The Spirit Heir (15 page)

As the terror subsided, Jinji found her voice. Needing a distraction, she whispered, "Leena, are you all right?"

The princess sighed once more before murmuring, "I never expected a warm welcome, and I've been through far worse than this."

"As have I," Jinji replied quietly.

"Do you know if they will take us to the prince?"

Jinji bit her lip, thinking back to the scene on the dock not too long ago. When the guards had seized her by the arms, Jinji tried to explain her relationship with Rhen, how she was his guest at the palace. But they did not listen. One look at the scars around her wrists, at the tattoos intricately staining the princess's arms, and their eyes filled with mistrust, completely impenetrable. Before she could utter more than two sentences, she and Princess Leenaka had been bound by ropes and thrown into a prison carriage, where they resided now, rolling to an unknown location.

"I hope so," Jinji said, "but an army rests outside the walls, an army of soldiers from your homeland, so I doubt the guards will take care to treat us kindly. I expect they'll send word to the king, so one way or another, Rhen will find us."

But when? After how many more days in the dungeons?

Jinji released a long, heavy breath and pushed those gloomy questions from her mind. If she knew Rhen, she knew one thing—he would come as fast as he was able.

"Much has changed since we last saw each other," the princess whispered, voice low and full of sadness. "I have lost someone I love. I have abandoned my family. I have betrayed my people. And I have defied my father. But if I can bring an end to this war before it truly begins, if I can help overthrow my king, then everything will be worth it…almost everything."

Moved by the conviction in her words, Jinji reached through the dark, finding the princess's bound hands. Though they trembled, Jinji held on tight, knowing exactly how it felt to be completely alone in the world—and just how life-changing one person's friendship could be.

"I noticed that you no longer hide your face, that you now wear the clothes of woman and not of man…" The princess trailed off, not asking a question but leaving room for Jinji to answer.

"A lot has also changed in Whylkin since we last spoke." A small smile graced Jinji's lips, but she wasn't fully sure why. The memory of the shadow stabbing Rhen, the time in the dungeons, the unfamiliarity of the castle—none of these were happy memories. And yet, despite all of that, Jinji was glad her secret had finally been revealed. Not all of the recent changes were unwelcome.

Like the night before.

Falling asleep in Rhen's arms.

But before the warm memory could take hold, the carriage jammed to a halt and the door beside them was thrown violently open. Rough hands grabbed Jinji's shoulders, pulling her out of the opening so she tumbled into dirt and grass before being dragged into a standing position. The guard latched his fingers around the ropes binding her hands, tugging her forward impatiently.

Looking around, Jinji recognized the polished white stones of the castle, and a warm burst of relief filled her chest. But it was short-lived as she was yanked in the opposite direction, toward the surrounding wall, and shoved through a wooden door. Leena followed behind as they were led down a narrow hallway and discarded in a small cell.

At least it's not the dungeon
.

Jinji glanced around, eyes scanning the multitude of torches lining the wall as well as the other empty cells around them, and determined this must be a temporary holding pen. But anything was better than the damp, dark underground. A shiver raced down her spine as the screams echoed across her mind, haunting even as a memory.

Behind her, the princess stood proudly. Despite the moist clothes sticking to her skin, no slouch bent her shoulders, no frown turned her lips, no exhaustion graced her frame. Instead, she held her chin high, her spine straight—the sort of pose only a lifetime of lessons could teach.

Jinji, on the other hand, gave in and rested her weary legs, sinking to the floor under the weight of her dress, twice as heavy now that it was soaked through. With her back against the wall, she hugged her knees to her chest and waited.

"How did you find me?" she asked after a few silent moments, curiosity getting the best of Jinji as her thoughts wandered to the princess's rescue an hour before. "How did you happen to see me in the water, to save me?"

"Luck." The princess sighed and then finally turned a dazzling smile in Jinji's direction, pushing her somber mood to the side. "Probably the same luck that brought us together in Da'astiku, the same luck that made it possible to save your prince. The ship that carried me away from my homeland is currently docked in Rayfort's harbor. I recognized you the instant I saw you and did not hesitate to dive into the icy waters the moment I saw you slip under."

The moment the princess finished speaking, the spirits flooded Jinji's vision, reminding her of a fact she could not believe she had almost forgotten. Blue spirit threads, water threads, pulsed around the princess, surrounding her in an aqua haze brighter even than the turquoise waters of the White Stone Sea. The glow pulsed as the spirits flowed around her body, undulating in an invisible current across her skin.

A water affinity.

The princess was chosen by the spirits, just like Rhen. But rather than touch fire, she was alive with cool liquid tides. Jinji had noticed it the first time she and the princess had met—in fact, that knowledge was the only reason Jinji had found the faith to reveal her magic to the princess, thereby gaining her trust and help in saving Rhen.

Luck had nothing to do with it.

A fist tightened around Jinji's heart, cramping her chest, stealing the breath from her body. The princess had no idea of the danger she was in.

"Leena, do you remember when you asked why I no longer wore the face of boy?" The princess nodded, giving Jinji all the encouragement she needed to continue. The words tumbled from her lips, frantic, desperate, as a sense of panic zapped her heart. "It was not by choice. I never meant to reveal myself, but there is an evil force—a darkness I know only as the shadow—that is killing spirit users like you. It can take possession of a person's body, can control them. When we first met, I didn't know what it wanted, but it tried to murder Rhen, and I realized the truth too late. He is alive by a miracle, and I do not want your fate to be the same."

Jinji paused, watching as the princess turned to her, umber eyes alight with understanding.

"Tam…" she whispered.

"What?" Jinji bit her lip, hanging on Leena's next words.

"He was my friend, is my friend," the princess said, tone hushed as her eyes retreated back into her memories, growing haunted. "He was in my rooms one afternoon, helping to plan my escape, when his eyes suddenly glazed over, grew the most vacant white I have ever seen. And then he attacked. I barely got out alive, I had to…had to hurt him…"

Jinji jumped to her feet, all weariness gone from her limbs. With her hands still bound, she reached out for Leena, ignoring the burn as her wrists chaffed from the movement.

"When did this happen?" Jinji asked, tone grave as her fingers clutched Leena's olive skin, deforming the tattoos on her bicep.

"Not two weeks ago," the princess muttered, eyes clearing as she shook her head, regaining her stoic poise.

Jinji stepped back, mouth dropping open as the fight left her body. It was all she could do not to fall as her legs began to wobble, and she stumbled back, leaning against the bars for support.

The voice. The shadow. The spirit dragon.

The voice.

The voice.

The voice.

Jinji blinked, trying to clear her jumbled thoughts.

The voice had first spoken to her no less than four weeks ago, perhaps even more time than that. If the shadow tried to attack Leena only two weeks before, then the voice had been speaking the truth all along. The shadow was not trapped inside her head as she dreaded but also desired—it was still free, still attacking people, still killing people.

The voice was the spirit dragon, the guardian of the living world—something that had been with her since birth. Jinji gasped with the realization that her life had never truly been her own. Every time she had touched the spirits, the voice had been with her—silent, but present. Guiding her. Deciding her fate.

Jinji's eyes slipped closed as her mind whirled with the possibilities, causing her head to spin and her balance to go dizzy. Why hadn't the voice come to her sooner? Could it have saved her people? Could she have done something more? Could she have saved Janu?

Jin.

Get out!
Jinji ached to scream the words out loud, but then she realized that no one in the world called her Jin except for Rhen, not even in her own head.

"Jin!" The sound came again, and this time she opened her eyes, realizing that the word was spoken aloud, not by the voice but by someone she was overjoyed to see.

There he was, charging down the hall—hair flaming red, echoing the anger spewing from his gaze. In no time, Rhen unlocked the gate, flinging the bars to the side. Without pausing to glance at the princess, he strode forward, never taking his brilliant green eyes off of her.

"Are you all right?" he asked as his hands rose to cup her cheeks, drinking her in as his gaze wandered over every crevice of her face. Jinji's cheeks warmed under his scrutiny, but she did not look away—could not even if she wanted to. He continued speaking, not bothering to wait for an answer. "I'm so sorry. I came as soon as I heard. The gods, I think I punched one of the guards just to let my anger out on someone. But I commanded them to treat you as a lady of the court—not as a criminal!"

"Rhen." She sighed. Immediately, he slackened, relaxing to the lull of her voice. "I'm all right."

With one tug, Rhen pulled Jinji into his arms, ignoring the dampness of her clothes and enveloping her in a tight hug. But as soon as their bodies molded, Jinji couldn’t help but release a small hiss of pain as the ropes binding her hands cut agonizingly deep. The residue of salt water only enhanced the sting.

"What…" Rhen trailed off, and his eyes grew three shades darker as they landed on her hands. Grabbing the dagger from his belt, Rhen cut through the knots in one fluid motion, gently brushing his fingers over the raw, red skin around her wrists. A frown thinned his lips, drawing them tight, but Jinji slid one hand free of his hold and lifted it to his cheek.

"It's okay," she murmured.

He sighed heavily but didn't protest. And they stayed like that, touching, embracing, until a gentle cough caused each to turn their head a few inches to the side.

Leena watched on. A small, secretive smile played across her lips and her eyes sparkled with dancing lights—as though she knew something the two of them did not. But rather than enlighten Jinji, the princess remained silent. Yet the air still seemed full of quiet laughter, joyous, as though the spirits were in on the joke as well.

The spell broke as Rhen jumped away, suddenly remembering he had a guest, and bowed deeply. "Princess Leena, welcome to Rayfort. I apologize that the welcome was not as, well, welcoming as you probably hoped it would be. But I assure you, my promise of providing you safe haven has not been forgotten."

"Prince Whylrhen." Leena curtsied, movements elegant in ways Jinji knew hers would never be. "It's an honor to be here. And a pleasure to see you again, conscious this time."

Both royals smirked.

"I try," Rhen drawled, shaking his head ever so slightly.

Heat burned Jinji's chest as she watched a scene more painful than the open scrapes along her skin. This hurt ached deep in her bones, down to her very core, as though it clenched her soul, suffocating it.

Against her will, Jinji's thoughts drifted back to those long days aboard the
Skipping Stone
, after their escape from Da'astiku, when Rhen had grown more and more attached to the golden goddess who visited him in his dreams. Not a day passed when he did not mention her to his friend Jin, tell the boy what a vision she was, what a dream. And the entire time, Jinji the woman remained silent.

A thousand times, she wished to shout,
It was me!
But a thousand times, she bit her tongue, quietly encouraging Rhen's infatuation to a foreign princess she thought they would never see again.

Had she missed her chance?

Did she ever have a chance?

Watching them now, Jinji couldn't help but notice how easy it would be. A prince and a princess. Two people from the same fold of life. A marriage that would form an alliance between two warring nations. Far easier than an outcast, a woman from a forgotten people, a woman with no political ties, a woman with short hair that would never grow and dark skin that would never bleach.

As she shrunk back against the cool white stone, Jinji took note of how they both stood taller than her, straight and strong. One, a man with peachy skin, one, a woman with olive undertones, but both carrying the exact same air of importance, the same stature—something Jinji would never possess.

"Jin?" Rhen asked, looking at her with a strange expression on his face, confused almost.

She realized the conversation had continued on without her, that she missed a question they spoke in her direction. But the bars of the cell were closing in, making her breath come short.

"I have to go," Jinji whispered.

"But," Rhen started, but she silenced him with her eyes—eyes she knew had filled with gloom, with doubt.

"I have to go," she repeated, louder.

Jinji glanced between the two of them, heart prickling, but knew she had better things to do than watch Rhen's dreams finally unfold. For the first time in weeks, Jinji had a lead on the shadow, an upper hand, and she could not waste the opportunity. The voice had answers and Jinji intended to find them.

At least that’s what she told herself as she fled from the cell, leaving the royals speechless in her wake. But she did not look back once as her feet flew down the hall, out across the yard and into the castle looming overhead. Within minutes, she was closing the door to her bedroom, gulping down cool air as the solitude closed in around her.