Page 96 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

Stavros sighs. “There should still be someone with her.”

“And that should be Alek,” Ivy says before he can go on, holding out her hand to me. “He has the best understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish. The rest of you, be ready in case we need to retreat quickly.”

As her fingers close around mine, there’s no more argument from the others. Even through our gloves, the feel of her touch reminds me of the first time I removed my mask for her, the brush of her hand across my scarred cheek where the breeze grazes it now.

Out of all the people in the world, she’s the only one I’m sure has never seen me as a lesser man for my flaws.

We walk to the edge of the Order camp in careful silence. Ivy gives my hand a light squeeze in warning that we’re about to step through.

It’s still a shock when the sprawl of tents and wagons appears out of nothing in front of us. I come to a stop next to Ivy with a hitch of breath.

I knew more people had gathered since the first time we stumbled on the camp, but I wasn’t totally prepared to see the whole vast sprawl of it. All at once, I feel incredibly small.

Ivy releases my hand, her face already tensing with concentration. I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to hold everything she’s doing in her mind all at once, wrangling the threads of her magic when it always wants her to give it free rein.

The Order of the Wild members don’t appear to be worried about anything unusual befalling them. They’re circulating around the camp, readying their dinner and prepping the tents.

The hum of conversation feels unnervingly companionable, as if they think they’re off on a leisurely jaunt across the country, not a mission to slaughter the royal family and throw our entire country into upheaval.

Next to me, Ivy inhales with a faint rasp. That’s my only warning that she’s about to begin.

With a warbling roar, a wave of fire some twenty paces wide and twice as tall as any man surges up at the edge of the camp. Even though she’s conjured it at a safe distance from the two of us, the heat wafts through the air to where I’m standing.

The scars on my face tingle with the sudden warmth. I haven’t worn a mask since I lost my usual one in our hasty flight from our apartment in Pima.

The conspirators scramble away from the flames with a chorus of gasps and shouts. I scan their faces, trying to make out which are the scourge sorcerers and which merely their dupes.

Is anyone cowering in terror of their mortality already?

Someone points at the wall of fire, and I flick my gaze toward it long enough to make out the shapes of eyes and a mouth curved into a sneer amid the flames.

Ivy’s really pulling it off. This is worth a whole forest of frozen trees.

“Back to the other side of camp!” someone yells in an authoritative tone. “Pull whichever wagons you can reach.”

Some of the figures simply race to the far end of the camp area, but just as many leap to the wagons and start hauling them. They’re obviously scared, but no one seems to be falling apart the way I hoped.

I turn to Ivy to suggest she push the fire closer and show that it’s coming for them. My voice snags in my throat.

Her face has turned wan, the whites of her eyes gleaming as if she’s as worried as the people she’s threatening.

All at once, the flames shoot higher and farther. They lash out, licking across the nearest tents.

Ivy’s lips move with a hushed muttering I can’t decipher, but there’s no mistaking the urgency of her tone. Her hands twitch at her sides.

Another burst of flames smacks into the side of an abandoned wagon.

“Can’t let him…” I think I hear her say before her words muddle again.

The face has vanished. The Order members are still retreating in the wake of the fiery destruction, but no one’s cowering or pleading for forgiveness for their sins.

My gut plummets. It didn’t work. And Ivy?—

She trembles next to me. I reach for her but hesitate, not sure if distracting her would make things better or worse.

Before I can decide, she sucks in a breath, her stance going rigid. There’s a whoosh as the entire wall of flame snuffs out as swiftly as it rose up.

She sways, and I catch her arm to restore her balance. Her gaze is fixed on the blackened swath of camp.

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