“She’s hungry.” Tinley opens her satchel to show me a dead hare and then disembarks. I watch her feed Chare and scratch her feathery breast. I wonder if Chare learned to trust Tinley because she sensed she was brokenhearted too.
After a brief knock on the chief’s door, I enter. Lanterns brighten the modest cabin. Animal teeth of all sizes are strung across the wall behind the chief’s desk where he and Ashwin are seated. Indah and Pons sit off to the side.
“Kalinda,” says the chief, “please join us. Prince Ashwin was explaining your circumstances.”
I occupy a chair near Indah and Pons, and Ashwin resumes.
“After the demon rajah fulfills my wish, I believe he intends to assist Kur in avenging Anu for usurping the mortal realm from the primeval gods. My study of the Samiya temple’s texts reinforced the grudge between Kur and Anu. I’m even more convinced the demon rajah plans to release his master. The only way to vanquish him is to cast him through the gate to the Void, but nothing I read has cited where the gate is located.”
Chief Naresh lays his hands over his broad chest. “We don’t know where it is either. Only demons or fallen souls can find the gate.”
“I know of a way,” I say. We have failed to unite with the rebels, but we can still accomplish one task before we leave the mountains. “Rajah Tarek visited me. He said my thoughts summoned him from the Void.” My gaze bounces from Indah, to Pons, and then to the chief. They stare at me in confusion.
Ashwin pales. “You saw him again?”
“On our first night at the temple. He came to me in the north tower.”
“He’s done this before?” Indah asks.
“I understand it sounds . . . odd, but I’m not imagining it.”
“We believe you,” she replies, and Pons nods. “Our people have tales of souls traveling by shadows.”
“As do ours,” the chief adds.
“Tarek knows where the gate is,” I say. “He said he would show me. In return, he asked that I stand before the gate and speak his name.”
Ashwin pushes to his feet. “No. You summoned Tarek just by thinking of him. Consider what power it would give him if you spoke his name at the gate.”
“The prince is right,” says Chief Naresh. “Names hold power.”
“But what if this is the only way?” I ask.
Chief Naresh exhales, building a long pause. “The mortal realm is closely intertwined with the Beyond and the Void. We cannot tamper with that balance.”
Ashwin paces in front of the desk. “We cannot bargain with Tarek. We’ll find another way to find the gate.” He anticipates my protest and raises a palm. “Don’t think of him, Kalinda. Don’t invoke the evernight. We’ll turn to the light for help.”
“Like we turned to the rebels?” I rejoin.
Ashwin stops pacing and looks up, dodging our gazes. “That was my fault. I shouldn’t have trusted Hastin.”
His admission drops a pause over us. I am just as to blame as he is. I wish I could take back the cruel things I said to him this morning.
Chief Naresh breeches the silence. “Prince Ashwin told me the warlord thinks ending him will also end Udug.”
“I believe the opposite,” Indah says, quiet but definitive. “Ashwin should have died from Anjali’s winnowing, but he healed rapidly. Not even bruises remain. I can only presume that Ashwin’s heart’s wish ties him to Udug in other unseen ways.”
My mind races to reach her logic. “You think Udug’s immortality extends to Ashwin so long as he is bound by his heart’s wish?”
“Yes.”
Indah knows nothing of my strife with Ashwin, but could her theory also extend to me? Ashwin’s bargain with Udug may explain why the icy poisons have not consumed me. The heart’s wish of the prince could be prolonging my life.
“Our Galers are storing up strength for the flight back to Paljor,” says the chief. Indah whitens at the mention of the airship flying. “We’ll provide temporary refuge to you, as well as the sisters and temple wards.”
“Thank you, but I cannot go.” I smile to ease my refusal. “I’m needed in Vanhi.”
“You’ll never make it in time to join the navy,” says Pons.
“I will if Tinley flies me on her falcon.”
“My daughter isn’t going near the war front,” Chief Naresh answers.
“We understand,” Ashwin replies. I arch a brow at his use of “we.” He intends to come with me? “She can take us as far as you’re comfortable.”
I add one last entreaty. “Please, Chief Naresh. We have to help our people.”
He sits up from his reclined position. “I’ll permit this out of respect for your parents, Kalinda. Let’s speak with Tinley.” He and Ashwin rise to find his daughter.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” I say, staying with Indah and Pons. “Will you two be all right going to Paljor?”
“We’ll be fine.” Pons rests his big hand over Indah’s small belly. They must be glad to miss the war front.
Indah pats Pons’s knee. “Would you leave us a moment, please?” He kisses her cheek and goes. I presume Indah wants to speak about her father or her pregnancy, but she focuses her serious gaze on me. “I’m concerned about you, Kalinda. I saw what you did to Prince Ashwin last night. Parching may seem like a reasonable remedy for your pain, but too much parching is dangerous.”
I bristle in defense. People are not afraid of Burners merely because they fear fire. They fear the violation of someone parching their soul. “I only borrowed Ashwin’s soul-fire because I was trying to stop the wildfire from spreading.”
“You didn’t borrow anything—you robbed it. Parched soul-fire cannot be returned.”
I snap my mouth shut. The opposite of parching is scorching, wherein a Burner pushes their powers into another and scorches them to ash. So, no. I cannot return the soul-fire I take.
“Parching too often is addictive. You could become dependent on others’ soul-fire to replenish your powers.” Indah places her hand on mine. “What are demons most known for?”
“Frightening people.”
“They frighten us because they thrive off destroying all that shines. Demons spite the stars, curse the moon, and abhor the sun. I know Udug’s cold-fire is still within you, but the cost is too great for you to give in. You’ll sacrifice your inner radiance for a moment in the sun—then it will fade, leaving you parched for light.”
I tell Indah what I dare not admit to Ashwin. “I don’t know if we can defeat him.”
“You can. Fight him, Kalinda. Hold on to your inner star and don’t let go.” Indah seals her encouragement with a kiss on my cheek. Being with child has opened her to all sorts of affection. “I’ll go see where Pons got to.”
She leaves the chief’s quarters, but her caution acerbates my worries. Will Udug’s cold-fire forever change me? I know of only one way to find out.
I exhale and close my eyes.
A tiny light glows in my mind. My inner star’s color has changed from a clear light to brilliant sapphire. The longer I search for purity in the blue light, the icier I feel. The star grows razor-sharp points that spike into my skull. Behind my eyes, it burns like frostbite. I open them, and tears pour out. The stinging inside my head stays, a rising pressure of cold.