Suddenly, the flame hissed and shot toward the mirrors. Her reflections turned, and as the glass shattered, Elena saw herself: ashen and alone, her hands dark and trembling, crumbling.
Ferma sprang and grabbed a mat and leapt on the flame, suffocating it. The blaze hissed, its pain ripping through Elena. She cried out, falling to her knees.
“Stop it,” she gasped.
But Ferma pressed down harder, and the flame gave one last gasp before dying.
They stared at each other in the silence that came after. In the pieces of the shattered glass around them, Elena saw her own doubt reflected in the Yumi’s eyes.
“I can’t do it,” she said.
Ferma stood slowly. Glass snapped as she knelt and took Elena’s burnt hands into her own.
“You just need time and practice,” she said.
“What time, Ferma? The Fire Festival is tomorrow. Next week is the coronation.” She pulled her hands away. “Maybe there’s something else. The last form, it’s faded from the scroll. Maybe my mother had a copy! Or some other text in her chest that can help us understand this one. Ferma, let’s go look.”
But the Yumi did not stand. Her shoulders slumped as she stared at the glass, the empty pit.
“Every time someone from your family touched fire, they lost it,” she said, almost to herself. She looked up, met Elena’s eyes. “It happened to your grandfather, your mother. The king is already losing his grasp, and then it’ll be you. I was wrong, Elena. We shouldn’t do this. Maybe it’s a blessing that you can’t control fire.”
Elena laughed, and the sound was cruel. “Everyone says that to me. But I never thought you would too.”
“Elena—”
“I thought of you, you know,” Elena said. “When I was able to control that flame, it was because I thought of how you’ve always believed in me. How you’ve fought for me. Mother’s Gold, Ferma, it wasyou.”
The Yumi stood, her hair twisting behind her.
“Can’t you see, Elena?” she said. “Fire is the death trap in your family. Ravence—”
“You said it yourself. It’s my birthright,” Elena retorted. “I want Ravence, and if I have to walk through fire to get it, I will.”
Ferma shook her head sadly. “If you believe that, you truly are a fool.”
CHAPTER 27
ELENA
Beware of the Black Hawk of Death. Its golden eyes see the passing of our world into the next.
—fromThe Legends and Myths of Sayon
Elena rummaged through the chest of scrolls. A chill crept through the room, and she shivered despite her shawl.There has to be an answer here somewhere.She untied a bundle of bound parchment, pored over the pages. The ink had faded, but as Elena brought the floating lantern closer, she recognized it as a diary entry. At the bottom of the page, her mother had marked her initials, along with the familiar jasmine flower.
Elena set it aside and picked another from the bundle. This one was too faded to read, but it had the same flower on the bottom corner. As did the next, and the one after that. Elena stared at the pages, drumming her fingers.
How does the flower connect these scrolls to the fire dance?Elena studied the diary entry. It was not her mother’s handwriting, but it looked oddly familiar. She reached forward but her arm bumped against the lantern, knocking it against a stack of scrolls. The scrolls tumbled to the floor, unrolling and scattering across the room.
“Shit, shit.” Elena began to gather the pages when she caught a glimpse of one entry.
Dear Jasmine,
I think I’ve found it. When you receive this, meet me at your tea shop. After hours. I’ll bring it with me.
Yours,
Aahnah
