Page 74 of Heat of the Everflame

“He burned some of the buildings,” I managed to choke out. “I thought you were inside. I thought...”

Luther stilled, and for a moment, his expression turned as bleak as my own dark fears had been. It disappeared in a heartbeat, replaced by the steady calm of the Prince. “I’m here now,” he said, kissing my temple.

“The Ignios King didn’t see us, but he knows we’re close,” Alixe answered for me. “He’s returning with his Royal Guard tomorrow.”

“Let’s go back to Arboros,” Taran said. “I’d rather take my chances with the mortals.”

Luther’s jaw ticked. “I agree. Taran and I can distract them while you two slip back across. We’ll push through their lines once you’re both safe.”

“With all their godstone, that’s a death sentence,” Alixe said.

“I already have one of those,” Taran joked as he gestured to his chest, though his grin didn’t quite make it to his eyes.

“We’re not going to Arboros,” I said firmly.

“What other choice do we have?” Taran asked.

As the others bickered over which of our many terrible options to choose from, I reluctantly pulled away from Luther and walked to the open doorway, chewing anxiously on my lip.

The dunes rose high around us on every side, their endless brown expanse stained by the haunting white flecks of the dead mortals’ bones. The mortals had been lured to this valley by its life-giving water, only to be condemned to some brutal, unknown end.

In those final moments, the mortals had known their only chance at survival was to risk everything and run. Many had died—but perhaps some had not. Perhaps some had made it beyond the dunes and escaped the others’ gruesome fate.

One thing was certain—none who stayed put had lived to tell the tale.

If you are outnumbered or overwhelmed, or if all seems lost, just keep moving. Onward, until the very last breath.

The memory of my father’s teachings hovered around me as an idea took shape in my mind. It was a crazy idea, reckless, doomed to near-certain failure—in other words, the only kind I ever had.

But if we had any chance of the four of us surviving this together, we had to try.

I turned back to the others and perched my hands on my hips.

“We’re going to Umbros,” I announced.

“No,” they answered in unison.

“Yes,” I shot back. “The Ignios coastline is short. If we leave at dawn and stay near the water where the sand is more firm, we can move quickly. We’ll be in Umbros by nightfall.”

“There’s no cover by the water,” Alixe said. “If we’re spotted, we’re sitting ducks.”

“It’s a risk,” I agreed. “But if we stay here, they could do the same thing to us they did to the mortals. We have to get out of Ignios.”

“The Umbros Queen is even scarier than the Ignios King,” Taran said. “At least the worsthecan do is kill us.”

I swallowed my unease and conjured a mocking grin. “What’s wrong Taran, afraid of a little old Queen?”

He glared at me. “Yes. And you should be, too.”

I shrugged. “We won’t be there long. We’ll go straight to the port and get the first boat to Lumnos.”

Luther shook his head. “I don’t like it. We should wait here. The flameroot will wear off soon. Once it does, you can call for Sorae.”

“We might not live that long. Besides, the Guardians have a bolt that can shoot her out of the sky, and they’re waiting just over those dunes. I can’t risk bringing her this close to them.”

“Diem,” he said, his tone heavy with warning, “I don’t have to tell you there is a particular reason why Umbros is dangerous for us.”

He didn’t offer more, but I caught his meaning. At the Ascension Ball, I’d opened up our minds to the Umbros representatives for the taking. Any secret we guarded, they had no doubt shared with their Queen. If she found us, she could bring down our entire realm.

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