Page 18 of Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2)

Aeri

City of Quu, Khitan

Sora and I make it back to the inn, but what do I do now? I tip the coachman and thank him for his discretion, which means keep your mouth shut about this. But I’m so exhausted that it’s hard to think straight. I drag my battered body into the inn. Sora wanders in after me.

All I want to do is flop onto my bed and sleep, but I need to take care of Sora. I need a plan. So, even though I can barely move, I bring her to my room.

As I unlock my door, I force my mind to focus. Seok knows Sora is in Quu, and I’m sure it won’t be hard to figure out where we’re staying. This isn’t his country, but money and power have a way of transcending borders. He already tried to have Sora detained in the armory—I doubt he’ll just say oh never mind now.

We can’t stay.

But I want to. I’m so tired, and I’m not sure where everyone else is. I know they’re going to Lake Cerome, but there’s no telling how far they’ve gotten. Maybe we should stay put and wait for them as planned.

No. I pace as Sora drops into an armchair. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that we need to leave. At a minimum, Seok will try to have Sora arrested. The only reason to stay at the inn is because I’m tired.

I sigh to myself. We need to leave tonight and meet Royo, Mikail, and Euyn at the lake or along the way.

Now I need to relay the plan to Sora, which is easier said than done. Seok broke her completely. She’s in no shape for a journey.

“Did you know there’s an owl on your windowsill?” Sora stares out the window and gestures with a limp hand.

“Oh, um, yeah… I did,” I say. “I’m not sure if she fell out of her nest or got abandoned or what, but when we checked in, this tiny moon owl was already living there. I gave her fabric for a nest, and I’ve been feeding her. I named her Dia.”

Honestly, I don’t know if the owl is female or not, but in my head she is. She is snowy white with big amber eyes.

“That’s sweet,” Sora says. Because even though she’s in shambles, she still thinks to compliment me.

I reach into the pocket of my dress and pull out a napkin. I hid some food for Dia during the banquet. Moon owls are always small, but this one is tiny—the size of a sparrow. I think they eat moths and maybe baby mice or worms. But I don’t have those, so some shreds of wild boar and crusts of bread will have to do.

Dia cautiously hops to the other side of the sill when I open the window, but I lay down the napkin and she dives right in.

Sora smiles slightly.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I ask.

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath, trying to brace herself. “Se-ok… He… He sold…Daysum.”

Her breathing is jagged, and her eyes well with tears before she convulses into sobs.

I put my hand over my mouth to hide my gasp. Sora said Seok had threatened to sell her sister to the pleasure houses if we failed to kill the king. But I didn’t think he’d actually do it when we still plan on taking the crown.

Anger at Seok, at her position, and at my father floods me, and it’s hard to remember to breathe. Sometimes it feels like fire rises through my limbs and I’ll just ignite. And there’s no way to extinguish it. Not when men like this are still in power.

I grit my teeth as I remember that I was supposed to be sold to a pleasure house.

The reason I hate the cold is because I froze on the street after running from men who tried to kidnap me to sell me to the brothels. They came into my room as I was sleeping at my first boarding house. I used the amulet to flee, but I didn’t know where to go. I looked sixteen, but really, I was only twelve. I wound up curling in a ball behind a sugar house. I shook in the alley, freezing all night, and tried to hold on until they turned on the ovens. My lips were blue by the time the sun came up. And now, whenever I get cold, my body remembers nearly dying.

“I’m sorry,” Sora says, sniffling. She wipes at her tears.

She’s apologizing for her tears. As if being sad, as if love is some kind of weakness. Love is the greatest strength. Love powered her to endure all these years for her sister.

“No, I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m sorry this happened.”

Her eyes meet mine. A fierce determination lights her purple irises. “I need him to suffer.”

My gaze hardens. “I know. He will.” I mean it with every fiber of my being. “I swear it on my mother’s soul.”

She nods.

I take a breath. “Do you need a minute? Because I have a plan and—”

Dia lets out a loud screech. It’s a sound I’ve never heard her make before.

I run to the window to see if there’s a predator or something. And there is. But he’s not hunting Dia.

He’s after us.