“Lina!”
I hurried away, not looking back.
Emuri’en, be kind,I prayed, with a glance at the moonless sky.Let us survive the trials that await us. Don’t knot our threads together, only to sever them.
As I slipped out of the festival, the last thing I saw was our lanterns disappearing along the bend of the river.
I was searching for a horse to take me into the forest when Kiki slammed into my chest.
Shiori!she shrieked, flapping her wings violently in my face.Look. Look!
Not now.I batted her away, still distressed about how I had left Takkan.
My paper bird was wild, her wings flapping in my hair and in my ears. She bit my hair, dragging me toward the closest lantern.Look!
A trace of black ink glittered off the bottom of Kiki’s wing as she danced about the flame.
What of it?I asked tiredly.I’ll help you wash it off tomorrow.
Black, Shiori. It was gold earlier, from the dye on Zairena’s thread. You washed it off with snow days ago, don’t you remember?
Now Kiki had my attention. I examined her in the lantern light. Sure enough, her wing was black as ink.
Four Breaths.
I sat on the threads,Kiki said quickly.The threads on her spinning wheel. And—
She didn’t need to say any more. Understanding dawned, and I reeled back the way I’d come.
Zairena. It was Zairena all along.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
I circled back to the festival, my head thundering as I wove through the crowd.
All this time, Zairena had been the assassin. I needed to find Takkan before he left. Every moment she was here, he was in danger.
There he is!cried Kiki, pointing a wing at a man walking up the narrow road back to the castle. In the dim lantern light, the figure looked like Takkan from behind. Same height, same stride, same armor. But as I got closer, I saw that his shoulders were squarer, and his movements heavier.
Hasege!I ran after him. The sentinels needed to know,too.
Zairena’s the assassin,I tried to mouth, my hands whirling.
He didn’t understand. His face was redder than usual. He looked drunk, his cinder-black eyes hollow.
I gave up trying to explain.Where is Takkan?
“Takkan?” he said with a grunt. He edged toward one of the horses. “He was just looking for you. Get on, I’ll take you to the castle.”
His willingness to help surprised me. I hung back, not trusting him.He’s in the castle?
“What?” Hasege clicked his tongue. “You don’t believe me, Lina? Look there: my aunt is heading back to bid Takkan farewell right now.” He cocked his head at the wagon carrying Lady Bushian up the hill.
Shiori…Kiki wavered.I don’t trust him.
I didn’t either, but I needed to speak to someone—if not Takkan, then Lady Bushian—and it would take too long on foot. I jumped onto Hasege’s horse.
The fortress lights burned like fiery brushstrokes against the night sky. As Hasege’s horse galloped up the hill, apprehension thickened in my gut.
