Page 71 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“Okay.” She closed her eyes, forgetting what Dhawan had told her. Rabin’s advice was more in tune with the way her magic behaved. The five points of her anchor flared to life, warming her from the inside like a sparking flame.

“Slow and steady,” Rabin said, his breath tickling the shell of her ear. “Don’t draw it too fast, or you’ll burn yourself out.”

Zarya took a deep breath as the glittering star inside her sparked and spun. The rot had climbed the top of the walls now, and she took a few more steps back as it advanced along the earth, Rabin moving in sync with her.

He didn’t release his hold, his steady presence calming her thumping heart.

Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Spirit.

She checked each of them off as she drew a small bit of each while a force swelled inside her chest. Her magic pulsed as it surrounded her heart, encasing it in gilded light.

Drawing more, her magic expanded, filling her up and surging through her limbs and then her fingertips as a rush of nightfire exploded from her hands. Its deep glittering blackness slammed into the ground and began racing towards the rot.

It clashed with the blight, forcing it back several feet, forming a semi-circle of untouched stone where Zarya and Rabin stood.

She cried out in relief and almost jumped for joy. “It worked!”

“Good girl,” Rabin said, a note of pride in his voice as his lips brushed the edge of her ear. “Try it again. It will become easier each time.”

She called up the glittering star inside her with more ease as nightfire blasted forth again, sending the blight into retreat.

But then something went terribly wrong.

A deafening roar preceded the sight of the entire southwest corner of the city beginning to crumble, blackened buildings toppling on top of one another. Ash and dust billowed into the atmosphere as screams tore through the air, growing louder and morphing into freewheeling panic. The crowd surged in every direction, seeking safety.

“I think I pissed it off,” she said as dread curled in her stomach.

“Yeah. I think you did,” Rabin replied as more buildings toppled in the distance, leaving nothing but puffs of smoke in the skyline.

They stood rooted, the destruction advancing faster and faster. Soldiers shouted, urging people to move quicker as pandemonium descended in every direction and their foundations shook.

Two soldiers brought up the rear of a group of women and children as they sprinted forward. Shadows leaped, cresting over the men’s heads and slamming down like a tsunami, swallowing them, their screams echoing as they disappeared into the darkness.

“Gods,” Zarya whispered as waves of shadows swelled up around them, leaping, jumping, snatching people as they ran from it, trying to escape the cold fingers of death.

“We need to move,” Rabin declared as he grabbed her by the hand, and they started to run. Screams echoed everywhere as more and more people were guzzled into the blight. Buildings crumbled overhead as Zarya and Rabin dodged hunks of stone and falling debris. She had to do something. Amrita would die if the infection reached the palace. She couldn’t let that happen.

A blink of light flashed overhead, and they watched as Amrita’s magic blitzed in and out. After a few seconds, the sky cleared.

“Do you think it’s back in place?” Zarya shouted. It was impossible to tell, and given the extent of the destruction, it was likely a moot point at the moment.

“I have no idea,” Rabin said.

Zarya tugged on his arm. “Wait,” she said, bringing them to a stop.

He didn’t question her—nothing but complete trust written on his face.

“What is it?”

“I have an idea. I don’t know if it will work, but I need to try.”

Her gaze flicked to the palace where the Jai Tree stood, its colorful flowers spreading across the grey sky, and Rabin nodded.

“Tell me what you need.”

She nodded and fell to a knee, placing her hand on the rumbling stones. With her eyes closed, she reached for the source of her magic. Now wasn’t the moment for restraint, and she wrenched on each of her anchors with all of her force.

She felt them spear into the center of her heart, where they collided in a glittering crush before nightfire sprung from the tips of her fingers, the lines shooting out and then merging to form a wave that raced over the stones.