26

Neither the Daanorian nor the Odalian army was a match for the rampaging savul. It tore through their front flanks like they were made of paper. Inessa called out orders to retreat as Shadi and Kalen stood guard over the unconscious emperor. I scanned the rest of the guards for any signs of Compulsion and found none, but as I directed my thoughts farther out, delving into the city, I felt the wards outside diminishing my reach. If Usij had been planning for such a contingency, he was alarmingly good at it. The barriers were still not enough to deprive me completely of my magic but enough to keep me from intervening in the battle with my full strength as long as I remained in Santiang.

Even more telling, the savul made no move to attack the marching Odalian army. The implications were clear—and the idea that the Duke of Holsrath or someone else was possibly in league with Usij made me sick.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Baoyi?” I hissed at Zoya.

“I found confirmation just before the ceremony began. I had enough time to tell Shadi and Inessa. We wanted to expose him as soon as possible, but Inessa wanted to wait until after the ceremony.” She flinched. “I would have looked foolish if I’d called out Tansoong.”

“You were planning on assuming command all along,” Shadi said to Inessa. “That speech was a little too practiced to be spontaneous.”

The princess grinned. “I’ve been reading up on Daanorian history. Whenever the emperor was incapacitated, his empress could use as much power as she wanted and expect the same obedience as was due the emperor.”

“Were you expecting to knock out the emperor yourself?”

“I asked Althy to bring me some herbal preparations before we’d left Kion. One of them was a sleeping remedy I’d slipped in his wine earlier for the toast. I wanted to be prepared for any eventuality, but Fox punching him was an unexpected bonus.”

Shadi looked impressed.

“I am not looking forward to telling your mother we have another unwanted international incident on her hands, Inessa,” Zoya scolded.

“Then maybe she shouldn’t have dangled me in front of Emperor Shifang all these years. Or offered the betrothal to him in the first place.”

“The Daanorians have retreated back into the city, Your Majesty,” Tansoong reported, hurrying forward. “We have barricaded the gates, but I fear that will not last long.”

“Have the men stand at the ready, and keep an eye out for any other spies within. Report to either Lord Kalen or Lady Tea immediately should any soldier begin acting strangely. There may be a few more under the effects of the seeking stones.”

“Nothing says loyalty better than the newfound devotion of a man whose rival you helped depose,” Zoya noted sarcastically as the man scuttled away.

“Do you think Aenah is behind this somehow?” Likh asked. “She’s the only Faceless we know of in Odalia.”

“It’s hard to tell at this point. Zoya, I want you and Shadi protecting Inessa and the old forger.”

“He’s not going to die, is he?” Likh asked worriedly.

He and Khalad were tending to the still-unconscious Heartforger, the relief I saw in Khalad’s heartsglass the only bright spot this morning. A bed had been carried in, water and clean cloth brought forward, and Khalad had dug into his medicine pouch, administering treatments. “He suffers from a lack of water, but he’s still as strong as they come.”

“You must really love him, don’t you?”

He hesitated, smiled. “I suppose I do. He has his odd moments, but he’s been like a second father to me.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, boy.”

Khalad pounced on the old forger, who was already struggling to rise. “No unnecessary movements, Master!”

“Every one of my movements is necessary, boy,” the old man scowled, resisting. “And what’s necessary is that I get up from this contraption!”

“It’s called a bed. If we’d ever saved enough money for one, you’d know. And what’s necessary is to keep you well rested and healthy, you old codger. If you keep struggling, know that I am a lot stronger than you and will use force if I have to.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me!”

Master and apprentice glared at each other. The former finally relented, sinking back against the pillows with a grunt. “I should be gone more often. You’ve got some of your hotheadedness back, boy.”

Khalad sagged. “You scared us, Master.”

“I scared myself too. I was certain it was the end of the road for me.” The forger nodded in my direction. “That was very perceptive of you, girl. Thank you.”

“I’m glad you’re all right, sir.”

“I’m not all right. I can’t be all right when that bastard’s still running free! I must be getting soft in my old age, giving him the benefit of the doubt simply because I knew his father. Is the princess still asleep? Unharmed?”

“She is,” Likh confirmed.

The old forger stared at him. “You’re a pretty girl, but I don’t know who in the seven hells you are. What’s happening?”

“Daanoris is being attacked by Odalia, and Usij is out there using the savul to create widespread panic,” Zoya growled. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Master, you should rest…”

“Rest, my foot. We’ve got enemies surroundings us at all sides, and the bastard who locked me up is at the forefront. Where is he? I need to punch him. I’m glad his father’s no longer alive to see his son fall into such depravity. Always been a weak boy, wanting things he didn’t want to earn. The princess is all right, you say? Take me to her.”

“We should,” Khalad said. “It’s the safest room in the palace at this point.”

“And where are you going?” Fox demanded as I headed for the door.

“I’m not going to stay here while a daeva is making short work of the people outside, Fox. Stay here with Inessa.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Tea!”

“When have I ever?” I was out of the room before he could reply, but I could hear the pounding of feet behind me as Kalen gave chase. I raced up the staircase, making for the highest tower in the palace—the same battlements Kalen and I stood on as we watched the Odalian army approach a few hours before.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kalen yelled, catching up to me as I reached the top. I could see the savul approaching, the soldiers in disarray. At the same time, I could feel the azi drawing closer to where I stood.

I faced him. “I can’t fight the savul from this far away, Kalen.”

“You can’t handle both the azi and the savul at once!”

The thought of Mykaela back in Kion, still fighting for her life alongside Polaire, only filled me with more resolve. “Does it look like we have a choice?”

And then I leaped off the edge of the tower.

Looking back, I knew it was a foolish thing to do. But after being deprived of the Dark for so long, it was difficult to shunt away the heady power filling me. At that instant, I felt almost omnipotent, ready to take on the world and everyone in it.

I had a few moments of clarity, saw Kalen’s shocked face and open mouth staring down at me, rapidly falling from view as my descent continued. And then the azi was there, swooping me up so quickly and effortlessly onto its back, just like during those midnight rides we shared before the rest of the world knew of our connection.

Are you crazy?! Fox all but screamed into my head.

This was quicker than riding through the city. I felt sorry, but the giddiness from being full of the Dark had not disappeared. I could only let out a strangled giggle, still drunk on the power, even as the azi changed direction, the battlefield before us its new destination.

It did not take long to arrive, and by then, I had taken back control of my faculties, forcing the sweetness of the magic away, not without regret. I needed my wits about me; there were two wars on this battlefront, and my enemies could easily unite against me.

In another corner of my mind, I could feel Fox moving, barking orders. I had fleeting images of Daanorian servants and courtiers with wooden faces and blank eyes shuffling toward them, my brother fighting them off.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so hasty with unraveling those wards,” I heard Shadi say, and through my brother’s eyes, I watched her slam a heavy vase against the side of a man’s head, watching him crumple.

“Curse that old geezer,” Zoya growled. She was keeping the bulk of the enemy at bay, weaving Wind through the corridors so a small tornado sent people flying left and right before any of them could get too close. “Fox, where is your wayward sister now?”

“Off to fight the savul on her own,” Fox growled, his frustration bleeding through. “Kalen’s on his way.”

The savul was still injured from our previous fight. I saw the ugly scars along its neck where we had been dealt our fiercest blow, its blackened limbs moving with difficulty. For all its ferocity, the savul was clearly in excruciating pain. A brush against its mind told me that it’s participation today had not been a willing decision; the faintest edges of Usij’s mind touched mine, and I drew back immediately. I felt the Faceless push harder, but the azi responded in my place, snapping at the intruder until he retreated.

You’ve trained your pet well, bone witch.

Would you like some advice for yours? The azi was docile because I had shown it nothing but respect. Usij had mistreated his daeva, and despite all the harm and chaos the savul had caused, I could not help my sympathy. How long had he been enslaving the creature?

Longer than you have been a bone witch, child. The simpering old crone tasked with killing it was easy enough to dispose of. The chaos it caused rampaging through Odalia’s territory!

I allowed myself a grim smile. I knew he was somewhere nearby, for we needed proximity to our beasts to garner the greatest control; perhaps the old man had already hidden himself among the Odalian soldiers. Thank you, Usij.

Oh?

If it were not for your savul, my brother would not have been killed and I could have lived the rest of my life oblivious to my true abilities. You are the reason I am standing here, and I am the reason you will die today.

He snarled into my head, and then his mind was gone. The savul let loose a horrible cry and jumped; the azi responded with a barrage of flames, but not even the extreme heat was enough. The reptilian daeva slammed hard into us, and quick thinking and reflexes saved me from being skewered by its powerful claws, which dug into the azi’s hide. My daeva reared up, howling in pain, and I held on to its neck, knowing one lost grip could mean falling to my death.

Tea!

Protect the princess! I screamed back. There was nothing Fox could do at this point to help me, and the quick Veiling rune I wove kept the bulk of his thoughts away from mine, kept him from being distracted. It was more difficult this time. I had no one to look after my physical body and so could not completely immerse myself in my daeva. At my command, however, the azi raised its spiked tail, still scrabbling with the savul. It was the toad-like beast’s turn to shriek, as the spike plowed through its midsection, puncturing the skin. It stumbled back.

The army hesitated. Seeing the fallen daeva, they pushed forward cautiously. I wove Dominion over as many of them as I was able but fell short. Only a dozen or so responded—I was too exhausted to extend my reach, and there were thousands of them still.

I saw Kalen approaching with his horse, staring up at us in horror. I stuck my head out over the azi’s side.

“Get out of here!” I yelled.

“I could tell you the exact same thing!” Kalen turned to face the Odalian soldiers. It was a magnificent, petrifying sight: my black-clad warrior, facing off against an army—the very fate I had hoped for him to avoid when I compelled him in Odalia. My fears were mitigated only because I could sense no other spellbinders there beyond Baoyi and Usij. “What makes you think I’m going to let you do this alone?”

As the men surged forward, Kalen spread his arms, tracing dual runes in the air at once. A fog rose, the mist so thick and cloying that it was difficult to see a hand in front of your own face. Cries of dismay rose among the ranks as soldiers stumbled into each other.

Kalen wasn’t done. Borrowing a page from Althy’s book, he slammed his hands to the ground, punching another series of runes into the soil, and a large sinkhole opened up underneath the mass of swirling fog. More yells came from the soldiers as they tumbled down the unexpected ravine.

“Showoff.”

He said nothing, flashing me a smug grin.

With the soldiers off our backs, I focused on the savul again. I slipped cautiously back into its mind and felt Usij’s rancid presence as he screamed and railed at his creature to rise. The savul could only moan piteously. The azi had withdrawn its spike, leaving a large bloody hole at the center of the daeva’s body; I could feel the life stealing out from it. Usij’s mind withdrew, leaving it to suffer a slow and painful death.

Breathing hard, I commanded the azi to lower its head so I could slide down to the ground. Usij had abandoned his former pet, and I felt no resistance as I probed lightly into its mind. Its thoughts slid over me, warm and accepting of its approaching demise with a relief I could not help but feel pity for.

“Stay,” I told it gently, and it shuddered.

Pain lanced through my mind. I screamed; behind me, the azi reared up, all three heads howling at the sky. I felt something wrench them from my mind, and then their presence was gone.

Kalen’s arms caught me before I could collapse, but I could barely hear his voice. The loss of my azi had left a sudden gaping emptiness in my chest, like Usij had wrenched my heart out along with my control.

I heard a wheezing chuckle from nearby. As my vision cleared, I saw the old man standing before the fallen savul, smiling. “You might have bested the Odalian army, my dear,” he said laughing, “but empathy remains your weakness.” He turned to regard the savul with disdain. The creature was lying on its side, no longer moving. “A waste of flesh and power. The weakest of the lot as far as I’m concerned. But now, the azi…”

The azi took one step toward him and then another. It bowed its heads at his feet, and rage coursed through me. “Oh, the azi! That is a different beast entirely. The only daeva to have never been conquered by a human army or slain by a human hand. Aenah’s a fool, but that bitch knew how to tame daeva. If not for your efforts, Tea, I might never have found so powerful a prize.” He laid a hand on one of its heads, and the azi did not flinch. “It is time to replace your old master with one of better conviction,” he told the daeva. “Kill her.”

With a low hiss, the azi rose, its three heads trained in my direction. Trails of flame simmered from its snouts. Kalen raised his hand, palm outward, and Shield runes shimmered.

Despite the protection, the heat was intense. Fire licked at us, stopping several inches from us as it hit the barrier. The azi rumbled and let loose another torrent, and Kalen, his face grim and perspiring, shouldered the burden.

“Not today, Deathseeker.”

Kalen stiffened, his eyes wide with surprise. He let go of me, and I tumbled to the ground, still dazed. The azi had backed away, but Kalen remained upright, his eyes staring into the distance. The runes around us faded. I moved to stand, but Kalen’s foot pressed against my back, pinning me down.

“I think this would make for a better end and for better irony,” Usij drawled. “A bone witch slain by her own protector’s hand. Is that not a more fitting epitaph?”

Wordlessly, Kalen turned to me. He drew out his sword.

“Kalen…” I tried to enter his mind, desperate to find an opening, but Usij had been using compulsion for far too many years on far too many victims.

Kalen raised the blade over my neck. I changed the direction of my thoughts, pushing myself into the mind of the next best thing, knowing full well that I would not wrest control before the blow came.

“Kill her, Deathseeker.”

The blade fell, and I closed my eyes.

It struck the ground beside me, inches from my head. Usij snarled.

“Kill her!”

Kalen did not move. The sword trembled in his hands. I felt weak; there was a tug at my heartsglass, leeching strength from me.

“Kill her! Kill her!” Usij howled.

Kalen raised his sword, lowered it again. And then I saw the Heartshare rune, bright and glittering by his heartsglass, and I understood. He was resisting.

So did Usij, who laughed. “Foolish, besotted little man. Here is a better idea. Kill yourself in front of your beloved bone witch. Slice your own throat and let her bathe in your blood. Do it!”

The sword rose, but Kalen’s hesitation gave me time.

Usij let out a strange, strangled gasp and fell to his knees. The blade dropped from Kalen’s hands.

The Faceless looked down, eyes bulging, at the large claw now sticking out of his chest and at another talon protruding from his stomach, organs and entrails slithering to the floor.

“Impossible,” he wheezed as rivulets of blood flowed down his mouth, a waterfall of red that soaked his chin and neck. And then he fell on his face and stopped moving.

“Tea,” Kalen whispered. He was beside me, his rough hands cupping my face, his lips against my brow, my cheek, my lips. “Tea.”

“Beating him was tantamount to fighting at least five men, don’t you think?” I whispered against his mouth, exhausted beyond belief. Kalen’s chest heaved with relief, with laughter.

I focused on the savul again, and it withdrew its claw. At the same time, the azi, independent of any control, wrenched its tail spike away from the old man’s body with a sickening, crunching sound.

With difficulty, Kalen helped me up, his stare cautious as his eyes rested on the three-headed dragon before us.

“It won’t hurt us.”

“You’re not compelling it, Tea. It can attack at any moment.”

“It won’t hurt us,” I repeated. “When Usij was distracted, it killed him without my urging.” The azi bowed all three snouts, resting its long necks on the ground in an act of submission.

“But that’s impossible.”

“What’s one more impossibility today?” The yellow eyes that watched me approach were trusting, and the rumbling noise that started from the back of its throat was almost kittenish. “You shook free of his control all on your own, didn’t you?” I asked in wonder, laying my hand on the azi’s head, as I had done so many times before. It purred again, and I felt its mind open to mine, inviting as, for the first time, a daeva bowed before a human master of its own free will.