He turned to face her, and Elena was forced to meet his eyes. He paused, struck by the heat of her gaze. They were close enough that he could see the slight sheen of sweat on her upper lip. He resisted the urge to wipe it away.
Agni, he thought.I’m here for her Agni.
Elena was the first to push away. A light hand on his chest, a firm shove. His skin blazed where she had touched him, and he watched as she rotated from her shoulder and slashed. This time, the urumi made a faint ring.
“Better?”
His throat was oddly dry. “Try with your fire.”
Elena faltered. “Already?”
But he could still feel the heat of her touch and the torturous presence of her Agni. He could wait no longer. “Summon it.”
Elena stepped back, and he involuntarily leaned forward. The air grew taut, charged, as she raised the blade. All his senses, all his muscles, tightened. Like a yeseri ready to pounce, he watched, his hand clenched around his urumi hilt. Any second now, he would feel her Agni unfurl. He would feel it call to his own through their urumis, the call a question, a search for something in kind.
Sparks fizzed from her wrists. He inched closer, ready to leap—
“I found it!”
Elena startled, turning.
He sprang forward, desperate to catch the sparks on her urumi. “Here, let me.”
As soon as his fingers brushed hers around the hilt, Samson felt a jolt. A sudden heat flashed through the urumi, like an electric bolt, and for one excruciating moment, he saw the horrible, agonizing breadth of her Agni before Elena dropped the weapon. At once, the sensation disappeared. His heart thundered as Elena stared at her hand in confusion, in shock, but before he could say anything, Kruppa burst onto the grounds, waving a scroll.
“She exists!” she cried. “The Phoenix exists!”
CHAPTER 14
SAMSON
I believe the people who left the first continent brought their gods with them. This has led to the creation of a protomyth of the fire gods. The Phoenix, the Great Serpent, and the Yumi Goddess all exhibit similar origin stories and death cycles. However, the question of power remains. If all three gods stem from the same protomyth, who then is the most powerful?
—fromA Critique of the Ancient Gods(note: debunked by historians)
Elena hurried after Kruppa, Samson stumbling behind them as if in a daze. He had been so close. Sofucking close. The shape of her Agni haunted him, wavering in his mind’s eye as he remembered the excruciating flash of its power ricocheting through his body. If only he had had a moment longer… He sought Elena, but people clamored forward as they weaved their way toward the temple.
“Prophet!”
“Bless me, Prophet!”
“Look upon me!”
In the distance, Elena turned. No doubt she observed that all the onlookers were Ravani bearing his mark. No doubt she noticed how no one hailed her. All her people latched on to him with an intense fervor, their faces wide, desperate.
“Prophet!” they called as they jostled past Elena and rushed to Samson.
Dimly, Samson knew he should bless them, but he moved in a stupor, his body aching for the phantomlike presence of Elena’s Agni that it had briefly tasted. A hand grabbed his arm. Another his shoulder. Samson jerked back, but no matter where he turned, people pressed forward, palms outstretched, faces upturned.Prophet, Prophet, Prophet.A panicked cry bubbled and died in his throat as he suddenly remembered the tunnels, the sweet, rotten aroma of sweat and blood and bodies too close. There were too many, coming at once—
Someone touched his chest, his scar, and he jolted back into himself, the memory sluicing through his limbs like black, brackish water.
“Space,” he panted.
“Prophet, give me your mark—”
“SPACE!” he roared.
The followers recoiled, as if struck. Samson sucked in a fresh spurt of air. He knew, judging by the fear on their faces, that he’d been too brusque.
