El stood with her three wing-mates and her brother while Sol strode into the billowing blue flames. If they bothered him, he didn’t show it, and soon all they could make out was a wavy silhouette within the fire.

  “And you’re sure it’s not all snowy and cold still where we’re going, right?” Nidina asked. For the third time. In ten minutes.

  “I’m not sure, okay?” El said again. “I haven’t been there either! Sol promised the storm is gone, though, and all the snow has melted. Months ago, according to him.”

  “What if he’s wrong?” Nidina asked.

  “Then it’s a good thing we still have our Sparks and don’t have to worry about being cold,” El said flatly.

  “Actually, does that still apply to you?” Laze asked beside her. “Does your new, blue Spark still keep you warm?”

  El opened her mouth to answer, then just sort of paused. “Sol! Are you sure the storm is gone?” she asked the man as he came back out of the fire with a burning stick in each hand. For fragments of a god, the Embers were less than impressive close up.

  “It vanished months ago,” Sol said. “The snow would’ve melted within a week, at most.”

  “How long was the place we’re going to frozen?” Laze asked.

  Before responding, Sol handed one of the Embers over to Dayne. “Take good care of it. It sleeps, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Still, if you hear voices…”

  Nidina and Laze shared a worried look.

  “If he hears voices…?” Nidina finally asked.

  “It’s probably one of you talking to him through your communication magic,” Sol said with a wink. “The Embers won’t wake up for at least a century. Don’t worry about them. And, once you put them back in their proper resting places, they’ll be bound there for at least twice that.”

  “Was that a joke? Did he just try to tell us a joke?” Laze quietly asked.

  El nodded at her best friend, then changed it to a shake of her head. “His sense of humor needs some work.”

  “Back to your question,” Sol said, ignoring El and Laze. “The storm and I passed through the area we’re heading to about a hundred years ago, but it wasn’t the same as what happened here.”

  “A hundred years ago? Just how old are you?” Laze asked.

  “Not the important part of what he just said,” El pointed out. “Why wasn’t it the same?”

  “The Sparks in most areas other than Pycrin weren’t strong enough to be a major threat. As such, the people, the countries weren’t frozen completely. The snow weakened their magic and made it difficult for them to assist the Pyre if called, but I didn’t go to war with them.”

  “You just buried in them in snow for more than a century?” Dayne asked evenly.

  Sol looked at the big man. “In retrospect, it may have been more civil to have frozen them.”

  “Not to try to blame you or anything, Sol, but how do we know anybody survived a winter like that?” El asked.

  “Their Sparks weren’t so weak the storm would’ve killed them. Just… made things difficult…”

  “And you did this all over the world?” Dayne said.

  “I… may not be the most popular person in a lot of a places,” Sol admitted.

  “Let’s not share who Sol is or how he’s connected to the storm,” El said, pinching the bridge of her nose just thinking about the hassle it could be. “Wait, it’s not my problem, it’s yours!” She spun and pointed at her brother.

  “I think it’s a little unfair labeling me as a problem…” Sol muttered behind her.

  “Don’t worry, the plan is to get in and out as quickly as possible,” Nexin assured her. “The less people see us—or our wings—the better it is. Remember, Sol may not be the only one who isn’t popular. We did take the Embers by force in the first place. I doubt local history has painted us very kindly.”

  “I don’t know how anybody could paint you any other way,” Laze said while batting her eyelashes at Nexin.

  “Nidina,” El said, purposely ignoring Laze’s fawning. “Any intel you have on where we’re going?”

  “Nothing more recent than almost two centuries ago,” Nidina said. “I read through the briefings my parents had access to when Sol gave us an idea where we’re going, but other than general geography, I doubt it’s relevant.

  “Both locations are coastal, with our stop being made up primarily of a series of hundreds of small, interconnected islands. Our records name the nation as the Isles of Pili.”

  “By small…?” Laze asked.

  “Anywhere from a few hundred feet to a couple miles. I think the biggest is around five miles long. Two hundred years ago, the people mainly gathered in walled towns on the larger islands, with the biggest being where the Ember rested,” Nidina explained.

  “Why were the towns walled?” Dayne asked while he held the Ember nonchalantly in one hand.

  “There was some nasty wildlife. Some kind of big bears with scales as strong as metal, I think.”

  “Scaled bears?” El asked.

  “How did you know the name? Did you read the same briefing?”

  “No. I… you just said… never mind.”

  “Can they fly?” Laze asked.

  “The… bears?” Nidina asked, brows furrowing. “No. Neither could the people.”

  “Any idea how their Sparks manifested?” El asked.

  “Similar to the Guldish, actually. Instead of remotely powering golems, though, they powered tools and weapons of some kind. Not a lot more information than that. It was a long time ago, after all,” Nidina said.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Still, good to know. What about where Nexin is going?”

  Nidina grimaced and looked to her left.

  “What’s wrong?” Laze asked.

  “Nexin and Sol are going to what was the country of Vestis. They were mainly academics and scholars in the fields of geology and geography. They were also apparently quite famous for art, poetry, and literature. No really dangerous wildlife in their country, so they lived pretty peacefully. Didn’t even have an army when Pycrin showed up…” Nidina trailed off.

  “Was it bad?” El asked quietly.

  Nidina nodded. “The reports… what our people did… not pretty. Nexin, if you can avoid showing them your wings, it might be for the best. If anybody remembers.”

  “He’ll be less popular than me?” Sol asked.

  “Honestly, fifty-fifty,” Nidina said. “You did bury them in an endless snowstorm for more than a hundred years.”

  “Our mission is to return the Embers,” Nexin reminded them. “Diplomacy will be important, but that’s not what we’re there for at this point. Leave it for the official envoys that’ll be sent out later. For now, get in and out safely.”

  “Captain Vasage is correct,” a new voice added, and El turned to salute General Cannon. The man still had his left arm tightly bandaged and bound against his chest—rumor had it the doctors told him it would never heal—but he’d taken on a lot more responsibility in the aftermath of everything. Beside him—so bland she almost faded into the background and El had to do a double take—General Vulon looked over the group.

  El gave the woman a salute as well.

  “Stand down,” Vulon said as Faled and a few others joined them in the Pyre’s Courtyard section of the Church compound. With the Church itself in shambles, the logistics department Faled became part of had taken over the space. By the looks of things, General Vulon was his new boss.

  Good choice. Looking at Vulon, the woman did not stand out, but it was her mind that’d catapulted her through the ranks. She was a genius when it came to managing troops—and their resources. She’d be brilliant in the new logistics department, and a great mentor for Faled.

  El gave Faled a small nod while the two generals gave her group a quick inspection, and her previous sergeant returned the gesture. That done, her attention went back to the two commanding officers.

  “While we hope you don’t create an international incident as you take the Embers back,” General Cannon continued, “we also don’t expect you to shore up two centuries of hard feelings. Get in, return the Ember, then head home. There are plenty more Embers to return before somebody changes their mind about doing it.”

  “Cannon,” Vulon said evenly.

  “They deserve to know,” Cannon said to the other general. “They’re the ones risking themselves heading into unknown territory with less than half-a-wing. I’d still prefer to send Esis and a few of her Boomers,” the man continued, referencing his elite wing of Firestorm. “But…” He focused on El.

  “Sorry, sir,” El said. “For some reason, it’s easier to bring people I know with me into the In-Between. If I took Captain Esis or any of her people, I’d probably only be able to bring one, and even that would be difficult.”

  “The In-Between, somewhat true to its name, operates on the basis of connections and bonds,” Sol said. “It’s easier to go between places that have a history, which the two countries do because of the war. Likewise, only people El knows well will be able to travel with her.”

  “Does she really know you well enough to bring you along?” Vulon asked, her tone as flat as ever.

  “Ah, besides our common experiences with each other, El and I share a slightly different connection. We’ve both been touched by my god.”

  “We’ve tested,” El added. “Sol can come along just fine. Besides, we need him to guide us through the In-Between.”

  “I thought you just said it could only bridge places with a connection? Would it not just be a tunnel?” Vulon asked.

  “More like a series of tunnels with multiple forks,” Sol said. “The In-Between looks like a vast forest, but it’s actually a collection of paths you can’t stray from unless you take a predetermined turn.”

  “Could we use it for trade in the future? To send messages and supplies?”

  “Possibly?” Sol said slowly. “But, I honestly don’t know how or why El is able to open the doorways to the In-Between. I needed the storm and an amulet gifted to me by my god to pass through.”

  “A question for later,” Cannon interrupted. “As I was saying, there are individuals who are beginning to question giving up the Embers. Most people with half a brain recognize the threat of leaving them together—as if anybody could’ve missed the monsters flying above our city—but I don’t want to give them a chance to build up steam. The sooner we split the Embers again, the better.”

  “It will take generations for your Sparks to noticeably weaken,” Sol added. “And, even then, it’s impossible to tell how much that will happen. There may not even be a difference.”

  “You’ll have to pardon me if the same people pushing for keeping the Embers don’t trust your assurances on this,” Cannon told Sol. “They’ve also suggested you planned the whole thing to destabilize our power, etcetera, etcetera.”

  “He already had the chance with the storm,” Nexin pointed out.

  “I know that. General Vulon knows that, and we have support for what we’re doing. Let’s just say there are a vocal few with different opinions. Enough about that, though. I wanted you to be aware of some of the political underpinnings to your mission, and why you shouldn’t dally.”

  “Perhaps we should stop delaying them, then?” Vulon offered from Cannon’s side.

  Cannon sighed. “You’re right. I’ve gotten chattier since I lost the use of my arm, apparently. Off you go, then. We’ll be waiting for you to get back with good news.”

  “Probably about a week, sir,” El said.

  “A week to travel to the other side of the world and back, the things we could do with such a power on a larger scale…” Vulon said in a flat, almost wistful sort of way.

  “If I figure out how I’m doing it, you’ll be the first person I tell,” El said.

  “Excellent. I’ll make sure Felps is prepared to conduct some experiments when you’re ready.”

  “Uh… on second thought… I’ve really had enough of him trying to figure out my new Spark…”

  “How about we get going?” Nexin said, coming to El’s rescue.

  “Right, excuse me,” El said with another salute to the two generals, then turned and took a few steps away after they nodded she was dismissed. Then, with her back to the others, El closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Sure, she said getting into the In-Between was easier, but that still didn’t make it easy.

  Shutting out the outside world, El instead pushed her senses into herself, to the place inside her chest where she felt her Spark had once resided. There, instead of the warmth she’d grown up with, sat a flickering bonfire of penetrating cold. Unlike the Spark, which gave off heat, this blue flame within her didn’t radiate anything. It wasn’t that it was the opposite of the Spark—or like the ice Sol said filled his soul—where it gave off an aura of cold. Instead, it was almost as if the blue flame consumed cold, pulling in more and more until it was so far beyond freezing, it made the air around it feel warm by comparison.

  Despite knowing that wasn’t how the flow of heat actually worked—cold didn’t move, only heat did—it was the only way her brain could process it. But, the how or why of her new power was a question for later; she had things she needed to do.

  Taking hold of the power in her mind, El ignited the palms of her hands. Not needing electrum as a focus sure is handy. One second of power turned to two, to five, to ten as she built the flames within her hands, then opened her eyes. Blue fire around six inches tall silently flickered while it pulled at the surrounding heat, the air swirling around her from the pull.

  “Get ready,” she said. “I’ll only be able to hold the gate to the In-Between open for a few seconds.”

  “Right in front of you?” Nidina asked.

  “Yes, just like we practiced,” El said.

  “Everybody has their supplies in their packs?” Nexin asked. “Good. We’re ready, El.”

  “Here we go,” she said, changing the ignition in her hands into a flare. The flames burst with power at the same time she extended her senses to that tickle at the back of her neck she’d come to associate with the In-Between. Like the roaring blue flame knew exactly where it was supposed to go, it spun out of her hands to twist in the air. Down to the ground to meet a single point, then two perfectly horizonal lines rushed out, cornering hard ninety-degrees to shoot into the air. Six feet up in the blink of an eye, the two streamers of flame curved inward to meet again directly above where they’d started.

  No sooner had they touched, than the space within the doorway shimmered like rising heat, changing from the Pyre’s Courtyard. Gone were the stone tiles and roaring blue bonfire, instead replaced by green grass and massive tree trunks.

  The In-Between.

  “Go,” Nexin said, five bodies dashing through the portal shimmering in the air, and El followed through a second later.