“We don’t have much time, you know.” Zoya scanned the sky. “Are you certain the azi will come when you’re not lodged inside its head? I’d rather not have the asha elders hear of our plans early enough to stop you.”

“You didn’t need to come and see us off, Zoya,” Althy reminded her gently. “And don’t use Parmina as an excuse.”

“And not get the chance to complain?” she chided.

“We still have room for one more,” I encouraged Mykaela. Physically, my mentor was in peak health. Her bright-silver heartsglass, lost for so many years, now hung around her neck where it belonged. But Polaire’s death had hit her the hardest. It would not do, I had argued, to have her spending the rest of her life in vigils by Polaire’s gravesite when Polaire had sacrificed so much for Mykaela to keep living. Still, the older asha split her time between her friend’s tomb and her old lover King Vanor’s crypt. I had often wondered about the conversations she had with the latter but didn’t want to pry.

Mykaela shook her head. “We still have much work to do, Tea. It’s hard enough for the asha association to relinquish one bone witch, much less two.” She smiled at me and took my hand. “There are other battles to be fought here. And I expect you to bring back valuable information when you return.”

I nodded. The asha association and I were not on the best of terms. I believed they were at least partly responsible for losing Mykaela’s heartsglass, to prevent her from becoming too powerful for their interests. But Mykaela and the others didn’t think they would go so far. They believed the association hoarded their influence while still adhering to the asha codes. I had little evidence to change their minds.

Recently, we’d received word about strange creatures prowling near Istera—creatures that resembled smaller daeva. Officially, we were to head to the ice kingdom to investigate the sightings. Unofficially, we were following up on the only lead we had: Aenah’s cryptic words before she died.

In her last moments, the Faceless had shared how the legend of the Blade that Soars and Dancing Wind were corrupted sources, and that only the true version held the answers to the mysterious and powerful shadowglass that Aenah and the elder asha were keen on possessing. We hoped that Istera, which was home to the world’s oldest library and largest collection of books on runic magic and asha history, would provide clues.

“I’ve never ridden dragons before,” Rahim said to me, rubbing his hands excitedly. “But ah, my uchenik, I always wanted to.”

“Always wanted to?” echoed Likh, who had ridden the azi before and did not feel the same way.