Galina strode across the clearing, her red cloak a shock of color. She carried an ash spear in one hand, and she was looking over my shoulder, behind me.

"You are not welcome here," she said in a cold, merciless voice, the words aimed at Hussar.

He kicked one of the packs aside and spat on the snow as he locked eyes upon her. Then a smile split his face, a leer that showed white teeth. "You’ve grown old and weak."

"I’m as old as the forest, and as weak as the mighty oak." Galina tipped her chin up, her silver hair swimming around her shoulders. "Did you think I wouldn’t feel you escape?"

"I find it ironic, you old hag, that these men came here to hunt you down, and brought me the perfect conquest." Hussar breathed in, as if the air tasted particularly sweet. "This one’s heart was dark enough to sing to me, even in my prison. It was no particular hardship to capture him. Perhaps I’ll cut out your heart and eat it myself."

"Hussar?" Evaron questioned.

"It's the firebird!" Hussar bellowed, pointing his sword at her. "Capture her! For the king!"

Galina? My head swiveled between the two of them. But how could—?

"Would you kill the firebird for your king?"

Of course.

No wonder the fires in the forest were almost out. For what creature controlled fire? And it was her fire, her flames... I'd never seen her in the firebird's form, but it was as though she'd been keeping all of the fire within her banked. Now it gleamed in her dark eyes, little licks of flame that reminded me of when I stared into the fire at home of night.

She'd grown taller too, her face thinner and less human than it had been.

I hadn't realized the firebird could shift form, but how better to hide?

Five guardians of Gravenwold had been created, and here stood one of the last remaining guardians. She'd been watching us at every step, trying to take the measure of the company.

And she'd reached out to me, to try and sway me from my task.

Or no, perhaps it had been merely manipulation, to protect herself. For as her humanity melted away, so too did my belief in everything she'd told me. Had the story of Vashta been merely a lie? Had she sensed how much I revered the Huntress, and used it to get close to me?

Successor.... something whispered.

What did she want from me? How could I be her successor? I was human, and she was not.

"The firebird?" Evaron demanded, looking conflicted. "Hussar, she’s merely an old woman."

"Is she?" Hussar turned, and suddenly threw his sword with both hands toward Galina.

The scream built in my throat but I didn’t have a chance to cry a warning.

Galina simply clapped her hands together, and the sword erupted into white flames, so hot the steel simply melted before it could reach her.

All of the men stood taken aback.

But not Hussar.

"Capture her!" he cried. "For your king!"

His words broke some sort of spell. Men drew steel and charged forward.

"The nets!" Another screamed, reaching for the pack he wore on his back, and the spell-dampening nets he carried within.

Lies or not, Galina was still only an old woman.

And what if she wasn’t lying? What if she truly was the last thing standing between us and the Darkness?

"Cas." I grabbed his arm. "We can’t let them do this!"

The muscle in his forearm flexed. I understood his indecision. He was wolvren, and though the men treated him as the prince’s pet, it was clear they didn’t consider him one of their company. "They won’t listen to me."

Especially not when it came to one of the forest’s guardians. The firebird was a creature in their eyes; a trophy. And Cas was barely human to them.

The first two soldiers threw the lead-weighted net. Galina whirled into flames, and the net went straight through her.

Then she reformed with a twirl, her eyes glaring like smoldering coals.

"Useless!" Hussar ripped the bow from his guard's hands, and nocked the arrow, turning in a fluid movement to aim it at Galina.

"No!" I screamed, slamming into Hussar and carrying him to the ground.

He flung me off and I rolled over him, coming to my feet.

"You can't kill her!" I turned to look for Evaron, who was the only person who might be able to sway these men. "You don't understand. She's the guardian of Gravenwold. If you kill her, then the Darkness might wake! It's trapped beneath the forest."

"Neva…." Evaron's eyes narrowed, but I could see he was far from convinced.

I found Cas. "Please. You know when I'm telling the truth. You promised me you'd help. Galina's the only chance we have at keeping the Darkness imprisoned."

"Unfortunately child," Galina said, "that's not entirely true." Her eyes glittered with malice, and she didn't look away from Hussar. "The Darkness is a canny enemy. It's been waiting for men to venture here into the depths of the forest. And you wouldn't listen. You wouldn't turn back. It's been seeping through its prison in miniscule amounts, creeping into the hearts of men already primed for violence. Men with shadows in their hearts. It can sense the hunger and malevolence in a man’s soul from miles away."

Those whispers...

"These men are good men," Evaron replied, and I could see she was losing him.

"Not all of them. Why don't you ask your good captain there what his orders truly were? What did your king demand you do, captain?"

"Hussar," Evaron said, "what's she talking about?"

A muscle ticked in the captain's hard jaw. "She's a liar. She's clearly gotten to the girl. Your king demanded her heart in a jar. Those are my orders."

"Do you have a brother, young prince? One your father favors over you? A younger brother?"

Evaron's shoulders straightened, and I could see the blow he took from her words.

"One your father would prefer to see on his throne in the event this plot fails and he actually dies?" Galina continued. "Why do you think he gave this dangerous task to you? The Crown Prince the common people love? You could die here in this forest. Indeed, I think you were meant to die here—"

"Enough!" Hussar roared. He drew the bow again, his teeth flashing in the night.

But that was not all that gleamed. Something shifted in his irises. His eyes had always been a stormy gray but now they were so dark a brown, as to be almost black.

The Darkness.

It was here.

Evaron took a step forward, "Wait—"

And Hussar released the arrow, his body turning smoothly at the last moment. The arrow hit with a meaty thunk, slamming into the prince's chest. Evaron staggered back, the breath wheezing out of him.

It was the sort of sound I knew I’d never forget.

"Ev!" Cas screamed, catching his prince under the arms as Evaron's legs went out from under him.