Silence.
Of course, there was silence. The gods answered even less than the sea. Despite what the priests taught, the gods didn’t care. They certainly didn’t bargain with men like me, who’d spent years raiding and stealing and looking the other way while women screamed and children cried. I’d told myself I was different, that I never took pleasure in it, never participated in the worst of it.
But I stood by. I watched. I followed orders.
And that made me complicit.
But no more.
No more standing by.
No more following orders.
No more pretending I could break the shackles of my past by hiding on this island and hoping the world would forget.
Kaneko needed me.
I would not fail him again.
Even if it cost me everything. Even if it cost me my life.
“Amaterasu, hear me,” I called, my voice iron. “On my honor—on my life—I will find him. I will free him. Guide mykatana. Guide my heart. See him safely home, and all that I am is yours, great goddess.”
Then with barely a thought, I whispered, “If I die in this—at least I die doing something that matters.”
I turned from the sea and began the long trek back to the village.
The sun had set by the time I reached Irie’s shop. My old friend sat outside, wrapped in a shawl despite the warm evening, staring at nothing. Her head rose when I approached. Her eyes were red.
“Kazi.”
“I’m sorry, Irie. I’m so, so sorry.” The words shattered into a million shards as I spoke. “I should have protected him better. I should have—”
“Stop it, boy,” she snapped as she stood, wobbling slightly. I reached out to steady her. “It’s not your fault. Taira—that vengeful little witch—she’s the one who brought thewakoto my door.”
“Taira?” My blood ran cold. “Shetold them where to find Kaneko?”
Irie nodded, her lips twisting as though she’d just drained a bitter fruit. “Saw her watching from across the street while they dragged him away. She wanted you, and when you refused her, she took it out on him.”
Rage, white-hot and blinding, surged through me.
Taira did this.
She condemnedhimbecause I wouldn’t—
“Kazi. Stop and think. I know you want to . . .” Her voice trailed off as her hand on my arm pulled me back from the edge. She sucked in a raspy breath and then asked, “What will you do?”
I met her eyes, all doubt shed on the sandy shore. “I’m going after him.”
“Kazi, no! How? You don’t even know where Kichi’s headed.”
“I have an idea.” My jaw clenched. “There are only a few ports that deal in special cargo. Bara, most likely. The capital has the richest buyers, and Kichi always prefers selling where the coin is best.”
“The capital.” The word came out a curse as her face paled. “Kazi, that’s—that’s the heart of the Empire. The Emperor’s own city. If you’re caught—”
“Then I can’t get caught.” I kneeled before her, taking her weathered hands in mine and pressing them to my lips before meeting her gaze once more. “Irie, I can’t . . . Iwon’tleave him to that fate. You know what happens to slaves in those markets, what they’re sold for.”
Her eyes glistened, and she squeezed them tight. “I know.”
