Relia followed her friends from the street into a bustling hotel lobby. The air conditioning blasted them from all sides, and it felt great after all those hours in the tropical heat. Dragons didn’t normally believe in air conditioning, but they’d made an exception here for the traveling foreigners.

  How did she know dragons owned this hotel? The decor, of course. Golden chandeliers hung from the high vaulted ceilings while golden fountains shot water into the air. Even the blue carpet shone with flecks of gold.

  These last few days had been like driving through a mana storm, but she finally saw the light at the end. Their packs hung pleasantly heavy on their shoulders, filled with the last items on Kyzar’s list. They’d also gathered the ingredients for her new pill the day before, and Kalden had stayed behind to finish that.

  He’d wanted Relia to stay behind too, but she couldn’t let the others go off by themselves. Akari was still just a Novice, and Arturo relied too much on his weapons. Naturally, this led to an argument.

  “Your mark could fade at any time,” Kalden had said during their last training session. “That puts the whole group in danger.”

  “We’ve been over this.” Relia pointed to her forehead. “Elend didn’t build these things to last. They could fade at any time.”

  “But you said we’d feel them fading.”

  “I said probably. There’s no guarantee.”

  “She’s got a point,” Akari said. “What if we need to fight our way out? Two Apprentices are better than one.”

  “Exactly!” Relia patted the box inside her leather pouch. “I can take this pill in a pinch, but there’s no putting these marks back once they’re gone.”

  “I still think you should take the pill right now,” Kalden said. “Even if you don’t trust me to make a new one—”

  “It’s not that,” she said. “I trust you, but I need to spread these pills out. Otherwise they’ll stop working, and I’ll never make it to Artisan.”

  Kalden ran a hand through his hair. “I get it, but I’m just asking for one exception.”

  Relia bit her lip. “I already took too many of these back on Arkala. I thought . . .” Her throat went suddenly dry, and she couldn’t meet their eyes. “I thought I’d never make it off the island alive. I thought if I saved Elend, he could help the rest of you get away. That’s why I’m in this mess right now.”

  Her condition grew worse over the next two days, but that had its perks. If things were always sugar and rainbows, then one sudden crystal growth could catch her flatfooted. Now, she spent a good portion of her day in a meditative trance, constantly aware of her own channels. This meant she could break down most crystals before they even formed.

  Their route took them through the hotel lobby and into the parking ramp where Arturo waited with the van. They’d resorted to driving that ever since their skirmish on the ferry two days ago. Fights were common in this city, but foreigners like her drew more attention.

  Unfortunately, driving took twice as long as riding the ferry. The roads were packed tight on this side of the river, and parking spots were rarer than Mystics. To make matters worse, the bridge guards never let anyone through. Her group had to leave Liberta’s side of the city every morning, circle around on the outskirts, then re-enter from Unida’s side.

  “I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick,” Relia said once they’d loaded their packs into the van. She probably could have waited another hour, but muscle failure didn’t mix well with full bladders. Better to play it safe.

  “I’ll go too,” Akari said.

  Arturo hopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine while Relia and Akari doubled back toward the lobby. The bathroom was dimly lit, and far less ostentatious than the rest of the hotel. A stone wall divided the stalls from the sinks, and two short lines shuffled through the gaps on either side. It looked like some sort of business conference, judging by the women’s attire.

  “Wonder if they have gold toilets,” Akari muttered as they got in line.

  Relia was about to reply when a prickling sensation spread up her left arm. Numbness followed, starting from her jaw and spreading down to her fingers. Relia closed her eyes and scanned her body with her mental senses. She found the crystal near her spine a second later.

  Akari swiveled her head to face her, then her eyes widened with concern. She grabbed Relia by the arm, pulling them both out of line to stand near a potted tree. This let Relia put her back to the crowd.

  She started to break down the crystal, pulling its energy back into her soul. No sooner had she begun than another prickling sensation formed in her right leg. Two at once? That complicated things. She should probably sit down . . .

  The line moved forward, and several newcomers stepped through the bathroom door. Relia snuck a glance over her shoulder and saw two half-dragons and two humans. They all wore the green uniforms of the Dragonlord’s army, with steel Missile rods hanging from their hips.

  Akari tapped Relia on the shoulder, and she turned away from the crowd. Right, stay focused. Sweat broke out across her body, and she leaned against the wall for support.

  The soldiers broke off their conversation when they noticed her. “Miss?” One of the dragon women stepped forward, her reptilian voice surprisingly gentle. “Are you alright?”

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  “I’m fine,” Relia said. The prickling in her leg turned to a sharp stab of pain. Relia had dealt with hundreds of cuts and broken bones during her training, but this was worse. It always came with a sense of wrongness, like an agonizing itch she couldn’t scratch.

  A short silence followed. Relia couldn’t see the soldiers’ faces, but they obviously didn’t believe her.

  “She’s sick.” Akari gave Relia a pointed look, unzipping the pocket of her leather pouch.“She needs her medicine.”

  She was right, of course. Relia would have preferred to wait a few more days, but this was too risky. She hadn’t expected to find such a large crowd in here, and she couldn’t focus with so many distractions.

  Boots echoed against the tile floor as the dragon woman stepped forward. “May I see that?”

  Akari had barely retrieved the box before the woman snatched it from her hands. Blue light flooded the room as she opened it, and a surge of panic flooded Relia’s veins. She’d spent the past few weeks guarding that pill with her life. Now a stranger held it in her hands.

  In that moment, Relia realized how this must have looked. She and Akari were underdressed, and they probably looked like drug addicts who’d come looking for privacy. Her pill shared the same ingredients as many combat enhancements, and even her symptoms looked suspicious.

  “What is this?” the dragon asked.

  Akari told them the truth, but her voice sounded distant as Relia struggled to focus on the crystals.

  “The condition hardens her mana?” the dragon asked. “Never heard of a thing like that.”

  “It’s rare,” Akari said. “Her parents were soulshine addicts. This was the side effect.”

  Relia nodded along, too shaky to form any words of her own.

  “She’ll die if she doesn’t take it now.” Akari’s voice was polite, but she also didn’t bother to hide her glare.

  A short silence followed as the soldiers exchanged murmured words. Relia forced herself to stay calm, pulling at the crystals with all her mental might. Whatever happened next, she’d need to be at her full strength. Akari had defended her from those kids on the ferry, but these soldiers could kill her with a single technique.

  “Alright.” The woman passed her the box. “My apologies, miss.”

  Thank the Angels. Relia accepted the box with a shaky hand. Her nerves had left her mouth barren, but she’d swallowed her pills without water before. She brought the glowing blue capsule to her mouth, feeling the bitter taste on her tongue. In that moment, the crystal in her spine grew sharper, and her muscles went limp.

  She tried to swallow the pill, but her legs buckled beneath her. Akari tried to catch her, but she was too slow. Relia’s body twisted to the side, and the soldiers all caught a glimpse of her face.

  A green-scaled hand flew forward, seizing Relia by the throat. She gagged, spitting the blue capsule on the bathroom floor.

  “Unmarked!” another soldier drew her Missile rod.

  Time slowed to a crawl as Relia watched her pill roll away. Then another soldier squashed it with her boot.

  No, no, no!

  The crowd scattered around them; some took cover behind the stone wall, while others fled out the bathroom door. Akari gathered mana in her palms and leapt forward, hurling two sharpened Missiles at Relia’s attacker. Both techniques found their mark, but they didn’t pierce the dragon’s skin.

  A second soldier struck Akari with her rod. Her glasses shattered from the impact, and she hit the floor with blood gushing from her nose.

  “Arturo!” Relia tried to call his name over the crowd, but she’d barely been gone for three minutes. He wouldn’t come looking for them that soon.

  This was up to her, but she couldn’t use her techniques. Not until she’d cleared her channels.

  Relia let herself collapse on the floor, closed her eyes, and focused all her efforts on the larger crystal in her spine. Her mind drifted back to her first teacher, before Elend. The one who’d tracked her down after her parents had abandoned her. The one who’d discovered this aspect.

  Elend had taught her how to live, but her first master had taught her how to survive in a merciless world. Nothing but total focus would suffice.

  The crystal in her spine shattered to mist, and she pulled its power into her soul. Life mana raced through her channels, healing the damage to her body.

  Her enemies glowed like red sunsets as they Cloaked their own bodies with fire mana. Their hands felt like burning metal as they pinned her against the wall, driving her spine into the rough stone.

  Relia cycled more life mana through her channels, ignoring the pain from her leg. Angels above. Why did it always come to this? First the Martials, and now these soldiers. Why did people always have to die for the stupidest reasons?

  But Akari would die if she held back, and they’d promised to reach the Master realm together. Relia had almost given up before, but Akari and Kalden filled her with fresh resolve. She would reach the Master realm, and then her parents would regret the day they’d disowned her. Even if she died after that, they could never forget about her.

  Life mana flowed out from Relia’s chest in a stream of green and gold light. It struck the dragon woman’s heart, freezing it forever.

  Two more soldiers leapt back. No doubt they’d fought cultists with this aspect before.

  One brave soul held her ground, swinging down with her steel rod. Relia blocked the weapon with a quick shield, then she swung her good leg around and knocked the woman off her feet. No sooner had she hit the ground than Relia slammed a palm into her chest. Instant death.

  Fire flew from the other soldiers’ outstretched hands, but Relia Cloaked her body against impact. Pure mana dampened their attacks, and life mana healed her cells before they burned. For all that, pain raced through her body as if someone had slammed her against a hot stove. The scents of burning clothes and hair filled her nostrils, and the smoke rose to the ceiling.

  Relia raised her own arms, and her mana whistled through the air. Her opponents dodged her attacks with ease, and the mirror shattered behind them. Her next Missile struck the nearest sink, and water burst out from the pipe.

  Two against one. Relia couldn’t walk, and Akari still lay unconscious on the floor. Her life mana was too slow to reach them from a distance, and her opponents wouldn’t fall to a pure technique. Her control was too shaky for that.

  Two more Missiles closed on Relia’s face. Blue light flashed in her hand as she raised another shield.

  She had one technique that might work. Elend had forced her to learn it, but she’d promised herself she’d never use it. But now the choice was clear—it was her and Akari’s lives against theirs.

  Relia flared her Cloaks and absorbed their next few blows. Life mana gathered in a thick cloud in front of her, followed by an array of flat, circular Constructs. She applied pressure to the center of each Construct, forming them into domes. Then the domes came together, forming pale blue spheres around the green clouds.

  One of her opponents raced for cover while the other conjured a shield. Too late. Relia hurled the spheres forward with pure Missiles. They exploded against the far walls, and her opponents couldn’t escape the cloud.

  Their bones shattered, and screams of pain escaped their mouths.

  Relia lay among the lifeless bodies, and her eyes met the video camera in the upper corner of the room.

  Soon enough, all of Creta would know her face.