Who would he become?

Shifting Nadia so she wasn’t drooling on his chest, Malik stared out the window and saw for the first time the true cost of Karina’s escape. Ziran was a city in shambles, with nearly a third of the buildings damaged in the wake of her storm. Though the sky was now clear and blue, the scars of her magic remained in the flooded street, smashed buildings, and crumbled walls. Malik’s heart ached, for the people would need months, maybe even years, to replace what had been lost. Even still, he hoped wherever Karina was, she was unharmed.

He forced himself to look past the destruction and at the horizon in the direction of Eshra. Eventually, he and his sisters would need to reunite with Mama and Nana and figure out if there was any way to regain their home as well.

But for now, there was something bigger than his family’s tragedy going on, something that had been brewing for more than a thousand years. Willingly or not, Malik and his sisters had found themselves at the center of it. Here, no one was going to protect them but themselves.

A flash of silver hair across the courtyard caught Malik’s attention, but it was gone as soon as it came. Footsteps approached behind him, and he turned to see Farid standing in the doorway. If the steward was surprised to see Nadia there, he did not show it.

“Do you have your answer?” the man asked.

When Malik finally spoke, there was no fear in his voice.

“Teach me what you know.”