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Kiara

You haven’t written me for many months, and I worry something awful has happened to you. Please write and let me know he hasn’t discovered our true mission. He’s always within reach of the king, and I fear news might’ve already spread.

Letter from Aurora Adair to unknown recipient, year 49 of the curse

The Fox insisted we head southeast.

She knew the locations of several fortresses belonging to the king where Jude might be held. There were over a dozen, but the thief had narrowed it down to three, all thankfully not too far from the temple.

Since we planned on traveling by horse, I insisted I free Starlight from those dank stables. She seemed pleased enough to see me again, though I couldn’t help but sense she’d expected Jude to walk into the pen and was slightly disappointed it had been me.

Finn and another of the Fox’s comrades, Dimitri, accompanied us.

Dimitri was the quieter of the two men, although his pale brown eyes held a twinkle in them that hinted at more than mischief. Lithe and tall, and flaunting an obnoxious orange coat, he came across as a man not belonging to the criminal world.

Whenever he caught me staring, he’d smile and wave, and I’d scowl, too skeptical of his exuberance to return the gesture. My poor manners didn’t stop him from trying, and when we fell into line beside each other on the path, he’d whistle this tune that reminded me of a lullaby. It was oddly calming.

A full day and a half passed , and no one pursued us.

Except for the bright blue eyes trailing us.

Lorian’s little pet tracked us from Fortuna, the jaguar keeping a far enough distance away so the others didn’t notice. But I did. In fact, I noticed more than I ever had before.

The night seemed to be alive. It moved , sentient wisps of darkness curling about the trees and laying atop the leaves like fluffy clouds. Whenever my anxiety reared its ugly head and I thought of the worst, it was there, reacting to my magic, to me . Phantom shadows wrapping around my frame like an embrace.

Sometimes I swore I heard the night speak, a quiet thing meant to soothe my fraying nerves. Nerves that caused a constant ache in my chest. Its voice was muffled, though it held a steady rhythm, beating in time with my own anxious heart. I hated to admit that it relaxed me.

On the third morning, the air had shifted.

For the first time in days, my scar ached and throbbed with warmth. My shadows, which hadn’t made an appearance since Fortuna, whispered at my fingertips, seeming to stretch and yawn after a long nap. A fluttering of wings sounded as they slithered out, the rustling of the spindly limbs and brittle leaves causing me to flinch.

“Something wrong?” Jake asked at my side. He rode one of the Fox’s steeds, a mighty onyx beast that towered well over Starlight. Not that she hadn’t immediately asserted dominance by stomping none too gently on its hoof.

I shook my head. “No. Just an odd feeling.” I spared a glance behind me, spotting the raven-haired thief and her two comrades whispering among themselves, a decent distance away from where we led. I’d yet to uncover her true name , and I doubted she’d tell me if I asked. Names were sacred; sometimes a name was the only real thing you owned.

“I hate your feelings ,” Jake said with a sigh. “They typically end up with an arrow being shot at us or someone trying to stab you.”

He wasn’t wrong.

I scanned the trees hugging the sides of the uneven road we traveled. It all looked the same, the stone path we ventured down made of nonsensical turns and narrow trails nearly hidden by the thick brush.

We’d come across a few merchants and other weary nomads, but so far, we hadn’t faced any trouble. According to the Fox, this route was only taken by the desperate or the foolish. The more popular roads boasted fewer criminals and cutthroats outrunning the law. I supposed it fit—we were wanted for desertion.

The Fox had been quiet since we’d left the city, though I occasionally caught her staring. Like now. The second she realized she’d been caught, she hastily jerked her chin and whispered something to Dimitri, who glanced at me with another one of his too-wide grins.

I was tempted to open my mouth and prod her, to ask what her fixation was, when Starlight wrenched her head back and whinnied, the muscles of her back tensing.

“Shhh,” I soothed, rubbing the side of her head. Her ears flicked back, a clear sign she was on edge. She wasn’t the only one.

Gripping the reins, I closed my eyes, shivering as ice trickled across my torso and slid down my spine. I’d felt off for quite some time. No matter how hard I tried to shove aside my worry that something was amiss, my body wouldn’t allow me.

My hands shook, and suddenly the sensation of falling sent my heart stuttering in my chest.

The world felt too large at that moment and our task too impossible. The magic inside of me was tied to my emotions. And my emotions were all over the place.

I became lighter as I embraced the feeling of falling and accepted the numbness that stole me from reality.

In utter darkness, with only the sound of the horses’ hoofbeats, I let go. It was like shoving off from the side of a cliff, not sure if you’ll hit the rocks.

The free fall felt divine.

Deeper and deeper I plunged into my magic, as easy as breathing. The real world slipped through my fingers, and I floated, moving with the breeze , a wayward starwing with my wings outstretched.

So free, so weightless, I soared above the tops of the trees, the entire realm below. On the horizon, a speck of orange burned, and my sharpened senses picked up the scent of fire. My invisible wings tilted, and I plummeted, sailing toward the source of light. Toward dying flames not yet smothered by heavy boots.

There were no bodies moving around the smoldering pit, but there had been recently. The abandoned camp rested about a mile away, right off the path we traveled.

There were footprints. Far too many of them.

“Ki.”

Jake was calling my name from far away, but I hovered above that fire, studying the cracked branches and twigs where boots had walked. Those prints guided me to the telltale marks of wheels denting the earth.

“Ki!” Jake tried again.

I gasped when I opened my eyes, my body jerking forward in the saddle.

My gloved hands were nearly transparent, and my forearms shone an unnatural gray. I brought one to my face, inspecting the shimmering skin. It didn’t look solid. Didn’t look real.

“What just happened—”

“You were flashing in and out of existence. I swore I saw through you at one point . ” Jake’s voice shook, and he snuck a hasty look backward. “Good thing our new companions didn’t see. They seemed to have slowed, likely plotting our murder. If they’d seen you…” While his words held sarcasm, I understood him too well.

“I’m all right,” I said, regaining my sense of balance.

The corners of his eyes were creased, and he held one hand out toward me as though reaching to grasp my arm. Still, he didn’t touch me. Like he was frightened .

I held up a hand, needing a moment. Jake eased back in his saddle, running his hand anxiously down his steed’s neck.

Taking in deep breaths, I used the same techniques I performed with Liam back at home when an attack struck him. Minutes passed, and slowly, the wave of lightheadedness lessened into something manageable.

The steady pounding of hooves reached my ears as the Fox and her men picked up the pace, their forms now indistinguishable on the curving trail.

I thanked the heavens they hadn’t seen.

“Ki, you were pulsating ,” Jake began once color had returned to my skin and my exhales were no longer ragged. “Shadows were swarming you and I—” He stopped abruptly, the pulse point at his throat thumping wildly.

When Jake didn’t know how to solve a problem, he panicked, especially when it came to the people he cared for. As this was all new to me, I couldn’t comfort him. But I could tell him the truth.

“I was…flying,” I whispered, meeting his somber expression. “I couldn’t feel my body. Up there”—I craned my neck—“I saw an abandoned campsite not too far from here. There’d been a lot of boot prints, more people than the average traveling party.” I suspected the King’s Guard. Starlight whipped her head around and nuzzled my leg as best she could, and I reached for her mane, running my hands through the tangles.

Jake massaged his temples. “Well , we should stay off the main road for a while just in case. Though I want to make it clear, we are certainly returning to the whole flying aspect later. And if you could not have a new ability every damned day, that would be great as well. You’re making my head spin.”

“Sorry, Jake, I—”

I turned at the roar of thundering hooves coming from up ahead in the distance, yanking on Starlight’s reins.

“What’s the matter?” the Fox called out as she angled her steed my way, suspicion gleaming in her eyes. “You’re paler than snow, child.”

As if she cared.

“I think we’re about to have some company,” I said when she halted five feet away, Finn and Dimitri at her back. Dimitri’s focus lowered to my gloved hands, a brow raising.

“And how could you know this?” Finn questioned, sharing a look with the thief that I couldn’t decipher. “More of that dark magic?”

He’d made it clear he wasn’t an admirer of mine.

“If my dark magic will save us, then I wouldn’t question it.” We locked eyes, Finn being the first to glance away. “I may not understand my power, but I sure as shit listen to it when it’s telling me an enemy is approaching. It’s yet to be wrong.”

“Believe me, you should listen,” Jake said. “I’d say we get off the road. They could be Cirian’s men.”

The Fox’s brown irises were cold as she studied me longer than was comfortable. I exhaled in relief when she finally jerked her head to the side, her men obeying her unspoken command. All three aimed their horses for the tangled woods, the thick underbrush a mess of twisting vines and spiky shrubs. Jake and I tailed them, delving safely into the cover of the forest.

A minute later, my vision was confirmed when I peered over my shoulder.

Horses…and a lot of them. Their hooves thudded upon the earthen path, heading our direction.

Squinting into the dim, I noted the blurred shapes of approaching figures. Fog swirled around their feet and stretched up their torsos, those on horseback nearly lost entirely to the dark.

The Fox slid the loose sunfire she carried inside the deep pocket of her cloak, delivering us into near darkness. The moon was surrounded by clouds today, and barely any of its serene glow penetrated the gray.

“Hurry,” she hissed, yanking her steed deeper into the woods.

Jake and I persisted, but Starlight flung her head from side to side as if protesting. I patted her mane, trying to calm her, but she let out a loud whinny.

Whoever neared would’ve heard that.

She resisted the entire way into the cover of the trees, and I couldn’t ease her. Starlight was spooked. Or pissed.

It was likely both.

Dismounting, I ushered Starlight deeper into the forest and away from the threat. The road was just visible enough that we glimpsed a caravan of the King’s Guard, their troop a blur of red.

Their bright tunics could be seen, even in the murky night, and the steel carriage that rolled front and center squeaked with every rotation of its wheels.

They weren’t even trying to be stealthy.

I seized my dagger and positioned it before me. The Godslayer remained tucked away in my sheath. Safe until I could bloody it with our true enemy.

Jake nudged me with his elbow, directing my attention down the line of soldiers. One of the men stood out from the others, wearing all black, his broad shoulders outfitted in a fine linen cloak of matching color. I homed in on the lone figure.

I needed to see his face. Something about his posture was eerily familiar .

As though answering my unspoken prayer, everything came into agonizing focus. Heat burned my eyes as flashes of pale yellow flared out from where we hid, painting the trees, the path, the road. I blinked, taking in the now - illuminated faces of the Guard and their clanking weapons. A wave of nausea rose at the suddenness of my gifted sight.

Ever since Jude and I had spoken in the dungeon, my other senses had begun to flourish.

The yellow glow increased, eventually stretching to expose the features of the group’s leader atop his steed. His cutting jaw and narrowed eyes immediately gave him away.

Harlow.

Before he passed the section of the woods where we hid, he slowed, holding up a single hand. The carriage screamed to a jerky stop. His horse whinnied as it pranced in place, restless. He craned his neck toward the dense trees, to the thick underbrush.

Jake squeezed my arm, nearly cutting off circulation.

Minutes passed , and Harlow had yet to react, his features like stone. When he swiveled his head in our direction, gazing right where we crouched, it was my turn to squeeze Jake.

If he found us…

I made out the hint of a smile, a knowing one, and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

He was going to give us away. Going to—

Harlow waved his men forward.

An audible rush of air left my lungs as I watched him. That knowing grin remained, and it haunted me long after he and his soldiers vanished from view.

He’d known someone was there among the dark trees, and yet he alerted no one.

I didn’t understand.

The Fox and her men didn’t move from their hiding spots until ten minutes had come and gone. My vision returned to normal, the glow having gradually dissipated. But I didn’t need heightened sight to see her withering look that said what she didn’t: that she regretted taking us up on our offer. She might be able to escape notice, but not Jake and me, not when the king was so desperate to get his hands on us.

“We should settle in the woods,” the Fox whispered once she’d sidled up to me. “We need to steer clear of the road. Wouldn’t want your friends to find us.” The thief studied me from boots to crown, her nostrils flaring.

“Agreed,” I said, bestowing her a stiff nod. Seeing Harlow shook me, and I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to craft a half-hearted lie.

The Fox returned to her horse and proceeded to lead us deeper into the forest. Jake and I held back.

“So you flew this time?” Jake asked. An astounded smile curled his mouth.

“I think so? One second I was riding Starlight, and the next, I was flying like a damned bird.” It sounded absurd to my own ears, even after all we’d been through. “Oh, and I also believe I can see in the dark, so there’s that. When the Guard approached, I wished I could see them clearly, and then, I could . They were flooded in a soft yellow light, nothing too bright, but I made out their features well enough.”

Gods, it felt good to confide in someone.

Jake snorted. “Of course you can see in the dark.” He was obviously growing more and more exhausted each time I opened my mouth. “That little skill would’ve been useful in the Mist.”

As if I had any clue then what I would become.

We caught up with the others, who had settled among the trees. The Fox lay back, both hands behind her head, her stare trained on me. Finn and Dimitri worked to make a fire, their sunfires beginning to sputter. Finn grumbled a curse before tossing his drained gem to the side, the muscled giant easily irritated.

The Fox occasionally glanced his way, but more often than not, she smiled at his frustrations. And Dimitri…he watched everything with his bright smile, his brown eyes constantly alternating between gleaming and clouded, the effect like torchlight peeking out from behind a dense wood. Naturally, he was still whistling that tune.

Meanwhile, I stood in stunned silence. Which was a rarity.

The searing of Jake’s gaze finally prompted me to turn his way.

“You’re in your head,” he whispered.

“Yeah, it’s a dangerous place,” I murmured, head bowed. I was becoming something new and powerful, and I feared what other so-called gifts might assault me now that I’d let the beast come out to play.

Jake grasped my chin and forced me to face him. “Ki. You may not like that part of you, but it just saved our lives. If you can hone these skills, we might be able to make it out of this mess alive. You’re bigger than the magic inside of you. You just need to tame it.”

I shook my head in disbelief, dislodging his hold. His words were exactly what I craved to bolster my waning confidence. “ You might regret choosing my group that day in the sanctum, but I’m selfishly thankful.”

“Family, remember?” he said, nudging my shoulder.

I groaned playfully. “Just don’t get too cocky about it, all right?”

I could practically feel him rolling his eyes as I took a seat beside the building fire. Jake had been right. Practice was what I needed to save Jude and protect us all, no matter how risky it felt.

Or maybe I was frightened by what honing those skills would mean—

What it would make me.

…

I woke later that evening to the sound of footsteps.

A hand covered my mouth before I could scream, and a strong body shoved me deeper into the earth. Instantly, I flailed, struggling to toss my assailant off.

“Stop fighting,” a deep voice hissed. “I’m here to help.”

My thoughts swam as panic reigned. I would know that gruff voice anywhere.

Harlow . The bastard had come back.

I went limp, prompting his grip to loosen, if only a fraction. Ice coursed down my throat, torso, and my spine, awakening my shadows. They thrashed in preparation.

Harlow might’ve bested me once before, but he wouldn’t be able to now.

He never should’ve come back and challenged me.

“You’ve been a difficult person to find,” he whispered, releasing my mouth.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t need to. In a moment, he’d be nothing but a pile of ash. My dark magic seemed to scream yes in response.

“Where is he?” I demanded, my body prickling. I could hardly keep the force of my shadows contained, but I gritted my teeth and reined them in—for now. “You have to know his location. With Jude gone, you’d be the leader of the Knights.”

Harlow sat up, a crease forming between his brow. “I didn’t hurt him, Kiara, I—”

“Make another move and it will be your last.”

The warning came from my left, the Fox’s raspy voice filled with steel.

My eyes flickered to her and the blade clutched tightly in her hand. She smiled, wide and full.

The others roused, and Jake lumbered to his feet. His upper lip curled back at the view of his former lieutenant pinning me down.

Harlow let out a rumble of annoyance before stepping off of me. He turned toward the Fox stiffly, his hands raised in a show of peace.

“You of all people have no part in this. You gave up that right a long time ago,” he snapped, eyeing the Fox with distaste. “Leave us and there won’t be any consequences for you or your men.”

I frowned, but my attention swiveled to Jake, who inched closer, his hand on the hilt of his weapon. I lurched to my feet and took cautious steps toward him. My shadows coiled from my fingertips as I fumbled for my dagger. I’d strike with them first.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” the Fox argued, nostrils flaring. While nearly a whole two feet shorter than Harlow, she somehow managed to look down on him. “Anything to do with my son would be my concern.”

My heart stopped entirely. The world stopped.

Son .

The word repeated until it was the only one I knew.

The Fox was the mother who’d abandoned Jude. The mother who owned the book of lore he’d given me. She was also the woman who had delivered him into the clutches of sadistic men.

I wasn’t the only one stunned into silence.

Finn’s mouth fell open , and Dimitri’s usual smirk dropped. The Fox had kept that secret from her most loyal men. It took me a moment to realize Jude had kept that secret from me as well.

He must’ve known who she was back in the Mist when we talked about his childhood. The first place he went had been Fortuna and to the Fox, and—

That’s when I recalled the symbol on his compass. He’d used that thing so many times, his thumb rubbing nonsensical patterns on its surface when he held it. I’d also noted the details etching the device—a claw with a droplet of blood pouring from its pointed tip. The mark of the greatest thief in Asidia. His mother.

How in the living hells had I not put the pieces together sooner?

Tearing my gaze from her, I homed in on Harlow, observing him keenly as his jaw clenched in fury. “You don’t deserve to call him by that title, Emelia. You have no claim to him at all.” His tone was laced with pure venom as he said, “You’re nothing but a traitor to our realm. A coward who ran with her tail stuck between her legs because you didn’t want to accept your mother’s truth. I bet you always knew what had been passed down to him. What your mother gave him. Or maybe Raina’s power skipped you entirely, seeing as you’re hardly worthy.”

The Fox—Emelia—didn’t so much as flinch.

Her mother . Raina.

Now that I knew the truth, I looked, truly looked at her.

High cheekbones, sharp, assessing eyes, hair the color of pure night. Lorian’s words from the clearing came back to me. “You have her nose,” he’d said to Jude.

My chest warmed, Raina’s divinity shoving to the forefront.

Emelia . Her name sounded soft compared to her deadly reputation. Though all notions of softness vanished a second later.

Emelia charged, her dagger a blaze of silver aimed for Harlow’s chest.

Finn roared as Harlow deflected her blow, his dagger in his hands, meeting Emelia’s with a reverberating clash. I moved toward them—preparing to liberate my shadows and turn Harlow to ash like I’d envisioned—when a whirl of brown - and - black spotted fur soared across my vision.

There was a snap of a jaw, the pounding of clawed feet, and the unmistakable sound of teeth piercing flesh.