Page 42

KAI

The storm swallowed the Mother City whole. Rain pattered over the Navy Road, turning it slick and forcing the silver carriages to slide off course. Per-Siana citizens rushed indoors to escape the downpour, leaving most of the streets empty of souls.

Apart from two.

Kai followed the B’rei Mira spy, rain drenching his black cloak that shadowed his face and concealed his green robe of the Priesthood.

He hadn’t taken his sights off the man for days.

He’d hardly eaten as he crept into revelry taverns to listen, as he hid behind temple pillars, as he dangled from rafters—all to eavesdrop on these intruders who had come to cause mischief in Per-Siana.

He’d written down as much as he could interpret of their objectives, but some things he couldn’t understand.

The B’rei Mira language was a complex linguistic challenge, even for him.

The intruder entered a bed house up ahead. Kai climbed the side of the building to spy into the room. When he was sure the man had fallen asleep for the night, Kai leapt from the windowsill, back onto the muddy road, and ran for the Priesthood Temple.

The grass was heavily watered when Kai reached the temple and swept around to the back door. He knocked, and Jonathan opened it immediately to let him in.

“Saturn has been waiting for you for hours,” Jonathan informed him.

Kai sighed and marched through the temple to the great room. Only a few torches were lit—most of the priests had gone to bed, but Saturn stood by the fireplace, watching the flames.

“It’s nearly time. B’rei Mira will strike at the palace soon. I don’t think they have the numbers inside the kingdom to send an army; I think they plan to infiltrate quietly. Possibly with only one person,” Kai reported as he approached.

Saturn didn’t answer right away. When he did, it came out quiet.

“Do you think perhaps we’re in the wrong?

” he asked. The young priest had been strange lately, lost in self reflection for days while the battle waged on around him.

“Sometimes I wonder if raising weapons against the Weylin people in secret is only causing more harm.”

Kai set his jaw. “I had the same thought once. But then I came upon an Adriel family being harassed and beaten in the street. It’s not fair what they’re doing to us.”

Saturn nodded slowly. “There have been strange things happening around here, Kai,” he said. He lifted a finger to the temple. “I can’t explain it. The air feels colder, and the priests are restless. It used to be peaceful here.”

The logs on the fire made a popping sound.

Kai sighed and folded his arms. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Maybe we’ve gotten a little off course. But I can’t very well abandon these B’rei Mira intruders if I know they plan to go where my cousin is.”

“You warned Adassah. She will take precautions,” Saturn assured. “Maybe we should let these intruders go, and we should focus on feeding the poor again. Just today I saw a boy sitting at the side of the road who looked like he hadn’t eaten in days.”

Guilt prickled Kai’s stomach. “Was he an Adriel?”

“I don’t know,” Saturn admitted. “But when I looked at him, I didn’t care what he was. I just wished I had bread to feed him.”

Kai tapped his forefinger against his arm. “It’s better the people be a little hungry and we keep them safe.”

“Is it?” Saturn turned to face him. His cheeks were flushed from the fire’s warmth. “I wonder if that’s what the starving boy would have said.”

“Saturn—” Kai shook his head “—let’s leave the acts of kindness and the grieving prayers to the priestesses. They can’t carry swords like we can. They don’t understand battle.”

Saturn’s mouth tipped down at the corners. He didn’t exactly object, but his face made Kai wonder if he disagreed.

“I’m going to keep following the spies for now. As I do, I’ll continue rescuing Adriel people with my sword,” Kai said. “For our people, we must be persistent.”

“You’re going to get caught,” Saturn warned. “It’s only a matter of time before the Folke discover it’s the Adriel priests out in the streets being vigilantes and causing a ruckus. You boys will only be able to raise your swords against the King’s guards for so long.”

Kai chewed on his bottom lip. “Don’t lose hope, Saturn,” he finally said.

“I’ll never lose hope. I just wonder if we’re putting our hope in the wrong things.” Saturn turned to face the fire again. The light of the flames danced along his cheeks. “What if our anger is opening doors that should not be opened?”

Kai huffed. “If the Adriel God spoke to me and clearly told me to drop my sword, I would. But you know he doesn’t speak anymore. Some old Adriel scholars claim he never actually spoke to anyone, and that such things were just a figure of speech in the old stories.”

“Maybe we just can’t hear him.” Saturn looked like a green-robed statue with his long white hair. Kai was sure the priest was wasting time with all his thoughts.

“Get some sleep,” Kai suggested. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

With that, Kai headed back to the hall and didn’t stop until he reached the room of cots where dozens of others in emerald green lay sprawled in sleep. He unfastened his sword, took off his boots, and sat on his cot.

For several minutes, he didn’t lay down.

His mind raced with thoughts of purging the kingdom of Weylin people, the way Weylins were so desperate to rid the land of Adriels.

Kai considered himself a religious and devout man.

He’d done enough kindness in his lifetime, including raising his younger cousin.

He’d fed many hungry mouths, he’d taught the Adriel scriptures in seminaries, and he’d been a listening ear to countless Adriels in distress.

But there was a proper time for everything.

When he finally laid down and drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were of Ryn.

He wondered if Ryn was all right. He wondered how she was feeling. He wondered if she was safe.