“If I could give it to you, I would, but I promise you I can’t. You have no way of knowing this, but my promises mean something.”
Except I do know. I know it from the fatigue she comes in with. I know it from her depleted voice, same as mine, filled with power yet strung out from days, weeks, months, of battle.
The others call bullshit, but I cut off their voices by lifting my hand. I believe her.
“We need to use it, but we don’t need to keep it. We need to heal someone important to us,” I say. It’s the truth, but the others tense around me, unhappy at how much I gave away.
The princess stays silent for a moment. A crack in her armor appears as she bites her lower lip raw. The dead Inka told us we needed her cooperation to use the stone, but we still don’t know what that means. Does the princess need something else to use it as well?
“I can try, but I can’t promise success,” Princess Yanami answers after the pause.
I open my mouth to speak, but shut it the moment I hear a softer voice at my side.
Paria, coming out from the lightweight tent she was hiding in with Cashan, is beside me, swaying on her feet and still dazed from her lack of samay.
“If he dies, so does everyone here. I promise you that, princess,” Paria says.
As if puppets, we all look at the young boy at the princess’s feet. Paria spoke the truth, but it was a cruel one. Pucaru helps Paria back to the tent, but I keep my eyes on the princess. It isn’t just her armor cracking. Everything about her is falling apart. Where is her hero? The empire’s hero?
Where is this person that Suyai was so sure would save the day?
Princess Yanami takes a deep breath before nodding and raising her head. I hadn’t noticed the slump in her posture until she rose again. With her head held high, she promises she will do everything she can.
I nod to the others, and Pucaru sends a guard to get Suyai. I pretend not to hear Pucaru’s strict orders to be gentle with her.
Princess Yanami sits on the floor willingly, or better said, falls onto it. She adjusts her old-fashioned skirt around her and lays the young boy’s head on her lap, stroking his face as if they don’t have an audience.
He was the missing piece, the factor we couldn’t account for.
Suyai, Yanami, Sinchinrei. The players in the game.
But there was another name thrown into the mix.Mare. I never expected him to be a child.
I’m heavy with the knowledge that if it weren’t for him, it’s obvious the princess wouldn’t be here now, but I don’t let it burden me. Cashan has one or two days left. Our plan failed, but somehow we might still be able to save him. The princess will cooperate.
That’s what I have to focus on.
When Suyai makes it to the dais, limping and supported by the guard at her side, I notice the difference in her immediately. The last time I saw her, she was immobile. She barely opened her mouth to drink water and eat. She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t see anything worth using her energy for.
Now, she’s overflowing with it. Her face is overcome with emotions so strong I can see past the inflammation and bruising.
Princess Yanami stands up with the boy in her arms, and Suyai walks faster, forcing the guard to keep up.
“Carefu–”
Izhi’s threat is cut off by the sight of the princess helping Suyai sit, slowly and tenderly, before laying Mare on her lap.
Suyai’s tears mix with the pus and dried blood on her face, but she doesn’t try to wipe the grime away. She uses one hand to tidy the young boy’s hair and the other to check for injuries. We all notice when she gets to his leg and sees an open wound, old but not healing properly.
For the first time, we hear Suyai sob.
“How,” she cries into his chest, her voice raw. “How did you send that message?”
A message.
The princess’s words start to make sense. She saidwehandled it. That means the little boy helped. Suyai is an Ave mimic. It would make sense that the trait was passed down to him as well. He must have used all his energy to send her a message with mimicry. It’s an impressive feat for someone his age, especially when I can’t find a lot of white streaks in his hair. The greatest sign of his effort is his current state, unconscious, almost as if asleep.
He and Suyai could have joined us. They had the potential to be strong enough.
