cries one man as he tries to push his way into a cottage, hopefully his own. “The stars have cursed us!”
The farther we ride, the more I hear this lament. The stars have cursed us. The Valtia is destroyed. The Soturi will come now. We have no protection.
Our path grows dark as Sig directs Tuuli down a series of alleys. Finally the road dead-ends at a crumbling, ancient gate, barred with green copper. A massive lock hangs from the latch. Sig slides clumsily from Tuuli’s horse and pulls two metal picks from his pocket.
A moment later Usko and Mikko shove the gate open, its worn wood scraping against a stone lip and then swinging over rotten leaves. The wielders guide their horses through and then push the gate closed again. We’re outside the city, within a dense copse of trees. “What in stars just happened, Sig?” Usko shouts. “You gave us no warning.”
Sig runs his hand through his blond hair. “I didn’t—I wasn’t—” His eyes narrow and he stares at me. “I only meant to wrest control from the elders. I could tell the girl on the throne wasn’t wielding the magic, and I wanted everyone to know it. And then I felt this insane rush of power inside me.”
The others flick the reins and set their horses into motion, moving us farther from the city wall. The wail of horns and cries of terror still rise into the sky, and the air above Kupari is smoky, lit by torches below. I can smell the panic of my people. The memory of the Saadella’s face as she screamed for her father will not leave my mind. I want to jump from this horse, climb over the city wall, find her, and protect her from what’s coming. But Jouni’s grip on me is iron as he steers his mount along the trail.
Sig and Tuuli ride alongside us, but he’s in front now. I watch Sig’s booted feet nudge at the horse’s flanks. “Elli had something to do with it,” he tells the others. “She told me she absorbs magic, but she was lying—she does the opposite.”
“What in stars are you talking about?” Usko asks.
“She was touching me,” Sig says, his voice taking on that shaky, excited energy once again. “And when I took control of the fire, it was like I could do anything with it. Whatever I wanted.”
Rage courses through me. “You killed an innocent girl!” I shout, my voice breaking with each of the horse’s steps.
“Innocent?” Sig snaps. “Please. She was helping the elders deceive the people.”
My body convulses with sorrow. “They hurt her! I knew her.” The sobs choke me.
“What?” Shock turns Sig’s voice hoarse.
“She was my handmaiden.” My first love, my first protector, my truest friend. I can’t stop thinking of her face, her smile, her bright eyes. The way she was before she gave up everything for me.
We ride in heavy silence until we reach a clearing, through which a little stream burbles, and by quiet consent, the wielders dismount and lead their horses to it. All we have is the moonlight, which paints its white glow along the bare branches of the trees above us. The air is warm, but I know that’s from the fire wielders. Tuuli and Mikko, ice wielders both, are shivering, rubbing their arms. Jouni pulls me off his horse and holds me as I stumble. “What do you want me to do with her?”
Sig pushes his hood back. “Get her some water. Offer her food. Make her comfortable.”
Jouni’s mouth draws tight, but he guides me to sit down and then obeys. Sig squats in front of me. The moonlight glints off the blade of a knife that he’s twirling between his fingers. “Now tell me everything you held back,” he says quietly. “You say I killed that girl—but you know you had something to do with it.”
I draw my knees to my chest and bow my head over them. “I had nothing to do with it.” What a lie. But I can’t face the truth, that I was the sword that cut Mim down. It’s so cruel. She’s the last person I’d ever want to hurt. Elder Leevi and his priests were different. They were trying to kill Oskar. And when Oskar struck, I felt fear, but not this terrible, piercing guilt. Now, though . . . Am I really cursed like this? To be a mindless tool in the hands of powerful wielders?