Phoenix Above, his story checks out.She had passed by that corner before turning toward the bars.
When she didn’t say anything more, he pointed toward the orb with the flame.
“That’s what you came out here for, right? You want to learn Agneepath.”
She inhaled sharply. Agneepath was an ancient word. It meant the path of fire; it was the word the high priestess uttered before her father sat on the dais. It was the wordshewould utter when she became queen—for the path of Ravence was forged by fire. The monarch must learn to hold the flames, to sit in the inferno so he or she could carry out the destiny Alabore Ravence had spun for them.
If Yassen knew she had come here to practice, he must know she couldn’t hold fire.
“Who told you?” she asked, keeping the weapon aimed at his chest.
“The servants whisper,” he said, “and I listen. I heard you almost burned the palace down the last time you tried.”
Elena took a step back, her cheeks flushing in shame. Even Yassen Knight knew her shortcomings. Did the whole household know as well? What about the people?
He reached out and touched the barrel of her pulse gun, his eyes never leaving her. “You want me to burn. So be it. But I have a right to Ravence, as you do. This isn’t just your home. It’s mine too.”
“You are a lying bastard,” she spat. She shoved his hand away and raised the gun again. Yassen stepped back. “You worked for the people trying to destroy this kingdom. You helped them. Youbetrayedus.”
“No,” Yassen said, and his voice was thin. It made her hesitate. “That wasn’t me. That wasthem,” he said, and the weakness in his voice turned to disgust. “The Arohassin tricked us, brainwashed us. We were only kids. I didn’t know any better. And now here I am, working with you—workingforyou—to try and amend what I have broken. Even knowing there’s no forgiveness for me.”
He spoke with a zeal that surprised Elena. She had never seen him so animated, so honest. She blinked; was this truly Yassen Knight standing before her?
He had brought her father the list of Arohassin agents. He served them up like pigs for slaughter. And he had not balked when the redheaded woman had called him a traitor. Samson had told her so.
A breeze swept up the sand as Yassen watched her. Despite the gun, he showed no fear. And a fearless man was a dangerous man. Her father had taught her that.
She could not trust Yassen. Not yet.
The sand drifted lazily across their feet, and Yassen cocked his head, as if listening to it.
“There’s going to be a storm,” he said.
She could sense the dunes shifting beneath her feet as the desert began to moan. It started as a murmur, an elusive sound, but as the wind picked up, it grew louder. The flame danced in its glass enclosure. Elena cursed and lowered her gun, hugging the orb to her chest to shield it.
“We’d better find cover,” she said.
The dunes shuddered as they made their way down. She knew how to move without sinking, how to read the lines of the sands and the stars to guide her back to the sparkling city. To her surprise, Yassen remained only a few steps behind. He too moved lightly, though with half the grace.
They reached her cruiser as the sky clouded over and the heavens disappeared. Elena shoved the orb into the back compartment.
“Get on!” she shouted.
She slammed on the pedal, and they shot forward. Sand slashed their faces and clothes. The wind roared. A large, dark mass surrounded them as Elena revved the engine. She knew they couldn’t outrun the storm. The city was too far.
She swerved, and they launched up a dune. The cruiser jumped the lip, skidding before Elena corrected it as they hurtled past rocks shaped like kneeling men. She squinted, spitting sand. She couldn’t see any valleys or land markings, but she had grown up in this desert. It claimed her as much as she claimed it.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Yassen shouted into the wind.
She didn’t respond.
The overhang came out suddenly on their left. She nearly passed it but then yanked the handles, cutting across the rocks and launching into the cave.
A thick layer of sand shifted around the floor, but otherwise, the hovel was still. Elena gulped in air. The engine’s hum filled the space; Yassen reached around and turned it off, the sudden silence ringing in her ears. After a moment, she could hear the muffled shriek of the storm raging outside.
She dug out a canteen of water stowed in the cruiser’s compartment. Yassen turned, studying the cave as she splashed her face. In its glass enclosure, her flame still lived, though it was smaller now.
“What is this place?”
