I let it dangle in the air between us, a beautiful drop of blue that dances from the chain. Still specked with Lira’s blood.
King Kazue’s fists tighten around the arms of his throne. “What a thing you present to us so casually,” he says. “Where did you find it?”
“The same place I found that prisoner you’ve got locked away in your dungeons.”
Prince Hiroki shuffles in his seat, and I stop wondering which of the king’s brothers Rycroft was talking about.
“The Xaprár,” King Kazue snarls. “Tallis Rycroft and his band of damned thieves. I should have known that anything lost would find its way into his hands.”
“It’s not in his hands now,” I say, clasping the necklace. “It’s in mine.”
Prince Tetsu leans forward with a growl. “You’ll do well to hand it over.”
“Now, now, brother.” The king chuckles. “I’m sure that’s his plan.”
“Of course,” I say. “As soon as the right offer is made.”
Yukiko’s smile is slow and devious. “You have to admire his courage,” she says.
King Kazue rises to his feet. “You want entry to our mountain so you can find the Crystal of Keto,” he says. “Then what?”
“Then I give you back your priceless necklace and, when I’m done with it, the crystal, too. This is the chance for Págos to make history as the kingdom who helped destroy the sirens once and for all. Your family will be remembered as legends.”
“Legends?” The king’s sharp laughter slices the air. “What’s to stop me from just taking it from you now?”
“Once the Crystal of Keto is freed, the Sea Queen will know it,” I tell him. “And you’re a lot of things, Your Highness, but a siren killer isn’t one of them. If she’s going to die, it’ll have to be by my hand. Let me climb the mountain and we can make history together.”
“It’s a perilous journey,” the king says. “Even with our sacred route. What would your father say if I put his son in danger like that? Even if it was for something as noble as saving the world. Furthermore” – he nods toward his sister – “Yukiko traveled all this way, finally returning home after so many years. It seems curious to me that she would do that just because she believed in your cause.”
Yukiko eyes me with amusement, taking pleasure in the idea that I might just squirm. As though I’d give any of them the satisfaction. I’m not sure if the king is goading me, or if Yukiko really hasn’t told him about our engagement, but I know I won’t be the first to speak of it.
“Of course I didn’t,” Yukiko says to her brother. “I came because I want to be the first one to see it. I want to be there when the Crystal of Keto is finally found.”
My jaw tightens as I clench my teeth together. The last thing I need is a murderous princess following me up the Cloud Mountain.
“I don’t think that would be particularly safe,” I say. “As the king mentioned, it’s a dangerous journey.”
“That she has taken before,” Hiroki cuts in. “That we all have.”
“Not all of us,” Koji amends.
Hiroki casts an endearing look at his youngest brother and then turns his pale eyes to the king. “If she goes with him, then at least we can be certain we won’t be double-crossed.”
I try not to look insulted.
“And that way, one of our own will be there when the crystal is finally freed from the depths of the dome,” Tetsu says.
Yukiko reclines. “I’m glad you’re all so eager to get rid of me after just a couple of days in my company.”
King Kazue casts a sideways glance to his sister and then looks at me with a guarded expression. “If you manage to kill the Sea Queen and the Princes’ Bane,” he says, “you’ll have to tell the world that we had a hand in it.”
It isn’t a request, and so I bow my head in agreement, sensing the fragility of the moment. I’m so close that I can almost feel it in the back of my throat, like a thirst.
“The crystal, the necklace, and the glory.” King Kazue slides back onto his throne with hungry eyes. “I want Págos to have it all.”
“I’ll tell them whatever you want me to,” I say. “As long as the Princes’ Bane is dead, it won’t matter to me.”
The Págese siblings look down at me from their icicle thrones and, one by one, they smile.
WHEN I FINALLY LEAVE the grand hall, Lira is waiting, a foot kicked up against the icicle doors. Her hair is damp from the cold and she’s wearing a thick knitted sweater that dwarfs her spindly wrists. When she sees me, she lets out a breath and pushes herself from the door.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
Lira shrugs. “Just making sure you weren’t dead.”
I shoot her an unconvinced look. “You were eavesdropping.”
“And now I’m done,” she says, and raises her eyebrows, as if daring me to do something about it.
Before she has a chance to walk away, I make a quick grab for her wrist and pull her back toward me. Lira whirls around so quickly that her hair splays across her face. She shakes her head to throw it from her eyes and then looks down at our locked hands, frowning.
“I want to know what you were thinking before,” I say. “Threatening to kill a princess in her own kingdom like that. It’s not your best attempt at humor.”
Lira snatches her hand from mine. “Kye thought it was funny.”
“While I’m glad the two of you are bonding, you should try to remember that Kye is an idiot.”
She smirks. “And so are you if you trust the Págese.”
“I don’t need to trust anyone. I just need for them to trust me.”
“For a pirate, you’re not a very good liar,” she says. “And you’re not very good at bargaining. Everything you’ve given up seems so vast compared to the nothing you’ve received in return.”
“It’s not nothing. It’s to end a war.”
“You really are a child if you believe it’ll be that easy.”
“You think surrendering my kingdom to Princess Yukiko was easy?” I ask. “It’s not just having to marry her, you know. I have to give up every dream I’ve ever had and stay rooted in duties I’ve spent my life trying to escape.”
My hands clench reflexively at my sides as I watch for her reaction. I want Lira to understand that I didn’t just make that deal on a whim and that every day since I’ve regretted it. I know the consequences of my actions, and I’m doing everything I can to find a way out.
Lira looks at me wordlessly and I’m not sure how I expect her to react, or if I have the right to expect anything at all, but her silence is more unnerving than anything I could have anticipated.
The clock in the great hall chimes, marking the beginning of the night winds. Lira waits a moment, until all three bells have cried out, and then, finally, she swallows. The sound is too loud.