But for his lack of directional skill, his aim is spot on. His blade strikes one guard in the face. I land safely, but I’m not even to my feet when I realize I miscalculated. I’m in striking distance of the second guard. He smiles, victory shining in his eyes. He has me.
No.
He raises his blade. I don’t have time to react. I can’t move my sword fast enough. This is where I die.
All of a sudden, the guard falls straight forward, a blade sticking out of his neck.
I scramble to my feet, look up, and there’s…Fallador, standing in front of me. I blink hard because it can’t be him. Those are the same green eyes, but there’s no reason for him to wear a Khitanese soldier’s uniform.
“There’s never a dull moment with you,” he says.
Yes, it’s definitely him. Anger immediately flows through me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, standing straight. “Get to safety, right now!”
Stars, it hadn’t even dawned on me that he’d be at risk. He should be in his villa on Oligarch Mountain, sipping tea, observing this spectacle, not on the harbor floor with us.
“You’re welcome,” he says with a smile. “For saving your life.”
It’s truly terrible to talk to someone so much like me.
I look up and find that the archer hangs dead off the bow of the ship. Did Fallador kill him as well?
“Gods, he’s so ungrateful,” Gambria says. She comes around the ship with a crossbow in her hand.
Wait, she killed the archer. She’s not a marksman like Euyn, but Gambria could get the drop on nearly anyone when we were children.
I don’t have time to get explanations of what they’re doing here. Instead, we race up the ladders onto the golden ship. Now I have even more people to see to safety. Fallador and Gambria are the last of the Gayan royal family. If they die, no one is left with a rightful claim to the throne. They shouldn’t be here at all. Butshouldn’tis meaningless, apparently.
The only Weians on board are one royal guard and the scepter bearer he’s protecting. Two guards lie dead near Sora, who stands on the ship armed with a bloody sword. Two priests lie dead by the scepter—that could’ve been anyone, including the relic draining their lives.
Royo climbs up to the deck with Aeri slung over his shoulder. She moans. She’s still somewhat with us, but she’s very weak.
“Flee now,” I say in Weian to the guard.
He shakes his head and holds his sword in both hands. Another person willing to give his life for a lie—for a king who’d kill him as soon as look at him, for a false god. Another sacrifice to power, for the right to commit atrocities. Another man willing to die for the privilege of treating others as less than themselves.
Enough.
The guard engages me, but I spin and cut with a slashing motion. My fury drives my sword through his armpit and into his chest. I pull out the blade, and he falls to the ground.
He lands next to the last escape skiff, which fortunately is wooden and not solid gold. The Weians must have left this for their scepter bearer to escape. But now, we all have a real way out.
My heart skips. Survival is an actual possibility. If we do this right.
“Everyone get inside the skiff,” I say.
For once in my life, everyone does what they are told. Royo lays Aeri inside, and then Fallador and Gambria get in. Sora is last with a glance at me, but everyone is ready.
I take another step toward the Water Scepter bearer. He looks over his shoulder at me.
Stars, he’s maybe sixteen. He doesn’t try to fight or flee. He’s holding the scepter steady against the water, and he’s praying, I think.
Let’s hope his gods listen.
I shove my blade through his back, right into his heart. At the same time, I grab on to the staff. A rush of energy flows through me, but it could just be the power of the sea that begins to cascade down. The ship quakes, and the screams are deafening as soldiers start drowning. I can only hope that both kings and the queen are among them.
I don’t have time to watch. The water rises above the prow of the ship in seconds. I jump onto the escape boat and barely make it. Once I get inside, I have to sit and hold on tight while also securing the scepter. I lie on top of it as the waves of the falling water rock the boat as if it’s a bath toy.
