A small blast erupted from nearby; one of the houses had caved in, sending fresh waves of fire spreading onto nearby asha-ka.

“Stay here, Fox,” Lady Altaecia ordered. “I will attend to this. Zoya, come with me.”

The women dashed off, but Lord Fox turned away. “She’s here,” he said, as if the words were rigid on his tongue. “She is—” He spun in a circle, gaze searching the smoke and the soot. His eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment, he was as still.

“The graveyard,” he finally growled. “She’s in the graveyard.”

8

First things first, Fox said, speaking directly into my mind. There was some damage to the forge, but Wolf says it’s nothing they won’t be able to fix.

My brother, Khalad, Althy, and Kalen had ridden out to Knightscross with a handful of Deathseekers to assess the damage and hunt for the blighted victim, who had not yet been captured. Daisy accompanied them, volunteering her assistance to coordinate with the rest of the villagers. Inessa was also of the same mind, which meant she and Fox had spent a good half hour in the palace arguing about the necessity of her presence. I sat and stewed quietly in a corner of Fox’s head, resisting the urge to yell at them to hurry up because the princess was going to win anyway, as she often did. Fighting and making up were integral parts of their relationship—which was unfortunate, as I was privy to both whenever my brother or I forgot to keep up our barriers.

The Veiling rune had been dropped for the time being, for me to see the village through my brother’s eyes. A great number of houses had been destroyed, a host of injuries reported. Althy had her hands full attending to the victims, and Khalad helped her.

Who’s been hurt? I demanded. I was sitting on a fluffy cushion in the Valerian asha-ka with my legs folded underneath me, but I could also feel myself walking across the ground, the sun’s heat beating down on my head at the same time. It was a dizzying sensation, and I had to remind myself not to step forward using Fox’s feet instead of mine.

Sadness touched Fox’s thoughts. “Old Kebble and his wife died when their roof caved in,” he said aloud. “Their children were injured but are out of danger. Their aunt is attending to them. The Habbat twins were hit by some debris and they’re sporting a few concussions. And Mrs. Drury has a broken leg. She was more terrified at seeing me again than at the prospect of losing a limb though.”

Why am I not surprised? Mrs. Drury had been the first to turn against us after I’d resurrected Fox. Who was blighted?

“That’s what Daisy and Kalen are trying to find out.”