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But I knew I could never give that up. Sacrificing that memory would mean relinquishing too much of myself. That memory scared me, left my stomach twisted, but I understood now how to keep the memory without retaining the frozen dread.

I could sacrifice that shivering terror that left my heart beating too fast and my vision narrowed on every bird flying through the forest. I saw movement above me, and my eyes snapped up to see Naî and the poisoned dragon circling the elder tree, landing in its branches. Yes. If I could sacrifice that…

The tree took it, drinking it from my mind and leaving me blank inside, empty of the feeling. The elder tree opened itself up, and along its roots I could see the new growth of the forest, dark and frightening. I could even see what Kacha had been burning.

He couldn’t burn the new forest. It grew too fast, too green. Every fire he lit went out.

But the poisoned dragon was right. The forest was empty. It was a house that no one was living in. Using the elder tree, I reached for the Guardian. It had been born from the poisoned tree, but recognized the call of the elder tree, the call of the forest.

I reached out and it responded. Out of habit, I used animal speak to communicate with it, telling it about new lands, new hunting grounds, and plenty of imperials to eat. I could feel the amusement, hear the animal laugh, and then it answered back the same way we had first talked, through a series of images and feelings. It was grateful.

I watched just long enough to see it collecting other animals, racing across the dark forest to the new growth. Then I pulled back, sitting on my heels for a moment. I still felt empty inside, but fear was like a wellspring. Even after the elder tree had drunk all of it, more still bubbled up.

Tallu put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up, forcing a smile. It was done.

Screams began to echo, so loud they pierced the miles between us and General Kacha’s military. In a forest like this, I imagined that the screams of his men could be heard all the way to the shore.

“We should go,” Asahi said.

Tallu helped me up, his hand warm, and this time he didn’t let go. I led the way again, Tallu’s Dogs coming closer to protect him as we rushed back to the boat. Spider’s men were still there, but they were staring in the direction of the screams, frowning, and I saw one reaching for his sword when we burst through the undergrowth.

By the time we got out of the swamp, Spider’s ship was further down the coast, and it took nearly an hour of sailing to reach it. Climbing the rope ladder, I could feel the fear coming back, but it didn’t choke me anymore; I was able to keep my hands steady.

On the deck, Saxu directed his men, positioning them in the forest: some in trees, some along the bridges that Spider had built. Naî and the poisoned dragon were still aloft in the air, floating on the updrafts as they watched the forest below.

They’re coming, Naî called down.

But she didn’t need to tell me, as some of the elder tree’s magic still echoed in my veins, and even this far away I could feel a mass of men cutting aside branches, forcing their way through the forest even as it grabbed hold of them, whole branches wrapping men alive, vines catching around necks and pulling taut. By the time our men engaged them, they were a fraction of a thousand.

It was over so quickly that the hours of planning seemed almost pointless. Everything Saxu had predicted happened.

Once the battle began, he only had to issue one or two orders, but his disciplined men managed to catch Kacha’s men on either side, forcing them to either jump into the water and be consumed by what lurked there, or surrender.

I blinked, turning to Tallu. “Is that it?”

“You doubted me?” Tallu asked, his lips pulling into a smile. “I told you that I would take care of it.”

Those who had surrendered were brought onto a different ship, bound and waiting for interrogation. Saxu said he would go, and he and Commander Rede took small boats to the other ships.

Above us, Naî called down that she could see no more imperials; the battle was done.

“Did we catch General Kacha?” I asked.

Tallu frowned, clearly unsure himself.

I summoned Naî to the deck, and before Tallu could stop me, I mounted her back, urging her up into the air. We flew over the battlefield, and I saw the broken bodies, some already half-consumed by the forest. We flew further, and the new growth turned Tavornai once again into a green land. Even now, the trees and vines grew thicker, and I could hear the animals laughing with each other, howling and hooting.

Over a hundred years since the forest animals had been born, and they finally crushed an army of the Imperium.

“There.” I pointed, and Naî circled down, finding a headless body on the forest floor. Her wings caught on the branches, and I urged them away from her.

Even from this height, he was still recognizable—the build of a fighter, the body of a man who had clawed his way up the military ranks through intelligence and sheer martial competence. Moreover, he wore the uniform of a general, still nearly pristine, only soiled where it had fallen.

“Pick it up,” I said.

Naî shrugged her shoulders, nearly dislodging me.

“Naî, please pick it up,” I said, my eyes closed as I gripped her crest tightly.