Page 298 of Heat of the Everflame

“We have to,” I said. “I promised Teller.”

“Di—Your Majesty.” His tone was firm. “My magic is low. Yours is gone. The army soldiers already tried to kill us once, and my father seems willing to do the same. If we’re not careful, your brother might never get to reunite with her at all.”

My soul ached at the truth in his words.

I glanced back at him over my shoulder. “I promised him, Luther.”

Pain flashed across his face. If anyone understood how deeply it would wreck me to break my word, it was him.

He reached for me, and my mother shot forward to grab my hand before he could take it. “Let’s try the palace,” she urged, squeezing it tightly. “It’s worth an attempt.”

My focus moved back to Luther. “How long can you hold a shield before your magic drains?”

His throat worked with all the warnings he was holding back. “A minute or two at most. But you—”

“That will have to be enough.” I sat forward and stiffened my back. “I’m not giving up.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” he murmured.

Guilt hounded me for brushing him off, but this was something I had to do. After letting my father and brother down so completely, in so many ways, this felt like my chance to finally make it right.

Even in the brisk wind of our flight, tension hung in the air. The moon, always my mischievous nemesis, seemed to be shining brighter than ever, bathing us in a vivid glow that denied any hope of arriving unnoticed.

“Keep your hood low,” I warned my mother when the palace spires came into view. “Don’t let anyone see your face.”

Remis had known my plan to rescue my mother, but Descended hoarded information like they hoarded wealth and power. If he’d kept it from the army soldiers, we just might make it back in one piece.

I aimed first for the coastline. I’d pinned my hopes on Luther sneaking my mother in through the royal dock while Sorae and I created a distraction, but as we passed over the inlet entrance, my heart sank. The usual post of two had increased to twenty, with more lining the canal where it disappeared beneath the ground.

My shoulders sagged. I grudgingly turned Sorae inland, skimming low over the forest canopy and avoiding any roads where sentries might be waiting.

A broken sob sounded from behind me. I looked back in panic to see my mother staring at the ground, her expression torn with sorrow.

In my attempts to stay unseen, I’d unintentionally directed Sorae right over the marshy land that once held our family home. Against the glittering winter snow, the dark circle of charred earth looked more like a sinkhole—one that had swallowed our memories and our joy right along with our home.

“It’s all gone?” she choked out. “His killer destroyedeverything?”

“No,” I said quietly. “I did that.”

I was too much of a coward to look back, or to explain, or do anything beyond locking my focus on the horizon.

The palace loomed larger, and the royal grounds came into view. The pale blanket of frost stopped abruptly at the garden’s edge, almost as if the palace’s heat had melted it away. I squinted, trying to make out more detail—and my blood froze.

The snow hadn’t melted.

It was covered withpeople. Scores and scores of them, uniformed and armed.

All the soldiers from Mortal City and the entire Royal Guard, together in a legion encircling the palace in a thick, unbroken line.

Sorae let out a thunderous warning howl before I could stop her, and a hundred weapons turned our way, including several large wooden structures laden with boulders and giant metal-tipped bolts ready to shoot us right out of the sky.

I nudged Sorae into a sweeping circle just outside their reach. The dark ring of soldiers rippled as their weapons trailed our path.

“There he is,” I breathed. On the balcony outside my chambers, Teller had run outside, drawn by Sorae’s call. Perthe and Taran emerged not far behind.

“Now,” I said to Sorae. Her wings angled down, and we shot toward him in rapid descent. His eyes grew large, his focus stuck on the woman at my back.

“Launch!” a voice shouted from below.

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