As The World Catches Fire

Chapter 3: The Wolf's Den

I was in the mountains, my magic carrying me through mile after mile of dreadful snow. The sun shone bright above me in a cloudless sky, stretching over endless, jagged grey and white. The wind tore at my hair, at Khalid's wings. Nothing could fly in this.

Khalid stopped in his step. We listened. Humans, lots of them. Khalid leaned over a sharp cliff, and there they were. Soldiers in grey, mounted on horseback. Bonded followed in black cloaks. At the sight of a man with a plumed helmet, Khalid stiffened.

We argued in a foreign tongue. The humans vanished down a tight pass. Anger clouded Khalid's eyes, his words. Venom spat from my lips, and I grabbed his arm. But Khalid flared his wings, and he yanked himself away, vanishing into the blizzard.

I screamed after him, but I was alone in the snow. Fire burned over my skin in a wave. Snow hissed to steam around me. I followed blindly.

Snow. A world in white, a world alone. Khalid screamed my name somewhere far away, lost to the mountains, to the cold.

I snapped awake.

My mind, my real name, returned to me. Rozin Kain. Soldier of the Canavar. Not a daemon. Not her.

I was in some small, comfortably appointed bedroom of rich furs and dark wood furniture. Stone, frosted walls, ice along the windowsill. So I was still in the Frozen Keep.

"Rozin? Can you hear me?"

I nodded, forcing myself to sit up. My head felt like it was splitting in two, that hard spot in my brain burning like a fireplace iron.

Yulia gripped my shoulder. Artem pushed a glass of water to my lips. "Drink. Eat. You need strength."

I did as she said, eating mouthfuls of rich pastry and cheeses as Artem handed them to me. I could barely keep them down. My head spun. My tongue felt like cotton.

"What happened?" I rasped.

"The archon is dead," Yulia whispered. "The High Order killed him."

I exhaled slowly. I'd felt the archon die, felt the High Order's glee, shared it.

"Princess Irina has been named the new archon. I'm told she will be officially crowned once the arrangements have been made."

"Already?" I rasped. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a few hours. It seems that Irina was already being groomed to rule, so the council decided to install her immediately."

My stomach flipped, and I leaned my forehead on my knees. I peered at Yulia through a gap in my hair.

"Where is she?"

Yulia didn't need to ask who I meant. She bit her lip. "After you both collapsed, the Eons chained her. The interrogators have her now. The High Order is ... awake, Rozin. But not just awake. She can talk. Remember. It's like nothing we've ever seen before. If not for the tattoo, I wouldn't think she was bonded at all."