

Maev was right.

But did I admit it to her? No.

She took the bag from her shoulder and flung it at me. “I have stuff to do. To help you . I am going to be at my lab tomorrow. If you aren’t going to cower in your room, you can find me there.”

I blinked several times, taking a breath. Maev was right. Where had that anger come from?

“Maev, I?—”

“You’re a real piece of work, Liv,” Maev yelled from down the hall. Then she was out of sight.