Page 23 of Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2)

Aeri

Lake Cerome, Khitan

I’m about to freeze time when Royo cries out and jumps on Euyn, tackling him into the snow. The crossbow goes off. A bolt flies in the air, then lands on the ground a yard from Sora’s feet. She throws her arm up in surprise, but she doesn’t make a sound.

The five of us all stop and stare at the bolt sticking out of the snow.

“Well, hello to you, too,” I say. I exhale the tension and release the neckline of my dress.

Once the shock has passed, we all look at one another. They stare at us like we’re mad, and maybe we are. Sora and I are still in our capes and ball gowns. We didn’t have time to change, since we galloped all the way here. Turns out, ball gowns aren’t the most comfortable choice for riding a full day through the snow. But we didn’t have time to visit the shops.

It looks like they did, though.

We were going to stop overnight, but then we came across the corpses of dead zaybears. Well, first I spotted bolts sprouting out of lumps in the snow. I stopped to check what it was, praying on tiptoes that it wasn’t Euyn, Mikail, or Royo. I was so nervous; it was hard to even breathe as I brushed off the snow. Then I uncovered the jaw of a zaybear. I fell back, scared to death. But the more frightening thing was thinking Royo might be under the snow, too. I couldn’t stop until we found out. Found him.

So, we rode through the night, only stopping when we absolutely had to. I did pass out for a little while. Somehow, I stayed in my saddle. Sora kept us going in the right direction, and I woke up from a short nap, drooling on my horse.

Sora didn’t complain once, but she barely reacted to the dead zaybear, or anything else for that matter. Whatever energy she summoned to run with me in Quu is long gone.

“Stars, where did the two of you come from?” Mikail asks, rubbing his forehead.

“The Banquet of the Sky King,” I say. I look over at Sora. Her eyes are still vacant. “Count Seok sends his best.”

The three men exchange glances.

“Seok?” Royo blurts out. “The guy who owns Sora and her sister?”

I nod. “The very one.”

Secretly, I’m thrilled Royo is standing here, unharmed and breathing. My heart patters in my chest. It’s a bonus that he’s talking to me. That he seems happy to see me.

Okay, fine, he’s not happy to see me because he’s almost never happy. Still, he looks relieved to see me, too, and that’s a big improvement from when he left Quu without a word.

Also, he just saved my life. But he’s done that a few times now.

I move a step closer, facing him like a winter plant desperate to soak in the sun. Snowflakes land on his dark lashes and dust the hood of his coat. I hold his gaze, but then he looks away.

I swallow the hurt.

“Are you all right?” Mikail asks Sora.

She shakes her head no.

Mikail inhales. “Well, you did the right thing tracking us. But stars, your feet. You rode all the way here in those?”

“I can’t really feel them,” Sora says with a shrug.

Mikail studies her, his teal eyes bright against the gray sky.

“We need to get you both warm, now,” he says. “Frostbite can set in fast when you’re not properly dressed. And you look far too cold.”

“There’s a warming hut down there, close to the shore,” Euyn says.

We all follow him. Once we make it to the top of the hill, I can finally see Lake Cerome. The lake is much smaller than Garda in Yusan, but it’s still enormous and, importantly, frozen. The wind makes snow drift across the ice, and it picks up, swirling in small twists. It’s really pretty, and I bet it’s even better in warm weather. I see a few huts made of wood at the shores of the lake.

But I don’t see a temple.

Mikail said the Temple of Knowledge is under the frozen surface, but I expected to see a dome sticking out or something. Somehow, this is worse.

Euyn goes first down the hillside. He gestures for all of us to follow as he puts his bow to his shoulder. The footing is tough. It’s not a mountain, but it’s hard to scale in dress boots, with fresh, deep snow.

I stumble on a hidden rock and fall forward. Before I can tumble down, Royo reaches out and grabs me. With one strong hand to my stomach, he stops me. I rebalance, but he leaves his arm out so I can use it to steady myself. My heart fills, but I try not to smile. I walk holding his biceps while he clutches an axe in his other hand.

Euyn leads, scanning the horizon. Mikail stays by Sora’s side, but he’s constantly looking around, too. I leave my free hand by my neck, just in case. And Royo always looks for trouble. Everyone is alert, except for Sora.

We make it inside the warming hut that’s not much bigger than an outhouse. Euyn shuts and locks the door behind us.

No idea what the little lock is supposed to do, but who cares, if it makes him feel better?

There are four benches, one on each wall, and a stove in the middle with wood stacked next to it. Exactly what we need. It smells like oak and charcoal, and it’s clean and dry in here.

Euyn gets to work starting a fire while Mikail takes a knee by Sora’s feet and helps remove her boots. Royo just stands in front of me, frowning at my shoes.

“I can’t believe you hiked in those,” he grumbles.

“I didn’t have much of a choice.” I shrug.

He nods and sits on the bench next to me, then pats his lap.

I stare at him.

“Gimme your foot,” he says.

Surprised, I turn on the bench and put my boots in front of me. He starts trying to untie them, but he gets frustrated. He tosses his heavy gloves to the side, then undoes my laces and slides my boots off. My socks got soaked, so he removes them as well. Then he breathes into his hands and puts them on my feet.

The heat from his palms is amazing. I didn’t realize how cold my toes had gotten until now. They’re bright red, and I can’t feel them the way I normally do. Royo massages my long, narrow feet, focusing so hard, he has lines between his eyebrows. It’s so cute and sweet that I can’t help but smile.

I’ve never been cared for like this in my life.

The fire in the stove begins to throw off heat. Everyone is quiet, but in a content way. I look at the four of them. I wish we could all stay here forever—Royo’s hands on me, and all of us safe and warm. But we can’t. Life is a series of fleeting moments, and this one will end soon.

We have to get inside the temple, and we need to start a war.

But for now, we have the fire in a snowstorm.

I begin to feel sleepy, the tension and worry that kept me awake fading. My head bobs, and I struggle to fight it. I made it through the worst of the amulet fatigue after my brief horse nap, but now I’ve also been up for nearly two days.

Drowsy, I reach down and stroke Royo’s hand. He stills for a few seconds before he withdraws.

I pretend it doesn’t crush my heart.

He clears his throat and sits up straight. “The, uh, fire will help.”

Royo gets up and puts his gloves back on. I try not to be disappointed. He took care of me, and he didn’t have to. That’s enough for now. He places my boots and socks right next to the stove to dry.

I really wish he could get over me planning to betray everyone. I mean, really, hasn’t everyone here? But maybe that’s asking too much, too soon from him.

Then again, it would be good if I could remember that he murdered his girlfriend. He lied on the Sol when he made it seem like he wasn’t responsible—they said so in the throne room. Although something bubbles in my chest. It feels an awful lot like doubt, but it’s probably just hunger. I hope we find what we need quickly so we can visit that bread house in town.

I extend my feet out near the stove but not close enough to burn them. It takes a while, but eventually I can feel my toes again.

The hut only has one small window, and it faces the lake. Mikail stands by it with something in his hand. I’m not sure what, but it’s green and gleaming. I think it’s jade, but he’s not really one for jewels, and it’s much bigger than a gemstone. Yet it’s polished like one.

“What is that?” I ask.

“It’s a key I stole from Ambassador Zeolin,” he says, flashing it at me. “We think it might be to the door of the Temple of Knowledge.”

I run my hands along the lace and heavy satin covering my thighs as I think about how convenient it would be. Ambassador Zeolin didn’t seem like a guy with any connection to knowledge, but I guess looks can be deceiving. Still, that’s not like any key I’ve seen. It’s almost round, but with many notches. And if it is to the temple, where is the door?

Sora glances at Mikail, her small feet out by the fire. Her feet are, unsurprisingly, perfect. But a couple of her toes look so dark red they’re almost blackened. That can’t be good.

“The ambassador spoke about ice fishing,” she says. “He mentioned there were warming huts by a lake. I think he meant this lake.”

Mikail and Euyn exchange glances. I catch Royo staring my way. I suppress a smile and pretend like I didn’t see.

“Was it a clue or a trap?” Euyn asks, stroking his beard.

“It’s hard to say,” Mikail replies. Then he stares out the window. “We’re about to find out—someone is walking out on the lake.”

All of us move, grasping at weapons—even Sora picks up a dagger and brandishes it with skill. Euyn joins Mikail at the window, his bow loaded.

My stomach twists as we wait. Is it Khitanese guards? Did Seok follow us?

“It’s a priest,” Euyn says. “Or at least it is someone in gray robes.”

I stand on the bench, peering over the heads of the others, but I can barely make out a man because the sky is also gray. I squint and look for movement. Mikail is right—someone is walking out toward the ice. I wonder how he’ll get into the temple, but that’s what we’re waiting to find out.

We’re all crowding the window except for Sora, who sat down to continue warming her feet. I think her boots were even less useful than mine. She may lose those toes, but I don’t think she cares.

“We need to follow,” Mikail says. “Euyn, keep him in your sights. Royo, for the Kingdom of Stars, step quieter.”

Royo gestures at himself with his palms out.

“Put the outside of your foot down first and roll your step instead of bringing your sole flat,” I say. “It’ll help.”

Royo seems puzzled, but he nods.

Euyn hands us dry socks from a rucksack, and Sora and I slip them on, and then our boots. Mine are still damp, but it’s better than before with the thick socks.

Well, until we get outside. Snow immediately falls into my boot again. I sigh. I’ll have to buy winter boots after this.

Euyn takes the lead, and we follow behind him in a single line on the shore. We’re a good distance from the priest—fifty yards or more. I’d worry about us being spotted, but we are all wearing white fur against white hills, and it is still snowing. So long as we stay far enough away from him, the storm will hide us.

Euyn waves an arm for us to step onto the ice, I assume because the priest has gone farther in. I’m not sure how Euyn can even see him, but he does have exceptional vision.

Royo has a hard time stepping on the lake, his feet skidding.

“Just slide your feet,” I whisper.

He nods and tries. It’s better.

It’s strange to walk on water. I keep thinking we will break through and fall into the lake, but the surface holds. For now.

Sora has a hard time in her fancy boots, and Royo can’t seem to walk without stomp-sliding, but still, we make progress. We follow behind the priest, shuffling along the ice until Euyn suddenly throws himself down and lies flat. We all get down and do the same. The priest must have stopped or spotted us.

As I lie on the frozen lake, I keep my head up, and I finally see the priest. He has red hair with a bald patch. His robes billow in the wind. I think for a moment that he saw us, but he doesn’t turn around. Instead, he disappears.

I blink. He just disappeared.

“Ten Hells, what the fuck?” Royo whispers.

My thoughts exactly.