The man said nothing.
“I killed a king, Kalen. And then I killed two more of our own. I did not want to kill her, but I did it anyway, and they cannot say it wasn’t deliberate. And the other…my own…”
She whimpered, hand grasping at her chest, breathing hard. “I can feel the Dark in my soul. I thought I could stand it, but now I am afraid of what I can do. Of what I might do. I have killed Faceless and innocents alike, and whether they were one or the other, I am afraid it will no longer matter to my conscience. I tried. I wanted to show them how my daeva can choose not to kill, that I can choose not to kill. Inessa was right—I’m no longer the Tea they know. But did they ever know who I was to begin with? Did you? Did I?”
Lord Kalen bent down and kissed her forehead.
“Promise me, Kalen. If I succumb to the darkrot before I finish, you must kill me. Quickly and without hesitation.” She found his hands. “I am sorry for bringing you back only to suffer this. I thought I was stronger. I thought that being with you would make me stronger.”
The Deathseeker kissed her cheek, her nose, her lips. “I promise. And whatever happens, know I will be with you. Until the very end.”
24
To say that Baoyi was as suspicious of us as we were of him was an understatement, though his suspicions extended to those in Shifang’s royal court, particularly toward Tansoong. There were guards stationed not only outside his room but also inside it, and the man himself was dressed for battle, with a short sword in one hand and the other twitching toward a broadsword mounted on the wall of his room. Though he and Khalad seemed to have come to a mutual understanding, Baoyi remained incredulous of our motivations until Khalad handed him the old forger’s letter.
“This is his handwriting,” he said, studying it carefully before opening a drawer and taking out another piece of paper. “This is the letter Narel sent me a few months ago, noting his intentions of visiting Yansheo. But he never arrived, and I assumed he had changed his mind. When you told me that you were searching for him, I had no idea he was in trouble.” Baoyi sounded almost accusatory.
“How do you know the old forger exactly?” Zoya asked him.
“He is an old friend of my father’s since childhood, before an asha discovered his skills in magic. The emperor tolerates him only because he returns to heal our sick. But I have known him since I was a little boy.”
“Narel is Daanorian?” I knew the forger was not Odalian or Kion but little else. “Narel isn’t a Daanorian name, and he doesn’t look Daanorian.”
Baoyi laughed. “He looked Daanorian enough when he was younger, though I believe he has Kion ancestors on his mother’s side. Old age makes it harder to ascertain one’s nationality, I’ve found. And he felt it necessary to adopt a different moniker for his new life. He was no longer a citizen of Daanoris but rather a citizen of the people. But Narel and my father remained close.” He waved at his guards and issued a few clipped orders; the room was empty of soldiers within seconds. His clerk glanced at us and asked Baoyi something in Daanorian. When he replied in the affirmative, the nervous man gathered his papers and dashed out, looking relieved.
“You are not charlatans?” Baoyi asked. “This is not an intricate plot to bewitch my emperor, and the woman you call Princess Inessa is truly who you say she is? And Narel is truly in danger?”
“And you’re not a complete jerk who makes it a point to insult and demean foreign visitors when they visit your city?” I demanded. Likh gulped. Khalad fidgeted with a few of the small gemstones that decorated Baoyi’s mantelpiece, but Kalen grinned.
“Ah—Lord Khalad, please be careful with those. They are precious jade stones dating back to the Harshien Dynasty. But I was very much a jerk, wasn’t I?” Baoyi sounded almost embarrassed. “I thought you were clever crooks who wanted to make a fool of my liege. I even wondered if the savul was a cunning illusion concocted by your spellbinding skills. We heard that the Kion princess had been engaged to King Telemaine’s son and thought it impossible that Odalia would break their engagement so easily. It did not seem likely the princess would come and offer herself to Shifang.”
“Princess Inessa has always been an impulsive girl, milord,” Fox growled.
“I haven’t seen Narel in over a year. But I shall order the guards to conduct a search in the city.”
“We have reason to believe that Usij has spies in Emperor Shifang’s court, milord,” Shadi cautioned him. “I would advise you to select only the men you trust for such an expedition.”
“Usij?” The man scowled. “We have been hammering at the Haitsa iron fortress for close to a decade now, and he has shown no signs of abandoning the place. Do you mean to tell me that he has been here in Santiang all this time?”
“He is not one to be taken lightly, milord.”
“I do not know what he plans. Princess Inessa’s wedding to the emperor takes place on the morrow. Would he do anything to disrupt it?”
“There are many reasons to oppose that wedding, milord,” Fox said quietly.
“How goes the search for Shaoyun?” Shadi wanted to know.
Baoyi sighed. “There is no trace of him. I do not know if he is in league with Usij, but given everything that has happened, I would no longer be surprised if he is. Perhaps his interest in Princess Yansheo was all a deception to gain access to her. He shouldn’t have been difficult to find—the boy dresses like a scarlet peacock and would easily stand out in a crowd. I will ask my soldiers to search for any gray jewels that may turn up, just in case.” He turned to me and held out his hand. “This is how you make peace in Kion, isn’t it?”
“What is?” I asked.
“To shake your hand and bury the hatchet, so to speak. My intentions were pure when I thought you were here to bespell the emperor, but that does not excuse my behavior. Can we be friends?”
“Of course.” Grinning, I took his hand. “I too would like to apologize. My mentor would beat me over the head and send me to scrub outhouses for life if she knew how I had conducted myself.”
“If there is any way you can heal Yansheo, then I am in your service and in your debt.” Baoyi’s face softened. “I have known Yansheo since she was a child. She is a charming, sweet girl. I would do anything to see her laughing again.”
“We’ll do our best.” Likh promised.
“Do you speak for Khalad now, Likh?” Shadi asked impishly, and Likh turned red.
? ? ?
Zoya was a brimful of orders when we returned to Khalad’s quarters. “Kalen, we need to patrol the palace for any behavior out of the ordinary. Tea, stay with Khalad. Keep in contact with Fox at all times. After the attack in the city, let’s not take any more risks.”
“I’m always in contact with Fox, Zoya. It’s not like I have a choice.”
But the asha wasn’t listening. “Likh, how goes the unraveling?”
The boy asha nodded, looking exhausted. “I’ve figured out where to undo the knots. One big tug and I think it’ll all crumble.” He shuddered.
“Was it your first time seeing raised corpses?” Shadi asked him sympathetically.
“I felt bad for them.” His lip trembled. “Did anyone even miss them, I wonder? That one boy…he could have been my age. There was nothing to identify him beyond the red cloth and black hair, but surely he had family and friends looking for him? The ones that looked like young girls, with their scraps of dresses and small faces…surely they all had family?”
“You’re a good person, Likh,” Khalad said, and the boy averted his gaze.
“We’re forever in your debt, Likh. Get a good night’s rest. The same goes for you, Shadi,” Zoya instructed.
But the girl folded her arms across her chest. “I am just as capable of patrolling the castle with you, Zoya. I have no inclination for either Dark magic or forging magic, and I would be quite useless here.”