Chapter Seventy-Nine
Mikail
Quu Harbor, Khitan
I spur my horse to a gallop until I reach the black rocks of the sunken isle.
“Give her to me,” I yell up to Royo.
He looks down, over his shoulder. He hesitates, and frankly, we don’t have time for this.
General Vikal has already used the chaos to kill the Weian general and is currently running her sword through the Weian priest. I’m not sure what her next play is, but a Yusanian soldier is scrambling up the rocks, carrying a flaming sword.
My fucking sword.
I stop arguing with Royo and snap the reins. I know exactly who that is. I recognize his ridiculous mustache—it’s Thom, Salosa’s eldest son. He’s more useless than his father, but he was promoted through the ranks and constantly catered to because of his father’s status. General Salosa is, of course, now a sand decoration. But his brat was given my sword.
I ride close to the rocks, hold my arm steady, and aim my blade. I grip the hilt with two hands and ride until I connect with Thom’s legs. I mow him down at the ankles. He falls, his feet nearly sliced off.
As he screams, I stand on the saddle and leap onto the isle. I hate to lose the mount, but I’m getting my sword back. Thom, undeserving as he is, still clings to it as he cries out for his gods.
He’s about to meet them.
“You’re embarrassing yourself,” I say. I kick my blade out of his hand and then put my other sword through his throat.
Once he’s dead, I lean down and pick up my flaming sword. The sword has always felt like it belonged to me in a way I can’t express. It reminds me of being a boy in Gaya, of home. I must’ve seen the real Flaming Sword when I was there shortly before it was stolen.
“Ready?” I ask Royo. I strip the scabbard from Thom’s body and put it on.
Royo is silent. He’s staring at Vikal, who has her bloody blade out. He shifts to block Aeri’s body. I can’t tell if she’s thinking about killing him, Aeri, or both. She must have, at minimum, thought about taking the relics to Quilimar.
I raise my sword, settling on her wanting to kill both of them.
“The queen!” the palace guards yell out. “Save the queen!”
Vikal looks over her shoulder. The Khitanese guard has stopped to surround and protect Quilimar because even though the Yusanian and Weian troops are fleeing for their lives, they are still trying to kill the queen on behalf of their kings. Vikal has the same choice to make—kill what you hate or protect what you love.
It’s harder than it sounds.
“Until we meet again, then,” she says, sheathing her sword.
I nod, cutting down a soldier who is trying to climb up. Then I slice through another and then a third. With higher ground, it’s fish in a barrel, but Royo isn’t helping. He still has his sword aimed at the general.
Vikal takes three steps backward and leaps off the isle. Then she sprints on foot to Quilimar, blade out again. Soldiers try to attack her, and she slices men apart at full speed. She’s not wasting time to ensure the kill. She’s just trying to move past them to get to Quilimar.
Royo looks at me, somehow still struggling for words. “I just…”
“Can we go now?” I ask.
This is not time for a heart-to-heart. We’ll be lucky to get Aeri to safety in this free-for-all. The longer we take, the more forces can regather and align themselves against us. Royo doesn’t trust me because he doesn’t trust anyone, and that’s fine. We can discuss it later.
He picks up Aeri. She is breathing. Shallowly, and she’s unconscious, but at least she’s still alive. I’m not sure what toll it takes to use the two relics, but I have to imagine it nearly killed her. Our gods don’t give without taking.
Sora rides up on her horse.
“What do we do now?” She stares at Aeri and then the walls of water.
“Get to dry land,” I say. “Like I said before.”
