Trix seemed startled by the question at first, then considered it for a while. “She was . . . terrifying. Avalkyra Ashfire didn’t need a crown of metal and jewels—she was a born queen, and no piece of gold could change that. People in the empire used to call her the Crownless Queen, trying to dismiss her claim to the throne, but Avalkyra would not be dissuaded. She was a ruthless fighter and a fearless leader—a more natural Rider I never saw. Like poetry on wings, soaring through ash and flame.”
She held out her hand, dipping and curving it, as if her palm were a phoenix gliding on the wind. She dropped it.
“Soon our glory will be restored and our people made safe. If I can see them once more before I die, I will consider it a life well lived.”
“Phoenix Riders?”
“Yes. There are . . . Well, I’m certain I have friends and loved ones among them. That is what sustains me—that and devotion to my queen’s cause.”
“How did she lose?” Sev asked, leaning back and stretching out his legs before the warmth of the flames. “She had the Phoenix Riders, the best part of the empire’s military, and the support of Pyra and Ferro.” Stel was rumored to be involved in the plot against Avalkyra, putting all their funds and forces behind Pheronia, whose mother was of Stellan descent. The governor of Ferro was a Rider and so supported Avalkyra Ashfire’s claim, while the governors of Arboria North and South remained reluctant to join the fray.
“She was single-minded to the point of obsession, and vengeance was all she cared about. She made rash decisions and put her warriors in vulnerable positions. She flew her entire force to Aura Nova for the Last Battle, leaving their families and their non-Rider allies vulnerable. It was all or nothing with Avalkyra. There was no middle ground.”
Taking her stick, Trix drew in the dirt in front of her. With a few hasty lines, she had a rough map of the Golden Empire, with divisions marking the provinces of Ferro, Stel, Pyra, and Arboria North and South. In the middle was an A for “Aura Nova,” the capital city and its own, separate district. Aura Nova was built on neutral territory, so that no one province would have political power over another, and was ruled directly by the council and not a separate governor.
“They were cornered,” Trix explained, using Xs to mark the Phoenix Rider forces, and Os for the empire’s foot soldiers and horse-mounted cavalry. “When Avalkyra led her troops to the Nest, the empire’s forces circled around, blocking their escape. They could obviously fly out of range, but the empire’s catapults were placed strategically around the city. And besides . . . Avalkyra would never approve a retreat. By taking the battle to the empire, we were forced to fight on their terms—on their turf, so to speak. Avalkyra had been forced to flee the capital and set up residence in Pyra, but everyone knew she wanted the Nest. Pheronia’s generals took advantage of that and waited.
“Phoenix Riders are best in open fields or high terrain, not in cramped cities. Our attack patterns are usually sweeps—a small unit rips by, loosing arrows and trailing fire, before circling back around. But in such tight quarters, those kinds of assaults were difficult. There were too many hiding spots for the archers below—they just camped out in upper-story windows and picked us off. Most of Aura Nova is stone, but even still, the entire city was on fire. Everything that could burn did . . . buildings, trees, and flesh. Ash fell from the sky and blanketed the streets like a rare winter snowfall. Luckily for the poor folk squatting in wooden tenements and cheap, run-down cookhouses, the majority of the battle took place on the Rock.”
The Rock was a thrust of stone that held the Nest, the name of the palace that had housed the royal line since Queen Elysia the Peacemaker built it when she founded the empire. They said Queen Elysia chose the rocky outcrop because it reminded her of their abandoned home atop Pyrmont. There, the palace was built, and on the flatter ground surrounding it, the public service buildings, courthouses, and temple district. Marble Row, the street of lavish houses where the provincial governors lived while they were in the city, along with wealthy merchants and other people of importance, was situated on the eastern