There are three ships sailing in each direction and a party heading inland on horse. Maybe a dozen in that group. Can’t count numbers on the boats. Too hard from here, but likely eight to twelve people on each of those. If they were planning an inland raid, what made them scatter like that?
Could it be something Mally said?
Kazmerev seemed to be considering that. Maybe you’re right. Maybe you can get an answer from this rope worker.
The rope worker clenched his fists and little flickers of shadowy black rope spilled from his fists, dangled a few inches down, and then just clawed at the air as if waiting to be released. “Your cousin seemed to think you had something special to offer us. Oh yes, she revealed that you are cousins. And she told us you have a friend who comes when you’re in trouble. You’re in trouble now, girl. Where’s that friend?”
There it is. Mally told them about me. Flame Riders are rare. Not as rare as the ai’sletta, but rare enough. He wants you.
Wants? How?
“Perhaps you’d like to ask me about what it means to be in a real coterie,” he said. “Perhaps you’d like to have a future. I can give you those things if you tie yourself to me.”
Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. He wanted oaths as Judicus had.
I don’t think it is oaths he wants. He wants something worse than that. I’ve looked and looked, Sersha, but I can’t figure out which group Mally’s in. They must be hiding her, knowing we can see from the air. It’s clever – and a lot of effort to disguise their path. They fear you. And I want to get back to where you are. I don’t like where this rope worker is headed.
“I know you do not speak,” the rope worker continued and the ropes in his hands spooled out a little further. “You don’t need to. Just hold your wrists out to me and my ropes will coil around them and up into your heart and I will tie a knot around half of it and it will be mine.”
No. Nope. Not happening.
I took a step back.
What’s going on?
He wanted to tie my heart up with his ropes!
No! Attack. Now.
I tried to think, but all I could feel was how hard my heart was racing. I couldn’t form a strong thought. I couldn’t think of another way. Resigned, I bit my lip and lifted my hands to call the flame. Nothing happened. Was Kazmerev too far away?
I’m coming!
He must have flown away checking the boats. He must be too far away for me to call on his flames.
The black ropes shot forward, spiraling around my wrists.
“The moment people find out you’re a rope worker,” Galen Floren Topocos said, “they always ask if it’s evil. And, of course, it is. Evil is disrupting the proper course of the world, which is what we do. Evil is bending the world to your will instead of being bent by it. Which, of course, we do.”
That didn’t sound right. That sounded like power. Power and evil weren’t the same thing. The same axe could chop wood for a fire to warm us or splinter the beam of a man’s house and bring down his roof. It was how it was applied that was good or evil.
I shook my head and tried to call the flames. Please, please, please.
Nothing happened.
Keep trying!
The black ropes slowly curled up my arms, brushing under my armpits with their waving threads. It was almost like a loving caress, but when I tried to jerk my arms away, the ropes bit into the flesh.
“Rope work,” Galen said, “takes focus. You must know exactly what you want. Then you must carve away all other desires. It can take years to learn that part. It’s a lot like spinning. You have to card the wool first, aligning all the fibers. The mental discipline and focus that takes isn’t possible for everyone. Not even everyone born with the threads of ability.”
He seemed to be enjoying telling me this as I squirmed and fought in the double embrace of his ropes.
“And then you must spin. You focus the threads of your hopes and desires and thoughts and the health of your heart, the power of your mind, the strength in your bones. And you spin that into threads – and when you are very powerful, into thick ropes. And with those ropes, you can weave or unweave little bits of this thing we think of as the world. And, of course, the world is spun, too. It’s as malleable as thought.”
The threads were getting too close. They spidered across my collarbones, reaching inward. Could he really pierce my heart?
The traitorous organ sped up, as if trying to get every last beat in before the end. I was breathing too fast, trying to shoot flames with every other breath but nothing was happening. Right when I needed my access to the flames the most, it had left me.
When I say jump, jump.
Please, get here in time.
Galen’s eyes were glassy as he took a step toward me, his voice almost sing-song now. “Almost there. Almost. We’ll spin for you a new heart. A heart that loves properly. A heart that loves me.”
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. It was the end.
Galen’s mouth tilted up in the corners in a dreamy smile and then I felt his rope bite my flesh, sinking into my chest. I opened my mouth in soundless agony, wanting now more than ever to be able to scream my terror.
Jump.
I obeyed, putting every scrap of energy and focus into the leap.
With a fump fire burst through the tent, lighting the edges.
I was swept onto Kazmerev’s back, head whirling, lungs gasping for breath. Only his magic could have gripped me tight enough in that moment as the ropes spun around me, gripping hard, digging in tightly.
For a heartbeat, Kazmerev was flapping hard to gain the air again and I was gripping his feathers in desperate fists while Galen hung below us, suspended by the ropes he’d woven around my arms and into my chest.
And then his threads lost their purchase. They slid from my chest and down my arms and into the depths of the sky.
I heard his panicked scream going on far longer than I expected. Long enough that I shut my eyes tight and buried my face into Kazmerev’s feathers. I wanted to scream, too. I wanted this to be over.
And then it was.
Don’t look down.
I didn’t look down. I took deep, heaving breaths as I buried my face in burning feathers, breathing in the sweet campfire scent of Kazmerev, not caring how my skin was so hot it felt like it might burst into flames.
Kazmerev. My one true friend. He’d come for me.
I am very fond of you, too, little hawk.
What were we going to do? My thoughts were shaking. I kept thinking of that long fall and Galen Floren Topocos’s scream going on and on.
I suggest we circle the camp once and then fly north and after a while, maybe you can try to calm down enough to make me invisible again. Then we’ll double back and get Judicus down from the tree.
Judicus. A rope worker. Like the one who had tried to literally steal my heart.
They aren’t the same.
Like the one who had fallen to his death on the rocks below.
Maybe. I wouldn’t be too sure. Rope workers are hard to kill.
Why? They were only human. And it seemed his power was dependent on concentration and that it robbed the rest of him of vigor.
True enough. But they are also fueled by an unrealistic confidence in their own view of the world – and that can be very hard to shake.
I took a deep breath and buried my face further into his feathers. I needed a moment. A moment not to think about rope workers or how we were going to get Judicus out of that tree or which group we should follow to save Mally. Just a moment to calm down and tell myself I was safe.
You are safe. You’re with me.
I was. I was with him and with Kazmerev I was safe.
***
Read more of Sersha and Kazmerev’s story in Phoenix Heart: Episode 3, “Bright Feather”.
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Interested in what’s happening next and what other books might be available?
Visit the author’s website for the l
atest news.
www.sarahklwilson.com
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Can’t get enough Phoenix Heart?
Read Phoenix Hope for more about Kazmerev and Judicus.
She's an armswoman looking for work. He's an enthusiastic young noble with something to prove. But an enemy lurks, determined to destroy them both.
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And please do leave a review! Reviews help other readers find these books and enjoy the story, too!
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If you loved Phoenix Heart and you’ve read all the available episodes, you might also like Sarah’s dragon books. Her bestselling series “Dragon School” is available in Kindle Unlimited, or you can save when you buy it in the box sets.
DRAGON SCHOOL
A disabled teen. An empathetic dragon. Their bond will save the world.
TRY IT HERE
(And if you’ve already read “Dragon School,” don’t forget the other series set in that world, “Dragon Chameleon” and “Dragon Tide.”)
Behind the Scenes:
USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson loves happy endings, stories that push things just a little further than you expect, heroes who actually act heroic, selfless acts of bravery, and second chances. She writes young adult fantasy because fantasy is her home and apparently her internal monologue is stuck in the late teens
Sarah would like to thank Melissa Wright & Eugenia Kollia for their incredible work in beta reading and proofreading this book. Without their big hearts and passion for stories, this book would not be the same.
Sarah has the deepest regard for the talent of her phenomenal artist Luciano Fleitas who created the gorgeous cover art that accompanies this book. Without his work, it would be so much harder to show off this story the way it deserves!
Thanks also to the Noble Order of Female Fantasy Authors who keep me sane – sort of. And for my beloved husband, Cale and sons Neville and Leif who are endlessly patient as I talk to them about bookish passions.
And a HUGE THANK YOU to my patrons, Mike Burgess and Carly Salsbury for their support. I couldn’t do this without readers like you!
Visit Sarah’s website for more information:
www.sarahklwilson.com
OTHER BOOK SERIES BY SARAH K. L. WILSON
Stolen Mayfly Bride (2021)
When a fae trickster meets a caged human seer, his thoughts are how to turn this to his advantage, until she starts to slip into his dreams and changes everything. Romantic, dreamy & sweet – this stand-alone short novel is for romantic fantasy lovers.
Bluebeard’s Secret Series (2021)
When Izolda is stolen away as the wife of a mysterious Wittenbrand she thinks only of saving her family – certainly not about his fifteen previous wives or their mysterious deaths, certainly not about the insanity of this upside-down fae world, and certainly not about whether she might be falling in love despite herself. If you loved Alice in Wonderland but wished it was a fairytale romance, this book might be for you.
Empire of War & Wings Series (2020)
When an evil prince arrives on her doorstep, Aella discovers a rage-powered magic inside herself. It’s the perfect weapon to beat back the injustices of her empire – but can she control this magic when it manifests as an angry swarm of bees?
Tangled Fae Series (2020)
Twisted Fae have invaded her world and stolen her sister. Can she save her village and her family by learning to fight and bargain like the fae?
Bridge of Legends Series (2019)
He is possessed by ancient magic. She can smell spiritual residues.
Together they seem unstoppable, but is their love doomed?
And if you liked this episodic story, you’ll certainly like my other episodic fiction:
Dragon Tide Series (2019)
Can Seleska and her baby dragon bring magic back to the world?
Dragon Chameleon Series (2018)
He’s a trickster with the most unique dragon out there. Together, they’ll have to be heroes.
Dragon School Series (2018)
A disabled teen, a telepathic dragon, a bond that will save the world.
Phoenix Heart: Episode Two: Secret Keeper Page 8
