Flames licked at the sky and smoke coated the air. Kira slowed her horse to a trot in an effort not to lose the path in the blackened mess. Crops which, according to Emma, had been in her family for generations burned on all sides. Fire danced from reed to reed of the sugar inferno. She pulled back on the reins and looked around. Sooty clouds concealed everything, she didn't know up from down and her mind was at a loss as to where to go.

Ash coated her skin and hair in gray. Wind created by the flames pushed the ash along in a dirty blizzard. Kira looked to Ry as he struggled to see through the firestorm. Streaks of ash covered his angular face as he turned to look back at Kira. Heat from the fire warmed her skin to the point she feared her flesh might melt from her bones.

"We go left up here, right?" he asked. "I've been coming to these fields most of my life, you'd think I'd know the way blindfolded."

Kira's feet shook in the stirrups as discomfort washed over her. She leaned against the mare's neck, stroking the side with one hand. Her eyes closed to block out the snowing ash. Ry was right; both should've known where they were going by instinct alone. She'd spent her entire life working those fields with her aunt and any men from town Emma could afford to hire. Yet now, surrounded by flames, she couldn't remember. It was like a maze swallowed her.

"Something's wrong, and I don't mean the fire."

Tears rimmed her eyes, collecting on her thick lashes before rolling along her cheek. She wasn't sure if the tears steamed from the fear rushing through her veins or from the smoke choking her. Her eyes re-opened as she straightened in the saddle. She extended her hand and a blue mist circled her fingers, stretching outward. The mist spiraled in a cyclone and twisted and wound along the path. Flames attacked the spray, wrapping around the cyclone in a coil. Kira grimaced at the power converging with hers. Her stomach convulsed, twitching in a spasm that made her want to vomit. The power stretching from her hand faltered and fell victim to the orange glow of the burning heat.

She took a deep breath and raised her other hand to throw more mist and enlarge the cyclone. Her eyes narrowed, she knew her irises would be consumed by her pupils, as she expelled her breath toward her hands. The blue mist rippled with the oncoming air and darkened to a steady stream. Her fingers curled inward as her arms shuddered under the force of the battling powers. Somehow the fire had a life of its own and it knew what she was trying to do. The flames squealed and cracked, mixing with her magic until the cyclone flickered between a muted brownish orange and gray. Sweat rolled along Kira's brow.

"Follow my magic and fast. Something is fighting me."

Ry said nothing but rode off along the path of Kira's power. She followed him, struggling to control her horse. Fire reached for her, lashing out like a whip and leaving behind blistering welts. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pain. Kira emerged from the flames, her skin bubbling with welts. Ry had already dismounted from his horse, blades drawn. She frowned when he ran toward her home. It took a moment for her to realize why he'd drawn his swords.

Three boys, whom Emma often hired to help with the crops, had their hands tied to the wooden posts. Their faces were bloody or covered in soot. Kira dismounted and grabbed the reins of Ry's horse and made her way toward them. Ry knelt in front of the boys for a second before running off toward the barn. Kira tied horses to the fence. She pulled out a dagger Ry kept hidden in his satchel and knelt by the boys.

"What are you doing here? You have to get out of here," one of the boys said.

"What's going on, Jackson?" She cut the ropes binding the boys. Two ran off without saying a word. Jackson rubbed his eyes and looked toward Kiras home. Her gaze followed. Guards marched from inside her home, torches in hand. The thatched roof went up in flames first before the entire structure became its own raging inferno. Kira watched on in horror as the beams that once held the roof up caved in.

"They came looking for you."

"Me? Why me?"

"When Emma refused to say where you were, they set fire to everything. The fields first, cutting us off from the village. They tied us up, forcing us to watch until we caved and said you hadn't returned from the Coming of Age dance." Jackson bit his lip. "They . . . they said you killed the king and plotted for the Princess next."

"What?" Kira jumped to her feet. Jackson grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Kira, you have to get out of here. They're going to kill you. The other guys . . ." He glanced in the direction the other two boys had run. Flames no longer blocked the patch from view. It was like a veil had lifted and Kira suddenly remembered how to get back to the village. "They're going to tell everyone you killed the king. You know Amanda. She'll take this as an opportunity to form a lynch mob for you."

"Where's Emma?"

Jackson shook his head. "I don't know. She was in the cottage last time we saw her."

Kira gripped the dagger and looked toward the barn. Through the cracks in the weather worn wood Kira saw the illumination of more fire, but the barn wasn't erupting into flames. Her eyes darted to Ry as he fought with three guards at a time outside the barn doors.

"Get out of here, Jackson."

"But . . ."

"Go!" She ran for the burning cottage. Whenever a guard lunged for her, she had no qualms using her magic. If she was already accused of murder, at least she'd go down swinging her true power. She held out a palm and launched a shockwave at her attackers, keeping her free of their swords. Her mind cared only for finding Emma.

Kira had never given much thought to what hell might have been like, but stepping inside the burning building gave her a good understanding. Air was sparse as the fire devoured it fast and furious. She ripped a length of her tunic off and tied it around her mouth to help block some of the ash. Coughs tortured her as she scanned the once pleasant cottage. Beams turning to charcoaled blocked Emma's room. She craned her neck to see through the rubble, looking for signs of Emma.

"Emma!" The crackles of flames drowned out her voice.

Kira pushed toward the remains of her room. Paintings she'd made as a child which once decorated the walls had shriveled to burning balls of fire. There was no time to feel sorrow for the cottage she called home. No sign of her aunt stood among the carnage. She reached her room, kicking burning furniture out of her path. Smoke continued to choke her as she stumbled toward the iron chest sitting at the foot of her bed. No longer could she see the pink canopy decorating her four-post oak bed. Burning thatch had collapsed and taken the bed with it.

Fire had heated the iron chest to a fiery temperature, burning the fleur de lis symbols decorating the metal burned into the palms of her hands. Her lips contracted as she looked to her right. Sparks and ash exploded from the rear of the cottage, eating what remained of their sitting room.

Kira grabbed a leather bag from the chest. For as long as she'd known, Emma insisted Kira kept a bag packed with basic necessities. A change of clothes, grooming supplies, and a small lot of food that would be replaced with a fresh load each morning filled the bag. Kira grabbed a bound bed roll and hooked it to the bottom of the bag before slinging her arms through the straps. She grabbed a bundle of cloth concealing her slender sword inside. Her head tilted to the roof at the sound of a snap. Eyes widened as the beam gave way. Kira rolled to the side and screamed when the flames caught her pants.

In a hurry she unbound the sword and used the cloth to extinguish the fire on. Blisters and red flesh showed through her burnt pant leg. Kira muttered a curse under her breath before grabbing the sword and limping from the cottage. In another few moments there'd be nothing left and it wouldn't stop just because Kira was inside.

"Kira Winstiel of the Glades, you are under arrest by order of the Princess of Morag for acts of treason," a guard said as Kira exited the cottage. Ry, Jackson, and Emma knelt in the dirt with their hands behind their head. Blood stained Emma's clothing. Lashes had ripped through them and left behind torn flesh.

"Let them go," she said. Her hand tightened around her sword, wondering if she could draw the blade fast enough to take out the guards before they kill her aunt and Ry.

One guard sheathed his sword and removed his helm. He pulled a dagger from his belt loop and held it to Emma's throat. His smiled widened to show blackened teeth. His free hand gripped Emma's hair and forced her head to tilt back, exposing the jugular. The guard's blade pressed in harder.

"Kira," Emma said, tears flowing from her eyes. "I love you."

"No!" Kira reached toward her aunt as the guard dragged the dagger across Emma's throat. He pushed her limp body forward where it crumpled in a heap. Empty eyes stared back at Kira as she continued to hold her hand out, too stunned to move. The man didn't wipe the blood from the steal of the dagger. He moved to Ry next and gripped his hair.

Kira's lips tightened as her eyes finally moved from Emma's body to the dagger moving toward Ry's throat. She dropped her sword and fisted both hands. Her eyes narrowed as she snarled. Overhead the sky boomed with the roar of thunder. Kira parted her legs, her body trembling with a force she knew she couldn't control. No longer did she want control.

"Kira, don't. They'll see it," Ry said.

One hand rose, moving in slow motion, as Kira stared at the guard. Her fingers curled inward like she was squeezing a sponge. Metal clanged against the earth after the dagger fell from the guard's hand. He dropped to his knees, eyes turning white while his mouth fell open. His hand reached for his heart. Kira continued to squeeze until she twisted her hand to the left. A snap sounded from within the guard's chest and he dropped to the ground beside Emma's body.

"By the Gods! The traitor has magic," another guard shouted. He sprang for Kira, sword drawn and ready. She flashed a single hand in his direction to send him flying toward the burning carcass of her home.

Ry grabbed a sword from the ground and lunged at more men. Jackson curled in a ball, screaming. Kira snarled as her attention moved to a guard running for his life. Both arms outstretched, moving until Kira saw the man running between her palms. They clapped together in a swift motion and the guard exploded into dust. She stepped forward, her movements light, almost gliding, until she stood above Emma's body. Blood pooled around her and spread into tiny veins mixing with the same sand where Kira once built pretend castles. Her body trembled as rain fell around them. Flames sizzled from the merging of liquid and heat.

The growls of an animal momentarily distracted Kira from her dead aunt. A leopard bounded from the sizzling ash of the extinguished sugarcane fields. Jaws or claws ripped at guards before they could flee the farm land. Kira no longer cared about the men. No longer worried if they escaped and told the Princess she had magic. Her care lay dead at her feet. Metal clanking, growls, screams before death—none meant anything anymore.

Kira dropped to her knees, tears washing away the ash on her face. One shaky hand reached for her aunt, shaking her as if to wake her from a deep sleep. Emma didn't wake. Kira tilted her head to the sky and screamed. The ground shook around her. The earth cracked and swallowed the men whole, taking the barn her uncle had built with them. Whatever livestock remained on the grounds fled in their own form of terror. The metal of her necklace burned against her chest, but she numbed to the pain.

"Kira . . ." Ry's voice was beside her.

Kira turned to him, shoulders drooping as she shuddered. He knelt in front of her with the leopard at his side. She said nothing as she sat in the dirt and pulled the body of her aunt into her lap. Salt flavored her lips as she curled forward and buried her face in Emma's hair. Still wet blood oozed between Kiras fingers as one hand felt the wound on Emma's neck. Magic poured from her hand, urging the wound to heal and return life to Emma. Her magic failed.

"Jackson, if you can function please get the horses for us, we have to go." Ry's voice echoed from at a distance, noises muted. "Kira, we have to go."

She peered up as a vibration rolled through her stomach, the sound of crashing waves filled her ears. Her eyes locked with the leopard as it sat on its haunches. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ry push away from the cat in shock. Cream hide mixed with the black spots until only tan remained. Its muzzle shrank inward, smoothing to a narrow chiseled jaw line speckled with the stubs of a beard which hadn't grown in. Tufted ears rounded and lowered to the sides of his head as golden eyes turned to a near gray. Bright red hair sprouted from the top of the young man's head as it finished forming.

Threads weaved together, growing from his body until they entwined to form a long sleeved dust colored tunic and pants. The young man rose from his crouch and looked down on Kira. Thin lips tightened as he studied her. He glanced up. The rain slicked over his face and wet his short hair. Lightning streaked through the smoke filled sky, rumbling with each snap of power. Rain had doused the fires raging around them and left smoldering piles of wood in its wake. His gaze returned to Kira.

"I'd apologize for this, but I don't know ye well enough to feel bad for it. Nor would I care even if I did," he said, an accent weighed on his words. One fist balled before flying toward Kira and connecting to her jaw. She was unconscious before lying on top of her aunt's body.