in Veronyka’s favor. Avalkyra’d had no choice then but to flee and hope they didn’t give chase. Avalkyra Ashfire might have once been the greatest flyer of her generation, but with a bucking phoenix controlled by a bind and not a bond, she was lucky not to plummet from the sky every time they leapt into the air, never mind fly in evasive maneuvers with two mounted Riders in pursuit.
What would Veronyka do with the information? What could she do? She was a part of Commander Cassian’s flock, sworn to follow his orders like some soldier lackey and not the Ashfire princess that she was, to whom all of them should bend a knee and bow in supplication.
Despite this fact, instinct told Avalkyra that Veronyka wouldn’t share her discovery with the commander. She didn’t want to be different, to be above those she thought of as friends, and she had long since learned not to trust Avalkyra. She might even convince herself the information was false, anything to deny the terrible truth. Avalkyra had felt it when they’d connected, Veronyka’s horror and reluctance to have her entire life ripped out from underneath her, what little autonomy she’d managed to glean for herself torn away and put in the hands of a politician like the commander.
She would probably tell his son, though.
Foolish, sentimental girl. How was Avalkyra to get her out of the Eyrie now?
Then again, Veronyka’s discovery did provide opportunity. By allowing Avalkyra into her mind just now, Veronyka had left herself exposed. She’d been guarding herself relentlessly since their parting outside the Eyrie—even their encounter at the cabin had not shaken her resolve—but with this one moment of openness, Veronyka had shown Avalkyra that she was scared, confused, and most of all, compromised. Even now, with her own shadow magic weakened, Avalkyra could sense Veronyka in a way she hadn’t since they’d lived together. This tendril of connection wouldn’t last long, but Avalkyra might just be able to exploit it. To plant seeds and sow doubt.
But even if Avalkyra utilized this link while they still had it, there was nothing she could reveal that was any more valuable than what Veronyka already knew. She could lie, but even if that succeeded in luring Veronyka out, it would not keep her, and Avalkyra had learned her lesson in that regard.
Veronyka was a Phoenix Rider now. She would not be so easy to control as she’d once been, and everything hinged on them being together—permanently. This time when Veronyka joined her, it would be for good.
She had to give Veronyka something worth fighting for.
The problem was, Veronyka didn’t see herself as an Ashfire yet. She didn’t covet the throne, didn’t feel the legacy in her blood or the weight of the crown atop her head.
She would, Avalkyra knew, but she didn’t yet. So what did she feel?
Suddenly Avalkyra understood. Veronyka was the same girl she’d always been deep down. And that girl was an orphaned animage living in squalor. Veronyka still remembered—was barely removed from—a life when she was barefoot and hungry, longing for the power to rescue not only herself, but others as well. She’d never seen her circumstances as temporary, as something to be suffered until the inevitable payoff, as Avalkyra had.
This was why Veronyka had wanted to be a Phoenix Rider in the first place: to protect, to save, to champion the weak and powerless.
To offer Veronyka a throne now would be pointless—she did not want it. She did not understand the big picture. No, Avalkyra had to offer her something tangible and closer to home… and that home and heart was Pyra, the land where she’d found friends and acceptance and purpose.
It was the place Avalkyra must strike, the place that Veronyka was most vulnerable.
Already it was happening—the attack at the Eyrie was proof of that. War was coming, and Avalkyra would simply nudge it along.
If Pyra had to burn for Veronyka to be by Avalkyra’s side, so be it.
Loath as she was to admit it, Avalkyra needed help. She needed to contact whoever had orchestrated the attack on the Eyrie in the first place, and provide what assistance she could to move the war along. To do that she needed information, but unfortunately, her spymaster was dead.
Still… there were others who yet lived. Those Avalkyra hadn’t been able to face without a phoenix at her command.