Page 55 of Storm of Ink and Blood

Fire. Water. Earth. Air. Spirit.

Their gazes met, and she sensed he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how.

“What is it?”

“I feel something else,” he said, rubbing his chest.

Her breath caught. Could it be? Had she been right all along?

“It might be the sixth anchor,” she said, and his eyes widened.

“But it is forbidden,” he whispered, and she nodded.

“So they say. But remember that I have it, too.”

He expelled a breath, his shoulders caving in. “You don’t seem like a monster.”

“Only before I’ve had my tea in the morning,” she joked, which earned her a rueful smile.

She decided now wasn’t the moment to bring up what had happened in the forest the other day. Nor the fact that she might have caused the blight in Dharati. She saw those fiery eyes and those horrible visions in her mind’s eye again and again. What if she was a monster?

She explained her theories about the Jadugara and what she’d learned about the ink and its magic. When she stopped speaking, she was met with stunned silence, edged with a bitter taste of betrayal.

Vikas nodded with his jaw hard. “They’ve been lying to us. Not that I should be surprised by that.”

“I’m quite sure they have,” Zarya said. “They’ve tried to villainize all of you for something they’re hiding and using to their advantage.”

“Why?” Suni asked.

She shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure other than the obvious desire for power and status.”

Their expressions all turned to anger and confusion, and she exchanged an uncertain glance with Yasen. Zarya might still not have much experience with the world, but she wasn’t too naive to understand the consequences of the thread they were slowly unraveling. She had no intention of keeping the Jadugara’s secrets, but rumors such as this would catch like wildfire, taking so many people down with them, and they had to be careful.

“If I have it, then could I help, too?” Vikas asked, already connecting the dots.

“That’s what I’m hoping,” she said as the seeds of an idea started to plant themselves in her head.

What if she didn’t have to do this alone? What if she was only the catalyst, and her purpose was to discover what was possible? What if the vanshaj could free themselves with the sixth anchor? She envisioned an entire network of freed Aazheri, all of them helping one another. Eventually, it would have to be enough to make a difference.

Zarya looked over at Yasen, again touching her necklace.

This was her destiny. This was her fate. And it was calling.

For the first time since she’d escaped the seaside cottage, she had a clear sense of the direction she was heading.

Looking around the room at these men who’d spent their entire lives punished for something they had never done, she felt her resolve harden into shards of unbreakable iron. Sharp and jagged and deadly.

She would free them all if it was the last thing she did.

She would free them all even if it cost her everything.

LETTER

Dear Zarya,

I’m glad to hear of the rebellion’s progress, but I’m pleading with you to be careful. If this news gets out, all your lives will be forfeit. The Madans do not take kindly to being undermined. But I must know how such miracles have been accomplished. What kind of magic is this? I did some digging regarding your questions, but I have never heard of someone breaking the collar in all my years.

I’m planning to request access to the Royal Library’s restricted section to see if I can find out more for you. It’s something I should have done a long time ago, but Vikram remains displeased with me, and I don’t like my chances. I’ll also look for a book on paramadhar as you requested.