Because someone needs to take care of Mare, to give him a good and simple life. Not the Guardians’ Hero, not the selfish villain.
What do I say, with the Sun Staff in one hand, aimed above Yanami’s heart?
Trust me.
But I remember Yanami’s shouts, her confession,the only time the Guardians spoke to me was to tell me to trust you. I don’t want to repeat their words.
“I’m sorry.” The words come out true and freshly born. “You’ll make a great Inka.”
My words stay suspended between us.
My heart falls as her eyes close tight. But as she does so, she also opens her fist and lets her hand fall from her chest. Does she know what I’m going to do? Did the girl who first told me the folklore figure it out before anyone else?
Or is she simply ready to die?
I lift the Sun Staff and plunge it into her stone heart.
Chapter 34
Ican only bear to stay away for a week.
A week of running, fueling rumors, and accepting whatever resources lined the streets for refugees. A week of seeing people mourn me, theherowho walked among them.
Lima is still a war zone. Lack of authority brought out the worst in some and the best in others. It’s less obvious now, as I walk from the refugee shelter to the palace grounds. Some houses were ransacked, easy targets when people abandoned their homes to take refuge in the outer provinces. But many of those people are back now and working to repair their homes.
I don’t feel unsafe, but I rarely have. Now, less than ever, since I have a plain silver staff across my back for protection.
The guards brought most of the crime under control within the first 24 hours of martial law under Inka Yanami, but even a week later, there are bursts of unchecked violence in city centers and markets. Every day, new sets of guards return with Lima natives, sparking outrage from people scared about the lack of resources. The Aya Runa takeover affected more than politics. A lot of agriculture and trade from Lima ground to a halt, and the other provinces weren’t keen to send supplies without stable leadership.
Inka Yanami is changing that.
Inka Yanami…
I shake my head free of her image.
Is Muna back yet? I scan the morning crowd. Families are leaving their temporary homes to get food rations, volunteers are helping the disabled and elderly, and guards are bent over kipus and working more as administrators than warriors. There are whispers of anxiety as people prepare for refugees from Ollantaytambo to return soon. The faster refugees should be arriving any day now, which means less space for everyone as buildings are repaired.
I knew some groups didn’t approve of Inka Yanaru, but I never realized the chaos that would break out when she lost power. Fringe groups wanted to divide Lima into various territories, trying to take over land and the people living there. It wasn’t the majority of the population, but it was enough to ruin lives.
Inka Yanami has already rounded the leaders up. Everyone is waiting for the announcement of their punishment. The population won’t accept anything less than death. Yet, when I think about Yanami, the Yanami I knew, making that decision, my chest tightens.
I can’t shake her from my mind forever. I see Yanami’s face via projection every day. Her hair is still short and a blinding white. Any sign of her trying to cover up the truth of her lost power would be a disaster for her new regime, but it’s still odd to see the most powerful person in the empire look so weak and defiled.
I know other people think so too.
Yanami isn’t revealing all the secrets she told me, but she’s saying enough to redefine the empire’s history. The lies she tells are carefully calculated, and the truth of our fates is woven seamlessly throughout.
She’s set to be the most impactful Inka in our empire’s history, even if she decides to step down tomorrow.
She’s not doing it because she wants to. Or that’s what I assume. I don’t really know the woman in the projections. I only know the girl who used to lie in my arms. She says the bare minimum, and her Ice Inka persona solidifies with every story she tells. Bluntly. To the point.
No smiling, easy-going husband like her mother had to soften her image. She even keeps her recovering siblings and father away from the public rather than using them to boost her reputation. No, Inka Yanami is confident in her power, infinite samay or not.
Except, I know she must feel powerless right now, forced to expose the twisted secrets of her childhood to keep the empire together.
Inka Yanaru, my mother, was born on Amantani Island. The energy of the sacred lake and the Guardians’ blessings allowed the Samay Stone to be placed above my heart. We didn’t know then that there was a way to control it, but when Inka Yanaru discovered that weakness, she made sure to protect me.
I knew the Aya Runa had the ability to control the stone through their dark mimicry. That is why I had to stay away during the first attack and Intiraymi. But when they started their genocide in Lima, I refused to stand back.
