Page 31

TIYUNG

CITY OF TROVE, YUSAN

S oaked to the bone and uncomfortably chilled, we stop at the messenger house when we finally reach Trove.

I write out a message to my mother, taking my time in the warm and dry house. Then, I coat it with clay. I no longer have my seal, but she’ll recognize my handwriting and code—if it actually reaches her in the palace.

Hana sends two envelopes and mine. She also receives an envelope.

She cracks the clay and uses a blade she’d stashed up her sleeve to open the letter.

With her brow furrowed, she takes a pencil and decodes the message.

She’s expressionless as she reads it, and then she tosses everything into the fire.

We leave the shop once the papers are ash. I study her as we walk to our horses. Hana is so good at playing it cool that I can’t tell if she’s heard anything.

“You know what I’m going to ask,” I say.

“And this time I have an answer. Sora, Mikail, Royo, and Aeri are alive—they’re in Rahway.”

The news makes me stop in the middle of the street.

My heart pounds in my chest, and I feel like I’m about to burst with joy.

I hadn’t dared to hope they survived Quu Harbor, not after hearing there was a battle on the seafloor with massive casualties.

But they’re alive, and not only that, they are back in Yusan.

Everything is wet and muddy in Trove, but somehow, it’s now the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen.

Until I almost get hit by a horse.

I skirt out of the way as a halibred rears back. The animal snorts, and the rider shouts very colorful things about my parentage.

Hana shakes her head. She grabs my hand and pulls me toward where we tied up our horses. She makes a sign of apology to the rider, and he’s so struck by her beauty that his mouth hangs open as he rides away.

The constant rain barely even registers.

I feel like I’m floating from the news. I look over and expect the same reaction from Hana, but, if anything, she seems troubled, with a line forming between her eyebrows.

Is she just concerned about how Sora will react to finding out that she’s still alive?

No, that doesn’t seem to be it. There’s something she’s not saying.

Wait. She would’ve told me the good news in the messenger house if that was the only thing she’d heard.

“What is the bad news?” I ask.

The corner of her mouth tips up, although her eyes stay sad. She clears both as she unties her horse. “Your father believes that you are dead. He is claiming the five blades murdered you, and he’s put a substantial bounty on them.”

I exhale and throw my leg over the saddle.

As I sit, I try to grapple with what she just said.

Because of Ailor saving my life, I knew my father would think I died.

I didn’t bother to send a message to him because he’d just dismiss my letter as fake without a seal.

But I never thought he’d blame Sora and the others.

It was King Joon who’d ordered my imprisonment and death, and obviously Seok knows that, so there’s something else at play.

Hana and I ride down the street.

“How much is the bounty?” I ask.

Hana stares forward. “A million in gold.”

A chill runs through me—that’s a fortune.

“Gods,” I say. “A million for the five of them?”

Hana inhales like she’s bracing herself. “No. A million for Sora, a million for Aeri, a million for Euyn, and a million for Mikail. If they’re brought in alive.”

Kingdom of Hells. The blood drains from my face, and my arms tingle.

Four million in gold is the highest bounty anyone has offered in the history of the realm.

That’s equal to the purse in the Millennial Championship.

Outside of the counts, no one has that kind of money.

And even then, the richest, which had been Dal, had only twice that.

Every servant, commoner, nobleman, and bounty hunter will be looking for them now.

Plus all the king’s guard. There won’t be safe quarter for them anywhere in the world.

They’d be hunted through the Outer Lands.

My father has done this for a reason, and it’s not grief over losing me. I’m just not sure what it is. Why does he want them alive? And why did he leave out Royo?

Good gods, I thought a war of the realms was the worst news we’d have.

“Do we go to Rahway now?” I ask Hana.

“No.”

Hana is so calm and steady, but why did she dismiss that out of hand?

We have to do something. With four million at stake, anyone and everyone will turn them over.

Panic and uselessness turn my stomach. They’ll be captured within days, even if they are dangerous killers in their own right.

You can’t win, fighting against the realms. They need our help.

“We have to at least try…” I say.

“They’ve already left Rahway. The rumor is that they’re headed to Oosant, but they’re smart. I think they spread disinformation.”

“Who is telling you this?” I ask.

I haven’t inquired about Hana’s sources or expected her to tell me. But if we’re not going to try to reach Sora, I have to know all of this is legitimate.

“A source who helped me before,” she says. “There’s the inn up ahead.”

She points to a green-and-gold sign for The Maker’s Inn. Usually, I feel a wave of relief when we reach a traveler’s inn, but not tonight. Predictably, Hana has only answered as much as she wanted to reveal. It’s like dealing with a more attractive version of Mikail.

“Is the source someone we can trust?” I ask.

Hana bites her lip. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

I shake my head. “Then how can we…”

“Our interests align for now. That is all. And that is enough.”

I suppose it’ll have to be, because I don’t have a better plan. Riding two weeks away to somewhere they already left with my sword drawn doesn’t seem like much assistance.

The stable for the inn is located across the street. We put our horses in to feed, and I offer my hand to help Hana dismount. She actually accepts it. I take her overnight luggage out of the saddlebag and carry it with mine.

It’s still monsoon season, but Trove is a busy place.

It’s the largest coastal city before Tamneki.

I’m not sure if Hana is troubled by something she’s not sharing or the bounty, or if she’s just gotten lulled by how quiet the coastal towns have been, but she doesn’t look before she steps out onto the road.

A two-horse carriage comes right at her. She’s about to be trampled.

“Look out!” I yell.

I drop the bags and pull her by the waist, grabbing her wet cloak.

Taken by surprise, she struggles, but then she falls, landing against my chest. I wasn’t expecting her full weight.

My boots slide on the stones, and I lose my footing.

The next thing I know, we’re careening backward.

We fall and land in the street runoff, both of our heads splashing into the gutter.

I stare up at the rain as my head lies in muck. This is so disgusting that I can’t even countenance it.

“You really know how to save a damsel,” Hana says.

I can’t do anything but laugh. This is pretty much how my hero efforts end—in murky horseshit.

Hana laughs, too. She stands up first and then extends her hand. I take it and get to my feet. I really don’t want to think about what I landed in, but I now stink. I try not to make a face, but I have to breathe through my mouth.

“Thank you, Ty, for saving me,” she says, eyeing her matted hair. “But next time, just let me die.”

Despite smelling like gods know what, I smile.

She called me Ty. But then my grin fades as I think about the others.

I thought I’d be relieved when I found out Sora and the others were alive, and I am, but tomorrow I will need to leave for the palace so I can try to talk sense into my father before someone collects on the bounties.

They will have to survive until then, and we will all have to get through the coming war of the realms. I have less than a day to figure out my father’s real scheme and a way to stop him. But first, I need a bath.