Kywen covers her ears as three more explosions erupt, one after another, down the Collaboration’s path toward the water, crowning nearly every arena in a halo of golden light that slowly shimmers into a haze of green vapor. The ground shakes with each blast, punctuating the bone-chilling shift of cheerful celebration as it turns to cries of terror from the realization that snakes its way swiftly behind the cascade of destruction.

The crowd splits in every direction as the Heir Watcher leaps into action, running towards the commotion. Kywen looks on in horror as equal amounts of people try to push up the cliffside as rush down to the beach. A handful of people are knocked to the ground, and they instinctively curl into themselves to avoid being trampled.

Without thinking, Kywen takes off and quickly catches up to him, their arms and legs pumping furiously beside one another as Sundeera calls after her. The pair reach the path beside the Wiovan arena and slow down, easing themselves into the throng, immediately working together to shield and lift those on the ground up and away from danger. It doesn’t take long to work their way up past the Flora arena, and after placing a woman with a deep gash across her forehead in between two bushes, Kywen drops into a crouch, sucking in lungfuls of the warm, dusty air.

“Papa, I’m scared!” squeaks a small voice behind her.

She turns and sees a young boy, about five summers old, reach out for his father as the man stops a few feet away from the teeming crowds, letting go of his son’s hand to tighten the woven wrap holding a baby against his back. With the hem of his father’s kaftan only inches from his fingers, the boy is swept into the crowd as it bulges around him. His mouth works furiously, but his tiny cries are swallowed by the rising din.

Before he is carried out of sight, Kywen is up and keeping pace, slithering through the gaps in bodies as they flash open and closed. The frantic pace of the surge increases, and the boy’s feet tangle with one another. He falls, skin scraping roughly across the dirt and stones, landing face-down in the middle of the path. A sandaled foot slams into the ground, missing his chubby fingers by millimeters, and as he rolls onto his back, he can’t take his eyes from the heavy boot hurtling at his face. Seconds away from crushing his skull like a ripe melon, the boot sails just over his nose as two hands wrap painfully around his ankles and pull. Kywen scoops him into her arms and begins to shoulder through the living tide to the edge, trotting back to his father.

The man has only just noticed his son’s absence, and his voice cracks as he calls the boy’s name. Desperately scanning the crowd before him, his eyes lock with Kywen’s as she approaches, and she can see the relief flood his face once he sees his son burrowing into her shoulder.

“Ristin!” he screams, and the boy’s head whips around.

“Papa!” he cries, leaping from Kywen’s arms to run the last few steps to his father.

A fifth and final blast erupts near the base of the rainbow gum, tremors barreling down the path as cracks tear through the dirt, and Kywen points the man in the direction of a large crawlspace carved into the side of the cliffs fifty yards away. “Go through the tunnel, turn left at the salt caves, and follow the lanterns all the way up. It’ll let you out at the north well.”

He nods and dashes away, clutching Ristin tightly and only looking back once they reach the tunnel. He places his hand to his chin and signs thank you, flashing a second sign she isn’t familiar with before disappearing out of sight.

Kywen can feel Sundeera before she sees her round the south bend coming from the beach, and she and the Heir Watcher reach her at the same time. Despite the tension of their unresolved personal matters, all three recognize the severity of the situation, and Kywen starts to notice an uncomfortable tingling sensation just under her skin now that she stands so close to one of the explosions. She takes a few steps forward, and the tingling becomes painful, feeling like red-hot needles stabbing into her arms and legs. She stumbles backwards, and the sensation diminishes. She notices a thin coating of green dust all around her.

“Follow me,” the Heir Watcher says, taking off once again without waiting for a response. Kywen grabs Sundeera’s hand and trails after him, skirting around the edges of the stampede and stopping at the entrance to the Shade arena.

The Heir Watcher climbs a post to get a better look. “I can’t make out much through the smoke, but there’s a fire from one of the explosions. It’s blocking the main path and creating a bottleneck so we’ll have to double back and climb the hill.”

“How are you so familiar with our terrain?” Kywen asks.

“This way,” he says, jumping down and ignoring her question. He slides along the wall to avoid the last of the stragglers pouring out from the arena, and the girls follow his lead.

“Where are we going?” Kywen yells above the noise.

“My family will know what’s going on. This has to be some kind of accident,” he calls back over his shoulder.

The trio weaves through the bloody mass of people, now a mix of those continuing to flee and those stopping to help treat the injured.

Kywen searches for anyone from Clan Celus, but she doesn’t spot a single one. Her chest burns with a combination of inhaled smoke and muscle-clenching anxiety as they scramble up the hill and around a corner, skidding to a halt at the charred base of the rainbow gum. Its phosphorescent staircase shimmers just beyond a small but growing wall of flames hungrily licking at the nearest set of roots.

Kywen watches him jump over the fire, shielding himself with a thin bubble of water that hisses into steam as he sails across, untouched, and races up the stairs two at a time. Sundeera starts to follow, but Kywen hesitates, grabbing her by the arm.

“Should we keep following him? Maybe we should find my parents or one of our guards.”

Sundeera presses her fingers to her temples, wincing. “I can’t think with all this noise, and the additional sensory input from our tether isn’t helping.” She gives her head a quick shake, reassessing the situation. “I think we’ll get a better idea of what’s going on from up there, give us a chance to catch our breath too.”

Kywen nods, noticing the bracelet dangling from Sundeera’s wrist once again as they link arms and make their way carefully around the blaze that continues to encroach upon the tree’s roots.

She quickly realizes her nexum’s intentions once she recognizes the mirrored sensation of magic flooding Sundeera’s veins, and together, they channel enough moisture out of the surrounding soil and air to surround the vulnerable roots with a thick layer of water, and with a flick of her wrist, Sundeera freezes it into a coating of diamond-tough frost that the small fire won’t be able to melt.

With the tree no longer about to go up in flames, they run up the stairs as fast as they can, and by the time they near the top, both girls are gripping the railing with white knuckles, panting and exhausted. With her heart beating hard enough to burst, Kywen takes the lead up the final few steps. She rounds the corner and slams directly into the Heir Watcher’s back, knocking them both to the floor.

“Spirits,” Sundeera says from behind them as she reaches the entrance, taking in the empty but trashed room.

Torn cushions, their stuffing spilling out in fluffy piles, lie scattered among the shattered tables and food strewn across the floor. She looks at the Heir who stands up, his entire body going rigid as soon as his eyes fix upon the far wall. She follows his gaze to a bloody handprint, the resulting smear leading down to a cooling pool of blood staining over the colorful wood.