I draw my sword, facing him, and they both tilt their heads in the same direction.
“Oh gods, heisuseless,” Jimi says.
She nods. “I told you so.”
“I know you did, but…how did he ever find me and arrange to buy my freedom?” Jimi asks.
“I assume someone else handled all of the legwork.” She sighs. “He was simply the coin purse.”
I finally put it together, feeling remarkably slow. The palace guard is Hana’s brother. The one I gave freedom to and sent right here to Tamneki. But the last time I saw him was years ago. I simply didn’t recognize him.
“Nayo?” I ask.
Nayo and Hana look at me with identical blinking eyes. I could not feel more foolish if I tried.
“What did you mean by take care of him, then?” I ask.
“Knock him out so he can claim he was attacked by a prisoner,” Hana says. “We need to create a puzzling scene, but one that also immediately exonerates him, so by the time they do figure out that he assisted in your escape, he can be long gone.”
It…makes sense. There are three sets of keys to the door, making escape nearly impossible, even if someone overwhelmed the palace guards. The captain will be found dead with his keys in the office. If they realize I am missing and not dead, they’ll assume I’m hiding somewhere in the prison.
“Gods, Tiyung,” she says. “We will never make it to Khitan if you are this slow.” She slaps her side, tired of me already.
She takes Ral’s sword out and slits his throat. Then she places it next to his body, so that’s one less thing I can mess up.
I’m about to ask if we’re really going to Khitan, but that would just prove her right. Instead, I put my sword back into my scabbard.
“I can put him in a sleeper hold so there’s no pain,” I say.
“No, he needs a bruise,” she says. “Hit him with the hilt. You know, preferablybeforewe’re caught.”
I face Nayo. He’s very nearly my height—maybe an inch shorter. It feels strange to hit a man who is standing still, waiting for it.
“It’s okay,” Nayo says with a smile. “Thank you for my life, Tiyung-si.”
He kneels at my feet to make it easier, lowering himself to help me escape. Guilt hits me like a sucker punch. I wish I could’ve done more for him. More for all of them.
There will always be more that I can do, more I can atone for, and maybe that’s why the gods are giving me a second opportunity. Or maybe the gods have nothing to do with it and it’s all Hana and Nayo and Ailor. Maybe good people matter more than the gods.
Nayo smiles at me. I raise my sword, and I knock him out.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Euyn
The Palace of the Sky King, Khitan
I’ve never been more nervous in my life—not when I was waiting in the catacombs of the King’s Arena, not when I was in Idle Prison, not when I was buried alive in the Amrok Desert. And what I feel is nothing compared to the look on Mikail’s face. But I have it. I have the ring. Now, the trick is to make it out of here with all our lives.
I saw a way out right before I offered this wager, when I realized Mikail had been outplayed and we were headed to Quilimar’s dungeons. I’d thought I would merely die to free everyone, and I’d accepted it, but I think we can all escape if the gods are on our side.
My sister has made the grievous mistake of underestimating me. This time, she put me in a room with a bow. She was a champion fencer, but she’s forgotten my skill as an archer—probably because she called it a coward’s weapon. The guard over by the corner of the table has a crossbow loosely hanging at his side. If I can reach it, we have a chance. The armor of all these guards exposes the neck, sides, and legs. They’re targets the size of a barn for a good shot.
We can do this if everyone else is ready—or at least Mikail.
But if the gods turn their backs and I can’t make it out, at least Quilimar will have to release the others. I owe all of them that much, even Aeri, who in the end didn’t betray us. Well, this time.
I can’t focus on the crossbow because it’ll give me away, but I hope Mikail or Royo notices. Aeri could easily steal the bow. I look at her and then at Mikail. But my sister is losing patience. Quilimar keeps pressing her lips together. She is having difficulty containing her enthusiasm for my death, which is a bit disquieting. I was aware that she hated me. I remember her face as she passed by my bedroom when Joon would tell me stories. She’d look so disgusted, then go to her quarters with the slam of a door. However, I didn’t think it went this far. I was never to blame for her being forced to marry or anything else that’s happened to her. But somehow, I’ve taken the fall.
