𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐱, Kaz Brekker & Inej Ghafa

Chapter 5

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Two days passed by like a blur. Other than being scolded by Genya for what felt like an eternity over taking the blame, nothing much happened. On the second day, boredom hit hard after I finished reading the one book I had left. With no access to the library, I figured, Why not use my powers?

Big mistake.

My attempt at control almost burned my room to the ground, but Genya swooped in like the savior she was, extinguishing the flames before they could spread too far. Of course, that earned me another long, exasperated lecture.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you could've gotten into?" Genya paced the room, her hands flying animatedly. "Do you think Kirigan would have let you off with another slap on the wrist if you'd actually succeeded in torching the place?"

I sank deeper into my chair, guilt clawing at me. "I didn't mean to-"

"Irina." She cut me off sharply, pointing a finger at me. "You need to learn control. You're too powerful to be reckless."

Powerful? That word again. I almost laughed at how wrong it sounded when applied to me. But instead, I nodded sheepishly, letting her vent until she finally left, shaking her head and muttering something about "children and fire."

The morning of the third day arrived far too quickly.

"Irina."

The voice pierced through my dream, but I ignored it, burying my face deeper into the pillow.

"Irina." The voice came again, a little louder.

Still, I didn't budge.

"Irina!"

A shout directly in my ear made me bolt upright, clutching my chest as I tried to orient myself. My heart pounded as I took in my surroundings, servants moving about my room, straightening sheets and tidying up as if nothing had just happened. I turned my head, spotting Zoya standing beside my bed, arms crossed, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

"What the hell was that for?" I growled, narrowing my eyes at her.

She shrugged, entirely unapologetic. "You weren't waking up, so I had no choice but to yell in your ear."

Zoya and I weren't exactly friends, but we weren't strangers either. She wasn't like the others, the ones who avoided me as if I carried some curse. Zoya didn't fear me. If anything, she seemed to enjoy poking at me, much like Genya did. She could be sweet when she wanted to be, though she'd never admit it out loud.

"Reasonable," I muttered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Miss Marshall," one of the servants spoke up, bowing her head slightly. "Your bath is ready."

I blinked at the woman, then at Zoya, confusion knitting my brow. "What's going on?"

Zoya sighed dramatically, as if she'd already explained this multiple times. "The General asked me to get you ready. Something about looking presentable."

My eyes widened. "Presentable? For what?"

She shrugged again, turning toward the bathroom door. "I wasn't given details. You have an hour. I suggest you don't waste it."

Before I could ask more questions, she gestured toward the bathroom, and I begrudgingly climbed out of bed.

The bath was warm, almost scalding, but I didn't mind. The heat seeped into my muscles, easing away the tension I hadn't realized I was carrying. Once I was clean, I wrapped myself in a velvet bathrobe and stepped back into the bedroom, where Zoya was waiting by my vanity.

She was rifling through a kit, likely something containing an array of brushes and hairpins.

"Ready to be transformed?" she asked, smirking as I approached.

"Hardly," I muttered, sitting down in the chair.

As she worked on drying and styling my hair, I decided to fill the silence. "I heard you went into the Fold with the First Army."

Zoya's hands paused briefly, but she quickly resumed. "What about it?"

"What was it like?" I asked, genuinely curious. The Fold had always been this looming shadow in my mind, a place I couldn't even fathom visiting.

She hesitated for a moment, then answered, "Chaotic. A lot happened."

I frowned, sensing there was more she wasn't saying. "Was it... scary?"

She looked me in the eye through the mirror, her gaze steady. "Fear isn't the word for it. It's... overwhelming. Dangerous. But you learn to deal with it."

I nodded slowly, unsure how to respond.

"There was one new thing, though," she added after a moment. "The Sun Summoner."

My brow furrowed. "The what?"

Zoya turned to face me, a hint of surprise in her expression. "You haven't heard?"

I shook my head.

"She's here. In the Little Palace," she explained. "The Sun Summoner. Alina Starkov."

"Sun Summoner," I repeated, the term foreign on my tongue. "So... she can summon the sun?"

Zoya snorted, her lips twitching with amusement. "Not quite. She bends light, creates it. She can summon heat too."

"Almost like me," I mused, though the comparison felt strange.

"She is, but not as powerful," Zoya said confidently.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You're giving me too much credit. If anything, she's probably the one who'll take down the Fold."

Zoya placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. "You should believe in yourself, Irina. You're stronger than you think."

As I dressed in the Second Army uniform Zoya had laid out, my thoughts wandered. Her words lingered, filling me with doubt. Strong? Powerful? Those words felt like they belonged to someone else, not me.

I thought back to four years ago, the first time my powers had truly manifested. I was only thirteen, sitting in the training yard when one of the other children began mocking me, calling me names. I'd felt something snap inside me, anger bubbling over, and then... fire. My hands had erupted in flames, and I remembered the look of terror on their faces.

But more than that, I remembered Kirigan's expression. Shock mixed with something I couldn't place.

Since that day, I'd been terrified of myself.

She chose you.

The voice echoed in my mind, pulling me from my thoughts. I froze, glancing around the room.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice shaky.

Nothing.

I shook my head, dismissing the voice as a figment of my imagination. But the unease remained as I tied the final button on my uniform.

Everything will change.

I didn't know it yet, but that day would mark the beginning of something I couldn't stop. My life-everything I thought I knew-was about to be turned upside down.

Fate had chosen me, and now, there was no turning back.