Page 29 of The Scarlet Star

Marcan looked from face to face in the room. He waved the physician away, then said, “I’ll take my leave too.” He fled after the physician, glancing back curiously at Matthias.

As soon as they were out, Ryn grabbed Matthias, pulled him inside, and slammed the door shut. Matthias held her arm to keep her steady when she grimaced in agony. It took all her self control not to hug him, to cry in front of him, to tell him about her father’s trade—the real reason she was here. But she bit down on her lips, keeping her secrets locked away. Matthias didn’t know much of Ryn’s family history. Kai never told a soul for Ryn’s benefit.

“I shouldn’t be in here, Ryn,” Matthias said, letting her go and wringing his fingers together. “If someone sees me—”

“Say I called you here,” Ryn said. She took in his blue and silver uniform. She’d only ever seen Matthias in Priesthood robes or casual clothing, often with a smile on his face. He looked like a stranger in a Folke uniform and a frown. “What’s wrong?”

Matthias took in a deep breath. “Everything is wrong, Ryn.” He shifted his weight and glanced toward the door. “You’re in a lot of trouble.”

“We know that much,” Heva cut in. Then, as if realizing she didn’t need to be part of the conversation, she turned and studied a speck on the wall. She peeked over her shoulder though, keeping her ear toward them.

“Where do I begin?” Matthias scratched his head. “The Folke have been suspicious of me from the beginning, and now the King has seen me, so I should escape before I’m caught. But there’s a bigger problem. I delivered your note to Kai, and you won’t believe what he said,” he stammered.

Ryn’s spirits lifted. “What did he tell you?” She imagined her cousin sending in the entire Priesthood in a palace-wide heist to get her out. She imagined him plotting an escape route through the Mother City and bartering with the tent folk up in the mountains for a safe place to live.

But Matthias’s throat bobbed. “First, he told me that you can’t come home. That you need to finish what you started.”

Ryn didn’t blink for several seconds. “He said that?” No, Kai wouldn’t have. Ryn hugged her arms to herself and traced her fingers over the bumps on her flesh. She recalled what Kai had said back at the Priesthood temple:

“I know the risk.”

“You could save the Adriel people.”

“Then kill him,”he’d said.“Before he kills you.”

Matthias nodded. “It was Kai.”

Ryn’s gaze fell to the floor, her fingers digging into her arms as a burning sensation crawled back behind her eyes.

Marry the King or kill the King. Those were the options Kai gave her. She’d had a moment of bravery at first, but after the escape attempts in the garden andespeciallyafter today she knew she couldn’t do those things. Would Kai really not listen even with Ryn’s life in this much danger?

“That’s not all,” Matthias went on. “You know Kai speaks many languages,” he said.

Ryn dragged her watery gaze back up to the priest. Kai spoke seven languages; it was his chosen study focus at the Priesthood. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“He overheard a plot in the market. The men spoke inMira.” Matthias stepped closer, his hand finding Ryn’s shoulder. “B’rei Mira spies have entered Per-Siana. They mean to assassinate the King—fromwithinthe palace.”

The sky outside dropped from the heavens and crashed over the ground. Ryn stared at Matthias, unsure if she’d heard correctly. A strange story was coming out of his mouth.

Matthias reached into his pocket and pulled out a note with a name printed on the outside in Adriel letters. It was Kai’s handwriting that said: RYN.

Ryn should have been relieved. Someone else might do the job for her and she would be free—maybe she could go home to her quiet apple tree oasis and vegetable garden if the King was dead. Maybe she could wash her hands of this palace forever.

But a weight sank through her along with the story of the little boy on the island; the one surrounded by poison. She thought of the torment in the King’s eyes. Like he’d already chosen the poison and knew what it felt like.

“Why? Why does B’rei Mira want to kill the King of Per-Siana?” she rasped as she took the note and slid it under her shirt for later.

“I’m not sure.” Matthias chewed on his lip. “But Kai made me promise to tell you so you can take precautions. I told him I’d pull you out of here the moment swords were drawn. That’s why I’m going to stay with you, Ryn, even if I might get caught.”

The moment swords were drawn.

Ryn huffed a dull laugh. Swords had already been drawn. The King had drawn one, the Intelligentsia had drawn one, she’d drawn one. More would come.

She teetered. “I need to think,” she said to Matthias and Heva.

“You shouldn’t stay here alone,” Heva warned as she wandered back over. “Not now.”

Ryn waved her away. “Please,” she said. Her grip tightened on the chair in the living space. “I want to be by myself for a little while.”

---