We laid Takkan on a mat, his face twisted in pain.
I tried to ask what had happened, but to no avail.
“Don’t just stand there, girl,” barked the sentinel. “Help me remove his armor.”
I obeyed. I took off Takkan’s gauntlets, his boots, his sword, my fingers lingering only the briefest second over the carving on its sheath. His family crest, I could tell, even in the shadows. A full moon wreathed in plum blossoms.
Carefully, we removed the steel-plated armor and the leather padding over Takkan’s torso. My hand jumped to my mouth when I saw the blood. It was bright even in the murky light, and there was so much…so much I couldn’t see where it came from.
The sentinel drew a sharp breath. “It’s worse than I feared,” he rasped, positioning his fingers to stanch the blood. The wound was just left of Takkan’s heart, a deep stab. “You’ll have to get the doctor. Tell Lady Bushian—”
An arrow pierced one of the wooden beams above us, and I jumped. But it was the suddenness of it that had startled me. I regained my composure almost instantly, plucking the arrow out.
“Never mind, you’ll be killed out there if you go. You stay.”
The sentinel himself was injured—I could tell from the gashes on his armor and the blood smeared across his bare scalp—but his injuries were not as grave as Takkan’s. He rolled Takkan onto my lap and set a small lantern beside us. “Keep his side elevated and maintain pressure on his wound while I seek help. His life depends on it, do you understand?”
Yes.I didn’t even notice him leave. Blood pooled where I pressed down on Takkan’s wound, red and vivid and seeming to have no end. The air had a sharp tang of copper, one that made my stomach twist and churn.
He grunted every time I increased pressure, which was both a relief and a distress. I had Kiki catch rainwater with her wings and dribble it over his parched lips, but I wished I could do more for him.
That’s Radish Boy, isn’t it?Kiki quipped.He looks different.
I swept Takkan’s hair out of his face and touched his cheek, moist and cold. He looked younger than I remembered; his hair had been trimmed, his cheeks and chin tidied of stubble. Handsome by any measure, though most girls in court would find him too rugged. Were he anyone but Lord Bushian’s son, evenIwould have found him handsome. But we couldn’t change our bloodlines.
In Tianyi Village, I’d thought him a stranger. A dutiful sentinel who’d taken it upon himself to search for the royal children—as many others across the kingdom must be.
This was the first time I’d seen him and known who he was: Takkan, my betrothed, the boy I’d despised…simply for existing.
How many times had I selfishly, horribly prayed that he might die—that his ship might be lost at sea or that he might fall into a well—just so I wouldn’t have to marry him?
Maybe Ididdeserve to have this bowl on my head, to never be allowed to speak again. To be sent far away from my family, with little hope of finding my way home.
I patted his cheeks, trying to slap him into consciousness.Come on, Takkan. You can’t die. Not here, not on my lap.You have to live—live, and when I break my curse, I can tell Father to unknot our strands and you’ll be free to marry whomever you’d like. You don’t want your fate tied to mine, I promise.
I leaned over him, pressing harder against his wound.You’ll find some nice lady who loves the snow and the rabbits and wolves and whatever it is you Northerners love. Come on,I pleaded.Please don’t die.
Both our lives might have ended right there and then if Kiki had not noticed the assassin creeping up in the darkness.
Shiori!she shouted.
I scrambled for Takkan’s blade. I didn’t have a chance to unsheathe it before the assassin struck.
My back slammed against the wall, the edge of the assassin’s sword screeching against my hopeless scabbard. I grasped the hilt tightly, pushing back as hard as I could. My fingers were slippery with blood, my elbows digging into the walls. I couldn’t see the assassin’s face, but he had to know that one more strike was all it would take to end me.
Kiki!
My bird already knew what to do. She bounced onto the assassin’s nose and covered his eyes with her wings.
The assassin lashed out wildly, and I ducked. His blade sliced against the bowl on my head—a useful shield, it turned out. He cut at the air, his sword swinging into the wall and catching between the slats of wood.
I rejoiced too quickly. As Kiki flew back to my side, the assassin grabbed one of the slats and knocked me down.
His hands found my neck, and panic shot up through my chest. I kicked and punched, but it was no use. Air squeezed out of my lungs, and white spots danced in my vision. All at once my mind locked itself—I was drowning in the Sacred Lake again, trapped. Dying.
From the corner, Takkan suddenly groaned. He kicked at the lantern rolling on the ground. With a rush, it came rattling toward me.
Its rusted handle was the most delightful thing my fingers had ever grasped. Without a second thought, I smashed it against the assassin’s skull.
