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Ukar’s warning comes too late, and a guard delivers another blow to my back. My muscles constrict with pain, and my chin slams against the dirt. I’m up faster this time, taking in a blur of sandals and knees before I spy the wooden cane coming down once more. I catch it in my hand and twist, smashing the guard’s face with his own stick. His friends come from behind, grabbing me by the waist and lifting me. Ukar springs at the guards, fangs dripping with venom.

“Stop it!” Vanna jumps out of the carriage and lifts her veil. “I order you to release her.”

The guards drop me at once. A familiar awe ripples across the road, enchanting all who lay eyes on my sister.

“Bring her to me,” she commands, and the guards obey, suddenly docile as lambs. I’m escorted to Vanna, and they circle us so the future princess might have a moment of privacy.

“Channi!” Vanna cries, hugging me. “You’re here! It’s really you!”

I melt into her embrace, and in my own relief I’m unable to speak. I touch my cheek to hers, treasuring this uninterrupted moment together.

She holds me by the shoulders. Under her veil, her eyes are pink and puffy, and she looks like she’s been crying. “I was so worried. No one knew where you had gone, whether you’d been hurt or taken.” She strokes my hair, not caring that it’s dirty and matted with sand. “I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”

She hugs me again, and I rest my chin on her shoulder. The orchids dangling from her headdress tickle my cheeks. Never have I been so aware of how utterly our paths have diverged.

Three days apart feels like three years. Vanna looks and sounds older. It’s not just her confidence—how she ordered the guards to stop beating me—or her courtly finery. It’s everything. Even her light is brighter, more radiant. Has she finally learned how to use the power of the pearl?

“You’ve grown up in three days,” I say. “You look like a queen.”

“I’ve probably lost a decade of life worrying about you,” says Vanna wryly. She won’t let go of my hand. “But now you’re here.”

I have to blink the moisture out of my eyes. What happened to my little sister, who used to chase after me, catching lizards with her bare hands? Who braided ribbons in my hair while I slept so I’d smile when I woke up? You’ve been looking so gloomy, sister, she would say. This will bring a smile to your face.

Those days are long gone, but the memories are etched in my heart forever.

“Listen, Vanna,” I say, hooking my arm through hers. “I haven’t come just for your wedding. It’s your birthday, and I saw Angma—”

“Later, Channi,” Vanna cuts me off. “Rongyo is waiting with his mother. The queen! We were delayed at the port because she was furious at him when she found out he’d gone to Sundau. But she’s blessed the wedding now!”

The drums resume, and I can barely hear my sister. The guards usher her back into the palanquin, but Vanna won’t leave without me.

“Sit with me, sister.” She pats the orange cushioned seat beside her. “Come, there’s room for both of us. Ukar too. I know he’s hiding under your shirt.”

I squeeze onto the seat next to her. As the palanquin moves again, Vanna pets Ukar’s head. “You’ve gotten thin, dearest Ukar. Are mice still your favorite? I’ll see to it that you’re brought a buffet of tasty rodents.”

While she chatters on, I remember my spear. I scan the road, trying to find the weapon. But it’s gone.

Wind sweeps the betel flowers and rice away from the carriage. Wind, and then a mist so gentle it tickles my skin.

“They promised it wouldn’t rain today,” Vanna says, tugging me away from the window.

Her nails accidentally graze a still-healing wound, and I recoil. “You shouldn’t sit so close. I might have blood—”

“I don’t care how dirty you are,” interrupts my sister. “I missed you. Just wait until you see the new wardrobe I ordered for you. Your new robes won’t be as itchy as mine or as heavy—I hope you’ll like them. We’ll get you straight to the bath, and I’ll send someone to help you with your hair. I’ll have one of the servants carve you a new mask too, just in time for the banquet—”

“I don’t need a new mask.”

Her smile falters. “I know that.” She bites down on her lip, the same way I do when I’m nervous. “But Adah will insist. It’ll make things easier with him. He won’t be pleased to hear that you’ve come back.”

“Is he ever pleased to see me?”

“Well…” Vanna’s brown eyes lift to mine. “It’s just that he…he says that you killed Dakuok.”

I lean back. Oh, the things I would do to Adah if he weren’t my father. After selling me to Meguh, he spins lies that I murdered Dakuok?

“I didn’t,” I reply coldly. “You have King Meguh to thank for that.”

“I don’t need an explanation,” says Vanna. “I told him there’s no way you could have done it. I know you would never hurt anyone.”