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“The demon half,” he says flatly. He clutches Meguh’s moonstone. “I need both. This is not negotiable.”

“Why?”

Instead of answering, he descends to earth with the force of a slingshot. My stomach drops, and I hold in a scream. I can’t breathe. The air is rushing past too fast for me to inhale, and Ukar wraps himself around my face. He’s shuddering with fear, the colors of his scales flickering uncontrollably.

Without warning, Hokzuh drops me, and Ukar and I tumble onto a rocky beach. I crawl onto my knees, shaking as I catch my breath.

When I look up, my view is all coastline, peppered with white-marbled rocks. The clouds are dark and low-hanging, and though the spray that tickles my cheeks comes from the sea, I smell imminent rain.

This isn’t Tai’ya. The palace is faint in the distance, its silver spires and white walls framed by a horizon of tree-covered hills. The Sky Mountains.

“This is where our journey ends,” Hokzuh says coldly. “Our deal is done.”

“Wait,” I begin, springing to my feet. “You said you’d—”

“I said I’d take you to your sister. You’re on Tai’yanan. We’re done.”

He turns his back and starts for the sky.

“Wait.” I catch him by the wing. “What about fighting Angma together? What about helping me, like you promised?”

Hokzuh parts his lips, and for a moment, I dare to hope that he’s reconsidered.

“Help me,” I whisper. “Please. We’ll get your pearl and save my sister. Didn’t you tell me we make a good team? There’s a reason the Serpent King foresaw us together. We’ll find a way.”

That’s when Hokzuh shakes his head. His red eye is glowing fiercely, wilder than I’ve ever seen it before.

“I liked you, Channi,” he says. “You made me smile, after years of having nothing to smile about. That’s why I’m letting you go.” He lets out a quiet grunt. “Trust me, I am helping you.”

Never have I heard words so tender yet cruel at the same time. I ball my fists, disappointment rising like a tide inside me. “Are we enemies, then?”

A muscle ticks in his jaw. “Enemies want to hurt each other. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I can read between his words. “But you’ll hurt my sister, won’t you?” My voice turns to ice. “If you so much as touch her, you won’t live to regret it.”

Hokzuh simply bows his head. “Angma will be coming for her today. So will I.” He tosses me my spear. “You’re far from the palace. I’d hurry if I were you.”

With that, he leaps into the air, his wings beating a torrential wind into my face. I shield my eyes as he disappears into the clouds.

I kick the sand, cursing the dragon. Anger and betrayal twist into a fiery knot in my chest, and I could scream. I’d believed in him, I’d trusted him.

Ukar pokes his head out of my hair. Well, what did I tell you? Consequences.

I don’t need this right now, Ukar, I reply, cheeks burning. I storm through the sand, wrestling my emotions away from my heart, forging them into a weapon.

I was naïve to think Hokzuh was my friend, but I don’t regret telling him the truth.

His betrayal actually makes things easier. Now, when I have to fight him, I won’t hold back. If I have to hurt him or even kill him, there will be no hesitation.

I pivot, marking the silver spires of Tai’ya Palace as my destination.

No matter the cost, I will win.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

My sandals squeak as I run. The straw soles are still wet, but, though a storm is coming, the sun is fierce, burning my footprints in the sand. Ukar hides under my shirt, clinging to my shoulders, as though my body were a warm rock.

Together we make for Tai’ya. In contrast to the rolling hills that overlook it, the city is a manicured plot of smooth stone roads, lavish gardens, and bell-shaped temples that spiral into the sky. People say it’s the most beautiful city in all of the Tambu Isles, but every building could be made of gold and the canals could flow with quicksilver, and still I would not notice. My only focus is on finding my sister.