Page 5

SORA

CITY OF BERM, GAYA

T oday has been very odd. Gambria might’ve betrayed us, but she also picked up casual clothes for everyone—a strange dichotomy. I change in her room, tossing on a plain white dress and shoes. At least now we’ll blend in.

But as I tighten my sandals, I’m still not sure if we can trust her.

I sigh at yet another mystery as I hurry down the hall of the inn. I take a final look at the six bodies in my room, then shut the door. We’re meeting in Mikail’s suite, and we don’t need a well-intentioned traveler or maid stumbling upon all this.

“Here, wait,” Aeri says, coming up behind me. She slips a privacy sign on the handle.

I can feel my eyebrows knit, but I guess that’s as good of a plan as any.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I’m good. Wait, do you mean from the attack or the relics?”

Her golden eyes examine me. They’re so brilliant that they still catch me off guard.

“Both, I suppose.”

“Yeah, I’m good.” She shrugs again and smiles.

I stare as she traipses into Mikail’s room in her sky-blue dress. She’s such an odd person—the combination of light and dark. But I’m relieved that Aeri is safe despite me leaving her alone, asleep and unprotected.

I linger in the hall, blowing out a sigh. I can’t make these kinds of mistakes—not with so much hanging in the balance. Not only do I love Aeri as a friend, but we need her to take the throne of Yusan. She doesn’t want a crown, but she is the only one who can change things.

Gambria eyes me as I walk into Mikail’s suite.

The door doesn’t shut properly because the frame is broken.

Soldiers must’ve kicked it in, but I push it as closed as possible.

We won’t be here for long. We just need to figure out where to go.

That’s harder than it sounds, because where is there a safe place for us?

Not Wei, certainly not Khitan or Yusan. Maybe Fallow, but those lands are lawless.

Euyn and Mikail barely made it out of there.

The others are waiting, but I pause next to Gambria and whisper in Khitanese, “Why were you talking to soldiers?”

Gambria stares down at her sandals and then meets my eyes. “I realize it looked suspicious, but I was trying to find out what happened in Quu. If anything has been heard about King Joon or…the queen.”

She holds my gaze even though her eyes are glassy.

I nod. It’s difficult to exist while not knowing what’s become of someone you love.

I haven’t heard anything about Daysum since Seok said he sold her to the pleasure houses.

Sometimes I can manage to push it all aside, but most of the time I feel like I’ll scream or burst from lingering in this space of the unknown.

“Was there any news?” I ask.

“Nothing yet.”

I search her face, schooled in the ways women lie, but I can’t tell. I don’t know her well enough, and her real emotion for Queen Quilimar hides anything else. I suppose we can’t know for sure right now. Of course, we’ll find out if Gambria ultimately turns on us.

It’s not a comforting thought, but not many are.

“So I have a plan,” Mikail says. He has blood on his sleeve, a lot of it, but he’s unbuttoning his shirt to change.

“This ought to be good,” Gambria says. She goes and sits next to Fallador. We’re all ignoring the pools of blood and the six dead soldiers littering the floor.

That makes twelve we murdered today. Twelve people. My stomach twists, and I wring my hands. I try to remember that they would’ve killed any of us if they’d known who we were, but it’s a dozen more souls to tally against us in the Kingdom of Hells.

I rub my palms on my cotton dress. Maybe I should stop keeping count, since this won’t be the end of it. I made this exchange long ago—letting Lord Yama write the total in exchange for Daysum’s life. No sense in regretting it now.

“What’s the plan?” Royo asks.

Mikail tosses on another shirt. Scars old and newer crisscross his back—marks of all he’s endured. Some people think scars are ugly. I think they’re badges of being a survivor.

“We go to Cetil and regroup there.” He pauses and takes in our puzzled expressions. “It’s a Yusanian town across the Strait of Teeth from Gaya. I have sources and a safe house there, but it’s close enough to get to Jeul in less than a bell.”

“Yusan?” Gambria asks. “And how are we getting there?”

“On the skiff,” Mikail answers.

The skiff has oars and a single sail, but the way he spins the scepter, I know we won’t be using either.

“You shouldn’t use the scepter unless you have to,” Aeri says. “The toll sharply increases every time.”

Mikail waves his hand. “Let me worry about that.”

I’m not sure Mikail is in his right mind—actually, I’m certain he’s not. Then again, I’m not sure any of us are all right. But Mikail has been taunting death since Euyn was murdered. We have to stop him because eventually, Lord Yama accepts all offerings.

Mikail looks at each of us. No one is exactly leaping at the idea.

Yusan seems like the worst place to go. “I’m open to suggestions, but we don’t have the means to stand and fight.

We need time to figure out what happened in Quu Harbor, and we’ve already worn out our welcome here.

” He gestures to the bodies in the room.

“All right, then. Let’s go,” Aeri says, standing.

Royo and I exchange glances. I suppose that’s that.

We all grab our weapons, but I stop as an idea hits me. If we’re going back to the coast of Yusan…

I make my way to Mikail, my heart fluttering. I didn’t think we’d be able to get to Gain this soon, but maybe we can. Mikail has the Water Scepter, and if he thinks Yusan is safe enough for us, then maybe we can rescue Daysum before sunset.

“Mikail,” I say. “If we’re going to Yusan, can we stop… Is it possible to go to Gain?”

Something crosses his face—a ghastly expression. It’s so fleeting, I barely register it, but it chills me to the bone. I hold my breath, waiting for his response. His lips part, his shoulders falling.

“Sora…” Mikail begins. Then he pauses because footsteps pound down the hall. They’re as heavy as Royo’s, but it’s more than just one man.

Soldiers.

Mikail pulls me behind him and draws his sword. It flames to life just as two king’s guard come through the door. Their swords are drawn, but they pause, taking in the scene in front of them—the six of us gathered by the sofa and the six soldiers dead on the ground.

Royo moves first. He grabs one of the soldiers and pulls his arms back until they snap with a sickening sound.

Fallador runs his sword through the man’s chest. At nearly the same time, Mikail leaps onto the sofa.

He’s on the back of the couch for a moment before he jumps and pierces the neck of the other soldier from above.

His speed and aim are unnatural. I didn’t have time to move, let alone jump from the top of the couch, and now the guard is dead.

“Right,” Mikail says. He lands on sure feet, then shakes blood off his sword. “Let’s get to that skiff.”

Fourteen dead today. I really must stop counting.