you—if he keeps insisting on having his brother with him all the time, he needs someone who can control him if the kehok forgets his humanity. We didn’t do everything we did to lose our emperor in an accident.”
“Then who do you want?”
Tamra thought about it. “Riders and trainers who want to help. And hunters.” She thought of the man who had sold her the black lion—he’d be perfect for this. “I’ll also need people who can feed and water the kehoks while I’m out finding more.”
Raia nodded. “I’ll talk to Dar.”
Shalla giggled. “You call the emperor of all Becar just ‘Dar.’ Like he’s an ordinary person.”
“He is!” Raia insisted. “He worries about things, like ordinary people. He likes some people and doesn’t like others, even though he has to be fair to all of them. He hates mushrooms and loves mangoes. He thinks his official robes itch too much, and the many-generations-old crown is too small and gives him a headache. He . . .”
Tamra grinned as Raia continued on. And on.
She wondered if Raia was even aware of how fond she was of the emperor. She’ll figure it out, Tamra thought. As will he. They made a formidable trio: the emperor, the kehok, and the girl who linked them together.
Within a few days, Tamra had her crew. The hunter from the Gea Market was one of them, as were a handful of trainers she recognized, plus a few riders who were friends with Raia—they introduced themselves as Jalimo, Silar, and Algana, and this time she made a point of remembering their names. Silar rode with Algana, strapping herself into the saddle. She couldn’t ride solo anymore, due to the paralysis in her legs, which meant she couldn’t race, but nothing prevented her from wielding a weapon, a net, and her will. Together the two girls made an effective team.
Thankfully, none of the riders and trainers she couldn’t stand volunteered. It’s possible they can’t stand me either, she thought.
On the back of the silver jaguar, she issued orders. “You”—she pointed to the hunter, who called himself Lormat (and his sword Ebzer)—“track any kehoks outside the city. We’ll start north and work our way around. You and you”—she pointed to two trainers, an older woman named Yelna and a younger man named Jacrin—“be bait. After Lormat finds the kehoks, you draw them closer to me. I’ll hold them while Silar nets them. Got it?”
All of them nodded.
“Remember—these kehoks have known captivity and freedom. They’re going to fight hard for freedom. We work together, and we can bring them in.” She paced in front of them on the silver jaguar. He snapped at the bit in his mouth. “This isn’t a race. You falter, they will kill you! You lose focus, they will kill you!”
Unlike her rich students, she was certain these people believed her and understood.
They rode out, and by the end of the day, they’d captured nine more kehoks. For the first time in a long while, Tamra was able to greet Shalla with an unforced smile, and she slept without waking until dawn.
It was going well until the day they ventured far enough into the desert to trip over what was left of the Raniran army. The wind and sand had buried many of the remains, and scavengers, possibly even kehoks, had picked the bones clean. But there were hundreds of them. A desert of bones.
I did this, Tamra thought.
She slid off the back of the silver jaguar. It had been easy to avoid thinking of what had happened. She’d lost consciousness when she lost control of the monsters. She could fool herself into thinking the Raniran army had fled and the kehoks were merely reveling in their new freedom, far away from any humans. But the kehoks’ thirst for destruction had been too great, especially after being contained at the temple. They had run down the Raniran army. She couldn’t tell if any soldiers had escaped. She could see that most hadn’t.
Tamra sank to her knees. Wind brushed sand over the bones, the armor, and the trampled banners. She felt the others staring at her.
“It’s true, then,” Algana said, awe in her voice. “What they call you.”
What do they call me? Monster? She couldn’t stop seeing the bones. Bringer of death?
“The Defender of Becar,” the girl said.
The young trainer, Jacrin, said, “You saved us all.”
Tamra tore her gaze away from the grave before her and stared at them, her team. “I caused so many deaths.”
“And saved so many lives.” Silar waved back at the city, at the Heart of Becar. “They came to kill and enslave us. You stopped them.”
Lormat held out his hand toward Tamra to help her stand.
She stared at it for a moment, trying to accept what they were saying. They didn’t see a monster when they looked at her. That wasn’t the story that was told about what she’d done.
“Come, Defender of Becar,” Lormat said. “We need to find the rest of your army.”
Tamra took his hand and, leaning on him, stood. She remounted the silver jaguar, and they rode away from the fallen soldiers. She didn’t look back.
Alone, the Defender of Becar rode the silver jaguar onto the racetrack. The other hunters were on a well-deserved day off, visiting their families or the markets. Shalla was at the training temple for her lessons. Raia was with the emperor and her kehok, as always, when she wasn’t spending time with her friends, the three young riders who had joined Tamra’s kehok-hunting crew.
Tamra’s old injuries ached, as they often did, but they weren’t as bad as they used to be, thanks to all the regular riding she was doing. She’d strengthened old muscles and had also been seen by the palace healers, who had helped.
The silver jaguar pawed the ground. Absently, Tamra patted his neck. He twisted and snapped his jaws at her, but she was quick enough to avoid his bite.
“Ready?” she asked him.
He snorted and then tensed. Ahead of them lay the racetrack, sand smoothed by wind. It stretched along the stands and then curved for the turn.
“Prepare,” she said.
She felt the sun on her back, the sand on her skin. She smelled the acrid scent of the kehok mixed with the smell of her own sweat. She felt the beating of her heart, faster and faster.
“Race!” she cried.
The kehok surged forward, and Tamra felt wind hit her face. She heard the shriek of it in her ears. She felt the power of the jaguar beneath her, his muscles reaching and straining as his paws swallowed the ground. And she felt joy inside her, filling her, pushing aside all else.
On the back of the silver jaguar, Tamra ran faster and faster until she was one with the wind, the sun, the sky, and the sand. She ran until she understood in a bone-deep way that this was who she was and who she’d become.
She was the one who would destroy the world, if that was what it took to save it.