The Temple of Knowledge, Khitan
This temple is a true gift from the gods. I have been to spectacular places in my life, but they all pale in comparison to this.
If I were a man, I’d become a priest to the God of Knowledge and happily live out my days under this dome. And Daysum would love it, too. She loves nothing more than sitting by a sunny window, reading a book. We were poor children, so all we had was one tattered book of fairy tales, but she’d sit with it for bells as if each time reading was the first.
A sharp, twisting sadness hits me, because I know where Daysum is right now.
I sniffle, but I try not to make a sound as it’s completely silent all around us. It feels wrong. These temples should be quiet, but not like this.
I genuflect as I enter the doorway. So does Royo. The others just stroll in. Aeri remembers late and kneels quickly, but neither Euyn nor Mikail pause. I suppose a demigod and a demon don’t pray—Mikail being the demigod.
A large fountain sprays water in the middle of a spectacular great hall. The ceilings arch high above us with painted domes, gilded in the now familiar Khitanese style. There is a second level completely open to this one—almost like a massive balcony wrapping around the room. The floors are covered in mosaics as beautiful and ornate as the throne room in Qali Palace. The walls hold countless books and scrolls on thousands of shelves, in the alcoves of gleaming white marble. But there’s a dash of red on the back wall.
I gasp. Kingdom of Hells. Is that blood?
We walk in carefully, scanning for trouble. Something about this splendid temple is all wrong.
Where are the priests?
We reach the center of the room by the central fountain and altar. From the midpoint of the great hall, two other rooms are visible—one off to the right and another to the left.
I point to the right. It looks like that room is full of scrolls from floor to ceiling, but I shiver and I want to stay away from that side. So that is where we need to go.
I hope that one day we’ll be able to avoid danger, but for now we have to run through it.
Mikail and Euyn ready their weapons, and Royo shifts both hands to his axe. We creep toward the scroll room, treading along mosaic tile until we reach a dark-red floor.
I gasp. It’s red because it’s a sea of blood.
Scrolls litter the room, some now sopping wet. Many have been destroyed, shredded by blades.
We find the priests. They’re all here. And they’re all dead.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tiyung
Idle Prison, Yusan
I am alive.
Hana didn’t poison me. My stomach just rebelled from having too much rich food at once. After eating nothing but bread and water for so long, I couldn’t process meat and cheese. I was in pain for nearly a day, but the discomfort went away, leaving me alive and still a prisoner in Idle.
Once I survived, I found myself waiting by the meal slot, hoping to see Hana. I pray she’ll share more information about Sora. About the others. Not that all the information will be something I want to hear. I wasn’t thrilled that Hana knew I’d freed her brother, and it’s even worse to know that Sora is in Khitan in order to steal the Golden Ring. I assume she’s with the others, but I don’t know.
Although I keep constant watch, I don’t see Hana. I fall asleep, then wake and wait again, but no one comes, aside from the guards bringing my trays of water and stale bread. The disappointment stings like a salted wound.
Every time I rise, I hope to see her, but then I fall asleep without any sign. The cycles of hope and depression continue until slowly, I realize that she might not return. Maybe she said everything she needed to. Maybe I don’t have the information she is looking for and thus she has no use for me. Or maybe I just imagined her completely. Maybe I was so desperate that it was all an elaborate hallucination.
I clutch the letter in my pocket. No, I still have this. I let the paper dig into my palm until it hurts and I’m certain it is real. Hana was here—she gave this to me, and Sora wrote it.
When Hana still doesn’t appear at the next mealtime, despair gets the best of me. Despite how I try to imagine a future with Sora, I can’t seem to keep heart.
I slump on the ground and pass on the next round of bread. I’m hungry, but what is the point? Why keep going?
Keys jangle in the door, and the lock turns. At first, I figure I’m hearing things, but then the door opens and I have to scramble out of the way. My heart speeds up. Hana is back.
Or someone is coming to kill me.
