Page 45 of The Jasad Crown

Arin paused, momentarily thrown off-kilter. Had Rawain been worried? “Yes.” He almost addedthank you.

It was difficult to hear over the unyielding siren. “Is there an intruder in the Citadel?”

Rawain’s mouth tightened to a grim line. “No, this alarm wouldn’t sound for a mere assassin. Something terrible is afoot. You need to get into the cellar.”

Rawain may as well have dealt him a resounding slap across the face. Arin took a step back. “You want me to hide?”

“You are the Heir and the Commander, Arin. You cannot be risked.” His father huffed an indulgent laugh. “This is what armies are for, son.”

Past the ring of guards, the recruits still waited on Arin’s instructions. This siren would ring throughout Nizahl, sending villages and towns into frenzied panic. And somewhere in the chaos, a danger worthy of rousing a centuries-old alarm walked.

Humiliation burned in his chest. Rawain truly thought so little of him? He thought Arin would willingly hide while…

It didn’t matter. There was no time.

“Is there a mechanism within the alarm that can alert us to where the threat is?”

“No, but the soldiers will find it and exterminate it. You need to—”

But a different voice cut through Rawain’s.

Arin, you need to listen. Evacuate Galim’s Bend.

But it couldn’t be. She was just an apparition.

Arin shoved through the guards, ignoring Rawain furiously shouting his name. The recruits weren’t looking at Arin anymore. They had turned east, facing the hills curving above the valley of villages. Horrified gasps rang in the air, joining the siren, as a familiar winged beast burst into the horizon. They were too far to hear the gentle clinking of its glass feathers, but the colors of its wings—the white and pink of dawn tapering into the blazing red of dusk—shined above the flames roaring along the valley.

Someone had unleased Al Anqa’a from its cage. And if they had unleashed the most fiercely guarded of the Alcalah’s monsters…

The cages—

Arin broke into a run. “Evacuate Galim’s Bend!” he ordered the stricken recruits. “Get everyone to the Wickalla!”

Al Anqa’a’s wings were clipped to fly short distances at a low radius. Useful for the second trial of the Alcalah, when they wantedto test the mettle of hard-trained Champions in an abandoned village. Not so useful in a teeming neighborhood of easily accessible prey.

A symphony of huffs and whinnies erupted from the stable as soon as Arin threw open the doors. The horses weren’t enjoying the siren any more than the rest of them. Arin headed straight to Ehal and unlocked the stall. The black horse hadn’t joined the others in voicing his complaints, and he allowed Arin to lead him out without a fuss. In a stroke of fortune, Ehal was already saddled.

The black warhorse took Arin’s weight easily. Arin wrapped the reins in his fist and leaned forward.

I did not have to lie to my father, Arin thought, darkly triumphant.Not tonight, at least.

With a snap of the reins, Arin and Ehal charged toward the hills of Galim’s Bend.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SYLVIA

Ablack lake stretched between two mountains at the edge of the world.

On our right, the cliff disappeared into the familiar shroud of darkness. If I squinted, I could make out the surface of Suhna Sea gently undulating, the twinkle of hundreds of stars glimmering over its waves.

The Urabi had gathered at the lake’s perimeter. Three figures stepped from the crowd, treading lightly over the lake’s icy surface.

“I was frightened the first time they did this,” Maia murmured. “It’s rare to find one Visionist, so we are very fortunate to have three. When they store enough magic, they can pull sights from anywhere in the world for our display.”

At the current moment, their aim was to pull forward the scene in Galim’s Bend. Excited murmurs passed between half the circle; the other half waited in silent vigil. Efra stood with the first group, watching the ice with gleeful anticipation.

I licked my lips. “Can they pull… any sights?”

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