Zed and I lock eyes.
The orb is thick, reinforced glass. There’s a glittering burst of energy inside, spiraling. Circling.
There’s a shattering sound as the Starling spark in the center of the orb goes off, breaking through the top of it, launching into the sky, marking the start of the game.
I shoot forward, flying. Zed glares at me, as he’s forced to run. I reach the orb first, my hand curling into the hole the sparks made, making it easier to carry.
I turn—and Calder’s right there. Ready to summon the fireflies, to keep me from getting to the other side. To make it easy for Zed to steal the orb.
His hulking arm reaches out, toward the nearest stream. His fingers flex. His veins go taut.
He frowns.
“Good luck summoning air,” Enya says, the hiss of steam reaching us. We heated the water until it boiled and evaporated.
Calder opens his mouth. Closes it. Frowns. It almost makes me feel bad.
But then Zed sends a swarm of fireflies right at my face. I startle back, stumbling a step as they stick to my skin, surrounding me like a cloud, shining as brightly as a flame.
“Zed,” I growl, spitting fireflies out of my mouth.
I can’t see him through the blinding light, but I can hear him say, “Sorry, I was under the assumption we were in a rules-free game.” I feel the orb being wrenched free from my grip.
The fireflies are relentless, clinging, circling. They’ll only move on toward a greater source of movement. All I can do is hope my partner has a plan.
I hear Zed’s steps, getting close to the edge of his side of the clearing. I can hear Calder cheering him on. Then, all I hear are the fireflies as they swarm my head. I force myself to be still, not wanting to attract more, feeling them crawl—
They scatter at once, racing through the air—toward Enya, who now is sporting her fire-wings. Her wings move fast as lightning, like a dragonfly. She floats a few inches off the ground, enraging Zed, who would give anything to fly again.
She launches toward him—and they both roll across the clearing, tangled in a mess of limbs and flames. Finally, she tugs the orb from his grip, and leaps into the sky. He leaps too—but barely misses getting it back, before falling to the ground again. She remains floating, just a few feet above him.
I haven’t seen her hold her wings for this long. It’s impressive.
She just smiles sweetly down at Zed, through the cloud of racing fireflies that’s formed around her and her wings. “Here.” She holds it up just far enough that he can’t jump.
I expected a curse or vile gesture, but instead, Zed grins. Then, in a flash, he summons wind around her, moving so quickly, it sucks the air away, and her flames go out. She chokes. Her wings vanish.
She falls to the ground, with a sickening crack.
Zed just scoops the orb out of the crook of her arm, now unnaturally twisted to the side, and runs across the clearing.
I run to Enya. Predictably, she sits up, holds her broken arm against her chest, and says, “What are you doing? Go! You can still stop him!” When I don’t, she growls, then gets to her feet—before collapsing. She winces. “Yeah, might have broken my leg too.”
Cheers erupt as Zed makes it to the other end. He shouts his win to the sky, to the stars, to the night, to everyone in a mile radius.
Calder walks over slowly, arms folded across his chest, eyes still narrowed in disappointment. Still upset over the move we pulled. He looks from me, to Enya, gaze shifting from her leg—definitely broken—and her arm, twisted to an angle that is almost impressively gruesome. “If only we had water to heal her with,” he says, voice flat.
Enya and I look at each other.
Then we burst into laughter. She winces, the movement jostling her arm, then laughs again. Zed chuckles too, as he sinks to his knees at her side, removing his shirt in one smooth motion, then using it to expertly tie a sling.
Finally, Calder joins us.
The joy from our fireball game lasts through the night—then withers in the morning, when I’m called into my first meeting.
Everyone needs something from me. It’s been this way since I became king, but during the Centennial, my schedule is packed fuller than usual. There are meetings with other rulers. Nobles. Our legion.
Days are spent in meetings. Nights are spent searching for the heart with the Wildling. It’s never-ending.
