Page 79 of Burning Crowns

‘What were those awful things?’ said Celeste, stepping out of the alcove. All around them, people were peering through windows, checking to see if it was safe to come out. The palace attendants emerged one by one, stepping over cracked tiles and broken statues as they surveyed the damage.

‘Wraith horses!’ Grandmother Lu’s voice rang out as she hopped down from the roof, landing easily next to them. ‘They come from the sands. They’re a warning from the desert itself.’

‘That didn’t feel like a warning,’ said Anika, shaking the dust out of her gown as she joined them. ‘It felt like attempted murder.’

Shen’s brow furrowed. ‘I never believed such a creature even existed. A silly superstition, surely …’ He trailed off. ‘And I’ve certainly never heard of an entire stampede of them.’

Grandmother Lu clucked her tongue, as she leaned on her cane. ‘A wraith horse appears when death is near.’ She turned her sharp gaze on Rose. ‘It is no coincidence that they showed up just after you arrived.’

‘And not just one,’ said Celeste, uneasily.

‘What could that mean?’ said Rose.

‘Grave danger,’ said Grandmother Lu, darkly. ‘Death is coming to Eana.’

‘You’re not wrong, Grandmother Lu,’ said Shen, dropping his voice. ‘Eanaisin grave danger.’ The old woman leaned in as he told her about Oonagh Starcrest.

When it was done, the old woman’s voice hardened, and in it, Rose heard the words of a seasoned warrior. ‘You must not wait for death to come to you, Queen Rose. You must meet this danger head-on and fight it with all of your might.’

‘We will,’ said Rose and Shen together.

‘Too much time has already passed. Find Oonagh and face her,’ said Grandmother Lu. ‘These wraith horses are a warning to us. A gift, not a curse.’

‘Tell that to your broken cobblestones,’ muttered Anika.

‘Hush now,’ Grandmother Lu scolded her. ‘They are telling you to act. To strike while you can.’

‘I want to,’ said Rose, gripping her new dagger so hard, her hand ached. ‘But we don’t know where Oonagh is …’

‘Then look to the skies,’ said Grandmother Lu, waving her cane upwards. ‘It appears the wraith horses are not our only visitor tonight.’

When Rose looked up, the sky was full of starcrests. The flock was so large, they lit up the night, casting their glimmering silver light over the ransacked streets of the Sunkissed Kingdom.

‘This is no coincidence,’ said Shen, marvelling at the sight.

‘No,’ whispered Rose, who was grateful to see so many after the skies of Anadawn had been empty of them. Even if she couldn’t divine the message they carried.

For Rose, the seer gift remained the most elusive of the five strands of magic. She had imagined that once the witches’ curse had been broken and she had gained all five elements of her power, she would simply be able to look up at the starcrest birds at night and see entire visions in their movements, her future at last made clear. But whenever she watched the starcrests, scouring their patterns for clues, she only ever experienced a faint pull towards a certain idea. Sometimes, despite her best efforts, she felt nothing at all.

‘I’ve never seen so many starcrests,’ muttered Celeste, her eyes glazing as she watched them. Unlike Rose, Celeste had been a seer her whole life, even if she hadn’t quite known it. When she watched the starcrests, she said it was like falling into a trance – that one moment she saw birds and the next the sky danced with images, showing all kinds of future possibilities.

‘What do you see?’ Rose asked her now.

‘Danger,’ she said, slowly. ‘There is danger ahead …’

‘We know that!’ said Rose, trying not to be frustrated.

‘Could they be a little more specific?’ said Shen.

‘Shh,’ said Celeste, who was still watching the sky. The birds were flocking, making a new shape. Rose bristled, feeling a sudden coldness prickling in her cheeks.

Shen frowned. ‘Why does it suddenly feel like winter to me?’

Celeste pulled her arms around herself. ‘What is that?’ she murmured. ‘It’s right on the edge of my mind …’

‘I KNOW WHAT IT IS!’ screeched Anika, startling them all. ‘I recognize that shape! It’s a place!’ She burst into laughter. ‘It’s Carrig!’

‘Carrig?’ Rose repeated. ‘Anika, you’re not even a witch. You can’t just—’

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