KILL HER.
Kill magic.
My plan is all I have.
Without it, the world slips through my fingers. My maji curse threatens to break from my skin.
I’ll make you a deal, the girl whispers in my mind, lips twisting as she speaks. No one has to know you’re a dirty little—
“Dammit.”
I grit my teeth. It doesn’t block out the rest of her vile speech. With the memory of her voice, my infection simmers to the surface, prickling hot under my skin. As it rises, the broken voices grow. Louder. Sharper.
Like forcing a brick down my throat, I fight the magic back.
One … two …
I count as I struggle. The air around me begins to chill. Sweat gathers on my forehead. By the time my magic’s pushed down, my breath escapes in rough spurts. But the threat is quelled. For a brief instant I’m safe. Alon—
“Inan.”
I flinch and check that my helmet is still secure. My thumb runs over the latch for the fiftieth time today. I swear I can feel this new white streak growing.
Right into Kaea’s view.
She rides forward, summoning me to follow in her stead. She must not realize I’ve been riding behind her all day, avoiding her line of vision. Mere hours ago she almost saw it, catching me off guard as I stared at my reflection in a stream. If she’d left a little earlier … if I’d stayed out a little later—
Focus, Inan!
What am I doing? What-ifs get me nowhere.
Kill the girl. Kill magic. That’s all I need to do.
I squeeze my thighs around my snow leopanaire, Lula, and urge her after Kaea, careful to avoid the horns protruding from her back. If I hit one too hard, my ryder will buck me from my saddle.
“Now.” I snap Lula’s reins when she growls. “Don’t be such a lazy bastard.”
Lula flashes her serrated fangs but quickens her pace. She weaves in and out of the marula oak trees, dipping under the baboonems skittering along the fruit-covered branches.
I stroke her spotted fur in gratitude when we catch up to Kaea. She lets out another low growl but rubs her face against my hand.
“Tell me,” Kaea says when I’m close. “What did the villager tell you?”
Again? Skies, she’s relentless.
“It doesn’t add up. I need to hear it once more.” Kaea reaches behind her panthenaire to release her red-breasted firehawk from its cage. The bird perches on the ryder’s saddle as Kaea fastens a note to its leg. Likely a message for Father. Following the scroll’s trail south. Also, I suspect Inan is a maj—
“He claimed he was a mapmaker,” I lie. “The thief and Amari visited him after they escaped Lagos.”
Kaea raises her forearm, and the firehawk spreads its wide wings before taking to the sky.
“How did he know they were going south?”
“He saw them charting their path.”
Kaea looks away, but not before I catch the doubt glimmering in her eyes. “You shouldn’t have interrogated anyone without me.”
“And the village shouldn’t have burned!” I snap. “I fail to see the point in obsessing over what should or shouldn’t have happened.”
Relax, Inan. It’s not Kaea I’m mad at.
But her lips are already pinched. I’ve pushed her too far.
“Sorry,” I sigh. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Inan, if you can’t handle this—”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you?” She trains her eyes on me. “Because if you think I’ve forgotten about your little episode, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Curse the skies.
Kaea was there the first time magic attacked me on the shores of Ilorin. The night it filled my head with sounds.
My gut clenches as I push the evil further down.
“I won’t have the prince die on my watch. If that happens again, you’re headed back to the palace.”
My heart seizes so hard an ache ripples through my chest. She can’t send me home like this.
Not until the girl dies.
I’ll make you a deal. Her voice crawls back into my mind. It’s so vivid it’s like she’s whispering in my ear. Leave me alone and I’ll keep your little secret. No one has to know you’re a dirty little—
“No!” I shout. “It wasn’t an episode. On the beach. I—I—” I take a deep breath. Relax. “I thought I saw Amari’s corpse.” That’s it. “I was ashamed at how much it rattled me.”
“Oh, Inan…” Kaea’s hardness fades. She reaches over and grabs my hand. “Forgive me. I can’t imagine how horrific that must have been.”
I nod and squeeze her hand back. Too tightly. Let go. But my heartbeat quickens in my chest. A turquoise cloud seems to radiate from my chest, billowing like pipe smoke. The smell of rosemary and ash returns. The shrieks of the burning girl surface again.…
The heat of the flames licks my face. Sweltering smoke fills my lungs. With each second the fire crawls closer to my body, eliminating any chance of escape.
“Help!”
I drop to the ground. My lungs reject the rancid air. My feet get caught in the blaze—
“HELP!”
I jerk on Lula’s reins. She lets out a menacing growl as we come to an abrupt stop.
“What is it?” Kaea whips her head around.
I dig my hands into Lula’s fur to mask their tremble. I’m running out of time. The magic’s getting stronger.
Like a parasite feeding on my blood.
“Amari,” I choke out. My throat burns as if it’s still full of smoke. “I’m worried. She’s never left the palace before. She could get hurt.”
“I know,” Kaea soothes me. I wonder if she speaks the same way to Father when his temper flares. “But she’s not completely helpless. There’s a reason the king spent so many years making sure you could both wield a sword.”
I force a nod, pretending to listen as Kaea continues to talk. Again, I shove my curse down, ignoring the way it makes the air around me thin. But even as my magic subsides, my heart still pounds.
The power burns inside me. Taunting. Tainting.
Kill her, I remind myself.
I’ll kill the girl. I’ll kill this curse.
If I can’t—
I force a deep breath.
If I can’t, I’m already dead.