The girl laughed as the azi’s three heads vied against each other for the right to be petted, sampling the air with their forked tongues.

“It is good to see you again,” she murmured. She still looked tired, but she appeared to gain strength with every second that passed.

All the world would tremble to see such a sight, I knew—the Dark asha on the shore and the seven daeva she wielded. They were enough to break the land. They were enough to break crowns. How must Hollow Knife have felt when he created such monsters? How must the followers of Blade that Soars have felt to turn and see such horrors at their kingdoms’ borders?

The girl turned. The daeva’s eyes followed her movements.

“We leave for Daanoris at dawn,” she said.