Page 60 of Cry of the Firebird

"Only because you aren't in on the joke."

"Because Iamthe fucking joke." Katya grabbed the quilt, and he helped her pull it up to her chin.

"Why are you meant to hatevolk krovi?" he asked softly.

"Cos, my father said they killed my mother. So he made me…kill them back," Katya slurred.

"Did you find her murderers?"

Katya shrugged. "He told me thevolk krovikilled her. Made me hate them. I don't even know if it was true anymore."

Izrayl's golden eyes softened. "Don't worry, I'm not like othervolk krovi."

"I knooooww, and I hate it already," Katya complained.

Izrayl's smile turned mischievous, and heat zinged through her blood. His smile widened as if he sensed the change in her.

"I would give you a kiss goodnight, but I'm not keen on vomit breath."

"What makes you think I want you to kiss me? I'm not that drunk," Katya snapped.

Izrayl slowly leaned down to her face. He was so close she felt his breath on her lips.

"Despite your prejudice against my kind, I think you're curious," he whispered. "Goodnight, little hunter." He disappeared out the door, leaving her staring stupidly after him.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Anya woke the following day with a buzzing under her skin that she was starting to recognize as her magic. When she closed her eyes and focused, she could feel the strange shape of it, like flickering flames inside her.

She blinked back tears when she realized thatthiswas what she had always felt was missing in her life. It wasn't only about her overwritten memories, but this magic inside of her, that had been smothered to ash. It was the lost part of her, restored and ready for her to learn and embrace like she should have been able to fifteen years ago.

Oh, Eikki, I love you, but you have no idea the damage you've done to me.

Anya was heading to Baba Zosia's caravan for a morning of lessons when Katya came striding out of the forest, drenched with rain and mud, and sword in her hand.

"What happened to you? Were you in a fight?" Anya asked.

"No. I was training, and Aleksandra summoned me like a fucking dog," Katya snapped.

Aleksandra stuck her head out of the caravan door. "Not like a dog, like someone who has limited time to teach Anya how tomind-link with you," she replied. "Go and change. I'm not letting you in here like that."

Katya flipped her off and headed in the opposite direction.

"Don't worry, she's just grumpy because she's hungover from last night," Aleksandra said and stepped aside to let Anya in.

Twenty minutes later, Anya was doing her best to coax her magic flames back to life and failing miserably.

"You need to relax, Anya," Aleksandra said calmly. "Everything is fine."

"Iamrelaxed," Anya insisted, not opening her eyes.

Sitting in Baba Zosia's kitchen with Aleksandra, Baba Zosia, and Katya, Anya could hear each person breathing and the rain hammering on the wooden sides of the caravan. To her right, the pot-bellied stove ticked and popped from the fire inside of it. She could smell dust, incense, Aleksandra's perfume, and the coffee dregs in the cup in front of her.

Anya opened her right eye and saw Katya sitting opposite her. Her eyes were shut, but she was still smiling cheekily. Anya stifled a giggle. Baba Zosia hissed at her, and Anya quickly regained her composure.

"Calm your thoughts, Anya. Think of an extremely vivid memory and focus on it. Block everything else out around you. Find that quiet space in your mind," Aleksandra said.

Anya took a deep, steadying breath and tried to focus on the flames inside of her. Instead, the firebird rising from her chimney and across the blue-black sky soared through her mind. She concentrated on the way the fire on its body lit the darkness with an inferno of light, the white stars blinking behind it.

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