Page 29 of Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2)

Mikail

The Temple of Knowledge, Khitan

Under no circumstances can we let Joon get the ring. Succeeding here just became that much more important, and it was already life-or-death.

I take a seat at the long, varnished table to read about the exceptions to the Rule of Distance. Aeri and Sora are on either side of me, and Royo and Euyn stand across from us. As I finish reading, I wish I hadn’t. I sit back, and Sora’s violet eyes are on me. Actually, everyone is watching me.

“It’s not good, is it?” she asks, the corners of her mouth tilting down.

I run a hand through my hair. “Well, it’s not easy.”

That’s putting it lightly.

“Give it to us,” Royo says. He’s been standing there, waiting. I’m sure he can read, but he’s no scholar. While everyone else has flipped through a book or unwrapped a scroll, he’s been content watching Aeri read—when he thinks no one is looking, of course.

“All right,” I say. “The first exception states that the person who brings the king an egg of an amarth will be granted a villa with utmost standing on Oligarch Mountain. But more importantly for our purposes, they can dine at the table of the king.”

They’re all silent.

“What’s an amarth?” Royo asks.

“It’s a type of bird,” I say.

That’s the best way I can phrase it. A nightmare of legend is more accurate. I’ve never seen one. Never wanted to. But I’ve heard of them. One of our spies was killed by an amarth around a year ago. We never recovered his remains.

“Gods on High, it’s not like a samroc, is it?” Euyn’s brown eyes widen.

It might be worse.

“The amarth are part human but mostly bird. They have white plumes and stand roughly a head taller than a man. They are purportedly servants of the Sky God. According to this text, their queens lay black-colored eggs.”

“Part human?” Aeri asks.

“The legend is that the son of the Sky King loved a woman and mated with her in the form of an eagle, producing an egg,” I say. “That was the first amarth. If they are, in fact, human, I believe that makes them cannibals. They are carnivorous, with razor-sharp beaks, long talons, and the speed of eagles. But they reportedly have human features and can speak.”

Euyn shudders, and I know what he’s thinking. The only thing that could’ve made our encounter with the samroc worse would’ve been them talking to us. A chill runs over my shoulders at the thought.

Royo rubs his forehead. “Speak like a parrot?”

“No, I think it’s closer to you and me,” I answer. “But the book doesn’t say.”

His brow wrinkles as he tries to get his head around it.

“I really…” Euyn pales. “You said there were two exceptions. Perhaps we should try the other?”

I think we’ve both had all the bird encounters we can handle. But the second option is not easy or safe, either.

“The other states that the person who brings in the head of Staraheli will be granted a villa on the mountain with primary standing and will be allowed to sit at the feet of the king.”

“Who or what is Staraheli?” Sora asks.

“He was the ruler of the Marnans—the people of the northwestern part of the country who did not become Khitanese. They fought with Khitan over land and water for centuries and had to retreat to the ice caves and the frozen wasteland after heavy losses. But Staraheli was a brilliant strategist who organized successful invasions. He made it all the way to Vashney and killed a prince before being defeated. But Khitan wasn’t able to capture him, so they want his head.”

Luhk nods from the back wall, where he’s wiping away the blood splatter.

“But the last Staraheli revolt was over a century ago,” Euyn says.

I nod, although I’m surprised. He must’ve paid attention to his history tutor, which I didn’t expect. Euyn wasn’t much of a student if it didn’t interest him. His tutor was probably attractive.

“Then there’s no head to bring to Quilimar,” he says. “Even if he lived a long life, he must be ashes by now.”

“The Marnans bury their dead,” I say.

The table is silent as the thought of grave robbing a hundred-year-old corpse hits everyone. Like I said, it’s not great.

“I kind of get wanting to display the head of an enemy, but why the egg?” Aeri asks.

“That, I don’t know,” I say.

“It’s because of the curse,” Euyn says, flipping a book to face us.

Everyone gathers around. It’s an illustration of a king sitting with a knife and fork. He’s getting ready to eat what looks to be a black ostrich egg.

“What curse?” Royo asks.

“The ring, like all of the relics, curses the wearer with a terrible price for its use,” Euyn says. “The crown is an exception because it only protects or turns imposters to ash, although there’s a thought that the cost is increasing madness. Regardless, the Golden Ring causes tremendous pain and weakens the blood of the wearer. The same as how the Water Scepter causes desiccation and the Flaming Sword causes burns. All relics pull life out of the wearer. It’s written here that eating the black egg of an amarth is thought to cleanse the blood. The king was looking for a cure.”

“Maybe he did die of natural causes, then,” Sora says on a soft breath.

We all turn and look at her. Aeri skews her face, Royo’s eyebrows come together, and Euyn blinks. Sora isn’t naive, though. She believes in goodness, which is incomprehensible with what she’s been through.

“Never mind.” She looks away.

“Something tells me we can’t just find one of these eggs at the marketplace in Quu, right?” Royo asks.

“The nearest known amarth nest is in the Light Mountains, five days north of here.” I look around at everyone. “So who wants to do what?”

The only noise is the rustle of parchment as the priest cleans the scrolls.

No one wants to get either of these items, of course. That is why they are the only exceptions to the Rule of Distance and why they come with tremendous rewards. No one in their right mind would try. But we have no choice now.

“The good news is that so long as we succeed at one, it will be enough for a private audience,” I say.

No one finds this to be very comforting. Probably because it’s not. With no volunteers, I make the decision for them.

“Royo and Aeri, you go to the Light Mountains to steal the egg,” I say. “Sora, come with Euyn and me. We will get the head of Staraheli—it should be somewhere by the ice caves of the Marnans about four days west of here. After we succeed, all of us will meet in Vashney. There’s an inn called The Revelry in the center of the old city. We’ll reconnect there ten days from now and proceed to Quu together. If either party doesn’t return, wait for up to a sunsae from now, but then go alone. There’s no reason for all of us to fail.”

Everyone starts talking at once, no doubt to disagree.

I sigh and hit the table with my palm. They all quiet down. “The reason I divided us this way is because I need Sora to kill the guards quietly and Euyn to protect me while I cut off the head. It’s best to use stealth to take the egg and do it quickly, which makes Aeri best suited for that task. She needs someone to protect her on the way and to fight off the amarth if it goes wrong, which means Royo. I suppose Royo and Euyn can change places, but all of you have unique talents, and neither mission benefits from additional people.”

The second the words are out of my mouth, I realize why we were sent to Khitan.

“That’s why we’re here,” I say.

The others turn to me as I stand and puzzle it out.

“Since the throne room, I’ve wondered, why us ? Why would Joon go through all the trouble and risk his daughter? Why the ruse to capture us and the effort to keep us alive? And now I have an answer.”

I pause, and they all stare at me.

“The Temples of Knowledge contain written histories of all four original realms. Joon must have read about the Rule of Distance and the exceptions in the temple in Yusan. He knew we had the skills needed to give the head of Staraheli to Quilimar. Shoot, poison, plan.” I point to Euyn, Sora, and myself. “And with Aeri, we can steal the black egg. Once we are within a few feet of Quilimar, Sora could poison her.”

It’s not an answer to everything, but one mystery is solved. However, I know I’m missing something because none of that explains why he’d try to kill Quilimar before we reached Khitan.

“Does that mean King Joon killed the priests?” Sora asks.

“It might. The murders could also be unrelated to us,” Euyn says. “Someone was obviously searching for something—the question is what.”

We turn to the priest, who pales and sways.

“Luhk, do you know?” I ask. “What did your brothers and sisters die to keep in the temple? Was it this?” I wave at the information on the table.

He shakes his head and shyly walks over. He doesn’t entirely trust us, and I don’t blame him. But he puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out a tiny scroll.

I read it and then read it again. I look at the priest, raising my eyebrows to see if it’s true, and he nods. This is exactly what Quilimar would kill to prevent people from knowing. I run my hand down my face.

“What is it?” Euyn asks.

I hand the scroll back to Luhk and exhale. “Your sister cannot wield the Golden Ring of the Dragon Lord.”

Euyn closes his eyes slowly. Sora covers her mouth. Aeri gasps. And Royo just looks confused. I am, too. I’m not sure why Quilimar can’t use the ring, but I am certain she wouldn’t want the other realms to find out. Without the ring, she is weaker, and weakness will always get you killed. To keep it a secret, she faked the assassin’s gilded shirt during piteua and sent soldiers to destroy the information and kill the priests. It’s a shame the ring can’t turn an imposter to ash—it would be one less worry.

But now, we know her secret.

We have to get out before her soldiers come back.