Page 32 of Cursebreaker

We run faster, but as we climb over boulders and down narrow ridges, I can’t help but think the Underling general is behind Will’s sudden change in health.

Again, I wonder—am I giving the Shifter and Morana both exactly what they want by racing willingly toward the Burning Lands?

Do I really have a choice?

Will slows to a jog as we approach the border, his head on a swivel. When we reach the towering, twenty-foot wall made entirely of stone, he stands erect, his spine straight—strong, determined—and it’s strange to see him like this when yesterday it looked as if the fever might claim him at any moment. If I’m right, and the Underling general has temporarily given Will this burst of strength, I don’t think it would be wise to mention it to Will. After all, the general could have already escaped from Henry and the others and come after us. He could be watching us now. And if I question Will’s health, who’s to say the general won’t take it back?

I need Will to make it past the wall—need him on his own two feet.

The wall sparkles in the scant moonlight breaking through the haze of smoke overhead, and it’s only when we’ve reached the barrier that I see the bits of silver interspersed throughout the rock.

“They built the wall before they realized the silver didn’t do much to deter the Underlings in this form,” Will explains, dragging his hand over the wall, searching for something.

“I thought you said there’s more Underling activity at night?” I whisper.

“This area has been mostly inactive for weeks,” he answers. “The real battle is being waged to the north, near Kane. The outposts here are mainly small patrols, only meant to maintain a presence so the Underlings don’t slip past the barricade. Ah! Here.” He bends down, removing a loose piece of rock to reveal a hole just big enough to crawl through. “I’ll make sure it’s all clear,” he says, flattening himself on the ground.

Before I can protest, he’s gone, his boots disappearing as he crawls through the tunnel.

Minutes pass before Will’s whisper echoes from the opening, “Your turn!”

Stone scrapes against my arms as I crawl through the tunnel. The wall is thicker than I’d anticipated, but soon Will grabs my wrists and pulls me the rest of the way through. He helps me to my feet, brushing soot from my hair. His gaze searches my face, as if scanning for any sign of injury, and I look over his shoulder, my heart in my stomach, at the stretch of charred earth, illuminated by fires that burst from the ground, shooting into the sky at unpredictable intervals. Dangerous. Deadly.

The Burning Lands.

I reach into my pocket, but… “It’s gone!”

Will pulls back, holding me at arm’s length, his brow furrowed. “What’s gone?”

I turn my pockets inside out, my legs almost giving way from beneath me. “The compass! It’s gone!”

A shadow passes over Will’s face. “What do you mean it’s gone?” His grip tightens around my arms, a muscle in his jaw flexing. “Aster, that compass—”

“I know!” My chest squeezes. “Gabriel must have taken it. I know I had it—” My voice breaks. “I promise, it was here—”

“It’s all right,” Will says, his hands relaxing. “It’s fine. We don’t need it.”

“What?” I wipe sweat from my forehead. “Of course we do! I almost died so that the Order could enchant that compass—so that we could find Morana on our own terms—”

But Will has already taken my hand, leading me through the labyrinth of flames. He barks a laugh, harsh and guttural. “On our own terms! She was never going to let that happen. She’s been ten steps ahead of the Order at every turn. Everything that’s happened is because she wanted it to be so. She already knows you’re here! She has spies everywhere. It’s only a matter of time before she sends someone to retrieve you. No, no, look at me—” He whirls, his hands on my face, forcing me to meet his wild gaze. “We need to hide. At least until morning. Then we can…” He licks his lips, nods. “We can find the entrance ourselves.”

“No one has ever—”

“Not very many have tried!” Another rasping laugh. “And none of them had the power of the Lightbringer. Your connection with Morana… it could lead us to her.”

I shake my head, tears burning my eyes. “What if it doesn’t? What if I can’t—”

“You can!” His deep, smoky voice rumbles like thunder. “Curse or not—power or not—I’ve never met anyone like you. You can do this, Aster. Not because you’re the heir of Hildegarde—not because of who your family is or was. Because of who you are. Because you don’t give up. You never surrender.” His gaze searches mine, as it has so many times before—seeking answers to questions he doesn’t dare speak aloud. Softly, as if we weren’t surrounded by towering infernos, he whispers, “I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.”

My mouth falls open, but before I remember how to form words, Will is running again, leading me across the scorched terrain. We race toward a charred mountain in the distance, following a river of molten lava that bubbles and spits liquid fire at our feet. Owen used to point at the volcanoes on his maps, mountains that bordered the chasm of fire at the center of the Burning Lands. Punishment for our greed, he would tell me of the tremor that split the earth six hundred years ago. A warning that we will burn for our ancestors’ transgressions if we don’t atone for their wicked ways.

I’ll never burn, I said once, my chin raised in defiance. The water will protect me.

Spoken like a true pirate. Owen laughed, mussing my hair, but there was reverence in his voice when he said, The water will always protect you. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you carry the ocean with you. He pointed at my head, my heart. It’s a part of you, little mouse. It’s in your blood.

But the ocean feels far, far away as the fire rages all around us. In the distance, there’s a low, keening wail, and the earth tremors underfoot.

Will runs faster.