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“Queen Lark!” She skids to a stop, eyes wide with excitement. “And Prince Knox! I found you both!”

Sterling raises an eyebrow at the guard peeking inside, who has the decency to appear sheepish.

“Hey there, Rose. You know you don’t have to use fancy titles with us.” I set my book aside, ready to suggest we take a break from research to entertain the child, when she suddenly becomes serious.

“I know. But Mama says it’s the polite thing to do.” She peers up at her flame familiar, then back to us. “The flame wants to show you something.”

The familiar flickers as if in agreement.

Sterling and I exchange a glance, and for the first time in days, I feel a spark of something other than exhaustion. Curiosity.

Chapter Sixteen

“Your flame wants to show us something?” I glance at Sterling, the curious confusion on his face mirroring my own.

Rose cups her small hands beneath the flame, cradling the air like it’s something precious.

The familiar responds, dropping lower and spreading wider until it’s a floating pool of fire hovering above her palms. Light paints her face in shades of amber and gold, her eyes reflecting twin flames.

Not ordinary fire. Not anymore.

The edges ripple, then still, creating a fiery basin that hangs in the air. Within its depths, shadows begin to waltz, light begins to swirl, and images—actual images—form in the heart of the flame.

“A scrying flame,” I breathe, unable to mask my awe. Such things have been written of in the histories, but no one alive knows how to do them.

Sterling hovers closer, skepticism written in the tight lines around his eyes. “Impossible. Fire can’t⁠—”

“Apparently, it can.” I motion toward the floating basin of flame where shapes are already becoming clearer. It’s like looking through a window into somewhere else. “Rose, how long have you been able to do this?”

She shrugs, her childish nonchalance at odds with the miraculous thing happening above her hands. “I’m not doing anything. But Kin has never done this before.” Her eyes widen, and her voice drops to an astonished whisper. “It’s excited. It wants to help.”

Sterling arches his eyebrow. “Kin?”

Rose rolls her eyes in that particular way only children can perfect. The look that conveys she thinks adults are hopelessly slow. “That’s its name.”

“The flame told you its name?” I attempt to stay calm and collected.

“Like kinfolk. You know, family.” She gestures with her chin toward the flame since her hands are still occupied. “And ‘kindle,’ like a flame does.” Her tone, with such matter-of-fact certainty, makes me wonder how many other conversations she’s had with her familiar that no one knew about.

As if responding to its name, the flame expands even more. It’s nearly a foot across now. The images within gain clarity. I glimpse what looks like a doorway but…wrong somehow. Not built. Torn. A passage hewn into something that bleeds silvery light. The vision pulses rhythmically, like a receding heartbeat. Around the ragged edges, shadowy shapes emerge. Sharp, pointed objects that might be knife tips. Or mountain peaks. Or teeth. I can’t really tell.

A chill runs down my spine.

“If this is a vision, I’m stumped.”

An expectant sigh parts Rose’s lips.

Sterling’s gaze never strays from the flame. “We need Bastian. Now.”

At his command, Astrid dashes to the door, relaying the order. I lean closer, studying the silvery light that spills from the tear. It doesn’t behave like normal light. It bends in ways that hurt my eyes to follow, flowing rather than shining. It’s more like water.

Bright water? Could this place be in a lake or ocean?

We wait in silence broken only by Rose’s occasional whispers to her familiar that are too quiet for me to hear. The flame continues its display, the vision cycling through subtle variations. The tear widens, then narrows, the silvery light pulsing brighter, then dimmer.

Bastian arrives in a flurry of motion, his tall frame filling the doorway. “What’s the emergency? The page said—” He gasps when he sees the floating fire. “Gods above.”

“Or below. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Sterling gestures for him to come closer. “Look at what’s in the flame.”