Nalu’s chest rose and fell with each hoarse breath.“Lieutenant of the Leviathos, againsttwotraitors and a – ” The last word drowned in a choking cough; he scowled, unable to even sayMothwhen talking about Lina.
“That really depends on how you look at things,” River said, unmoved.“Archpriest Saros will see it as a warden, a seleneschal, and an innocent attendant.”
“In that case – ” Nalu widened his stance.His magical signature, concealed until now, dropped over them, heavy and frigid.“I’ll see yous all dead now.”
Crystals like miniscule razors flitted about the air, but Kai sucked in a breath.“Brace yourself, Swords,” he warned, summoning every last bit of strength in him to unleash his own signature.
The humid air chilled, and hoarfrost coated the dirt around Kai’s feet, expanding and building until the green of summer all around them dripped with ice.Kai wobbled, overcome with it – it should have been a comforting release, like stretching one’s limbs, but the buzzing throb in his face distracted him, made his stomach roil.He bared his teeth and rode it out, barely cognizant of the crystalline spikes jutting out from the ground, of the way even Nalu trembled.
When he could think again, he found River on one knee and breathing heavily, although he kept his sword raised, its point aimed at Nalu’s eye.
Kai held his brother’s gaze.“Try it,” was all he could say, and thank the gods, it was all it took.
Nalu smiled wanly, resigned.“If this is the route the lot of yous will take, then go ahead and rot.Gods!I look forward to hearing which of yous kills the other first.”
He pivoted, hands still up, and limped down the path, frost crunching beneath his boots.
“In the meantime,” Nalu called behind him, laughter in his voice, “may our warden and seleneschal take care.Because the pair of yous have cast your lot with no ordinary woman.”
Chapter Ten
Lina
Lina had read about it before.Fight, flight; freeze, fawn.The body’s answer to threats, reactions meant to protect, to keep oneself alive.
Choosing wrong was a repeat problem in Lina’s life.Adrenaline made her clumsy, stopped her from thinking.Locked her with the consequences, and in Lina’s case, consequences usually hurt.
“We’ll put the prisoner in my room,” Kai said, his head hanging as River and Lina dragged him back down to the acolytes’ building.Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, landing in messy splats onto the dirt path.
“Why your room?”River asked, adjusting his hold around Kai’s waist.
Kai spat onto the ground.“Because I’m fresh out of fucking dungeons, Swords.”
Eyes forward.Keep your mouth shut.Lina bit her tongue, wondering how far she might make it if she dropped him and fled.She felt Kai’s arm curling around her shoulder, her neck.A noose.
She should have run, let them all kill one another.
She’d forgotten the lessons Castor had taught her.How quickly things could turn, how far she could fall.She had been safe once, when she was very little: the treasured baby sister, awestruck by her brave brother, always following, watching, learning.Two coals in a hearth, the priests used to say of them: same skill level, same rank, same face.
How she had loved her brother, until she first noticed the twinge of dread that accompanied it.It started small: the smashing of a mouse that had scared her; cutting a girl’s hair to the scalp for a slight Lina couldn’t even remember.Nobody can hurt my family, Castor would proudly declare.
When they were eleven, Castor had come to understand what exactly the priests meant by purifying flame.Lina had found a stray cat, had tried to bring it home; it scratched her, frightened, and suddenly it was out of her arms and in Castor’s, pinned to the ground.It writhed and yowled, the blistering flame in Castor’s hand making its wide yellow eyes glow.
She had never screamed like that, screamed until her throat tore.“Don’t!”she shrieked, pulling at him.“Let it go!”
The way Castor looked at her, the blank stare, dim confusion, turned her stomach to ice.“It sinned,” he said simply, the fire poised inches from the creature’s face.“It should be sent to Sowelan.”
That was the first time Lina understood that what she felt for him was fear.It was also the first time she’d ever hurt anyone.
The cat escaped, but thereafter, it was Lina who needed purifying.
Whispers surrounded them once they’d hauled Kai indoors, the dozens of eyes on them making Lina’s skin itch.The only one brave enough to approach was a guard, panicked, arms out to help carry the load.
“Get Mikau,” River commanded.He sent the man a sharp look when he questioned him.“Don’t make me repeat myself.We’ll be in the warden’s room.”
The door had been warded, but with Kai too weak to maintain it, they found the floor outside his quarters slippery with slush.Sighing, River kicked it aside, rummaged through Kai’s pocket for his key (“Please, we’re in public,” Kai mumbled, and then laughed, a single frailHa), and unlocked the door.
Lina wasn’t sure what she’d expected – perhaps military cleanliness, leftover habits from growing up on a Mahina ship – but the pigsty they found beyond the door wasn’t it.Books and loose sheet music littered the floorboards, with his desk and table shrouded with empty wardstones, a collection of mugs and used teabags; seashells, cat treats, notepapers scrawled with messy shorthand.
