Chapter 7
The palace loomed in pieces through the dark. So this was the heart of their capital, Steel Haven. Jagged towers, walkways, black tiled roofs that curled like wings, heavy with metal and shadow, as if ready to crush us.
Blake was silent behind me, his arm locked around my waist like a living chain.
We passed under a huge iron archway with curved eaves. The groan of the gates and the stomp of several boots greeted us.
Flame slowed, claws scraping against the slick ground. A colossal silver tyger riddled with battle scars shook his powerful jowls, then padded up to us.
Even I knew Blake Axefire’s legendary silver tyger’s name: Kingsolver.
His fur shifted like liquid metal under the torchlight, a living current of silver streaked with jagged black markings.
Every scar etched into his massive hide was a testament to battles fought and won.
People whispered that he was a near perfect resemblance to Byako, the original Silver Tyger, this dominion’s Celestial Guardian.
Kingsolver moved with an unspoken promise of power and violence.
Six men rushed toward us. Clad in protective armor from head to toe, they were gesturing and pointing at us, their faces filled with awe.
“Ambush Master, your skill is truly unparalleled,” one breathed.
Another whispered low, “Without tack, carting a prisoner, no less.”
Blake paid them no mind.
His warm hands spanned my waist again as I swung my leg over and he handed me off to the leader, my skirts settling back at my ankles.
The Ambush Master vaulted off himself and, before I knew it, had me by the arm again.
Several of the men looped a harness around Flame’s neck.
She snarled and tossed her head, tried to shake them off.
There was a great deal of shouting, one of the men tripping backward.
She snapped at him with her enormous jaws, thrashing wildly.
Claws scraped against stone as the handlers struggled to drag her away while she roared and fought.
Kingsolver chuffed, then let out a deep, steadying growl.
Flame froze mid-struggle, her ears twitching. She turned toward him, chest still heaving, but the wildness in her golden eyes calmed.
Kingsolver let out another soft rumble.
And just like that, Flame subsided. She took a long look at us, and when my eyes met hers, I felt awe. Flame was terrifying, but the power in her spirit and body was immeasurable. With an angry huff, she allowed herself to be taken away with Kingsolver by her side.
Blake drew one of the many knives from his belt.
“Going to gut me already?” I said, my voice sharp to hide my anxiety.
His mouth twitched as he came closer. “Hold still.”
The blade flashed once, and the bonds at my wrists fell away.
My arms sagged with relief. I let my knees buckle a little, falling forward against him. His hands caught my elbows. I used the moment to slip my fingers into his pocket, removing the only thing I found there, a small coin. He didn’t notice.
“Sorry,” I said, making my voice breathy and low.
He pushed lightly at my shoulder to spin me toward the entryway.
I followed, hiding the coin in my sleeve. I didn’t know what it was, but anything was better than nothing. I had to escape somehow.
He pushed me through narrow corridors lit by faint lanterns, toward a stairwell. The lower we went, the more the air grew damp, the stone walls reeking of iron and mold.
We stopped at a row of empty cells, though the corridor went on into another, darker stairwell at the end of the hall. I was already shivering from the clammy cold. Blake reached for a ring of keys and slid one into the iron lattice gate.
He turned me to face him in the doorway, reaching for the dagger’s sheath at my belt, although he’d already pocketed the blade. The space for my ribbons was equally empty and I thought of them, likely in shreds beside Edith’s unmoving body.
A pang of grief and loss rolled through my chest as I thought of Edith, as I felt how truly helpless I was. I barely noticed him locking the grate behind me.
The cell was small. Bare stone walls, a low wooden bed with a thin woven mat, a threadbare blanket. No window. No way out.
I turned, fists clenched. “What happens now? How long do I stay here?”
“Until tomorrow,” Blake said. I felt a moment of relief, just one night. But then he continued, “You’ll be participating in the Bonding.”
I darted to the metal bars, my hands gripping them.
“That’s a death sentence.” Anger and terror warred within me.
He shrugged, leaning against the stone wall behind him.
“That’s up to you.” He crossed his arms against his chest. “If you don’t manage to Bond, then hypothetically, yes.”
“Hypothetically,” I laughed, fury racing up my spine. “Azures don’t Bond! I’m just a yin. Let me out of here!”
There was a vibration in my throat as I shouted, a low hum beneath my words.
The Ambush Master pulled himself off the wall, stepping toward me—before he froze, hands suspended in the air. His slack-jawed face clipped up tightly, lips pursed and nostrils flaring.
“A liar and a traitor,” he snipped. “Tell me what you’re doing.”
My eyes narrowed into slits. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Your voice. The thing you did at the tavern. You just tried it again, to me.” Something new flickered in his eyes. “Do it again,” he commanded, voice deep.
I didn’t. Instead, I kept his eyes pinned to my own, dropping my hand to grab for his belt—
His fingers clasped my wrist, squeezing until I dropped the blade I’d barely managed to grab hold of.
“Clever Azure,” he chided. “I knew I was right about you. You’re lying about your power, what you can truly do. And I’m going to find out.”
The smile that split my lips then was bitter and bright. “Good luck with that, considering I’ll be slaughtered by a tyger tomorrow.”
“That’s your own doing,” he snapped and turned to walk away.
I called out to him. “Wait. My friend Edith. Can you make sure she’s all right?”
He paused, shoulders tense.
I drew in a breath. “Please.”
His face turned toward me, square chin dipping over the large muscles of his back, icy blue sapphires glaring at me.
He didn’t say anything, only staring at me. Another please left my mouth silently.
There was a lingering hum of magic. I nearly touched my throat to see if it was coming from me or from him before it disintegrated as he turned on his heel and left me behind.
—
Blake didn’t return for hours. I lay on the wooden platform bed, the thin blanket scratchy against my palms. I stared at the ceiling, counting the bricks—anything to try and lull myself to sleep.
My legs bounced with the need to move, to fight, to do something, my body too antsy to rest, though I’d need it if I had even a chance of escaping the Arena tomorrow.
Bonding with a tyger was impossible. I’d be killed if I even stepped a foot toward them. My only chance was to run before they could get close.
The stolen coin burned faintly against my skin. I clutched it tighter. It was too small to be worth much.
Minutes dragged by.
I was shaking from terror and cold. I wrapped my arms around my knees and bowed my head.
The fight inside me sagged under the weight of the silence.
I’d be killed tomorrow in the Arena. There’d be no one to care for Edith, to make sure Quinn stayed out of trouble.
And I would never get my memories back. I would never know who I truly was, who I’d loved and who had loved me.
I was an Azure. We were nothing to them. I was nothing to them.
A tear slipped down my cheek. I scrubbed it away, furious with myself.
I wasn’t nothing.
I wasn’t.
Breathe. Just breathe. Edith’s voice swept through my mind like a caress.
Trying to distract myself from the continuous spiral of my thoughts, I counted my breaths and took the coin out, turning it over in my hands. It was red metal, with a square hole punched through the center and symbols etched along the rim.
I furrowed my brow, a simmering recognition stirring.
Not just a coin.
I rubbed my thumb over the markings. A slow wave of warmth spread through me, melting into my limbs, loosening every muscle in my body.
I straightened up off the cot. A glyph. And from the feel of it, a warmth talisman. I’d heard of them, seen them used, but never held one myself. I turned it over again, stunned. The heat curled through me, gentle and comforting.
Someone had bound a spell to this, probably a fire mage from the Red Phoenix Dominion. But anyone could activate a glyph, whether they had magic or not.
No wonder the noble families stayed rich. If they could sell these…trade them…hoard them…
This one was valuable. Especially now, with trade between dominions all but stopped after the Annihilation. A warmth glyph. And I’d stolen it.
The possibilities spun through me, how much we could sell it for. Perhaps we’d have a proper house built—or secure passage to some other dominion where we might have a better life. We could—
Except…none of that was possible now. Tomorrow I’d be dead in the Arena.
“I take it you’ve figured out what it is you picked off me,” a voice rumbled, startling me. I stood, tucking the glyph in my palm behind my back—as if Blake couldn’t just open the cell and take it from me if he wanted.
“You can have it back once I’m dead,” I snipped. “Won’t have to wait long.”
He stepped forward, opened the door, and set a small basket inside. Then he swung the door shut again. I waited until he planted himself against the wall before I crouched down to peek inside.
Steamed buns, some with thin slices of pork between them, and a clay pitcher of water.
I bit back my thanks. He hadn’t had to bring this, but then he didn’t have to lock me up either.
My last meal. I thought of the gruel and scallion pancake that had been Edith’s last meal before Flame struck her and felt guilt pool in my belly.
Still, she would tell me to hoard my strength for the morning. I wouldn’t waste it.
Blake watched me carefully as I took the bun and sat back on the mat. He matched me, sliding his broad form to the floor, knees bent, boots heavy against the stone.
“Flame’s behavior around you was unusual,” Blake said, his voice low and quiet, the snip of his aristocratic accent somehow softer.
I shrugged. “I didn’t sing for her.”
His brow dipped. That wasn’t what he’d been asking, but he was clearly thinking about it now.
I tried to cut off his line of questioning before it began. “What should I expect? For tomorrow.”
My question felt vulnerable, fingers playing again with the glyph as I avoided his piercing ice blue eyes. I could feel their intensity on me.
“The tygers always target Azures during the Bonding, whether the Azures have any shapeshifter magic or not,” he admitted. Defeat rolled through me, my vision going hazy for a moment.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Bondings are sacred. They aren’t a place to punish Azures or rebels.” Blake’s jaw tightened. “You’ll have to trust that I know what I’m doing. I have my reasons.”
“Trust you? You have to be joking,” I sputtered out. “You’ve basically admitted that survival is impossible. Azures don’t Bond tygers. I can’t even hope to get out of that Arena alive.”
His eyebrow lifted, a sharp look. “Not even for your friend?”
“Please…is she—”
“She’s fine. I would have sent a man to check whether you’d asked or not. But she won’t be fine if you perish to a tyger.”
Relief coursed through me. I cleared my throat, eyes darting down to watch the glyph spin in my fingers. “Has an Azure ever Bonded with a tyger before?”
“Bonding does not follow our laws. It is natural and involuntary. When you Bond with a tyger, it is an instant connection. Almost overwhelming. But each time is different. It’s instinctual. You just know.”
I bit my lip. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Another hard clench of his jaw, his eyes darting away from me. “It’s late. Sleep,” he commanded, though he made no move to leave.
“With you staring at me?” I asked, incredulous.
“I don’t trust you.”
“I’m behind bars. What could I possibly do?”
“It’s this,” he said, gesturing to himself seated on the ground. “Or I gag you for the night. Make your choice.”
I turned over and tucked the heat glyph closer, facing the wall away from the stare I could still feel on my back. It took a long time for sleep to find me—but eventually it did, along with my recurring dream.
The woman with her haunting song, her face that I couldn’t remember. And now I never would.