Page 134 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“I’m going out on a limb and saying she’s not actually a maid,” Tessa interjected. “But first things first: we’re going on a rescue mission, so suit up.” She eyed Kieran. “Well, not literally. Just go get some weapons.”

Kieran instantly straightened, eyes alert. “Very well, but we need a plan. Give me a moment to consider the options. Tessa, can you⁠—”

“Everyone, stop,” I forced out, squeezing my eyes shut. This was all too much. The image of blood splattering the mattress rose to the surface, along with the memory from four years ago, where blood and bodies streaked the dark cells. Where I was convinced I’d lost him. Where I’d grieved until there was nothing left of me to give.

The difference was that four years ago, Mortep cast an illusion to make me see Everett’s body. It wasn’t real. This time, however, it was no illusion. It had happened in my bed, with him right next to me, and I still couldn’t save him.

The room went quiet, and I took a breath. “I have to go get him. I don’t care what the rest of you do. I don’t care who you’re working for, Sloane, or what the High Elders did.” I gritted my teeth. “I have to find him.”

Tessa stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “We’re coming with you. We love him, too. You’re not doing this alone.”

My chest tightened. I wondered if this was what it felt like back at the Keep, to be in the thick of the action. Where everyone was so accustomed to the constant threats, the voices talking over one another, the planning, the late night missions. I looked at the Ashen Order as an outsider during those months I lived with them, but this time, it felt like I was one of them.

“We don’t have time to stand here,” Sloane insisted. “I can get you somewhere safe, and then we’ll go search for your friend.”

Kieran cleared his throat. “We cannot leave Odessa. I’ll stay behind and figure out how to get her to safety. The rest of you need to go before it’s too late.”

I nodded, and the prospect of taking action began to push away the panic. Then I remembered— “Starke,” I suddenly said. “I can’t leave him, either.”

Sloane groaned. “Fine. Three minutes, that’s all I can give you. And then I’m blinking us out of here before my cover’s blown.”

Tessa opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “I’m sorry, you’re what-ing us out of here?”

“Blinking,” Sloane repeated. The rest of us stared at her. “You know…my magic.” She disappeared, then reappeared on the other side of the room.

“Oh, so you’re a Strider,” Tessa said.

“A what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I cut in hastily. “Kieran, go protect Odessa. We’ll touch base soon. Tessa, get changed. I’ll wake up Starke, and we’ll be back here in three minutes.”

As the others scattered, I fingered the edge of one of Everett’s letters I’d shoved in my pocket. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it down with a whisper.

“And then I’m coming for you, Swift.”

Part Four: Burn

64

Vera

Sloane strided us—or “blinked,” as the Pyraethis called it—to an underground bunker. I took in our surroundings with sharp eyes to find us standing in the center of a low cavern. Several tunnels branched out from the room in all directions. The rock walls were slick with moisture, and lanterns hung from iron hooks to cast light onto the stone floor. Everything appeared to be carved from rock, even the narrow bunk beds inlaid in the walls on the outer edge.

Orbs of dim light magic bobbed up and down the tunnels as a couple of people passed into the central area, keeping their voices low. They wore attire similar to Sloane’s. Boots, leathers or loose trousers, cropped shirts, torn and dirt-smeared fabric. Cloth was tied around their heads, and weapons and water bottles were strapped to their belts.

Starke looked around. “What is this place?”

“Headquarters.” Sloane walked briskly to a desk on the wall across from us, grabbed a bag hanging off the chair, and started loading small weapons into it.

“Headquarters?” Tessa asked, forehead scrunching. “Is this some sort of rebellion?”

Sloane’s attention was on her bag. “Something like that.”

“It looks like a refuge,” I said, eyes lingering on figures hunched beneath blankets in the bunk beds. “Are you hiding from something?”

She dropped the bag and put her hands on the desk, forearms strained. “We’re staying safe. There’s not much else you can do when your entire existence is threatened by the people in power.”

“I don’t get it,” I said, shaking my head. “What are the High Elders doing that’s so terrible? They just want to raise the kingdom. Isn’t that what all of you want?”