Mal-kai was a beautiful flower of deep indigo; it barely had a scent and so wasn't favoured for perfumes.That, and it was rather deadly to inhale over a long period of time.
A shadow fell upon the room, the daylight completely blocked from the windows.
Azul looked up.
Three emerald eyes gleamed in the window, looking at the corpse on the table.
Chapter 40
Chukwuemekawashalfwayacrossthe inner courtyard when the first cough hit him.
He stumbled, caught himself against a wall, and spat into the dust.His eyes widened as he looked at it—at the blood.
"No."
The next fit of coughs doubled him over, his hands clawing at his chest as if he could physically tear out whatever was killing him.Blood splattered the ground between his feet.
He fell to his knees.
Around him, the courtyard was filling with sounds he had been too focused on his own mortality to notice.Coughing.Retching.The wet, awful sounds of men drowning in their own blood.Naiman soldiers.Borjigin servants.A few of Somadina's remaining guards, their weapons forgotten as they clutched their throats and fell.
Chidinma appeared at the far end of the courtyard.
She walked slowly, picking her way through the dying; her deep blue robes were immaculate and her hair was perfect.
"Chidinma," he rasped."Help—help me—"
She stopped a few feet away and watched him.
"You're dying," she observed.
"Antidote—there must be—you—"
"There is."She tilted her head."I took it.Three days ago.Before the fires were lit."
He stared at her.Blood streamed from his nose, his mouth, his eyes.He could feel it pooling in his lungs, drowning him by inches.
"You—" Another cough, spraying crimson."You're my daughter—"
"I am."Her voice was soft."I am probably the only one who still calls you father."
He tried to speak, but only blood came out.
"I know what you did."
He fell to the floor, looking up at her.
"I finally found Kamsi's body."
She watched as he collapsed fully, his body curling in on itself as the Mal-kai finished its work.She watched as his eyes went glassy and still.She watched until the last tremor passed through him and he lay motionless in the dust.
Kamsi had been dead a long time, he merely used her name to lead Somadina along.Truly, her father was a vile man, and she could not remain his daughter.
Chidinma stepped over his body and kept walking.
The palace gates loomed ahead, open to the street beyond.Through them, she could see riders—Valthorne riders, their banners snapping in the morning breeze.At their head, a man on a massive horse, his dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.
General Thane.
