Page 83 of These Fractured Bonds

On one condition: Yareli must win the Fire Festival.

An echo of Allyah’s voice sounded in her head like a parrot taunting her weakness. She didn’t believe Yareli could.

The words left her mouth in an instant. “I’ll do it.”

Augrys and Leo stopped bickering.

“Absolutely not,” Augrys said, taking the letter from her and burning it to a crisp a second later. “The Fire Festival isn’t a game. Losing can only mean two things: One, you’re severely injured. Two, you’re dead. Both of which are unnecessary risks.”

“But winning ensures we have the alliance of a court,” she argued.

Augrys replied, “Winning is not as simple as beating someone in a sparring match. It's their most important festival, an opportunity to advance further in their military. They push limits, punish weakness, and sacrifice what they must to win. They are a ruthless court. Fair, but ruthless.Wewill get by without you taking this risk. This isourproblem that we must solve on our own.”

“And if we fail to secure an alliance?” She inhaled, her chest heaving. The words tumbled out, rushing out of her like a popped balloon, leaving only the sad, limp plastic behind. “The Watchers may destroy your way of life here in Izmari, but they willdecimatemy world. My family… I don’t remember them yet,but I can’t leave knowing that I had the chance to ensure their safety only to turn tail and flee because it wasscary. What’s scarier is knowing others like Tuom exist and are gleefully bidding their time to get their hands on humans.”

Exhaustion threatened to overtake her, but she stood her ground. Shewasgoing to participate in the Fire Festival.

“She wants to,” Leo said softly. “We should let her.”

Augrys didn’t look at him. The lines of his mouth went straight, but she saw that she won in the way his shoulders drooped. It was undeniable—they needed this win.

“We’ll try to break your core in earnest. The Fire Festival is in a week. Rest tonight. Tomorrow we’ll try again.” He gave his back to them, returning to the blank chalkboard and dismissing them without saying a word.

It felt impersonal, and it bothered her, but she left without complaint. Hadn’t it been her wish to be included, to be a part of the group? Augrys was their leader; it followed that she would obey his commands. And in spite of that logic, something still twisted in her chest.

Leo stayed behind, tapping her arm in a promise to meet later. She nodded, marching to her room. She had a family to remember.

Chapter 31

Yarelieasedherselfintobed, releasing a breath. After returning, she had paced in front of her bed; anxiety had taken root, delaying what she knew was inevitable. As she lay, eyes wide open, she wondered why she couldn’t muster excitement. Wasn’t it her family? As dread coalesced, she pinched her cheeks. No matter the truth, she had to face it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The familiar lake materialized in her mind, the black tar bubbling in the distance. Ripples stretched outward from her feet as she approached it, reminding her of the water’s tempestunder its calm surface. At the edge of the tar’s dark stain, she stalled, waiting for a sign, a slip of a memory. Anything. When nothing happened, she sighed; it was going to be all or nothing. When she touched it, pain exploded in her temple, and she stumbled headfirst into the tar.

Memories streaked past her, their contents blurring together, giving nothing away. She clutched her head. The pain was the worst it had ever been, and a sense of foreboding filled her. Last time, she had fallen into the memories. The lake’s water had surged into her like it was returning them to her. This time, she was suspended in what seemed like a cavity where the tar churned and swirled in a spherical jail. She gritted her teeth and wrenched her hands away from her, attempting to grab a memory. It slid off her fingers like sand. She tried again and again to no avail, but the memories would not come.

“Why?” she yelled into the void. “Why won’t you come to me?”

A rolling lightheadedness set in, her movements sluggish. In one last desperate attempt, she thrust her head into the memories.

She gasped, eyes fluttering open to her dark room. Her temple throbbed, her chest rose and fell in quick succession, and her eyes burned. She hadn’t remembered. Erick’s words came back to her.

You need to let the memories come slowly.

She bit her lip, holding back a sob. She had been frightened, uneasy about remembering her past, but she had wanted it. She wanted to know more about her mom, her Spanish… herbrother.The realization hit her—she had a brother. She had briefly remembered him and forgotten about him in the Curse Eater’s nightmare. It was enough to push her over the edge; she cried in earnest until she fell asleep.

Chapter 32

Thesunroseinthe east, casting them in its soft, morning light. A bird chirped nearby, blissfully unaware of the pivotal moment occurring. Yareli shifted on her feet, wrapping her cloak snug around her body. Bri stood at the head of the group, dressed in her travel garb. Since Hale refused to send more scouts to tail Tuom, Augrys had asked Bri. It hadn’t sat right with Yareli, and she had argued with Augrys.

“Hale’s men may not have been your friends, but they had loved ones too,” he had said. “Bri is one of the best spies in Izmari. Believe in her skills and believe that she will return tous safely. Despite your insistence to participate in the festival, getting you home is stillmytop priority. We need this intel.”

“Going home won’t do me any good if you lose and my home is invaded shortly after,” she had retorted.

They had stared at one another, each refusing to back down until Augrys sighed. “Bri had every opportunity to say no. That she didn’t speaks of her care for you.”

Not wanting to dismiss her friend’s gesture, Yareli had stopped arguing, but the truth hung over her. Her focus should be on returning home, not helping the Keepers. It was a precarious situation, however, and she would take risks to guarantee her world’s safety just as Bri was risking hers for Yareli. A shiver ran down her spine; they were due to leave for the Fire Court tomorrow. After Augrys sent a letter accepting Allyah’s terms, they received an immediate response stating the date and time they were to present themselves for the festival. The week had flown by, and now, she stood on the mountaintop at dawn, observing as Augrys instructed Bri.

“Make sure you don’t miss a check-in. Pull out if you sense you’ve been discovered. No unnecessary risks, but I doubt you’ll listen.” He shook his head. “Stay alive.”