too, with bows and spears pointed directly at the newly appeared firebird.
A spasm of fear—hers or Xephyra’s, she wasn’t sure—pulled Veronyka off her knees and onto her feet. Her mind was galloping in a hundred directions at once, and the reappearance of her bondmate did nothing to quell the confusion inside.
Veronyka clenched her teeth and focused.
Xephyra was in danger here—the phoenix sensed it, and it made her behave wildly, which only put her in greater danger. Unless bonded, phoenixes were erratic, unpredictable creatures, and the stronghold guards were on high alert because of that fact. One wrong move, and this could turn very, very bad.
Veronyka had to get Xephyra to calm down. Once her bondmate was under control, the guards would stand down, and the immediate threat would be neutralized.
Taking a shaky step forward, she reached out with her hands as well as her magic.
“Nyk, no!” Tristan shouted, though it sounded as if it came from a lifetime away. She supposed it did. Tristan existed in a world where Veronyka was Nyk, and Nyk had no phoenix. But that’s not where Veronyka truly was. No, Veronyka was here and now, reunited with her dead bondmate and afraid for her life.
When she made contact with Xephyra’s mind, Veronyka staggered—it was bizarrely unfamiliar, and yet nothing had really changed. It had the feeling of a childhood home that was now inhabited by new people—it was at once exactly the same and astoundingly different. It was a miraculous thing to realize that the bond survived death, but their connection wasn’t unchanged by it.
It was clear that Xephyra was wary too, and confused by their reunion. Veronyka kept seeing herself in her phoenix’s mind—long black braids, the cottage, their pallet on the floor—and she seized the images.
Yes, it’s me, she said, pressing a hand to her chest. Tears welled in her eyes as Xephyra cocked her head, hesitating. It’s me.
Veronyka sensed the commotion around her, felt the shifting bodies and shuffling feet, but she blocked it all out. All that mattered was her and Xephyra. With every second they spent staring at each other, their flickering, fragile bond strengthened. But no matter the soothing thoughts and comforting emotions Veronyka funneled through their link, Xephyra refused to settle. Her hackles were up, her instincts on high alert, and the upheaval in the courtyard did nothing to stifle her fears.
“Step aside, boy!” came the commander’s voice, like a general on a battlefield, breaking Veronyka’s concentration.
A metallic scraping noise sounded, sending a sliver of foreboding down Veronyka’s spine. She craned her neck, searching for the source, and spotted two guards holding a length of greasy-looking iron links.
A net.
“No—please,” Veronyka cried, but before she could say or do anything more, Xephyra panicked and reared up, sending a sweltering wave of heat and sparks over the crowd.
Veronyka raised an arm to protect her face, shocked at the intensity of the heat. At the edges of the courtyard, bits of straw and fabric caught fire, while the onlookers gasped, rippling and recoiling from the hot air like grass in the wind. Tristan was at the forefront and had been reaching for her before Xephyra’s flames had forced him to stagger back. Val was there too; her face shone with intensity, her gaze manic, hungry, as she stared at the scene before her.
Hatred roiled in Veronyka’s gut. Val. Did she have something to do with this? Did she know all this time that Xephyra had come back?
The commander was shouting again, and the sound caused Val’s unblinking stare to falter. With one final glance at Veronyka, she allowed herself to be bumped and jostled, disappearing into the crush of bodies. Did she fear what would happen now that the commander was involved? Or did she sense Veronyka’s rage and know that it was directed at her?
“Nyk, move—you’ll be hurt,” Tristan shouted, forcing his way forward once more. “Get out of—”
Before he could finish, his head jerked up to the sky. A second later Rex ripped through the air above with a resounding screech. The phoenixes weren’t supposed to leave the Eyrie unless summoned, but it was clear that Tristan had not called his bondmate to his side. Before he could do anything, Rex was joined by another phoenix, and another, and soon the sky was alight with their flaming tracks.
Veronyka tensed. They might be there in support of Xephyra—phoenixes did not like to see one of their kind attacked—but they were only making the situation worse. Their presence was fanning the