Wind Flowers, page 30
A sharp sting hit the back of my neck, pain searing through the spot.
I grabbed for it, clasping around something small and sharp, and yanking it free.
My stomach dropped again, energy draining from my veins as my blood dripped from the end of the blue dart.
“What—?”
Clapping hands silenced the end of my sentence as Ecei—flanked by two broad guards—materialized through the smoke, the remnants of the cracked door hanging precariously from its hinges behind them.
“Well, I did not expect to see this.” Ecei grinned, a wicked thing that twisted her whole face as her eyes darted between us; me, shirtless, and Irina, wearing my long tunic as a night dress. “Stealing hearts now, are you, thief? How sweet.”
I took a protective step in front of Irina, but my legs wobbled, dizziness raking through me again.
What was in that dart?
“What are you doing?” I tried to keep my voice steady, my mask of disinterest tight, but I wavered anyway, unable to clear my head of whatever poison had set my skin to a fiery itch, unable to clear my lungs of the ash that clung to every breath. “This wasn’t our deal—”
“Oh, our deal, hmm?” A brazen, shrieking laugh tore from her as she stepped forward, icy countenance melting when she bared her teeth. Smoke curled around her and frost gathered across her skin, a predator staring down her prey. “You think I’d still honor that after you killed a whole squad of my men and sent me on a wild goose-chase through Babylon?”
Horror lanced my heart.
Of course she blamed us, the witnesses to her treachery.
I had to get us out—get the others—and go.
One last escape.
I drew a deep breath, summoning the air around me—
Nothing.
Just another flip of my stomach. Another sway of my head.
Irina didn’t hesitate to fill in where I faltered, raising her hands, her voice low and cool as she stood back up. “Let’s talk about this. It’s all a misunderstanding.”
The Ice Witch narrowed her eyes, darkness tainting the blue in shadow. “Understand this, Princess: no one crosses me.”
She snapped her fingers, and the guards moved.
One slammed full-force into Irina, the Princess crying out as he tackled her. Another breath, and I surged, launching myself at his back. But another set of hands grasped me, tearing me off him, my fingers fumbling for purchase as my head spun at a tornado’s pace.
Arms caged me, and a hand grabbed the back of my neck, pressing the wound the dart made. Stars glimmered in my vision as the guard slammed me to the floor.
Right across from Irina, her cheek smashed into the splintered wood, tears puddling beneath her.
We had to get out. Had to fly.
Desperate, I dug deep, inhaling again, calling on my Control—
Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
No.
The dart, the poison…
“I can’t—” I croaked, my strength draining as the wind withdrew further and further, as a hole carved so deep into my bones, I was convinced Ecei somehow sucked the marrow out with her brandishing stare. “What did you do?”
“Oh, that?” Ecei kicked the discarded dart so it rolled, stopping just in front of my face, the sharp metal-end glinting in the sun. Ecei crouched down, cocking her head to the side so she could gloat in my face, her goon still crushing me down. “It’s another experiment I’ve been working on. Neutralizes Easinir for a bit. Handy, isn’t it?”
My throat closed. Another malevolent experiment. Another act of Nehirite evil.
“My parents know everything,” Irina bit through clenched teeth, rocking against the man’s hold. But the guard was twice her size, and he merely laughed at her attempt. Still, she was undeterred, hurling her threats at Ecei with convincing force. “We sent them a raven with my seal. They know all about the Blight, about your treason, and they will not rest.”
She punctuated each word, and for a second, I thought Ecei flinched.
But my hopes were dashed as another one of her wicked laughs tumbled from her.
“Oh, you poor thing, you don’t know.” Then she stood, snapping again at her guards. “Bring them downstairs.”
My heartbeat was a wild thing inside me, aching to break from its cage, but my limbs, my Easinir…
I was numb.
Useless.
I could barely control my arms and legs, never mind my magic, as the guards heaved me up, my feet dragging in awkward limps as I fought to move them.
They let me tumble over myself down the stairs, the wood smacking against my back and head in more dizzying punches. A pop, and agony shot down my arm, my shoulder cleaving from its spot. I bit back a moan, the throbbing a death march as I finally hit the floor with a sick thud.
Acid rushed up my throat again, but I clenched my teeth shut, refusing to let myself heave. Refusing to acknowledge the pain as I blinked, struggling to make my eyes focus again. The guard dragged me up, tying off my arms, another wave of pain weeping through my battered shoulder.
I saw Naveen, Ren, and Riku first; tied and bound together in the center of the ransacked living room, bruises already forming across their jaws. But they were awake, thrashing against their ties, even as they gagged around Ecei’s ice. Next to them, Kas propped against a guard, unconscious, a dart sticking from his neck, too.
My chest clenched around a terror that threatened to stop my heart’s next beat. We wouldn’t have our other Controller, either.
But fear turned into torrential rage, so potent it nearly doused the effects of the poison, as I saw Aya, bound and bleeding. My head cleared as my sister’s name stormed out of my mouth. “Aya—”
“I’m fine, I promise.” She shook her head, a warning for me not to get excited, even as she slumped against Naveen; even as the cut above her eyebrow spilled crimson life onto her pale cheek.
No, this was not fine. Everyone was tied up, injured, captive to this psychopath…
Everyone…
Everyone but Mal, who stepped through the door, unbound. Shifting her weight between her feet, her lip sucked into her teeth.
Dread dragged through me, hollowing out any hope I had left, as the puzzle pieces clicked together—and shattered me. “Malina…”
She didn’t look at me. Wouldn’t. Her back straightened as she stepped toward Ecei—
Her accomplice, and our captor.
“Cure the girl,” Mal ordered. “That was our bargain.”
A breath shuddered out of me. “You didn’t.”
Mal’s gaze flicked my way for a second, and the shame swimming in her eyes was enough to confirm my worst fears.
She sold us out.
Mal, who’d been dodgy for days, who’d tried to rile me—no, warn me. About what she was doing when she snuck off.
Mal, who I’d trusted with my life. Who I’d pushed away, inch by inch.
“Oh, but she did,” Ecei replied, pouring her sea-salt into an open, festering wound. She sauntered to Mal, fingers winding through one of her curls. But the fire pixie didn’t fight back, didn’t swat her away; her only reaction was a small flinch that slashed through my soul. Ecei sneered. “Your friend here is the only one with any sense out of you all. She turned the fae-stone back on a few days ago, helped me track you, and then she met me yesterday to renegotiate our terms.”
Malina, who I’d found in the sewers, brave and sharp like a diamond in the rough.
Malina, who’d been the other half to every con I’d ever pulled.
I knew she was a liar. A thief.
I just never imagined that she’d ever lie to or take from me.
Broken pieces cracked through my voice. “How could you—?”
“We didn’t have a choice. You almost died, Shin.” Her throat bobbed, as if she didn’t fully believe that excuse, either.
“The ravens,” Irina snarled, her voice an uncharacteristically low rattle as she glared at Malina.
“Never sent.” Ecei tsked, baiting the Princess. With her spindled finger, she squeezed and tilted Irina’s chin upward, even as Irina jerked against her grip. “Not that it would do much. Your mother and I go back a very, very long time. And I doubt the Jaltans would be very happy to hear about her secrets, if she chose to spill mine.”
Irina paled, and whether Ecei’s threat was real or bluffed, it didn’t matter. Because the light in Irina’s eyes wilted, her shoulders slouching as she wrestled with her despair.
But there was no time to process, no time to breathe, as Ecei straightened again. Smiled.
Ready to deliver the final blow.
“Cure Aya, and let the rest of us go. You don’t have to pay us the rest as collateral for the trouble. You take the Princess, and we all disappear,” Malina spat, a hand on Aya’s shoulder, drawing Ecei’s attention again. “Those. Were. Our. Terms.”
Ecei dragged her gaze over Aya. Curled a beckoning finger. “Fine, bring the girl here.”
Aya’s eyes widened in panic as the guards snagged her frail form, lifting her like she weighed nothing. Like she was no more than a feather.
I lurched against my restraints, toppling forward, but I didn’t care, even as my head pounded and my heart threatened to stop. Even as my shoulder screamed.
I didn’t care if I had to crawl over glass to get to her. If I had to roll through fire.
One last fight. One more escape.
Hands jerked me back just as the guard threw Aya down, her yelp fracturing through my ears. The others thrashed too, Naveen flexing every limb and muscle to break free, but it was no use.
“Don’t you dare touch her!” I bellowed, a thunderstorm’s call stirring in my chest. But my Control did not come, did not answer. My voice rasped out of me on a desperate, burning breath. “Hold on, Aya.”
Shaking, Aya sat up as much as she could, her eyes meeting mine. Violet, like the first colorful rays of dusk. Warm, like a summer breeze dancing through a young girl’s hair.
A trembling smile captivated her round face, those eyes crinkling at the corners like they always did. “Don’t worry. Time to let me fly, Shin.”
And for a moment, Aya soared.
A fierce wind exploded through the room, her Control unleashed as it tore the door off its hinges. It crashed into a guard, sending him flying into another, the garrison panicking as her Easinir roared like a triumphant tornado.
They’d all overlooked her, not bothering to shoot her with a dart, sickly as she was. None of them had seen her talent hidden beneath the bruises and pallor. Didn’t see the butterfly just waiting to crack free of her chrysalis.
Just as I didn’t see the ice shard until it jammed into my sister’s throat. Until it tore out, a stream of gore flowing from its wake.
I don’t know if I screamed or stayed silent.
Don’t know if I moved, or went utterly still.
All I knew in that moment was my sister’s last, gargled word as it coughed out of her, crimson staining her lips. “Shin—”
Then silence.
Eyes dulled. Frail frame dropped to the ground.
The wind stopped speaking.
And my sister’s heart stopped beating.
“I—You said you’d cure her!” Malina shrieked as she fell to her knees, blood soaking her trousers. Soaking her hands, the guilt hers to bear just as much as Ecei’s.
Just as much mine, for all the choices I made to get her here.
The universe tilted as a pain unleashed inside me, a force that crushed my soul to dust.
Aya was…
Aya.
Aya.
Everything honed to razor sharp focus, as if time itself slowed to honor the moment that my sister slipped into the next world.
And I watched in horror. In numb, endless shock, my ears ringing, my eyes blinking, as if my body did not understand. Couldn’t.
As Naveen bit down so hard on his scream, blood poured from his mouth, tears streaming down his face.
As Riku and Ren moved in unison, tugging against their restraints, Ren even dislocating his arm with a sick pop as they tried to fight for her, tried to save her.
As Irina began to glow, a vile string of curses tumbling from her mouth while she shook with a primal, visceral rage.
But none of it mattered.
None of it changed anything.
Aya was dead.
My Aya. The girl who loved lavender tea more than she loved me, though she’d never admit it. The girl who sang back to birds. “Because they deserve to hear some music, too.” The girl with my mother’s smile and my broken sense of humor.
The girl who’d suffered before she had the chance to soar.
The girl who’d never complained, even as life dragged her down.
The girl who made me better. Redeemable.
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Irina’s sobs tore through my ringing eardrums, the sound deafening. “You will pay. She was my friend.”
Malina snarled at Ecei, lunging. “You bitch—”
Ice snared her in her spot. Ecei wiped her blade with a handkerchief. “I did cure her. She’s free of the Blight now.”
The wind spoke the language of thieves, but Ecei wrote the book on manipulation. On pure, unadulterated malignancy.
With a smile and snarky remark, she’d stamped out a bud that hadn’t even bloomed with her poisoned, wintry kiss of death.
“I’m going to kill you.” My voice croaked out of me, and I must have been screaming with the way my promise scalded as I spat it out. “I’m going to see you hang.”
Ecei didn’t bother to look my way.
But if she had, she might have seen the truth in my words. The death threat in my stare.
Instead, her icy eyes settled on Irina. “Take her while I deal with the rest.”
Panic rattled my bones, but I didn’t have time to say goodbye as the guard pulled out a sack, strange green powder shimmering inside—
Fucking fae-dust.
Irina cried my name—once.
Then she disappeared.
No. No.
Not her.
Not her, too.
Not—
I launched to my feet, numbness giving way to something else for a brief flash. Something hateful and powerful. My sights set on Ecei, ready to strike. Ready to end her, and myself. To end the whole fucking world, because without Aya, without Irina…
“My Queen, we have company!” a guard bellowed as he burst through the door, sweat and ash staining his blue uniform, knocking me down again. “Jaltans!”
“How—?” Ecei whipped around, surprise lifting her brows. But with a grimace, she regained her composure, grabbing Malina’s frozen arm. “No matter, that’s my cue. I’ll let the savages deal with you all.”
I expected the green dust this time as she doused herself and Malina. As her guards all followed suit, flashing away in puffs of emerald magic, like they hadn’t been here at all. Hadn’t blown my whole life to bits.
Malina’s teary eyes met mine—all the hurts and apologies she’d never get to say brimming in them—before she vanished.
And then she was gone, and I was lost again.
Irina was kidnapped. Malina was a traitor.
And Aya—
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Alone. I was alone.
It was all I could do to crawl to my sister’s body as the Jaltan forces swarmed. All I could do to cover her, to shield her in death like I hadn’t in life. To sob into her hair as I breathed in the last glimmers of her life—the freshly-washed scent of her hair, the final moments of warmth from her skin.
The others bellowed against their gags, but I didn’t care. Not as red uniforms surrounded them, rifles cocked and seeking targets. Not as a man called their orders—No one leaves!
It wasn’t until I heard my name that I looked up. Turned.
“Shin?”
Princess Naria of Jalta wore the same crimson uniform as her soldiers, the color matching the bright streak of hair in front of her face.
The color of her people.
The color I’d shed fourteen years ago.
The color of Aya’s blood.
She stood stunned in the doorway, expressionless, a warrior surveying the scene of battle. Then she held up a hand, and her guards stood down. Started melting my friends’ bindings, assessing them for damage.
Something softened in Naria as she looked my way again. As she knelt down next to me, biting the inside of her cheek, like she always did when she was worried, but didn’t want to show it. “Shin, what happened?”
At that, the very last piece of my heart broke in two.
I clutched Aya’s lifeless body as I stared into my other sister’s eyes. One sister lost. Another found.
Fractured, and reunited.
Dead, and reborn.
Just as it had been when I was ten, when I ran and didn’t look back.
“She’s gone. They’re both gone.”
Twenty-Seven
SHIN
The Soran blimp—powered by both Soran and Jaltan Easinir soldiers—buzzed as it moved, clouds misting past the wall of windows while sunlight warmed the metal sills to a branding heat. But even as I slouched against one, the glass and bronze burning the back of my neck, I barely felt it.
Barely felt anything.
Naria and Hana gathered all of us—except Kas, who slept in the chamber below between crying fits—in the Captain’s bay, the large room full of whirring contraptions and blinking lights. All mysteries that might have previously stirred wonder and awe in my chest.
But I was hollow, everyone’s voices distant as I succumbed to the nothingness.
Naveen, Ren, and Riku all huddled onto one of the plush purple couches, Ren clutching his injured arm in the makeshift sling the soldiers had wrapped him in. In a day, their faces had all aged years—eyes bloodshot and bleary, cheeks hollow and sunken, skin stretched too thin and blotchy from tears. Our Easinir had returned a mere hour after we’d been shot, the effect of the darts only temporary; but our magic’s return did nothing to invite life back into our veins, all of us still empty and aching. Like without Malina, without Irina, without…
