Kiki,I thought, thrusting my elbow out at Hasege and giving my bird the chance she needed to crawl out of my sleeve.Find my brothers. Find Takkan.
Then I leapt, smacking my bowl on Hasege’s nose. It was just enough for Kiki to shoot away, unnoticed.
Hasege let out a cry. “Why, you—”
“Hold her still,” Zairena interrupted, speaking over whatever foul name Hasege was about to call me. She reached into her hair for a gilded pin, its tip alarmingly curved, like a scythe. Her eyes gleamed.
“This was given to me by the priestesses of Nawaiyi, an ancient needle once used to exorcise demons. Our Lina pretends to be mute, but I wonder if it’s only so she can hide her true self. Let’s have a test, shall we?”
Without warning, Zairena stabbed the needle into my ankle. All at once, my senses shattered. Pain rankled deep into my bone.
I clamped down and bit hard on my lip. This was nothing, I reminded myself. After months of working with starstroke, this was nothing.
But Zairena was relentless. She struck again and again. Sometimes she waited cruelly between stabs, as if to give me a chance to breathe. But then the next would be even deeper, the rise of her arm barely enough time for me to gather my wits and hold in my scream.
My vision swam in and out of focus, and I dug my nails into Hasege’s armor, about to faint.
“Enough, Zairena!” shouted Lady Bushian. “That’s enough.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t stand. I could barely feel my legs.
“There is no hope for her,” declared Zairena with a shake of her head. “The demon will not leave.”
“What does that mean?” Lady Bushian breathed.
Hasege’s black eyes glittered. “It means she must die. She must be burned.”
“Burned?” Lady Bushian repeated with horror.
“Yes,” said Hasege. “We must do it as soon as the festival is over, or we risk bringing danger to Castle Bushian.”
“It is the only way, Lady Bushian,” Zairena agreed solemnly.
Lady Bushian regarded me.It isn’t me,I mouthed desperately.It’s Zairena.
But Zairena’s trick with the wolf had poisoned Lady Bushian against me. For a long moment, she said nothing. And then: “What about Takkan? Perhaps we should wait for him—”
“There is no time. Lord Yuji’s army approaches Gindara. He will soon call upon the demon within Lina to aid him in his treachery.”
Lady Bushian’s shoulders heaved. She wouldn’t look at me as she nodded her assent.
“Don’t tell Megari,” she said as Hasege took me away. “It would break her heart to know how Lina betrayed us all.”
Snow drifted through the window of my prison cell, melting into small puddles on the pebbled ground. It was the least of my troubles, but great gods! If this was really to be my last night on earth, I wished to spend it warm and dry.
For the thousandth time, I tried to kick down the door. But curse Zairena, the needle was no special relic meant to exorcise demons. It had been poisoned, and the numbness in my legs persisted long after her attack. I couldn’t run away, even if I wanted to.
The minutes bled into hours. I grew tired of punching at the walls, and nursed my bleeding knuckles against my cheeks.
It had to be past midnight when I heard the footsteps. They were light and quick, a child’s.
Megari. She’d brought a small basket filled with paper—the sort used at the temple for making wishes. No ink.
“The guards took the ink stick and brush,” she said, fidgeting with the charm she had tied over the basket. It was one for strength and protection. “Paper isn’t much of a consolation. But I thought…I thought you might want to fold your birds. I’ll fold some too, and maybe together we’ll have enough to ask the gods to set you free.”
I wanted to hug her, and I clasped her hands. Her eyes were red and raw; she’d been crying for me.
“I’ve tried to talk some sense into Mama, but she won’t listen. She says that you’re a sorceress.” Her voice trembled. “But once Takkan gets back from Gindara, I know she’ll listen to him.”
