Page 79 of On Brutal Thrones

Fenric turns one of the rabbits. “Maybe they make us faster. Stronger.”

“Or they’re meant for something specific,” Thorian says. “Some creature that can only be killed by them.”

“Like silver for weres?” I ask.

“That’s a myth,” Talon says.

We all look at him.

He shrugs. “I’ve got skeletons in my closet. What can I say?”

I laugh, but Fenric is still studying the weapons. “I’d like to know which god left them for us.”

“And why,” Thorian adds. “The gods haven’t exactly been generous with their gifts.”

“Perhaps one of them has finally developed excellent taste,” Talon says.

“Or they know something about what’s waiting for us,” I say.

That quiets us. Then I tip my head back and look at the sky.

And stop.

The night is bright. Not fire-bright. Not moon-bright. Bright with stars. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Constellations stretch across the sky in patterns I don’t recognize, and the full moon hangs among them, white and enormous.

My breath catches.

“Wait.”

The men look at me.

I point upward. “Aren’t there... are there stars tonight?”

All three of them follow my gaze.

Silence.

Every night of the Trials has been unnaturally dark. No stars. Barely any moonlight. Just blackness pressing down around us.

Tonight, the heavens are blazing.

“Well, shit,” Talon murmurs, his hand going still on my leg. “Maybe it’s a reward for making it this far.”

I stare upward, unease curling beneath my exhaustion. Maybe. Or maybe the gods want us to see what comes next.

“Doubtful,” Thorian says, though he sounds dubious, just as Fenric asks, “Is that a shooting star?”

We follow the direction he points, and when I see it streaking across the sky, my chest inflates with hope. Lyra and I used to love watching shooting stars together.

It feels like a sign that I’m going to be reunited with my sister, and soon.

“Wait.” Thorian sits up, and it jostles my head a bit. He puts a hand to my forehead to hold me still and looks up. “Is it⁠—”

“It’s coming closer,” Talon says, urgency sharpening his voice as he leaps to his feet. “Shit, watch out!”

Everything happens at once. Fenric abandons the rabbits and runs, Talon right behind him, while Thorian scoops me into his arms before I can even get properly to my feet. I only get a brief glimpse of the shooting star, or falling star, as Thorian carries me away from camp. The light is almost painfully bright, bleaching the trees white, and a wave of intense heat rolls over us. I cling to his shoulders and look back just in time to see the glowing shape streak over the treetops and disappear behind us near where we’d just been camping.

A tremendous crash shakes the ground. Thorian stumbles but catches himself, tightening his hold on me as the earth trembles beneath us. Fenric and Talon stop a short distance behind us, both turning back toward the camp.