“Where’s Lucas?” I asked.
“He won’t listen to me. He’s still looking for the pearl,”Amador said. She slapped her hands against her sides. “It would seem that he refuses to give up on you.”
Nix squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. It was time.
“I need to get to the throne room.”
“MJ, are you sure that’s wise?” Nix asked. “What if…what if you turn…?”
“And become the thing that Qian knows I am?” I finished for her. “I’m still me right now, I know. We can’t risk it. Don’t remove the iron. Just unchain me from the bed. Please.”
They looked at me, worry making the two of them hesitate.
Nix glanced at Amador, her mouth a thin line, and then she took the key from around her neck and approached my bed. She unlocked the chains tied at the foot of my bed and held them in her hands.
“Lock the chains together,” I said, “and I’ll carry them.”
27
The palacehadbeen evacuated. All the lights had been doused, throwing the halls into shadow. Distantly, I heard the sound of armor and shields, barked orders, and calls for action.
The chains were heavy in my arms, but I carried them with my head held high.
Walking barefoot down the stairs, I witnessed the chaos unfolding around me. Guards and soldiers rushed around, hauling wooden barricades and sacks of sand. When people saw me coming, their gazes locked on to me, dread and trepidation in the whites of their eyes. I heard the beats of their hearts, rapid as rabbits’. I could smell the fear. The air tasted of their sweat. The halls quieted when my people saw me, like a hush spread across the palace, as if everyone was holding their breath.
“Your Majesty, it’s not safe for you here!” one guard shouted. She was tall and blocked my path easily with her arms stretched wide, but I held out my hand.
“I am not hiding in a tower.”
That seemed to be enough for the guard, who stepped aside, bowing slightly. “Clear the way for the queen!” she called.
The guards did as she said, stepping to the sides of the hall and bowing when I walked past them. All eyes were on me. The palace had turned into a fortress, barricaded and barred, supplies stacked meticulously for an invasion.
We would be at war any minute.
The line of people delivering coconuts to the palace had vanished, most of them leaving their carts or wagons behind in the evacuation. I followed the trail into the throne room, where I was met with the sight of mountains of halved coconuts, stacked all around the room.
Alone, Lucas stood, a hatchet in hand, sweat dripping from his brow. He’d left his jacket on the floor, working away in only his undershirt and slacks. He looked exhausted, and when he noticed me standing there, he straightened up.
“MJ,” he said, panting. “I—” He looked around at all the coconuts, none of them having any trace of a pearl. “I tried, and I…” He fell silent, but I knew he was going to say he failed.
Even more unbroken coconuts surrounded him. It really had been a grand effort. It warmed my heart that he’d tried. His actions alone spoke more than any words.
A calm resolve settled over me. It was a long shot finding a mythical coconut pearl, but somewhere deep inside me, I knew that it was futile. Yara hadn’t found a cure, and neither would I. I had gotten all of us into this mess, and it was time I faced it.
I held out my hand for Lucas, and he dropped the hatchet andtook it, lifting my hand and pressing his lips to my knuckles. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I smiled at him.
By now, most of the remaining guards had seen what was going on, and some stopped to watch.
We had an audience.
Amador nudged me in the back. “You should say something.”
Nix nodded encouragingly.
Lucas squeezed my hand and escorted me out of the throne room.
Jade Mountain must have set fires on their march toward us, because the air was thick with smoke. It softened all noise and color in the garden, turning it into a muted gray. A far cry from the life it once had.
