Forging Silver into Stars

From the woods, I see Jax’s father fall, but it’s so quick that he disappears under the other soldiers as they swarm forward to attack. Other soldiers begin to fall as well, as Jax’s arrows take them down. There’s a man at his side who must be the king. But there are so many soldiers that move to surround the forge, and Jax vanishes from view. The queen and Lord Tycho have edged forward in the woods to attempt to use magic somehow.

Jax. Against my will, tears blur my vision, and I’m glad I have a toddler clinging to me or I’d join the fray myself. He’s not a soldier. He’s not a fighter. He has one bow and a wounded man at his side.

I keep hearing his voice, that first day he took the coins. You’re my best friend.

I said I was willing to hang beside him. I should be beside him now.

“Cally-cal,” whispers Nora in the early morning shadows. “Will Jax be all right?”

I have to swallow past a hard lump in my throat. “I don’t know.” My voice is a worried rasp, but I clear my throat, because Nora looks to be on the verge of tears. “Here, Your Highness,” I say to little Sinna. “Would you like to sit with Nora? She loves sweetcakes almost as much as you do.”

I don’t even wait for either of them to answer, I just ease the young princess into Nora’s arms. She immediately strokes a finger along Nora’s braid. “Mama plaits her hair like this, too.” Her face contorts like she’s trying to figure something out. “Are you a queen or a princess?”

Nora’s mouth drops open, and I say, “She’s a princess.”

A smile flickers through Nora’s tears. “Princess Nora. That’s me. Shall I plait your hair, too?”

While they chatter, I ease forward a few feet. The soldiers seem to have slowed unnaturally, but I don’t know if that’s the king’s magic, or if Tycho and the queen have done something. Many soldiers have fallen, arrows jutting from their bodies.

Many others haven’t.

The press of bodies part, just for a second, and I see Jax, the bow in his hands.

Then the soldiers shift again, and he’s gone.

A burst of flame erupts in the underbrush in front of Tycho and the queen, and I gasp. The fire spreads quickly, crawling forward along the ground, seeking the slow-moving soldiers. The women and men scream as they see it coming, and they try to change course to run. Some succeed, scattering into the woods.

Others catch fire. The screaming is terrible.

I realize this is how my father died. The magic in the palace during the first attack.

The realization is staggering. The same magic that killed my mother.

Fire is suddenly everywhere: in the leaves, in the trees, burning everything it touches. The soldiers have realized where the magic is coming from, and they’re no longer attacking the forge. Armor-clad women and men who’ve evaded the magic are surging up the hill toward us. Lord Tycho already has a sword drawn. I shift to return to Nora and Sinna when I see a man sprinting through the woods, his crossbow pointed right at the queen’s back.

I don’t think. I dive for her, tackling her to the ground. We roll, finding fire and rocks. Above me, Tycho drives his sword right into the man’s throat. Blood is suddenly everywhere. The queen is tugging at my arm.

Then I hear Nora scream. The world shrinks down to the sound of my sister’s panic.

I look, and it’s as if the magic is still making everything slow, but I know it’s exactly the opposite: everything is happening too quickly. A soldier backhands Nora across the face, knocking her to the ground. He snatches a screaming Sinna up into his arms.

“No!” screams Nora. My brave, fearless sister.

She launches herself off the ground to attack him.

He drives his sword right through her body.

My world stops spinning entirely. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I’m going to shatter into a million pieces. There’s so much blood in the air. On her dress. In her braids. She’s coughing. Choking. Dying.

The soldier is yelling. “I have the princess!” He’s got an arm around her waist, trapping her against his chest. The other hand holds a blade against her throat. He glares at the queen. “Stop the magic, or she will die.”