Wind Flowers, page 38
“Get out,” Naveen finished for me, clapping me on the shoulder. “No chances.”
No, this was risky enough as it was. And even though we had other resources at our disposal now, it was also just as risky to not have my people take care of the most important parts. And I hated that choice. Hated chancing anymore of my family at all.
But if I was built to soar, they were crafted to survive. To run, if trouble came to chase them. To hide and lie and live, if all else failed.
If I failed.
I yanked Kas into my side, who groaned as I forced him into a tight hug, Naveen wrapping his long arms around us both. “Good. I need all of my brothers back.”
Naveen pulled away first, amber eyes misting with tears he would not let fall; Kas next, a proud smile stretching his too-young face. And then, they were gone too, leaving me and Naria alone.
Leaving only one thing left to do.
Liar and lure. Damsel and devil.
It was time to make a scene.
My daggers were out in another flash, my black battle suit crafted from the most durable Jaltan soldier-silk, coated with thin links of metal that could withstand most blades. I’d only be vulnerable to Easinir attacks, water molecules small enough to permeate the material. It was a gift from my father I wouldn’t scoff at. Especially as Naria prowled closer in a matching one, her long blades drawn and sharp, glinting in the wintry sunlight. “Are you ready?”
Nehir had crafted a reputation of spoiling pretty, delicate things, often without sullying their own expensive clothes.
It was time to teach them the taste of Jaltan steel, and the mettle of a few nobles that weren’t afraid to dirty their hands.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I smiled at my sister—as grateful to have her at my side as I was afraid of losing her. We’d barely begun to make up for lost time, to get to know each other again, and I wasn’t ready for any of that to end.
“We have to watch for those suppressants.” Her tongue poked the inside of her cheek, the only show of worry she’d let slip.
I shivered at the thought of those darts—of the numb, cold sensation that crept from the inside out as the poison leeched the Control from my veins…
Of the power it stole, my wind abandoning me.
Of the life it cost me, my sister unprotected with my body weakened and my power zapped.
I pitched a grin to mask the discomfort climbing my spine like a ladder. “I don’t need to be told twice.”
Naria gripped her daggers tighter. “But Father will be ready for us when it’s done.”
“I hope we won’t need him.”
It was a nice thought to know I didn’t have to do this alone, that there was a squadron of Jaltan soldiers waiting for us if this went belly-up, but I still didn’t know if I could trust my father. Didn’t know if his penchant for war would consume him yet again. Didn’t know if all of this was an elaborate, long-term plan for him to finally have a reason to march his troops across Nehir. And even though I wanted to see the Winter Palace topple, even though I wanted Ecei to feel the sharp sting of defeat and to pay for her crimes…
Despite the wind's incessant song, this excursion was not a declaration of war. This was a rescue attempt, for Irina and Mal, and for all of Babylon.
Salvation, not destruction.
Bait and steal.
I wasn’t waiting any longer.
I marched over to the remnants of our camp—the fire already stamped out and the tent folded—to where my favorite part of the plan waited. Dried, caked blood smeared across his face from where it’d poured from his rebroken nose—a gift from Via, not me this time—yet he still glared through bruised-purple eyes as he wriggled against his restraints.
“Alright, bait,” I sneered, sheathing one dagger to yank Drakkar’s blond hair and tilt his head back, enjoying his wince a little too much. “You ready?”
He garbled against his gag, and I rolled my eyes as I used my other dagger to slice through it.
“Say again?”
He spat a wad of blood, wolfish teeth stained red as he bared them at me. “My mother will kill you. She will string you up by your insides and—”
I stole the air from his lungs to shut him up, and Naria snorted. “I’ll take that as a ready.” She grinned. “Let’s move.”
I let Drakkar breathe again, a coughing, sputtering mess as we dragged him from the treeline…
And marched directly toward the Winter Palace’s main gate.
The swirling metal gate screeched as my winds broke the lock and shoved it open like an alarm. Dozens of white marble, frost-touched steps tapered up to the palace’s ornate doors, and splashes of blue peeked out from the guard turrets as the people inside alerted to the intrusion.
While the others infiltrated like insects, crawling through the maze undetected, Naria and I were about to put on the performance of a lifetime, peacocks ready to squawk and dance.
I threw Drakkar onto the steps, a gauntlet that stained the pristine white marble crimson. An offering of blood, for what Ecei had taken from my family. From Aya.
I cleared my throat, my bellow echoing against the winter wind. “Anyone home? I’ve got a little present for Queen Ecei!”
A moment passed before blue-and-silver clad soldiers poured from the main entrance’s mouth, orders ringing out and swords already drawn, Ecei not bothering with the ruse of diplomacy.
“Stand down and surrender, and we will spare your life!” an archer shouted from one the turrets, a blue-tipped arrow aimed at my chest.
I glanced at my sister, who met my gaze with a feral, unhinged grin.
It was time to dance.
Thirty-Five
IRINA
Ren and Riku were here.
Here, two mirror images, night and day, both ready to put themselves on the line for me.
It was a grace I had not earned, but gratitude swelled up my throat, clogging all the thank yous I wanted to spew at them.
And if they were here, Shin had to be…
No. I couldn’t let myself think that.
Not now. Not with Ecei and her men circling us like a pack of wolves, ready to descend and pick us off, one by one.
Ren positioned himself in front of me, the sunshine fleeing from his expression as a darkness crept through it, intent and intensity sunsetting into lethal focus. “Irina, stay back.”
Fear prickled down my spine, but I nodded.
Ecei picked her jaw off the ground and gritted out harsh words, spears of ice coating her fingertips like claws. “There is no escape from this.”
A flick of her hand.
The guards surged.
And chaos erupted.
My head spun as I tried to make sense of everything, an onslaught of stimulus that blurred too fast to process.
Ecei rocketed a bolt of ice toward Riku, who melted it with a twist of his wrist, the Qualifier holding his own against the Controller’s superior gift. But Ecei was relentless, throwing more and more at him, shards scraping across his cheeks, his hands. Scratches of red blood matched his hair as he lost ground. A guard circled his flank, ready to pounce as soon as there was an opening.
“Riku, watch!” I cried, and without missing a beat, he redirected Ecei’s next ice shard over his shoulder, sending it straight into the guard’s eye socket. Gore squirted, and the guard screamed as he collapsed.
At the same moment, Ren dove into the horde of guards. The snow rippled beneath their feet like waves as the Quantifier doubled its size, trapping them up to the waist as they scrambled for their footing. But in another breath, a staircase of ice jutted up from the ground, its formation a precise replica of the staircase in the palace. Several guards took advantage of the structure, propelling upward, the Easinir in their ranks just as equipped to handle this as Ren was. From their higher vantage point, their arrows rained down, so fast Ren barely had time to shield himself with another mound of Quantified snow.
The twins were forces of nature, clever as they were cutting.
But these guards and Ecei were trained for this, bred for it, and the boys were outmatched. Outnumbered.
Two guards shot for me, skidding across the snow as Ecei bellowed her next command: “Get the princess, kill the others!”
I ran, legs wobbling against the uneven ground—
A hand snagged my ankle, and I fell.
Agony lanced through my side as I collapsed, the frozen ground smacking against my ribs and hands. I groaned as I rolled, but a yank tore me back, my fingers scraping as I fought to catch myself. The cold numbed my fingers to useless, and I couldn’t get a good grip, the snow too soft.
“Get back here,” a guard growled as he crawled over me, weight pressing into my abdomen. I wriggled to free myself, but the snow dragged me deeper. Panic clawed up my throat, but the guard grabbed my wrists, cuffing them in his large grasp to subdue me.
His mistake.
I would not freeze. Not this time.
My finger grazed the skin of his wrist. “Don’t you dare touch me.”
And my power glowed as I sucked at the guard’s life force, the same power that could heal and grow, set to take.
His head rolled, his heart slowing, as the euphoric electricity set my veins on fire. As my heartrate leapt, dancing in primal victory.
I jammed my knee up between his legs as hard as I could.
The guard rolled off me with a groan, clutching his crotch as he seethed, “Bitch.”
I hurried to my feet, ignoring the ache that clamored through my body—and kicked again, my mark landing twice. “Dick.”
The guard passed out, the whites of his eyes flashing before they shut.
I stood straight, triumph blaring through me like trumpet calls, my heart still drumming a furious beat. Life moved through my veins like lava, warm and infinite.
But it was short-lived as the ground beneath me rumbled and rolled, snow turning to mush and fluid water—
“Irina, get down!” Ren cried out, and I spun as the tidal wave of ice careened over his head. It darkened the sky above, hovering like a giant peering down, and then it rushed toward the ground, toppling six more guards, all too injured to stop it. It swelled again, set to crush them all, a merciless, overwhelming wall…
Until Ecei snapped her fingers, and the wave evaporated.
The world halted as both of the twins did, and my stomach dropped through my toes, my legs numb beneath me.
Ecei wiped the blood—whose blood, I couldn’t tell—from one of her long, icy claws. They disintegrated too, droplets hitting the ground in angry thuds. Then, she raised a pistol—blue-tailed dart sticking from it—and aimed it at Ren’s face. “Nice trick—did you learn it in primary school?”
My heart jolted.
This was the end.
She was going to take our Easinir, and then, Babylon.
We would not escape, not with her and the remaining eight guards ready to strike us down. The twins were more than capable, but even if we managed this batch, there would be more of them. Always more, an endless ocean of Nehirite soldiers that would never let us rest, never stop chasing us down and poisoning us slowly.
Yet Ren flashed a middle finger at Ecei, and grinned. “Joke’s on you, lady; I skipped school.”
He somersaulted into the air as the gunshot rang, the dart missing him by a breath. And in the second it took the guards to draw their shooters…
An azure-tipped arrow whizzed past my ear—
And embedded itself in the front guard’s eye socket. He fell, dead on impact, his one good eye staring into nothingness.
“Sorry I’m late.” Malina had the next arrow cocked and pointed at another guard’s face as she jumped into the snow. Her maid’s outfit was torn and bloody, her curls a wild mess, but the smile on her face spoke of feral glee. “Had to get supplies.”
And Ecei paused, her guards freezing as we stared each other down.
Now, it was eight to four, and for some reason, I liked our odds.
My heart soared, beating like hummingbird wings as it lifted my spirit into the air. “I knew you’d come back.”
Malina’s lips twitched. “Don’t hold it over my head.”
Her next arrow struck a guard right in the throat, somehow cleaving between the small gap of his helmet and armor, his blood spraying as his gunshot went wide. The dart flew just over Ecei’s head this time, forcing her to duck.
I scrambled back—knowing my limits. If anyone came for me, I could put them to sleep, but aside from my singular defensive strategy, I was not a fighter. And I was useless without skin-to-skin contact.
So I watched, waiting to heal if necessary, as Riku again shot for Ecei, a wolf on the hunt for blood. With every quick step he took, jagged spokes of ice dashed up from the snow—shards he broke off and hurled at Ecei with vicious speed. She gritted her teeth, waving her hands frantically to evaporate or redirect them, but Riku was faster, more and more of the spokes hurtling toward the Ice Queen.
But I didn’t have a chance to watch the outcome of their standoff as a torrent of darts rained toward Mal, Ren, and I.
My hands flew up instinctively, my stomach knotting with fear as I ducked.
Until a flash of blue fire—its heat licking my face even from several paces away— burned them to bits mid-air.
The scent of ash stung my nose as Malina flicked off the lighter with another vicious smile. Where she’d gotten it, I had no idea. But while she might not have been able to produce her own flames, the Qualifier knew how to burn.
For the first time in my life, I welcomed the heat.
The guards attacked again, this time with their swords, the darts doing little if they couldn’t get an accurate shot. Snow dipped and swelled as the water wielders all commanded it to their bidding. But Mal and Ren were ready, light on their feet as they tumbled over the banks and valleys, arrows quipped and daggers out.
This was a dance they knew well. One they’d perfected and performed, just like their demonstration in The Breeze Haven. Only this routine was lethal as it was lithe, their synchronization a murderous force. They somersaulted and flipped and danced, using each other to push up and over the unstable ground.
Ren sneered at Malina mid-slash at a guard. “So, you’re on our side again?”
Mal shrugged before she finished the same guard off with a poison arrow to the knee, toppling him. “Irina and I had a plan—you two are just getting in the way.”
Ren rolled his eyes, flipping over the next soldier and lodging his blade into his neck—then using his limp body as a shield against another oncoming guard. “We were heading in the servants’ entrance when you two were running out, and if we hadn’t frozen half the guards on your trail, you’d be shit out of luck.”
He slammed the guard he held into the other one, sending them both hurtling toward me.
Swallowing down my panic, I leapt out of the way as the guard tripped over his dead dance partner. Then, with a quick touch to the forehead, my power enveloped him.
The guard’s eyes shut as deep sleep dragged him under.
It wouldn’t last long. But I didn’t know how to kill. To destroy.
So instead, I’d do what I could. I would fight.
I smiled up at Ren and Malina, pride singing in my veins. I would not just stand around and wait. I would act, and even if my choices were foolish, they were mine.
I kicked the sleeping man in the ribs for good measure.
Five guards and one Ecei left.
But my celebration died before it could fly as the distinct sound of pierced flesh assaulted my ears, wet and tearing, as did the cry that tore from Riku’s throat. “Agh!”
I whipped around.
Just in time to watch him fall to his knees, clutching his side. Crimson stained his hands, his body trembling in shock. Ecei drew back a dagger of ice, Riku’s blood dripping from it. Raised to strike again.
Ren and I moved at the same time.
Before I could think, before I could understand, I tore through the snowbanks in clumsy, foundering jolts.
The first dagger flashed through the air as Ren hurled it at Ecei’s hand, the sharp tip slicing at her wrist. “Don’t touch him, you rancid bitch!”
Ecei yelped, clutching her arm to her chest. Her focus snapped to the sunny twin. Distracted.
I dove for Riku, my hand extended as he crawled over the ice, a river of red running from his side. So much blood. If I could just reach him, touch him…
A wave of snow rushed past us, blurring Ecei from sight. And Ren rode atop it, dagger drawn, vengeance written in blood across his face.
Riku lurched toward his twin as I reached him. “Ren! No!”
But I trapped him in my grasp, ignoring Ren’s pursuit. I had to focus, had to stop the bleeding.
My magic flared, bright and hot, seeking and stitching Riku’s side. Coaxing his skin back together. Stealing the energy from my veins, agony rattling through me as my power burned. I poured every ounce I’d taken from the others, every drop of excess I had, into his body.
I could do this. I could save him.
Hold on, don’t let go.
Riku’s side stopped bleeding. He sucked in a full breath, eyes wide.
The snow swell fell, crashing into the earth with a rumble. Instinctively, I grabbed Riku, holding on to each other as the snow-dust stung out eyes.
I blinked as it settled.
Ecei stood over Ren’s limp form.
“It took me a minute to figure it out, but you’re the Quantifier, yes?” She pressed her heeled shoe into the side of his face. Another smile. “Let’s see how well your twin does without his better half.”
The dagger slashed. Blood spattered.
Riku screamed. An inhuman, guttural sound deep enough to shake the mountains.
And I bit back a sob as the life blinked out of Ren’s eyes…
As his head rolled.
Thirty-Six
SHIN
Arrows rained from the skies.
But none touched us, my winds whipping them away, or Naria’s flames burning them to cinders before they could dare sting us.
