Monsters, she thought, closing her eyes. They all held monsters within them.
A hand clasped her shoulder. She turned to see Kaïs by her side, gazing down at her. “I have not had the chance to apologize,” he said quietly.
“There is no need.”
“I was not going to.” She looked up at him in slight surprise, but he continued. “Someone very wise once taught me this: action, and counteraction.” He clasped his hands together in an imitation of the sign Kemeirans made, of yin, and yang. “I will go wherever you will go. I pledge my swords to protect you, my shields to defend you.”
“Kaïs—” Her voice caught. “What about your mother?”
“Ana promised me her safety. If Morganya’s troops find out that I have betrayed Kerlan and survived, they will hurt my mother.” He paused. “Besides, I think my mother would want me to fight back, to make amends for my mistakes of the past.”
“To fight back,” Linn repeated, and she understood that she and Kaïs walked the same path now. Emotions stirred inside her, and she found words spilling from her lips—words that she had been too shy to speak aloud before. “That day when I freed the Affinites in the research dungeons,” she said, “was the first time I…no longer felt like a victim. Like I could truly make an impact, in changing the fates of people like me.”
He looked at her then, and she had the feeling that those eyes were piercing into her very soul. “My mother has the ability to see Time, and she has always told me she prefers to look to the future instead of the past.” A gentle breeze stirred his hair, which fell in waves over his temples. The Bregonian sun had returned a healthy tan to his face. “I cannot change my past, but I can fight for this world’s future.”
Something flickered between them, deeper than friendship, or even love: the knowledge of a shared experience, a common goal. They had both been brought into the Empire at a young age, exploited and abused for their abilities.
Now, they were free to make their own choices.
“If we are to fight,” Kaïs said, his tone shifting to something akin to playfulness, “then we must begin training. You are the best warrior I know; let us make a bet as to whether you can best me with one hand.”
Linn’s smile turned to a smirk. “I do not think that is even a question,” she replied.
Kaïs took the chi from her and grasped her uninjured arm. With a light tug, he pulled her to her feet and began to strap the contraption to her back. “There,” he said when he was done.
A strong gale tossed the curtains of her room into the air, pushing her forward. Linn took a step toward the balustrade. With one arm, she pulled herself up, Kaïs’s hands guiding her as she steadied herself.
Looking down, she felt that same fear push against her, the whispers of doubt beginning to cloud her mind.
Wingless bird.
I have broken you.
A breeze snatched the note from King Darias out of her hands. It twirled in the air before her, and she caught a glimpse of the words.I know you will defeat yours.
Linn straightened. The wind was stronger now, whistling like the voices of her past come to remind her of what she was made of.
Choose to be brave.
Linn felt a stir of Kaïs’s Affinity in her mind, nudging her forward, and she knew what he would say to her in this moment.
Look at me.Those molten silver eyes, the strength of his grip.
The world opened before her, sparkling water and endlesssky.
Now, fly.
Linn drew a breath. Summoned her winds.
And leapt.
The small town of Elmford lay stretched out along a shore of white sand beaches, its stone houses squat and sturdy along the daily drag of waves. A few dozen steps inland, outside the town, was a little hill that rose from the fine, soft sands. Wild grasses grew on it, and interspersed between were patches of white heather, swaying gently to the wind. Dressed in a gown of summer white, it sat patiently, looking out at the sea like a guardian angel.
Elmford’s bare dust roads lay quiet in the early-morning light as Ramson passed through, alone on horseback. His Navy uniform was stiff and new, threaded with golds and silvers. It felt like a dream, to be wearing it.
He’d gone back to Sapphire Port to inspect the ship where he’d found Kerlan’s lair. Instead of the makeshift laboratory, he’d found the place swept empty, without a single sign of anyone having ever been there. The spies that Kerlan had stolen into Bregon, ex-members of the Order of the Lily, had disappeared without a trace.
Except there wasalwaysa trace, and if there was anyone who could sniff it out, it was Ramson Quicktongue.
