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Ryn wanted to avenge Heva and crush Prince Mansour beneath her boot.

And now maybe she could.

13

XERXES

For five days straight, Xerxes watched with a gag in his mouth, forbidden to comment, forbidden to do anything, waiting for Ryn’s answer. Unable to visit her because of the guards heavily stationed outside his cell as punishment for being discovered in the palace by Alecsander’s tree. Five days of seeing Ryn beautifully dressed in fine silk gowns and large earrings that didn’t suit her, sipping wine at banquets, stealing subtle glances in his direction. Ryn wouldn’t dare engage herself to the enemy. The mere thought was absurd when Xerxes had offered her queendom over Per-Siana where she belonged. But after five days without her firm refusal, Xerxes’s hope began to wither like a drying flower. For five days he had to hear the circulating rumours of his maiden and the heir Prince.

How. He. Could. Have. Torn. This. Place. Apart.

14

KAI

It was so dark, Kai had to light a candle just to see Heva’s injury. He unbuttoned the single button over her stomach, tugged the fabric to the side to get a good look at the spot while being careful to keep the rest of her covered.

“I’m going for a council meeting,” he heard the High Priestess tell someone out in the sanctuary. “I’ll be back soon.”

Kai thought that meant she was leaving, but the old woman showed up in Kai’s doorway. He released a heavy breath as he dabbed Heva’s side with a wet cloth. “Nothing’s changed, but she’s not getting any worse, either.”

“I came to ask you something else, Mordekai.”

Heva’s injury glistened with water, and Kai reached for an herb vial next, unplugging the cork. He kept working, knowing the old woman would ask her question whether he wanted to hear it or not.

A growl of thunder boomed outside, and a priestess shrieked somewhere in the temple. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours,” Geovani said, eyeing the dark window.

Kai carefully tipped the vile, and an amber stream of liquid pooled over the red spot. He dunked the cloth in the warm bowl of water, then dabbed the excess medicine away. “What rumours?” He squeezed the cloth too tight, flicking wet drops onto the floor. “You mean the ones about Ryn?” Geovani was silent, and his jaw slid to the side. “Of course I heard them. Your priestesses are not skilled at talking quietly.”

Geovani nodded. “I know the Mother City is turning on Adassah, but I’m working hard to keep the hope alive.”

“Are you sure you should even be going to this meeting?” Kai changed the subject. “You know what’s in that palace right now, right?” Creatures from Weylin fairytales. Monsters. Things Kai hadn’t a clue how to study or overcome.

A tapping sound brought Kai’s attention to the old woman drumming her foot against the floor. “I think not going would draw more attention,” she said. “These are dark days, Mordekai. We must pray like never before.”

Kai turned back to his assignment. When neither of them said anything else, Geovani sighed and left the doorway quietly.

A breath of cold wind rippled through the temple a second later, making its way into Kai’s room and ruffling the skirt of Heva’s dress. Kai slapped the cloth back into the water, splashing everything. He rested his hands on his knees and released a breath through his nose. It was bad enough being stuck here while the priestesses got to go to the border and see Ryn, but now he was trapped in this temple while the entire kingdom believed lies about his cousin.

Kai grabbed the dry herbs next and sprinkled some on Heva’s wound. He refastened the button over her midsection, and afterward, he sat back and looked out the window at the black storm that had mysteriously appeared days ago. It was like a tale from a legend, not something Kai thought he’d see in his lifetime. Everyone in the Mother City was talking about it. The Weylins were calling it an act of the Celestial Divinities’ wrath. Some claimed the great judge had called this storm into existence from his grave.

Kai snorted. Weylin children grew up on too many fairytales.

He climbed to his feet and organized the bags of herbs and medicines on the dresser. Geovani hadn’t allowed him to sneak into the city to get the supplies himself, but at least she wasn’t afraid to go hunt them down. He folded the freshly washed cleaning cloths, sliding them onto the shelf above, then put the herbs in the cupboard, nudging aside Heva’s books and belongings. He paused there, staring at the bowls of beads, the candles, the loose papers Kai had realized long ago were notes on fighting techniques and Folke rules. He knew Heva was practically an orphan, but he hadn’t realized just how much the priestesses had done for her, taking her in. He imagined she would have been dead on the streets long ago if they hadn’t, and then where would Ryn be now?

Probably also dead.

He closed the cupboard and stood, glancing back at the young woman who’d unexpectedly become his patient. He was getting much too used to Heva’s room. He even knew where all her clothes were, and which ones she must have liked the most since they were the most worn through. It wasn’t like he was searching for that information though; it had been obvious when he went rummaging around to find her a dress after she first arrived.

Kai wandered back to the bed, wondering if he should feed her broth. In the beginning, he was sure Heva was going to die. But faint touches of colour started returning to her cheeks, and though her lips were still pale, the original blue had left them. The first time he fed her broth, he was worried he’d choke her to death with it, but it had stayed down. He’d watched in amazement as her throat shifted, barely drinking, barely a movement at all. It was the first time he’d noticed that Heva’s throat was slender, even though she had muscles to boast of. Her jaw and chin were nicely angled, and her slightly parted lips were soft while she slept…

Kai stepped back from the bed when he realized he was staring. Warmth ravaged his cheeks as he turned and began reorganizing the remaining medicines he’d already put in alphabetical order. He stopped though, leaning against the cupboard on his palms. He wasn’t sure what he was stressed about; it wasn’t like he found Heva attractive.

He glanced over his shoulder, setting his jaw, reminding himself how much the Priesthood and the priestesses had always been at odds—and there was a reason. Heva’s body rose and fell with the slight evidence of breath. Her black hair, carefully brushed by Seeda, spilled off the edge of the bed. There were no more beads in her hair, no more tiny braids. Nothing that made her look like a soldier.

Just a woman.

Kai turned back to his medicines and shook his head at himself.