I indicate the flotsam of the shipwreck floating in the distance. ‘Wake up, Ris – that could have been us.’
‘No, it wouldn’t,’ Biba says, staring at me assuredly.
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, meeting her gaze.
‘I told her to stop the other ship,’ she says, a strange smile coming over her face.
‘You talked to that thing?’ Ris asks.
She nods, looking at me perplexed. ‘Did I do something bad?’ She turns back to Ris. ‘Mama, your edges are sharp again. You are spiky, like a rambutan.’
Ris squats down to Biba’s eye level. ‘You know you are powerful, right Biba? You have to be careful with that. It can hurt people, including you.’
Biba curls her hands into tight fists then. ‘I’m only trying to protect us.’
‘Meaning good doesn’t always lead to doing good. It can be scary for us sometimes.’
One day she’s sprouting ube and making mangoes fresh. The next day she’s commanding a kraken. I look at this tiny kid again, and this innocent baleful expression. She genuinely doesn’t seem to grasp the complexity of what just happened. A shudder runs down my spine as the wind picks up even more.
chapter forty-five
hanan
When I regain consciousness,my body feels soft as bruised fruit, as though the insides are scrambled in this sack of skin. I haul myself up onto my side and cry out with every movement. My cane is destroyed, a burned and useless husk. My stomach roils and I blink at my surroundings. I’m on the uneven ground, my back aching from the branches I fell upon. I can’t have been out that long. I stagger to my feet, trying not to throw up.
‘Mother Joca, come quick!’ Nusi runs down the stairs from the library, a wild look in her eyes.
Mother Joca looks bewildered and it’s the only time I can remember seeing her unsure what to do.
‘It’s Malostra!’ Nusi insists, grabbing the Temple Mother’s arm.
‘Malostra?’ I echo, trying in vain to follow them.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ Mother Lin accosts me by the shoulders, and I yell out in pain.
The queen is surrounded by the Seaguardians, leaning heavily against Salvacion.
‘Raina,’ I say, making my way towards the princess but Salvacion steps forward to shield the queen.
There’s a faint dark outline on the Tree where my hand rested. A distant smell of woodsmoke.
A scream comes from above and we all turn our attention to the alcove into the temple library. Mother Joca stands there, ashen and trembling. ‘She’s dead.’
‘What did you do?’ the queen asks.
I can hear her words, but they sound distant.
‘I didn’t do anything! I tried to keep it under control. The energy is unstable; it’s dangerous.’
‘You are the only danger here, Hanan.’ Salvacion draws her blade and points it to me, the others following.
I am a fool. I remember the Autumn Isle farmer. Not only are people dying, but so is the world. The faded gold, the blighted harvest. And still the royal contribution from the commonfolk never ceases. The cup is almost empty.
‘Maintaining balance, isn’t that what you called it? It’s never been enough, has it? Your greed outstrips your resources.’
The queen’s face goes cold and hard. ‘You are a dangerous traitor. You were nothing, and you return to nothing once more.’
‘You can’t take back what you taught me,’ I say, squaring up against Salvacion. I know I can’t take her, but I won’t go down without a fight.
