Page 122 of Ashes of Gold
“Blood is on your hands and you know it. For asking Zora, who loved you and served you, and would do anything for you, to be a snitch. For putting her in a position to either be loyal to the person she loves or betray her conscience. You a bitch for that. If you want to have me killed, do it yourself.”
“Is that supposed to intimidate me?” She titters, dusting her shoulder and straightening her crown.
Zora’s open-eyed stare flashes in my memory, her warm smile, the way she fought so fearlessly, the way she tugged on her gloves relentlessly. “You coulda shown mercy. She loved you. She was your sister…”
“Shut your mouth!” She spits her words like fire. “You know nothing of what you speak.”
I’ve struck a chord. “I know why Yakanna’s right sides are bare.” I move as I talk, careful to keep Taavi as protected behind me as I can. She’s frozen—her legs wobbling like stilts about to buckle. “I know why we wear jade in our armor. I know killing your own saisa and pinning blame on your coquella is disgusting.” Her eyes widen in surprise. She glares at the Chancellor, lips tightening. He glances back at her and she presses her lips closed, nostrils flaring.
Shit.
She didn’t kill Doile either…. The Chancellor did?
And she still stands with him?
“I know the Mother’s vengeance burns as hot as her pride,” I continue. “You gon’ get yours for this, Kai.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.”
The Chancellor moves closer to her, and Jhamal’s eyes flick in his direction. “She’s a liar, just trying to steal your inheritance. Can’t you see? You deserve that crown. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” He plays to her pride because he knows something she hasn’t realized: it’s her weakness.
“You like using that excuse, don’t you? Whispering it to people you want to manipulate? How they’re special and if they’d only trust you, you could help them be great. You have a motus operandi, I’ll give you that, Xire.”
His face reddens. He knows I know the secret he tried to burn away when he destroyed Totsi’s. The truth he scrubbed from every history class and magic book. The truth he killed and slaughtered for.
He glares at me. “You’re a dead person talking.” He shoots andhis magic darts like arrows in my direction. I whip open my hands, whispering a spell, and a wall as transparent as glass oozes from my fingers, stretching tall in front of us. His magic slams into the barrier and fizzles out.
“Stay behind me,” I say to Taavi, but she doesn’t move, eyes darting between me and him, fingers pressed to her earlobe. Magic fires in my direction and I sidestep, careful to keep my barrier up, holding it like a shield. Their magic rains against me and my shield flickers.
“No!” I mutter the shield spell again… too late. Another assault from a cluster of daggers barrels into me and my magicked shield evaporates. His men rush at me.
“Yo lis.” Fire streams from my fingers swallowing a pair of them. But more skirt the flames and keep coming. “This way!” I pull Taavi along; she’s like a brick. Streams of energy fly around me, a tangled web. I dodge and twist, ducking as light zips overhead. My chest is heavy. I can’t win this only playing defense.
Magic streams through the air like a missile, and I raise my arm, blocking. My cuffs glow. They absorbed the hit?Oh, shit!
Shock is written in lines on Patrol’s face, too. They freeze and it’s the second I need.
“Feey’l.” I thrust and air ripples, energy rolling like waves, knocking them over like a stack of dominoes. They fall to the ground. I step over them and erect another barrier in front of Taavi and me. “Get the beads off their wrists,” I say to her. “Dig it out if you have to.”
Taavi’s feet stick like glue. Magic gushes at us, like cords of light zipping through the air. But each attack slams into my barrier, my wrists warming. “Taavi! The onyx, now! You swore.”
Their magic slams into the barrier again and I shudder, steadying my feet, pushing back. Again they fire, and I brace myself, squinting. This barrier’s going to break any second, I can feel it. Their magic smashes into the wall in front of us, making tiny holes everywhere.
Fill… uh… replenish… I bite my lip, searching for the right fucking words. “Shee’ye ya fuste!”That’s the one!The tiny holes fill themselves. The barrier between us glows a deeper shade of orange, thickening, strengthening itself.
“Get on the other side of that shield!” the Chancellor growls, and another pair of Patrol rush at me from either side, but I’m ready. I let the barrier spell fizzle out once they’re in arm’s reach. Spells form on their lips, but I snatch their collars and smack them together before they get it out. I press them together, two bodies, shoved side by side. A shield. I duck behind them just as magic from the Chancellor slams into his own men. Their shoulders shake, eyes rolling, energy buzzing through them like electricity.
The Chancellor’s mouth falls open in shock. He fumes.
I shove the bodies of the limp guards to the ground and erect another shield.
“Their numbers are almost cut in half,” I say over my shoulder to Taavi, who’s crouched over a body pulling at its wrist, her hands shaking. “Patience makes all the difference. Exploiting their weakness. He’s impatient. It’s all over his face. Look at him.”
The Chancellor is an angry red boil ready to pop.
Kai holds her javelin at the ready, but without magic, she’s as vulnerable as our people below. Foolish she’s chosenhimfor protection. Jhamal holds a shield of gold beside her, waiting, ready to protect her, I guess, and the heat in my palms burns hotter.
