“Blue.”
My voice is raw. But it breaks the spell, and suddenly Blue is rolling her eyes as with one collective shout of “Lei!” three of the other girls push past her and I’m bundled into a fierce embrace, so tight I can barely breathe, but I don’t care, how could I care when it’s Chenna, Zhen, and Zhin, alive and safe and here.
When we break apart, I sniff my tears back, taking in their beautiful faces. The twins are grinning. Chenna gives me her smart, wry smile, my hands in hers. Then, over their heads, my eyes meet those of the last girl.
Big green eyes: green like forests under rain, like the deep of the sea.
Rust-colored hair that’s grown out from its short chop.
A face as round and sweet as I remember it, even if its cheeks have hollowed and her skin is waxen.
Aoki hangs back from us—from me. I want to run to her, grab her lovely face, her whole lovely self. But her expression locks me in place.
Unlike the others, she doesn’t look remotely happy to see me.
At least Blue managed a sneer and a barbed comment. In her books, that’s practically a jubilant welcome. But Aoki’s lips remain flat.
“Aoki,” I breathe, my tears coming hard again, though from more than relief and happiness this time. I start forward.
She edges away. “M-Madam Himura said to get to work,” she stammers. “We have a lot to do.” And though she’s swift to slip her sleeves back over her wrists where they’ve bunched up, it’s not quick enough to stop me from spotting the band circling her left arm. It’s the exact replica of mine, only hers is tighter. So tight it must be digging into bone. The skin around it looks newly bruised, crusted with blood.
I choke down a sob. Like the wound in my palm, and who I killed to get it, Aoki’s injury—her pain—is of my own creation.
TEN
WREN
WE SHOULD STORM THE PALACE!”
“And invite another ambush? Ridiculous!”
“If we wait, we give them time to regroup—”
“There are ways to weaken them without having to engage in battle. As I proposed yesterday—”
“Yes, Zahar, we remember your fancy maps and diagrams. But it’s far too late for any of that. What if they storm another of our cities? Or one of their own, and blame it on us?”
“It worked well enough when we did it with the raids, didn’t it?”
“And it’ll work even better for the court, who have half the kingdom on their side and are eager for any excuse to tear us Papers down!”
Wren was only half listening to the debate. For what felt like the hundredth day in a row, though it had been just over two weeks, she was at her father’s daily war council. It was the same arguments over and over. From when Ketai and the ragged remains of his army returned to the Jade Fort, the council had been divided. Half wanted to launch an all-out retaliation, while the rest thought it more important to take time to recover and reestablish tactics. And of course, none of them agreed on how to go about any of it.
“You are still not getting it!” a voice boomed. Commander Chang was the Hannos’ military leader, a Paper man whose stature—and mustache—was as imposing as his voice. “The time for tentative tactics is past! As the great Yu-zhe said, water is only strong against fire when its flames have no more kindling to feed upon. We have played soft like water for too long. It has let the King’s flames run wild.” He slammed his fists on the table. “We must be decisive!” Another bang. “Swift!”
From a few seats away, a sardonic voice said, “Hence two weeks of this.”
“Thank you, General Lova. We are quite aware of your opinions.”
A hush fell at Ketai Hanno’s reprimand.
To Wren’s left, at the head of the table, her father was silhouetted in early evening light from the open balcony doors at his back. Violet shadows clung to his eyes. He’d let his usual peppered stubble grow out longer than usual, the tips beginning to curl.
Wren’s eyes shifted to the empty seat directly across from her, to her father’s other side.
Somehow, each time she looked, she held a small glimmer of hope that some unknown magic would bring back its occupant. But Wren knew magic. You couldn’t heal that which was already dead.
Pain pierced her, almost as physical as the constant ache in her hips.
Around the table, the discussion sprung back into life.
“Well, I agree with Chang. We saw what happened to Nantanna! Such destruction in such little time. They must have discovered the secret to some new weapon or magic.”
“All the more reason to be cautious with our approach. If the King truly has such devastating power on his hands, we must take our time to understand it. Study it, even.”
“How?” Lova’s words dripped with sarcasm. “Should we send a friendly envoy to the Hidden Palace? Pop over and ask? Excuse me, Heavenly Master, a quick question before we try and obliviate you. Do hope you don’t mind.”
Ketai stared her down. “Enough with the jokes, Lova.”
“She has a point, though.” It was Nitta’s turn to speak up. “Now that we have Merrin, we can rescue the White Wing loyalists, then use them to keep the Tsume and other guards busy while he enters the palace to rescue Lei. Maybe there’s a way to work in some reconnaissance work at the same time.”
“Of course you would side with your own kind, Cat,” Commander Chang retorted.
“And of course you won’t listen to sound advice, little man,” Nitta returned. “How many battles have you actually been in? I bet you wouldn’t last eight minutes in real warfare.”
“And how well do you think you would last, immobile and chairbound?”
At this, there was a shift in the air, as if the room had dropped in temperature.
Nitta lifted her head proudly. “This immobile, chairbound cat could still wipe the floor with the King’s men and have enough energy to drag your useless corpse all the way home!” Her emerald eyes flashed. “Why don’t we step outside, Chang, so I can give you a demonstration?”
“Yes, thank you, Nitta,” Ketai Hanno interjected as Chang began to rise from his seat, his face purpling. “Let’s stay focused.”
Another councilor immediately piped up. “Lord Hanno, if I may, I’d like to revisit the idea of Merrin infiltrating the palace. What about a flyover? If we could just see what the King is doing with his army…”
“The whole place is on highest security!” another adviser exclaimed. “It’d be a suicide mission!”
“Personally,” Lova said, “I’m all for that traitorous chicken getting himself caught and roasted alive for the King’s lunch. But how would he get the information back to us once he’s chewed up meat digesting in the King’s stomach? Or being ejected in a pile of steaming—”
“That’s enough!” Ketai slapped his palms on the table. “Whatever his faults, Merrin is still a member of our clan. I will not have him spoken of this way.”
“No,” Lova seethed, “but you will let him betray us all, getting hundreds of my Cats killed and a young girl sent back to her rapist!”