Page 108 of Heir

Sufiyan understood first, knowledge dawning on his face, followed immediately by anger. “We don’t split up.”

“The Tel Ilessi has a Sail, Quil,” Arelia said. “Use your head, cousin! He can go anywhere.”

Sufiyan watched Quil, and when he spoke, there was a sharpness to his tone. “You could be tracking him all over the place. He could be in Ankana for all we know, and we’d have split up for no reason.”

Quil shook his head. “Ankana is our trading partner. They’ve been honest and evenhanded in their dealings. They wouldn’t harbor the man responsible for the Empire’s destruction. The Kegari need a permanent base for their Sails and the Tel Ilessi will eventually visit.”

“Yes,” Sufiyan said. “And any idiot could figure that out, so you’re playing into his hands.”

“The last time we ran into the Tel Ilessi, we were heading west. And he knows Ankana is an ally. He’ll expect me to go there. Arelia, you said yourself—he knows the four of us are together. We’ll be safer if we split up.”

Sufiyan paced, agitated. “We’renotsplitting up.”

Quil hadn’t wanted it to come to this. In all their years of friendship, Quil had never pulled rank. But the Empire depended on him, and though he hated what came out of his mouth next, he didn’t know any other way of getting Sufiyan to cooperate.

“I’m not asking, Suf,” he said. “You might have grown up with Tribe Saif, but your parents are a Martial and a Scholar, and you are still a citizen of the Empire.”

Sufiyan’s jaw dropped open. Quil wondered if his aunt had ever felt like sinking into the earth when she gave orders to her friends.

“Someone needs to find Tas.” Quil hoped reason would help. “Tell him what’s happened, procure a ship, and make sure everything is prepared for us to head back to the Empire with whatever he has that our people need.”

“You’re not wrong,” Arelia said, and at Sufiyan’s shock, she fidgeted. “He’s not,” she said. “It’s the logical next step, though I hate it. We’ll need a meeting point and time. And a plan for if any of us don’t make it.”

“This is ridiculous,” Sufiyan said. “What if something happens to you? I’ve already lost—”

One brother.

“You will not lose another,” Quil said. “You’re heading south, we’re heading east. This is a detour. We’ll be a few days behind you.”

“I can track you, Suf.” Sirsha held up her Adah coin. “I’m stuck with Quil for a bit more, anyway. After he takes out the Tel Ilessi and I bind the killer, it will be easy enough to find you.”

Quil watched Sirsha flip their gold coin between her fingers, and wondered if it had changed since their oath conjured it. His own coin had slight etchings on its silvery surface, and when he’d ranged ahead, he’d gone three miles and felt nothing but a warm sense of her presence, somewhere behind him. As if they were a few feet apart instead of miles.

Perhaps they didn’t need to travel together anymore. Once the Kegariwere dealt with, Quil could ask for a Raani to break the bond. Sirsha would collect her money from Elias and move to the Southern Isles. Buy an inn and never track again. He wanted that for her.

Even if it means you never see her again?

Quil pushed the thought away, though his chest tightened.The Empire is first, he reminded himself.Loyal, to the end.

“If anyone should go after the Tel Ilessi,” Sufiyan said, “it’s me. His pet murderer killedmybrother, not yours.”

“You seem to be forgetting—”

“Ilar. Yes. You knew her for what, a few months?”

“I was going to say that you seem to be forgetting that I loved Ruhyan too,” Quil snapped, blood rushing to his face. “Skies, Suf, I know he was your brother. I know you loved him. But I’m the one who taught him to string a bow. I taught him to ride. To read. You never had the bleeding patience for him or his stories. He was my little brother as much as he was yours, so don’t you dare say that I didn’t care or that I don’t understand.”

Sufiyan fell quiet, his eyes haunted, and Quil knew he’d gone too far. He cursed himself. This was why his aunt had taught him control. This was why he’d worked so hard to keep a lid on what he felt.

“Ruh knew you loved him,” Quil said tiredly. “He did, Suf—”

“But he didn’t, did he?” Sufiyan said. “He attached himself to Ilar because she listened to him. She loved his stories. She understood him the way I never did. Maybe if I had made an effort, he wouldn’t have gone with her that night. Aba never trusted her. He didn’t say it, but I could tell.”

Quil frowned. Elias had been reserved around Ilar. But he’d never warned Quil away from her.

“Enough,” Arelia said. “Don’t take the blame for something you didn’t do, Sufiyan. The monster killed Ilar and Ruh. Not you. Now we can make sure she doesn’t kill again.”

“Fine.” Sufiyan stared at the ground, black hair damp from the rain. “We’ll leave for Ankana. Arelia and me. In the morning. That’s what you want too, right?” He glared at Arelia, who stared right back, her jaw set.

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