“I wasn’t given much of a choice,” I reply.
“I thought it odd when I sensed you passing the mountain border, and now I know why. What did that beast offer you?”
“He didn’t—”
“Do not lie to me,”she seethes, digging her fingers into the flesh of my shoulders. Her hand hasn’t stopped bleeding, the red staining not only her palm but my skin as well.
“My mother’s sick,” I blurt out. I can’t bring myself to lie to her. “My mother is sick, but once I fed her a dragon’s scale, her condition immediately improved, and—”
“A dragon’s scale?” Jyn rasps. “What color?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What. Color?”
“Green. It was green, my lady. Why does that—”
Jyn pulls away, hiding her eyes, but I already see the edges are red with the threat of tears. “Oh,” she whimpers, choking on the sound. Her torment screams at me through our thread, so raw that it almost makes me sick. Her agony is my agony, her sorrow my sorrow. I’m suddenly overcome with a vast, terrifying emptiness that nearly tears me in two.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, clutching my chest. I fear that my heart may burst. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Jyn. I was told it was medicine. I would never do anything to harm you.”
She takes a deep, shaky breath. “No, I… I know that.” Jyn wipes at her eyes. “So, this is what he promised you? The promise of medicine?”
I nod slowly.
“So you led him to me.”
“Not knowingly. Believe me, my lady, I would never have—”
“Does he know who you are?” Jyn asks.
“WhoIam?”
“Yes. Does Róng know who you are?”
I stare at her blankly. “I’m afraid I don’t understand your question.”
Jyn stands still as stone, her thoughts a mystery to me despite her emotions pouring into mine. What new map is unraveling inside her head?
After a moment, she clicks her tongue. “Make haste. Grab what you can.”
“We’re leaving?”
She busies herself about her home, hastily grabbing what few supplies she can—canteens filled to the top with water, dried fruit, a bit of spiced jerky—throwing everything into an old supply bag.Her urgency is so contagious that I find myself helping her, anxiety buzzing between us like an army of ants crawling on my skin.
“Where shall we go?” I ask.
“Far from here.”
I pause. “But my mother… I need to return to her.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Jyn, I beg of you—”
“Your mortal mother is of no concern to me, Sai. She will pass on, just as all humans do.”
I swallow hard. I can’t abandon my mother, but I can’t abandon my Fated One, either, no matter how hard she endeavors to keep me at arm’s length.
