CLOSER TO HOME The mud was cold, soaking through my boots until my toes felt like stones. We were crouched on a ridge overlooking the valley that led to the Citadel. I could smell the rain coming, but there was another smell mixed in—the sharp, bitter scent of woodsmoke and oil.

"Do you see that?" Jax whispered, crawling up beside me. He pointed toward the horizon where the dark shape of the capital sat like a jagged tooth against the gray sky.

Small orange flickers danced along the tops of ...