13

When I opened my eyes, I became aware of three things: the gleaming waters of Lake Strypnyk before me, the savory smell of food, and Chief nudging affectionately at me with his head. I had drawn Bloodletting on him before I’d fallen asleep, and the Gorvekan stallion bore no traces of injury from the night before.

I reached out and felt the familiar touch of the azi on my mind. It was still at Kneave, discouraging any attempts at pursuit. I probed further but couldn’t detect Aenah’s presence beyond a faint hint that she was still in Odalia.

“Are you back with us, Tea?” Khalad carefully placed a few strips of bacon and a loaf of bread onto a large leaf. Likh was crouched over the fire, cooking the rest. Polaire and Mykaela were both fast asleep, made as comfortable as possible on the ground with thick blankets. Their heartsglass still rippled green, but it comforted me to know that, although exhausted, neither was in any pain.

I moved back to my spot and accepted Khalad’s meal gratefully. “I’m surprised we even have food.”

“Altaecia’s doing. I think she brought the whole pantry.”

“Well, that’s shocking.” I shifted, winced. “Where are the others?”

“Kalen’s scouting ahead, and Zoya and Althy are bathing. I think the princess is with them.”

“Has she shown you Prince Kance’s heartsglass yet?”

“No. Althy said to wait till you woke up.”

“Do you know where my brother is?”

It was the boy’s turn to wince. “I don’t know. I think he’s distancing himself from us because it’s disconcerting to look at him.”

“Let’s fix that.” I stood, and the world tilted. Likh grabbed me just in time. “Vertigo,” I panted. “A daeva’s mind isn’t the most relaxing place to be.”

“I didn’t know that was possible,” Likh said, wide eyed. “Linking with a daeva, I mean.”

“I don’t think it’s something most people want to try. Better than—”

Better than compelling someone you admire against their will, the rest of my mind supplied.

I stopped. Likh waited for me to finish, but I didn’t. Instead, I stood, balance somewhat restored, and headed toward the lake.

“Wait up!” I heard him call, the crackling of leaves following me, but I trudged on, lost in my own misery and angry at myself for feeling so miserable. After all, I owed Kalen nothing. He wasn’t a friend—he said as much. I’d saved his life. Surely that was a forgivable offense? There was no reason for my despondency.

I spotted someone bathing along the edges of the river. I was still sluggish, and as my mind told me this person was not riddled with wounds, not missing an arm, and therefore not my brother, Kalen reached for the clothes he’d left along the embankment.

I froze. So did he. I’d seen Kalen shirtless on the practice field, but I was too busy avoiding blows and his well-placed sarcasm to pay much notice. Now without any wooden swords in the way, I watched water drip down his muscled chest and felt ridiculous at how grateful I was that he had kept on his breeches. For a moment, I’d almost forgotten what I’d done to him. I tore away my gaze and raised my eyes to meet his cold brown ones.

There was no witty banter, no sardonic rebuttals. Kalen ignored my red face and walked in the opposite direction, taking the circuitous route back to camp without bothering to dry off.

“Is Kalen OK?” Likh asked from behind me, puzzled.

I had expected his reaction, but it did nothing to quell my guilt. “Not yet.” He didn’t even want to be a friend. But it hurt anyway, more than I wanted it to.

We found Fox staring out into the water. He’d taken off his shirt, having little of it left, and his whole body was riddled with deep wounds and pus. The splinters and arrows lodged in his body were gone, thankfully, but he had casually tucked his torn arm underneath the other like it wasn’t of any import. I remembered the last time we were here at the lake—fighting the azi, trying to seize control of it from Aenah. Fox had been injured then too, and he had saved my life.

What I didn’t expect was the Kion princess. She stood several feet from my brother, staring out into the lake like he was.

“Are you feeling better?” Fox asked me quietly, his gaze still fixed on the water’s surface.

“Much better. I need to fix you.”

“It can wait.” His voice was harsh. “You’re still worn out.”

I saw the princess grip her collar with one hand and tug at it, refusing to look his way. “You are literally holding what’s left of your arm in one hand,” she snapped. “I’m surprised maggots aren’t crawling over you.”

“I’ve been dead for nearly four years. If maggots haven’t found me appetizing all that time, I doubt they’d start now.”

“I have to agree with the princess,” I said rather crabbily, not in the mood to mediate. “I can rest later. You, on the other hand, can’t afford to go anywhere looking like this.”

Fox didn’t look happy but remained still while I cut my finger and let the Bloodletting strands wash over him. It was a disconcerting sight, seeing the bones knit together and the flesh reform itself. Those wounds closed to become scars, thinning out and disappearing. His arm reattached itself to his elbow, sinews twisting and muscles distorting.

Likh was white but held on to his breakfast this time. Princess Inessa abandoned her pretense at ignoring him and watched. Her eyes traveled down his body before returning to the three large scars on his chest, the only part of him my magic couldn’t cure.

Fox flexed his arm. “Almost as good as new,” he reported.

“‘Almost’?”

My brother finally smiled, and it was like the sun breaking out from behind a dark cloud. “Just a little spongy around the edges.”

I took pity on Likh, who was making small choking sounds. “I don’t think we should linger at Strypnyk for too long. When we can leave, Likh?”

The boy bobbed his head, relieved. “I’ll ask Althy.”

I turned back to Fox, but some of the levity had disappeared. The princess continued to stare at him until he spoke. “Am I done repulsing you, Princess?”

Inwardly, I groaned. “Your Highness, it might be best if you started preparing as well.”

The princess nodded but looked back at Fox again. “If I’d found you repulsive,” she said quietly, “I would have left the day I learned you were a familiar. Will you accompany me, Lady Tea?”

“As you wish, Your Highness.” I felt a brief start of surprise from Fox’s end, immediately stamped down.

The walk back to the campsite was quiet. A few feet shy of entering camp, she stopped.

“Do you think the prince is all right?” I finally asked, unable to bear the silence.

She took a deep breath. “I think so. No, I believe so. They wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him.”

“I’m going to kill them.” It felt good to let the anger out. It was a better emotion to dwell on than the guilt.

She flashed me a small smile. “From what I’ve heard, and from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, I’m sure you’re more than capable of that.” A pause. “I’d like to watch.”

I laughed, surprising myself. “I’ll try my best to arrange front-row seats, Your Highness.”

“Are you close friends with my fiancé?”

Fiancé. That was enough to slide the smile off my face. “Yes. We are.”

“It must sound strange then, talking about my fiancé when… I suppose you know about Fox and me,” the princess said softly. “Of course you do. You must think badly of me.”

“I don’t,” I said, confused. “I thought the opposite… I mean, he didn’t tell you that he was my…”

“Familiar? I discovered that two weeks after meeting your brother. He didn’t know I knew.”

“And you’re still…?”

She laughed softly. “After my grandfather’s death, my grandmother took a consort-familiar. Dark asha have resurrected old lovers in the past. Kion are more open to these relationships than Odalia or other kingdoms. The only real problem with a familiar would be…the bringing about of heirs.” She blushed.

“I understand,” I said hastily, not wanting any more details.

“I didn’t know about my engagement until a few days ago. I was furious when Mother told me. Kion empresses usually chose their own consorts. I swear on my life, Lady Tea, I never expected for my mother to determine my engagement when I met your brother and especially not after sleeping with him.”

I was glad for the trees around us. I put my weight against one, to recover my balance, which I’d lost again. Princess Inessa continued, oblivious.

“I will try my best to distance myself from now on, to spare him any more unpleasantness.” Her mouth twisted. “He has made it abundantly clear that he wants nothing more to do with me.”

“That’s not true, Your Highness.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m engaged to Kance. That’s all there is to it.”

Altaecia and Zoya sat by the campfire, looking grimmer than usual. Likh was with them, still green about the gills. Polaire and Mykaela were still fast asleep.

“I wondered where you’d gone off to,” Althy said, looking up at us. “We need to talk, Tea.”

“I know I promised not to overexert myself. But Fox couldn’t go around looking like…”

My voice trailed off when Altaecia placed Aenah’s book on a large stone beside her. “I think you owe us an explanation,” she said quietly.

• • •

Althy folded her arms across her chest. “Whatever made you think you could handle spells so powerful—and from a Faceless, no less? I’m equally disappointed in you, Fox.”

“My first loyalty is to my master,” my brother said serenely, absolving himself of all blame.

“I would have told you, but I didn’t want Polaire to know that—” I bit my lip, casting a look at the sleeping asha.

“I see. Was this about Polaire all along?” Althy gave me a searching glance. “Don’t lie, Tea. I taught you to read heartsglass, and I know when you’re evading. You know she’s only looking out for your best interests.”

“She didn’t trust me enough to tell me about the betrothal, and she’s constantly belittling me. I know there’s a way to heal Mykaela using this book, but Polaire’s more concerned about kissing up to the asha elders!”

That was going too far. Althy didn’t slap me, but I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had. As it was, her words came like a blow.

“Not at the expense of your life, she wouldn’t. You claim to do this for Mykaela, but did you ever think about what she wanted? Would she want you to follow the same path she had, working herself almost to death for people who want nothing to do with her, losing her life with every flicker of spell and drawing of rune? Did you not stop to think how Polaire feels, watching her best friend die a little each day for years? Did you not stop to realize how horrified they would be, knowing that you would do the exact same thing?”

I looked down, embarrassed and guilty. “But Mykaela’s dying. It’s worth that risk.”

“Mykaela doesn’t think so and neither does Polaire. And neither do I, for that matter. Tea.” Althy’s voice broke. “People have killed renegade Dark asha for far less than this.”

“Are you going to kill me?” I was angry and tired and sick of people telling me how I had to be strong enough to protect other people from these monsters, but not strong enough to defend myself because my life was worth less than their fear. “Do it then. You were there when Mykaela killed Illara, right?”

She sighed. “If you were anyone else, I might have. But there is an azi someone has once more resurrected that is running amok, and you are the only person who can control it. Illara was a different case. She was blighted from darkrot, Tea. It corrupted her, made her become something much like a daeva, and she had to be put down. No matter how foolish your choices were, none of this warrants killing—though the asha association might think otherwise.”

“Are you going to tell them?”

“I would have, no matter my affection for you. We are honor bound to do so.” Althy turned to Zoya, who was being unusually quiet. “And what do you think?”

“Well,” the pretty asha said calmly, “judging from Polaire’s current state, while she may not be keen on allowing Tea to sacrifice her life for Mykaela’s sake, it’s obvious that she’s willing to sacrifice hers to do the same. Isn’t this all a matter of perspective then? Don’t you agree, Likh?”

The boy started. “Ah. I don’t know. What Althy said makes sense…but so did what you said.”

Althy shook her head. “You are right about one thing, Tea. Polaire would have never allowed you to use the book.”

“But Polaire knew one of Aenah’s spells,” I insisted. The rune around Mykaela and Polaire glowed fainter but remained constant.

Zoya peered closer at the couple. “It’s not any rune I’ve ever studied before, that is true.”

“Polaire owes us answers as well,” Althy conceded. “This rune’s not life threatening at least. It’s unusual to find this kind of rune in a Faceless’s book, given the trust this requires.”

“Don’t be hard on either of them, Althy,” Princess Inessa interrupted. “I know you better than most. And if Tea hadn’t learned to control the azi, we would still be stuck in Kneave, right? If Lady Polaire hadn’t learned this spell, it would have doomed Lady Mykaela. Incidentally, Lady Tea, can you reestablish a rapport with the azi?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you force it to stay?”

“I can, but it needs its rest too.”

“It sounds odd to hear you refer to that monster like it was a pet.” The princess paused, reflecting. “You’re going to let Tea keep the book, aren’t you? Cat’s out of the bag, so all you can do is limit the catnip.”

“Not quite,” Althy said firmly. “I will keep the book close to me for now, and there will be repercussions later. That shall be up to the association, though I shall ask for leniency.”

I’d hoped she’d see things closer to Zoya’s perspective. But I had committed many of the runes to heart, so the book’s loss was not too great. “I understand.”

“Now that that’s settled”—Princess Inessa clapped her hands together, delighted—“I’d like to take a look at the book myself.”

“It’s not something Your Highness should be reading,” Kalen said, breaking his silence in favor of admonishment.

“Why not? It’s not like I’ll be able to use the spells. And the more you say I can’t, the more I want to.”

A stray thought entered my mind. The last time you wanted to see something you weren’t supposed to, we wound up wearing each other out.

I looked at Fox, now a bright red. The telltale embarrassment filtering through our link told me it was an inadvertent slip.

“But first, the prince’s heartsglass. We need Khalad to take a look.” Princess Inessa reached into her robes. Khalad scooted forward.

“Well?” Zoya demanded after several minutes.

“He’s well,” Khalad reported. “As well as he can be anyway. He has the same sleeping sickness as the other nobles Master visited.”

“Is there a way to cure him?”

“Master was working on a possible spell for it, but he never left me any instructions for replication.”

“Why were you and the prince wearing your own heartsglass?” Zoya asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be wearing each other’s?”

“Kance suggested that we wear our own until we’re more comfortable with our engagement.” A small smile played on her lips. “But neither of us reneged on the exchange, so I was able to sneak into his chambers with Althy and filch his heartsglass when the fighting started.”

“When you create a memory, you take in several hundred impressions at once,” Khalad said. “Smells and sights and touch make up only a small part of it. Whoever caused Kance’s illness left a faint trace there…a desire to return to Daanoris.”

“Daanoris?” Althy asked. “I doubt that Holsrath has ever been there, and there were no representatives from Daanoris at the betrothal. Emperor Shifang has been trying to woo Inessa for years, and we thought it wouldn’t be appropriate to offer him an invitation.”

The princess winced. Something flared up in Fox before it was swiftly shuttered away.

Khalad sighed and handed the heartsglass back to Princess Inessa. “That’s all I can find. If Master were here, he might have found more.”

“You said he was in Daanoris, right?” I asked.

“Looks like all clues lead there.” Althy rubbed her chin. “Unfortunately. Daanoris was a closed nation until recently and not very keen on outsiders. Let’s decide our next step at Ankyo.”

“That might be more difficult than it looks,” Kalen said. “We might have prevented them from sending an army after us, but that doesn’t mean soldiers in every outpost from Kneave to Ankyo won’t be on the alert. Pigeons fly faster than we can travel.”

Zoya groaned. “I am not looking forward to fighting our way to Kion.”

I spoke up timidly. “I have a suggestion.”

“What is it?”

“I know a means of travel faster than any pigeon can fly.”

“You can’t be serious!” Zoya burst out. “You’re not saying we fly on that azi, are you?”

Althy arched an eyebrow. “It will take at least a week to get to the Kion border,” she said slowly. “But an army from Kneave can use the ports to arrive at Ankyo earlier than that. How long would it take your azi, Tea?”

“You can’t be serious, Althy!”

“It’s the best option we have, Zoya. Can you guarantee our safety, Tea?”

“I think so.”

Zoya shivered. “It’s cold-blooded, the way you can traipse in and out of that mind like it’s an evening stroll through the Willows.”

“Then to the azi we go.” Althy allowed herself a faint grin. “I must confess I am curious. Kalen, the township of Lizzet is a fifteen minutes’ ride from here. Bring the horses there, save Chief and Kismet. The rest will be of little use to us at this point.” Althy skewered me with a look. “We will talk about this again, Tea.”

I nodded, glad she hadn’t decided on a worse punishment. Still, it was hard to meet her gaze with the disappointment there.

“I just hope Mykkie and Polaire are going to be all right.” Likh sighed, gazing back at where the two still slept.

“I’ll need a horse,” Kalen said.

“You can use Chief,” I offered quietly. “He can bring you back here in under half an—”

“I’m taking Kismet,” he informed me, swinging up onto the stallion and riding off before I could respond. I swallowed and looked down, doing my best not to cry. We weren’t friends, but surely—surely—my compelling him was a forgivable offense?

“Can you turn it on and off like a tap?” Princess Inessa asked me as we hurried to pack.

“Turn what on and off?”

“All the familiars sharing space in your head. Do you have to focus on them, or do their thoughts come unbidden?”

“Proximity helps,” I admitted. “Animals don’t have those mental barriers in place, but their thoughts aren’t strong enough to intrude on my own. It’s trickier with people because there’s a give and take required. If they don’t choose to meet me halfway, I don’t sense anything beyond a general idea of where they are.” Granted, the only experience I’d had with a human familiar was Fox, and it was hard enough to pry any thoughts from him unless his guard was down. My hold on Aenah was a lot more tenuous, almost nonexistent at times given the mental barriers she has in place.

“But he has a silver heartsglass…”

“Only because I do. He can’t channel magic himself, but he has the same restrictions we have. Asha can’t take back our heartsglass after giving it away, for example. It’s the same for familiars.”

The color drained from Princess Inessa’s face, and before I could ask why, she was already stammering excuses as she turned to flee, red-faced.

Whenever we were unruly, my mother had a habit of grabbing us by one ear and twisting to keep us compliant. I put that to good use now when Fox drew close.

“If you’ll excuse us,” I said to an astonished Likh and a rather amused Zoya before dragging him off so I could scream at him in private. My brother might no longer feel pain, but he reacted on instinct, his protests ceasing only after I let go.

“How serious is your relationship with Princess Inessa exactly?”

Fox rubbed his ear. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”

“It is now. She said she hadn’t expected the empress to choose a husband for her especially after—in her words—having slept with you.” I’d been chewed out for the better part of the morning by Althy, and I wanted to do the same to someone else. “As you can imagine, her apology came as a complete surprise.”

Fox’s face was perfectly devoid of expression. “That’s really none of your damn business, Tea.”

“I don’t want any more details. After my talk with the princess, I definitely don’t want to know—but you need to tell me if your relationship is important enough to ruin diplomatic ties.”

“I don’t know!” His mask slipped. “I didn’t even realize who she was until after I saw her watching practice for the darashi oyun with her ladies-in-waiting!”

“Did she know you were an asha’s familiar?”

Fox coughed.

“Fox!”

“Not telling her was my fault, granted—”

“Every girl deserves to know whether or not they’re in a relationship with a familiar from the very start, Fox! What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t apparently.” My brother’s voice was loud with the things he didn’t say.

“Did you meet her again after you both found out? Or after you ended things?”

Darkness, the rustling of hay—slim hands against my pants, tugging—Inessa’s voice, breathless against my ear. “I hate you,” she gasped, meaning every word—

“Oh no, no no no nonononononono!” I clapped my hands over my ears like that could stamp out those thoughts. I summoned the Veiling rune and focused on my shield, wanting to scrub out the insides of my head with sharp thistles.

The thoughts retreated. Blood rushed to my brother’s face. “Yes to both. I’m not proud of it.”

I sighed. “You really liked her, didn’t you? More than Gisabelle?”

“That was uncalled for, Tea.”

“I wasn’t prying into your head. You’re just not compartmentalizing well enough today to hide your mind from me.” I sat beside him. “What now?”

“Pretend nothing ever happened. Look, you need to talk to her—and soon. I don’t want to stand there to make sure you do, but this can’t go on. Can’t you at least bury the hatchet with her? Having her angry is to no one’s advantage.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“At least try.”

A wry smile crossed his face. “You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Kalen’s back,” Althy called out.

I stood to leave, but his voice stopped me. “Hey.”

“Yeah?”

Fox kept his gaze on the ground. “I know I should have told you earlier. But when you found out…were you OK with it? About me and…?”

I grinned, feeling a little better, and rapped him lightly on the head. “Of course I was. Obviously, I had some reservations. But she’s a nice person, and I know she made you happy. I’m not pleased that you aren’t happy now, but…well, that’s all I really want—for you to be happy. You know that, right?”

He smiled briefly. “Yeah. Thanks, Tea.”

We returned, and I focused on the azi. It continued its cautious patrol around the city but perked when my mind touched its own.

Come.

With a jubilant cry, it turned and sped off. I could feel trees and hills blurring underneath my talons as we raced to the lake we called home.

The ground around us rocked as the daeva landed before me. Zoya swore and jumped back, and runes glittered in the air as both Kalen and Althy reacted on instinct.

But the azi cooed. It attempted to lick at my face, but I put a stop to that immediately. As far as anyone knew, I’d started controlling the azi today and not in the previous year, and its affection might draw suspicion.

“I don’t know about this.” Zoya’s voice was strained.

I led Chief up its massive frame to the spot I knew was most comfortable. “You’re not afraid, are you?”

Zoya glared at me, then made a show of stomping up the beast, tottering a little. “Definitely not!”

Likh looked like he would much rather stay put, but when Khalad clambered eagerly up the azi’s back, he followed gingerly. Althy hefted first Mykaela and then Polaire on top of the dragon, settling them securely on the base of its three necks like she’d done this many times before.

Princess Inessa was next, not bothering to hide her fright. I watched Fox hesitate, then hold out a hand to help her up.

I turned to Kalen, who was glaring at me. “I’m sorry,” I began.

“No, you’re not,” he snapped and climbed up before I could say anything else.

Can’t you at least bury the hatchet with him? Having him angry is to no one’s advantage.

Shut up, I growled, and then the azi was back in the air with a happy cry, hurtling through the air toward Ankyo over the sound of Zoya and Princess Inessa’s screams.