What would you do?
Tan sent the thought with the same intensity he’d seen in Elle’s eyes. After the way the elementals had helped him—the nymid saved both his and Amia’s lives while the draasin hunted the lisincend, giving them a chance to survive—he felt somewhat possessive about the knowledge he’d gained. Learning how few could speak to the elementals only made him even more possessive.
I would ask to learn. My people need their help.
As he did through his connection to the draasin, he sensed more than her thoughts. Intent came through the connection. Tan sensed fear and uncertainty, but great need.
Why? What is it you need?
Elle didn’t answer. But she didn’t need to.
Through the connection, he caught the fleeting image of darkness and flames, shadows only. Had he not seen them before, he might not know what she feared. But Tan had spent too much time running from the lisincend not to recognize them, even obscured as they were.
There was something else he noticed, but it made little sense given what Elle had said.
“You didn’t only come to Ethea to learn,” he said aloud. “You came here to hide.”
CHAPTER 18
The Demands of Fire
Elle looked away and hid her face. As she did, Tan noted the redness staining her eyes. He tried pushing through the connection but couldn’t. Either she blocked him or the emotion she felt prevented him from sensing anything more.
“What is it?”
Sarah watched Elle and then looked to Tan. “Growing up in the kingdoms, you can’t know what it’s like elsewhere in the world. The compromises made to exist.”
Tan frowned.
“Doma has nothing like the kingdoms—no barrier and few shapers—so like most of Doma, she fears Incendin.”
Tan took a step toward the wall and leaned against it. “The lisincend. They are horrible. They destroyed my home, everyone I ever knew and cared about.”
Sarah nodded. “They have done the same in Doma. Especially when we don’t send shapers to them.”
Tan jerked around. “What? They want your shapers?”
Sarah looked at Elle. “Already we had few enough shapers, but with what Incendin requires, they have taken what few remain.”
“What happens if you don’t send shapers to Incendin?”
“What happens? Fire and devastation happen. Entire swaths of countryside are destroyed. Villages are decimated. Most choose to go willingly when demanded rather than subject the rest of Doma to the anger of the lisincend.”
“I… I didn’t know.”
Did Roine? Did the king?
If they did, how could they do nothing about it?
She shook her head. Elle still hadn’t looked up. “How could you?” Sarah began. “The barrier the kingdoms erected keeps the shapers of this land safe, but for how long? When it fails—and it will fail—you will understand what Incendin does.”
“What happens to them? To the people who are taken?”
“No one knows. Those who are sent never return. The elders suspect Incendin uses them to build their own shaper army, but we haven’t seen any signs of it.”
The barrier. Tan felt sure of it. Using shapers taken from Doma, Incendin could attack and weaken the barrier—or even bypass it entirely.
He looked over at Elle. “You think the elementals might protect you?”
Sarah shrugged. “Some of the elders hope it might be so.”
Elle looked up then and wiped her mouth. Vomit pooled near her feet. “Didn’t you say the draasin chased the lisincend? If they fear fire elementals, surely they would fear water even more.”
“Elle?” Tan asked.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Sarah hurried over to her and touched her on the head. A shaping built. Wind swirled softly, spiraling tightly around Elle’s head with such control that Tan could only stare. When it settled, Elle leaned back.
“What is it?” Tan asked.
Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen anything like this before. Something works inside her…”
“Inside her?”
Sarah nodded. “A shaping, I think. One I’m not familiar with.”
Tan thought of what Elle said about him shaping her. Had he caused her sudden illness by forcing her to speak to him?
If he had, could he stop it?
Elle blinked and looked up at Sarah weakly. “I’m fine.”
Sarah watched her for a moment. Another shaping built, this time subtly and worked around her, pressing down and through her. Some of the color returned to Elle’s cheeks. “That might hold it for now.”
“What did you do?” Tan asked.
“I contained the shaping for now.”
Elle looked at him and met his eyes. “What caused it?” Tan asked.
Sarah shook her head. “It’s not clear. As I said, it’s a type of shaping I’ve never seen.”
Elle shook slightly, nothing like the steady trembling she’d been doing before, and pushed to stand. “Whatever you did helped. I’m feeling better.”
“You shouldn’t push yourself, Elle,” Sarah warned.
“I said I’ll be fine. Besides, I need to get back to my studies.” She stared at Tan intently.
“I… I don’t know what I can teach you,” he admitted.
She smiled. With the color returning to her cheeks, so did the appearance of youth. “You can speak to the nymid. That might be a start.”
Tan sighed. The nymid. If he could find them. “Maybe,” he agreed, turning away from her. He didn’t even know how he spoke to the nymid, let alone trying to teach someone else. Then there was the matter of finding the nymid.
And then there was the issue of what he’d learned. If what Elle and Sarah said was true—if Incendin demanded shapers from Doma—the threat from Incendin was even greater than they knew. Roine and the king needed to learn.
More than ever, he missed Amia, missed the connection they had, her ability to sense spirit and the connection it brought. Without her, he felt alone.
Could he speak to her as he did to Elle? She needed to know what had happened in Ethea since she left. She needed to know about the Incendin attack and about the possibility the draasin had attacked.
He sighed. How was that possible if the shaping still held? Unless there was a different explanation.
The draasin had wanted him to come to them, to hunt the lisincend with them. The bond wasn’t clear enough why it wanted him to come, but what if there was something the draasin needed from him?
Tan stood and went to the door. Elle watched him but made no move to stop him, so he pulled the door open and glanced up the stairs. Hot air hit him, but nothing like before. The fires had died down. Distant shouts rang out through the city.
Nowhere did he hear the steady beating of wings. And nowhere did he hear the horrible cry of the draasin.
Instead, there seemed an eerie sort of silence, as if a pall had fallen upon the city.
Tan stepped up the stairs and into the street, ignoring Elle’s protest. A few distant fires burned, casting a distant orange pall around the city that reflected off a hazy smoke shimmering in the air. He coughed as he inhaled it. A few other people emerged onto the street. Like him, they looked around cautiously, uncertain whether the attack had ended.
Elle came up behind him and touched his arm.
Tan turned, looking down at her.
“Was it like this when your home was destroyed?”
He shook his head. “That was worse. After the lisincend attacked, there was nothing left.” The difference was striking. Could this be the draasin?
Elle turned to the north and stared at the steady glowing of the distant fire raging through a distant building. It stood taller than most in that part of the city, at least three stories, though he didn’t recognize it. Since coming to Ethea, he hadn’t explored much of the city. Most of his time had been spent at the university or the archives. And rarely Amia, thou
gh she claimed her distance more about the headaches plaguing her since they arrived in Ethea.
“This reminds me of Ushil,” Elle said. Tears streamed down her face and her eyes were reddened. “When the shapers came. They took Aland, but he wasn’t enough.” She swallowed and turned to Tan. “So they sent their shapers. Fire shapers, mostly, but there was the other. The one we couldn’t quite see.” She shivered. “It took out most of the village before disappearing, destroying everything. We had shapers then, mostly wind shapers—none quite like Sarah—but at least Donal was there. If not for his shaping, more of the city would have burned.”
Sarah stepped up behind her and touched her lightly on the shoulder. Wind gusted softly, clearing some of the smoke and haze, and Sarah took a deep breath. Her back seemed straighter and she stood taller. “I will do what I can for Doma,” Sarah said.
Elle blinked.
“Continue your studies. What you learn might be important.” Sarah looked at Tan, meeting his eyes. She blinked and touched her hair, smoothing it. “Perhaps more than the elders ever knew.”
Elle touched her head. “What if…” She trailed off, looking at Tan.
Sarah smiled sadly. “I will be here a little longer if you need me. But then I will need to return. If the lisincend truly move freely, then I will be needed. For now,” she continued, looking out at the city and the fires still burning there, “there is much for me to do.”
With that, she took off on a soft shaping of wind, moving quickly toward the glowing flames.
CHAPTER 19
Master’s Plan
Much of the city had not been affected by the fires.
As Tan made his way through the city, he saw patches of destruction, where charred and burned buildings toppled over, some falling on neighboring buildings and setting them alight while others spilled into the street, leaving piles of smoking wreckage. But interspersed were rows of buildings untouched by flame and fire. In these areas, Tan could almost imagine nothing had happened.
Elle trailed him silently. Though her color had returned, something still seemed off with her and she followed a step behind until they reached the area near the university.
Unlike other parts of the city, few people stood in the street here, almost as if afraid. Tan expected to find shapers, both Masters and students, but saw none. Elle gasped softly. Tan wasn’t certain if she did so aloud or if he heard it through a shaping.
The destruction was heavier here. The great arch leading to the courtyard had fallen, crushed to the ground in a heap of stone and ash. Powdered residue from its collapse hung in the air, filling it even more than the smoke from still-smoldering fires around the courtyard. Tan pulled his shirt up over his mouth to keep from breathing it in, but still coughed, the sound echoed by Elle.
He made his way past the pile of stone that once had been the archway and stepped into the courtyard. Where trees and grass had once grown green and vibrant, now there were only black, charred remains. The stone around the courtyard crumbled but stood otherwise stout. Black ash hung on the stone where flames had licked at the walls. In a few areas, stone had vanished, leaving a gaping hole revealing private quarters or lecture halls. Tan could not see to the top of the university but wondered if the roof had sustained much damage.
The air hung heavy and still, almost unnaturally so. It took Tan a moment to realize the air was likely shaped into stillness. Any wind would allow lingering flames to jump to nearby buildings, spreading the fire throughout the city.
“Where are all the shapers?” Elle asked.
Tan glanced at her, looking for lingering signs of her illness, but saw none. Then he shook his head. They should be here. The university should have been protected. Where would they have gone?
He couldn’t tell if the university was harder hit than other places in Ethea, but he hadn’t seen stone destroyed quite so thoroughly elsewhere. What type of force must have struck here?
Tan turned and started out of the courtyard. The university had never been his home. Possibly he would have come to see it that way in time, but he’d only been in Ethea a short while. Not nearly long enough to feel connected to it, not the way his mother spoke of it before she’d passed. But seeing it destroyed like this made him regret the opportunity he would never have.
And what of the archives?
He hurried away from the university. From what he’d seen, the archives were even more valuable than the university, and the ancient tomes were much more susceptible to fire.
When he reached the archives, he let out a breath. It still stood.
Like at the university, stone crumbled and flames had crawled along the walls, but something pushed back against it, almost as if the stone itself had resisted. The great doors to the archives were twisted and bent, but still stood.
Tan pushed them open. All looked untouched, as if the chaos out in the street hadn’t managed to reach inside. Nothing moved. Had the archivists not returned?
When he turned back to the door, Roine stood watching him. Soot covered his face, leaving his silvery hair streaked with black. His eyes looked drawn and tired. Parts of his shirt were singed, but it was otherwise intact. He had his sword in hand. In spite of the early morning light, the blade had a sheen, as if it glowed.
“Are you harmed?” he asked.
Tan shook his head.
Roine took a quick breath and nodded. “I thought you might have been at the university,” he said. “After what I saw there…”
“I saw it too.”
Roine nodded.
“How are the archives intact?” Tan asked.
“The stone that makes up the walls of the archives,” Roine said as if that explained everything.
Tan frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Elle had turned from him and touched the wall. She gasped softly. “They’re cool.”
Tan looked at the walls. The air still felt hot, practically burning his lungs with each breath. The ground outside was hot, like stones baking in a blazing sun all day. “After everything that happened? How can the stone still be cool?”
Elle cocked her head as she ran her hand along the stone. “I can…” She trailed off, her eyes going distant. “There is something about it,” she continued. “I don’t think I’m meant to know it, though.”
Roine sniffed. “Not as a water shaper, you’re not.”
Elle turned and frowned at him. “Not a shaper. Not yet, at least. And what do you mean?”
Roine shook his head. “The archive is one of the oldest buildings in the city and certainly older than the university. Those who built it infused shapings into its creation.”
Elle stared at the stone. “There is more than only shapings here.”
Tan touched the stone. His hand tingled. Something reverberated in his head with the sensation, like a memory. Almost, he could hear a distant, low rumbling voice in his mind.
“Golud helped with this,” he said softly.
Roine furrowed his brow in a frown briefly as he nodded. “Golud did. Not many know.” The comment carried a hint of a question.
“How did this happen?” Tan asked him.
“Ethea was attacked. And we were unprepared.”
“Incendin? Was it the lisincend?”
“Not lisincend. You’ve seen the devastation they bring firsthand. What happened here was different.”
Tan sighed. He couldn’t deny what he saw last night, the shape circling overhead, but he hadn’t felt anything from the draasin. “It doesn’t make sense,” he said softly.
Roine snorted. “Doesn’t it? You think this the work of Incendin and it might be, but the draasin were involved as well. I saw one in the sky. And maybe they work together.”
“The draasin wouldn’t—”
Roine cut him off with a wave of his hand. “They both serve fire.”
Tan shook his head. “I’ve told you the draasin despise the lisincend. The draasin were the reason Amia and I escaped in the first place! They wouldn’t
cooperate with the draasin.”
“You saw it, didn’t you?”
“They wouldn’t help Incendin. Not Twisted Fire.”
Roine laid a hand on his arm. It was a gesture meant to be soothing, but to Tan it felt harsh and unwelcome. “We don’t know how they think, Tannen.” He raised a hand when Tan opened his mouth to argue. “You know what they want you to know. They are elementals, born of the deepest power this world knows. How can we know what drives them, what motivates them?” He shook his head. “They serve fire. As do the lisincend. They are a natural pairing.”
“No. They’re not. There’s nothing natural about the lisincend. That’s why the nymid and draasin despise them.”
Roine shook his head and let out a slow breath. “I can’t argue with you about this. The decision was made already. What happened tonight only confirmed it. I came to find you, to see if you were alright. Now that I see you are, I want you to go to the palace—tell the guards I sent you—and you will be safe there while I’m gone.”
“Roine—”
He shook his head. “No. I am leading a dozen shapers after the draasin. We can’t afford another attack like this one, not if we want to be able to push Incendin back. Tonight alone, we lost two shapers. We have so few already… another attack like this and we won’t have enough shapers to hold the barrier. And then when Incendin attacks.” Roine shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tan. This is what must happen.”
They made their way back to the street and Roine studied him, as if waiting to see what he would say. When Tan said nothing more—there really wasn’t anything for him to say—he turned and made his way toward the university.
Elle watched Tan rather than Roine. Her eyes were wide and her mouth pressed into a thin line. “What will you do?” she asked.
Tan shook his head. Nothing made sense. The draasin wouldn’t attack the city. They were predators—hunters—but hunted for food, not sport. But what had he seen? Was it possible the draasin worked with Incendin?
Could he find out? Did he dare chase the draasin himself?
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