Nearly three hundred years ago, humanity and the daemons were at war.

It would be the end of the world, many said. The death was so widespread, the destruction so complete, that the war seemed a fire that would burn and burn until all that remained was ash. Great nations collapsed to ruin. Roads were paved in bones. Smoke blurred the sky, fading the sun to a colourless grey. In Azherbal we called it The End. All days after the war were only borrowed time, we said, a small mercy from the Creators. And so we decided that every gifted day would be one of colour. We painted our houses like flowers, sewed rainbows into our clothing, danced under paper lanterns that blinked like fireflies. We would live, because we should not have.

Scholars differ on what truly ended the war. Some insist that it was by humanity’s own cleverness. The remaining human nations knew that alone, no single country could defend their lands. And so they formed the coalitions, and each coalition decided that there would forever be peace among men. They hid their new archons in the floating, abandoned cities left behind by the Creators—one city for each new coalition. United, their strength was enough to blow the daemons back, secure our borders. But many believe that could not have been it—how could humanity have ever found such might, even together? How could iron face the magic of the High Orders, of the daemon kings and queens? This was not our doing, some said. The survival of humanity was divine. We survived because the gods decided it would be so.

Our coalitions had held strong since the war’s end, and the archons had remained hidden away in our floating cities. But Irina was leaving. A reigning archon had not set foot on solid ground since the forming of the coalitions. If archons ever met, the cities flew to meet each other; on land, they were vulnerable. They could be killed.

I hurried after Yulia down the halls of the Korongorod, but we could only go as fast as Andiya. She was stronger before, but she still stumbled, still ran out of breath too quickly. Yulia led us through the winding servant passages that connected the Frozen Keep with the rest of the city. We went so far that I had to put my shoulder under Andiya’s arm to keep her from collapsing, her chest heaving in exhaustion.

We emerged into a thin alleyway that ran between cramped servant housing and the Korongorod’s spiral wall. We were somewhere on the outskirts of the city, not far from the cliffs. Money grew thinner the farther one was from the keep—and there was clearly not much to go around here. Short, thin houses pressed together in the shadows of terraced manors, hidden from sight. Yulia pounded on one of their doors.

A hulking man in rough leather clothes let us in. We stepped inside, and we were surrounded by a hunting party preparing for an expedition—except that I knew everyone there. I saw two of the princess’s assistants wearing patched coats, rolling up a tent. Eon Commander Hadrion wore the light clothes of a tracker, her under-eye markings missing. I realised that the man who let us in was one of the Eons who’d initially led us to the archon.

“Kain!” exclaimed Irina. “Thank you for collecting her so quickly, Vankin. Come, come, we’re preparing your bags. I could not leave without my Eon.”

I hardly recognized her. Irina wore a simple leather coat, her hair was bound in a high ponytail, and she wore no makeup or adornment. But I would never have mistaken her for a commoner. No hunter had her perfect skin, nor those sharp manicured brows, and none held themselves so regally—as though everyone else was beneath them. No change of clothing could ever mask that.

“Seylas, could you outfit Kain? She can’t go into the woods in that. And some gloves, for those tattoos?”

Seylas emerged from the hunting party. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

My foot shifted back involuntarily. Seylas towered over me, his hands clasped behind his back. He’d chosen a knee length hunting coat and black riding cloak, the clothes tight on his lean muscle. I felt like a mouse under the eyes of a snake.

“A pleasure to meet you again, Rozin Kain,” he rasped, and my heart skipped. My ears began to whine. “You are looking well—far better than when we first met.”

“The honoured inquisitor be joining us,” said Irina. “And your old captain will lead a party following some distance away, to keep our identity hidden. If anything should go wrong, they will escort us safely home.”

I couldn’t speak. Panic flooded everything that I was. Jawahir’s words echoed in my memories, but I could hardly understand them. Breathe. You aren’t there. You are here. Breathe, Rozin.

“Ask her about Khalid,” Andiya sent into my mind. I tried to focus on it, let it ground me. I could manage it. Seylas and Barje Vos were so many years ago. I had to manage it by now. But my chest felt like it was being pressed by a pile of bricks. I couldn’t breathe.

“And Shokarov’s squad, Your Majesty?” I forced out.

“Some of your squad will be joining us, yes. Those I felt could be trusted, or serve some purpose. Speaking of—” Irina turned to Yulia. “Inform your captain that we are to depart via the service tunnels in an hour. He shall follow after us in three.”

“Let go of my magic!” Andiya’s voice screamed up the bond.

My panic was pulling the bond, tightening it like I had in Jawahir’s training room. I was choking her.

Andiya’s magic writhed against my hold. Her presence enveloped my mind, wrapping it in that ancient fog. I could hear, feel, nothing else. “You’re hurting me. You vowed not to. We had a deal.”

My hold slipped, and I saw Andiya’s shoulders straighten as her magic released. She had her magic, all of it, and we were right beside the future archon.

“Walk with me, Rozin,” said Irina.

We went up a thin staircase, and Irina closed us in a tiny bedroom. I was going to be sick. Andiya was empowered. Seylas was just downstairs, and he remembered me, remembered what I’d done and what he’d done …

“This operation would not have been possible without you, Eon Kain. The entirety of the Canavar Coalition is in your debt.”

I nodded distantly, trying to regulate my breathing. I could hear my heart in my ears, feel it in the tips of my fingers.

Andiya prodded me through the bond. “Keep your damn head. This is important. Pay attention.”

“I apologise for the secrecy of our operation, but we could not risk word of my departure reaching the wrong ears. I have selected only those I have the utmost confidence in to join us. Apart from myself, only you and Seylas shall be aware of our true goal. As far as the others know, we are attending a clandestine emergency meeting with the Drahko Archon concerning his political unrest.”

“And our true goal?”

Irina’s cold eyes slid to Andiya.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity that no regent or archon has ever had. The Canavar have acquired a living, sentient High Order with access to a ruling daemon family. The ramifications of this are not lost on me. Andiya is the key to Canavar survival.”

Irina circled Andiya, looking her up and down. Under her hood, Andiya didn’t move.

“My father was a traditionalist. Under his rule, the Canavar were doomed for stagnation. Meanwhile, the Drahko and Vizi have been growing their forces to numbers that rival those from before the daemon wars. Our spies in Tianji report that the Qi archon has begun to double her defences, and is pulling their nomadic tribes close to cities where they can be protected. Everything waits for the first drawing of a blade. I will not allow my people to suffer as we did before the coalitions. I must act.”

“What?” I blurted. “The entire purpose of the coalitions was to shield each other from the daemons. If we wage war on ourselves, we will have nothing to prevent the daemon kingdoms from conquering us again.”

“And so we come to why our people are in your debt. This ‘hunting’ party will not be visiting the Drahko’s Heaven Garden. I intend to cross the wall into Kaelta.”

Alarm shot up the bond. Magic rose.

“Easy,” I pushed at Andiya.

“Your Majesty—”

“And Andiya will lead us to her regent.”

I stepped in front of Andiya, putting me between her and Irina. “You’ll be killed. All of us will be killed. They’re not going to hesitate just because we have a bonded. You are the archon—”

“I will be the archon, yes. And my first act will be to offer the regent of Kaelta an alliance.”

I blinked in shock. Andiya’s confusion blurred the bond.

“Ask your bonded if she believes her former nation would accept.”

“Kaelta has no reason to—”

“They would.”

My mouth snapped shut. I turned to Andiya. “Explain.”

“Not to her.”

“Then say enough. She thinks you’re controlled.”

She pressed her lips in a thin line and blew through her nose. “I believe,” she ground out. “That the Kaeltan queens would be open to negotiations, provided we are granted something in return. Among our kind, they are known to favour pragmatism over all else. Including old hatreds.”

“And could you, as a former guard, arrange safe passage to their palace?”

The bond flicked oddly at the world palace, but I didn’t know why.

“I could. But there is still a risk. No daemon will appreciate that you’ve brought a bonded into their lands.”

“I assume it will be taken as an insult.”

“Yes. I cannot prevent that.”

“Then we shall forge onwards. We cannot afford otherwise.”

Excitement rolled off Andiya in waves.

“Looking forward to going home?” I asked.

“Not at all. I only feel as though I have misjudged your princess. She seeks power, but not through fear. To lead by tolerance over hatred—it is not something I expected from any human ruler.”

“We would say the same of the daemons.”

“And look where we are now.”

*

The sun set, and our party blended into a platform bringing travellers to the continent. Amongst the throng of servants, merchants, and messengers, no one paid attention to a ragged band of hunters. As the platform landed, we mounted our horses, lowered our hoods, and slipped away into the dense trees of Novosk’s western woods.

Behind me in the saddle, Andiya’s hands gripped my waist with a feather-light touch. I tried not to think of how warm she was against my back, even through my cloak. She shifted to get more comfortable, and a shot of amusement travelled through the bond when I tried to put an inch between us.

“Am I so detestable, Rozin?”

When I didn’t answer, Andiya held a bit tighter.

“Don’t.”

“I never realised you were so virginal. I could name a dozen people in the Korongorod alone who have dreamt of this.”

“Go back and find them then.”

“And miss this fun?”

Our party sloshed through a low forest stream. I dismounted to lead my horse through the shallows, and Andiya watched curiously from the saddle. Parts of the stream were deeper than I thought. At one point I was up to my knees, splashed everywhere as the horse forded past me. I began to shiver.

“It’s warm up here.”

“I’ll walk for now.”

Big words in the middle of the night. It didn’t take long until my fingers and toes went numb. Better than being near Andiya, though.

Tiny balls of fire began to bob around me. Intense heat wafted from them, soaking me in a midsummer sun. I held out my fingers to thaw.

“Felt my cold, did you?” I asked.

“Not at all. I don’t get cold. But I’d rather not watch you shivering all night from pride. It’s a dreadful sight.”

“And here I thought you cared,” I replied sarcastically.

“I do.”

I tripped on a root and went tumbling into a dry shrub.

“My master requests that we make camp,” Andiya called to the group. “As poor visibility has made our path too treacherous.”

*

We settled in a small clearing surrounded by massive pine trees. The tents we’d brought were simple and unassuming, exactly the kind I’d seen in typical civilian hunting parties. Some of our equipment even bore wear and tear from previous owners.

Irina’s assistants began pitching tents. I halted one of them after she’d set mine and moved on.

“My bonded’s?”

The assistant looked confused. “She will have a bedroll by the fire, Eon. As … with all the bonded.”

Andiya had booted me from my own bedroom in the Korongorod. She’d sooner kill us than sleep outside my tent like a dog. No one could know that I couldn’t control her—and if she threw a fit in the middle of camp, it wouldn’t take them long to figure it out.

“We can’t leave our High Order exposed,” I ordered. “She will have a tent to herself.”

The assistant bowed and scuttled away.

I went back to the others. They sat around a blisteringly hot, vivid fire that rested in a ring of stones. As far as I could tell, there was nothing fuelling it—but I could guess. Sure enough, when I plucked at the bond, the fire flickered.

“Rude.”

I took a seat as far from Seylas as possible—beside Andiya, as she had done the same. Relaxing would have been much easier if Seylas wasn’t staring openly at me through the flames.

I examined our group. Four had the bulk I’d expect from Eons, and the daemons sitting behind them confirmed it. A heavier-set Mehraki woman with long braids I’d heard referred to as “Doctor Viscara,” so that settled her. Lastly, the previous archon’s advisor, Lionel, sat beside Seylas. He was a soft, short man, and he had a quiet way about him that made him vanish into the background. I couldn’t see him being very useful in Kaelta, nor as a guard. Perhaps he was here to draw up a proper treaty?

Irina took the empty place beside Seylas. “I thank you all for your presence here tonight,” she said. “And know that I have complete faith in each and every one of you. Our mission here will be recorded in history as one of the greatest commitments to lasting peace that ever was. Now. We drink, we eat, we sleep as deeply as we can. In the morning, we begin our journey to the Heaven Garden—and to a new alliance that will shake the world to its core.”