I spent the rest of the ride trying, and mostly failing, to fold paper birds. My fingers were stiff from the cold, the ropes chafing my wrists. But it was better than sitting idle in the wagon. Better than thinking about the fate that awaitedme.
Below, Hasege and his men were shoveling snow and gathering wood. All this time I’d been brave, but I faltered when I saw the stake. It lay on the cusp of the forest, enclosed by severed trees. I couldn’t have imagined a more desolate place to die, atop a pile of straw and sticks in an unmarked field of snow.
“Lady Zairena suggested we perform the rite at least a mile from Iro,” Pao said solemnly when he caught me looking off to the side. “So your spirit won’t torment the city.”
We were nearly there, and he reached into the pouch at his side, taking out a short string of paper birds. “From Megari,” he said stiffly. “There were more, but Lady Bushian wouldn’t allow it….” He wavered. “Both bid you goodbye.”
Sorrow welled in my throat as I nodded. Pao laid the string of birds across my lap, and I counted them as the wind nipped at their wings. Seven birds. A number for strength.
I searched the skies for signs of my brothers or Kiki. With every minute that she was gone, my heart sank. Fear was growing inside me, my entire body trembling no matter how I tried to steady it. This wouldn’t be how my life ended—alone, surrounded by enemies.
My brothers would come for me. I knew they would.
The last of the paper Megari had given me was carried away by the wind, and I rested my tired hands over my lap, clutching my basket. Feeling was slowly returning to my legs, only to be numbed by cold. Maybe I would freeze before I was burned to death. There was some irony in that.
Guiya wore Zairena’s face again, and she sat on a white mare by Hasege’s side, her eyes dark and unreadable. My satchel’s strap was deliberately crossed over her torso.
How I wished I could dunk her in the snow and expose her illusion. Anything to wipe the smirk off her face.
Hasege himself tied me to the stake. Ropes dug in at my waist and ankles, and as he pulled them so tight it hurt to breathe, I spat at him.
He glared. “What is this? More sorcery?” Before I could stop him, he flung Megari’s string of birds into the snow. He tried to take my basket too, but I wouldn’t let go. His eyes narrowed with cruelty. “Bring the torch.”
As the sentinel carrying the torch approached, I shifted my balance, my feet tingling as they strained against the uneven wood. I tried to look unafraid, but it didn’t work.
“Wait,” cried Pao. All this time, his jaw had been clenched, words of protest clearly weighing on his mind. “My lord, I think you should reconsider.”
“Again with the objections, Pao?” Hasege grunted. “If you haven’t the stomach to slay a demon, then you can leave.”
Hasege turned to the sentinels who had gathered for my sentencing. “This girl murdered Oriyu,” he said. “Framed Chiruan for it. Even Lady Bushian has seen proof of her evil ways. Ifsheis afraid of the girl, every one of us ought to fear her as well.”
“We don’tknowthat she killed Oriyu,” argued Pao. “She could have been framed herself. We should wait until Lord Takkan returns.”
“Wait?” Hasege growled. “Takkan is weak and too easily swayed by her dark magic. Waiting for him will bring ruin toIro.”
Hasege held a torch to my face. “Haven’t you ever wondered why we cannot see her eyes? It’s because she is a demon.” He spun to face the men. “I know all of you are loyal to Takkan, but our duty as sentinels is to expel demons from Kiata. By shielding this monster, he betrays the gods themselves.”
The men looked at each other. Their loyalty was to Takkan, but fealty to the gods mattered above all.
“She isn’t a monster,” argued Pao. “She’s just a girl.”
“She’s a demon,” Zairena shrilled. “This is hers, is it not?” She opened my satchel, and a swarm of shadowy beasts loped out. Foxes and wolves, bears and tigers—some so grotesquely shaped they resembled no creature that walked the earth.
The men gasped with horror.
“Now do you believe me?” Hasege boomed out as Zairena closed the satchel, shutting her false demons inside. “She must die.”
As Hasege rallied the men, I stopped listening. The sun was rising, its light prickling my eyes, and I scanned the blank sky. Surely Kiki had found my brothers by now.
But every time I spied movement, it turned out to be a shifting cloud. Not a crane.
Not my brothers.
I swallowed my disappointment. So what if my brothers didn’t come for me? Was I just going to stand here like meat on a skewer waiting to be burned, holding a basket of useless paper birds?
I dropped the basket and started working the ropes, wriggling and twisting. Hasege had bound me tight, and there was little give. I gnashed at my wrists, sawing the ropes with my teeth. The fibers were tough, and even if I had all day to work, I wouldn’t be able to free my hands.
But better this than listen to Zairena pray aloud, murmuring pleas to the gods that my spirit find peace with Lord Sharima’en and not return to trouble Iro. I wished again I could throw a fistful of snow at her to wash away that wretched illusion. But the priestess was clever and kept a wary distance.
