“No!” I hiss back under the commotion. “I don’t want—that’s not what I mean—”
“It will happen soon. Wait until you hear the blast. Go to the Temple Court entrance opposite Madam Kim’s Seafood Palace—”
Before either of us can say anything more—or I can make sense of Kiroku’s bizarre directions—Naja finally extricates herself from the fussing council members and turns to me, silver eyes murderous, snarling under her breath about how if it weren’t for me being the Moonchosen, she’d toss me into the pit right now to see how I fare against the soldiers.
“Funny,” I shoot back, “I’d like to do the same to you.”
And I turn my attention back to the training ground with an icy smile on my lips.
Like Naja said, I’m the Moonchosen, and the King is watching us. She wouldn’t dare disobey his orders. And for now, he wants me alive. Still, I sense her cutting glare on me the rest of the performance, and I have to admit that whenever he changes his mind, I’d rather Naja not be anywhere nearby.
Later that night, once the other girls are asleep, I tell Chenna what I learned from Kiroku.
“So, you’re escaping.” Though she gives me a smile, her voice is weighted by bitterness. “Again.”
I blink, taken aback. Chenna isn’t one to sugarcoat things, but she’s also been nothing but supportive since our reunion, and I realize how much I’ve counted on her, needing her kind words and company to balance out Blue’s scowls and Aoki acting as if I barely exist, and Zhen and Zhin’s protectiveness over Aoki. Even if the twins laugh and chat with me, I can’t be open with them the way I am with Chenna.
“I deserve that,” I say. “Last time, I wasn’t thinking any further than killing the King and getting out of the palace. I didn’t have any plans to protect the rest of you, and now you’re all suffering because of it.”
“Lei, I didn’t mean—”
“No.” I brush her arm. “Let me apologize. I was careless, and thoughtless. But that’s not the way things are going to be this time around.”
Chenna frowns. “But what the allies have risked for you… You can’t give up an opportunity like that.”
“I won’t.” Her frown deepens, and I go on, “Their escape route must be somewhere in Temple Court, right? That’s why they told me to go there. So what else is in Temple Court?”
After a beat, Chenna’s brow unknots. “Shamans.”
“Exactly. And if this means there are shamans working on our side, maybe I can get them to help me in a different way.”
Both of us look down at the gold band at my wrist. Then Chenna glances back up. Though there’s eagerness in her eyes, there’s concern, too.
“It’s too risky,” she says. “You’d not only have to get there and find the rebel shamans, you’d also have to make it back to wherever you’ve come from. The allies haven’t planned for that.”
I shake my head. “Kiroku said ‘blast.’ If there’s an explosion, or something similar, it should create enough of a diversion for me to get there, find the shamans, and get back.” Chenna looks unconvinced. I take her hand. “I’ve got too much to do here,” I say, squeezing it. “I can’t leave yet. And if I can get help with these stupid things”—I nod at the bangle—“it’ll be worth the risk.”
Chenna hesitates. But I stare her down, and eventually she gives me her familiar wry smile. “Thank you,” she says, squeezing my fingers in return.
I grin. “Thank me once we’re out of here. Deal?”
For the briefest of moments, her smile widens just enough to crinkle the edges of her tawny eyes.
“Deal.”
THIRTEEN
WREN
IT TOOK THEM A FORTNIGHT TO make it to the Cloud Palace. It would have been quicker, but they’d had to be careful not to fly over areas infested with the King’s soldiers or where they might make camp too close to one of his allies’ strongholds.
Only Wren, Khuen, and Merrin made the journey, as there hadn’t been space for anyone else on Merrin’s back. Since Lova wouldn’t have anything to do with him, and Nitta’s chair would make it difficult for her to navigate the Cloud Palace, Khuen had been chosen to help with the rescue of the imprisoned White Wing. After the two cats, he was the Hannos’ strongest shooter. If they encountered bird demons in the air, he’d do with his arrows what Wren’s blades didn’t have the reach for.
When she saw the glittering facade of the White Wing’s palace sparkling amid the jagged spikes of the Goa-Zhen foothills, amethyst-black in the setting light, Wren couldn’t help recall the last time she’d been there. She wished she could scrub it from her memory. Killing Eolah, Lady Dunya’s daughter, had been the beginning of her downward spiral. Merrin was taking the brunt of the blame for what had happened at the deserts and their loss of the White Wing’s allegiance, but it had been Wren’s actions that ignited Qanna’s coup and Merrin’s betrayal.
Like its name suggested, clouds wreathed the building’s gilded spires. Wren spotted the tiny flecks of guards circling. Merrin flew lower, using the cliffs for cover. He brought them down on a rocky escarpment hidden from view by a crag that jutted overhead.
Khuen slid off Merrin’s back like a wilting flower. He slumped against the rock wall, glowering. “As soon as all of this is over,” he grumbled, “I’m retiring and taking up a less stressful vocation.”
Merrin was rolling out the kinks in his neck. “How about gardening? Or cooking? I’ve heard both are relaxing.”
“Anything close to the ground will do.”
Wren surveyed the skies. “Six—no, seven guards,” she counted. “That doesn’t seem like enough.”
“No doubt there’ll be more inside.” Merrin came up beside her. “See that entrance? From there, it’s almost a straight shot to the central staircase.”
Wren nodded.
“What do you want to do about this lot?” he asked, gesturing at the flying guards.
She considered. “Let’s make one full lap of the palace. We can take them down from the air. It’ll raise less attention.”
“Want to wait for full darkness? It’s not long now.”
“No. Better to use the cover of dark for when we make our escape.”
Merrin crooked his head. “You got it, darling.”
Wren bristled at the term of endearment. And because she sensed he was about to try and engage her more, as he’d been attempting unsuccessfully throughout the journey, she moved away. “We leave in five,” she announced. “Leave all nonessential items.”
Khuen sighed. “I’d just found a good napping position.”
Wren raised her brows at him; the boy was sprawled over rocky ground, a stone for a cushion. How anyone could sleep like that defied belief. She stared him down, and he and Merrin followed Wren’s lead, adding weapon belts and harnesses to their robes and taking a few last swigs of water before casting their traveling gear aside.
The instant the weight of her swords hit her shoulders, Wren felt the familiar focus settling in her veins.
“Let’s get this over with,” Khuen said, as Merrin knelt to allow them onto his back.