“And you were here, just like I knew you would be,” I say to Galya, the native tamandua who’d been sitting on the beach, questioning whether she should go into Kalmazar or not. “I wanted to tell you my story, so you can pass it on for me.”

Galya blinks and pushes her front paws through the warm sand. “It’s sad.”

“My story? No. Sad things happened, but it’s not sad over all. I’m here, aren’t I? The end is what counts.”

“And in the end, the Jungle kings.”

My throat tightens. “You don’t understand. You began outside. The Leader knows why I’m not going back. There will be others. Like you, like Coriel, like Jayel, like—.”

“I know I’ve never been in...

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