Page 36 of Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2)

Aeri

The Northern Pass, Khitan

The snow is beautiful. Deadly and cold, but it really is gorgeous now that I’m rested and wearing furs and proper clothes for the winter. And it’s especially nice with Royo by my side.

He and I travel north, past glistening drifts and stunning frozen waterfalls. I stare at the icicles. The water has just stopped, suspended in air until thaw. The forests are coated, their green limbs dressed all in white. Everything is quiet and still as if I stopped time. But it wasn’t me. It was just the seasons.

Khitan has an untouched type of beauty. The farther we ride from Vashney, the more pristine it is. I could tell from the maps, and the priest confirmed, that nearly all the people live in the southernmost part of the country. Khitan is largely just frozen wasteland.

We are headed to the border of that tundra. The Light Mountains mark the end of the tree line in Khitan. There is seemingly nothing on the other side.

“We should stop soon and make camp before it’s too dark,” Royo says.

Camp? What camp? I look around. Does he really mean sleeping outside in all this snow?

“Aren’t we going to stay in a traveler’s inn?” I ask.

“Do you see one?”

Okay, that’s a fair question. There’s a whole lot of beauty but also nothing around us. And we still have three days until we reach the mountains far in the distance.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “I picked up supplies to make a camp when we were in Vashney.”

He said that when he got bored in the dress house. I’m gonna get camp supplies . But there isn’t a house on his horse.

“I’ve got to tell you: I’m really not a huge fan of freezing to death,” I say.

He nods. “I know that. I’ll keep you warm.”

My stomach swoops, and my heart flutters. I glance over at him.

He stares for a moment and then clears his throat. “We need to let the horses rest and gather firewood while it’s still light.”

The wind blows right into our faces, and I sigh from somewhere deep within me. I really, really do not want to sleep in the cold.

“It’ll be all right, Aeri,” he says.

Easy for him to say. He’s built like a brick oven.

We continue along the Northern Pass until Royo pulls his horse off the roadway.

“This is a good spot,” he says.

We have to talk about the definitions of words. There’s nothing “good” about this.

He heads toward the rock outcropping. It’s literally a few boulders and some pine trees.

I’m still trying to figure out what makes this good when we ride up. Apparently, what he means by good is “not covered in snow.” There’s a patch of bare dirt between the rocks and the pines.

“This is perfect,” he says.

I arch an eyebrow. “That’s not what that word means.”

Royo glances at me, nearly smiling as he dismounts. “We’ll be protected on three sides, making it hard to ambush us. Tie your horse to that branch. You can feed them while I get us set up.”

That’s right—he also bought feed bags while I was in the dress house.

I could’ve been there all day, but I settled for ordering just four necessary outfits when Royo came over a third time to ask if I was done. The reality is that if we don’t survive stealing the egg, it won’t matter how many outfits I bought.

It doesn’t take long for Royo to have a very small tent set up and a fire going. Gods, I think this is what he means by a “camp.” He takes out a pot and fills it with snow.

“What’s that for?” I ask.

“I’m making our dinner,” he says.

“Oh good—we’re having snow.”

I stand with my hands on my hips as he pulls out our provisions. I don’t have faith in this, but it’s not like I know how to cook. I’m just glad I stuffed myself full at breakfast and bought some buns, breads, and cakes at the bread house for our trip. I also picked up some dried meat for Dia.

She’s sitting on the branch of the tree closest to us. I fed her after breakfast, despite Royo staring at me like I’d lost my mind. I don’t tell him about how Dia warned me to flee in Quu. I don’t think he’d believe me.

And it’s a minor miracle that Royo is speaking to me again. We aren’t nearly as close as we were in Tamneki, but I also don’t have the weight of the secrets and lies keeping us apart.

The sun goes down, but I have the warmth of the fire. I’m also in pants. I was lucky to be the same size as the mannequin, so I could buy the slacks ready-made from the dress house. It feels strange to wear the same thing as a man. Some peasants in Yusan will wear rough spun pants regardless of gender, but never like this, fine and lined with soft fur.

Royo serves us dinner. He made a pot of rice and threw in some dried sausage, dried mushrooms, and seaweed. I’m skeptical, but I take a bite and it’s actually quite good. He must’ve tossed in a seasoning sachet as well. Who knew he could cook?

He sits next to me on a log we cleared off earlier. We eat, almost touching, slurping our rice stew from two wooden bowls.

It’s one of the best meals I’ve ever had, safe here next to him.

We are almost finished when the sky lights up. Both of us tip our heads back. It’s not snowing at the moment. Instead, magnificent swirls of greens and purples trace through the dark sky, constantly moving. The stars are illuminated behind the waves of color, creating an enchanting scene.

Royo stares with wonder in his eyes and a boyish expression. “What is that?”

“In Khitan, they call them the Lights of the Sky King,” I say. “I read about it. If you follow the lights to their end, they’re supposed to lead to the Kingdom of Heavens, realm of the Sky King and celestial deities. We can’t see it this well in Yusan, but on clear nights sometimes they’re visible in Pyong. We call them the Night Rays of the Sun King.”

He glances at me. “You think that’s true? That the lights lead to the Heavens?”

“I think it sounds nice.” I look at the sky again. “But either way, they’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I lean my head back again to watch the lights dance.

“Not me,” he mutters.

“Of course not,” I sigh.

Royo is so guilty about whatever happened with his girlfriend that he thinks not enjoying life will somehow absolve him. But it doesn’t work that way. Atonement is for the Ten Hells. Life is for living, for making mistakes and wringing the most out of good moments because the bad will always be there.

I feel him looking at me.

“You’re better than the lights,” he says.

I stare into his eyes. I’ve never been struck by lightning, but this has to be the same feeling—lit up and shocked all at once.

Royo leans forward, and then his mouth is on mine. My eyes open as wide as they can go, and then they drift closed as my lips soften against his. He kisses me, slowly at first and then faster. Sparks fly in my chest and at the base of my spine. I drop my bowl to the ground and wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me against him. I don’t know what happened—what put him under this spell. I don’t know how long this will last. But I’ll live in this moment before the enchantment breaks.