Page 55 of Eyes of Kings

Or perhaps, finally, Yilas is perceiving what Calla has kept secret. This body that belongs to a war from another time. This power, this bloodline, entirely stolen. The only ownership Calla can claim over anything is this crown, plucked from the cold, taken away from the borderlands before it could land in Otta Avia’s hands.

“Calla?” Yilas asks.

“I’ve felt it here my whole life.” Calla jabs a finger to her chest, right beneath her heart. “This endless longing. From one goal to the next. It brought me into this life. It fueled my days in the dark, plotting Kasa’s death. Now, it’s fixated on this war. On what we could do once August is out of the way. I don’t think I’d survive if I ignore what it calls for.”

Yilas’s mouth opens and closes. She does not know what to say. Neither does Calla, beyond that. She cannot define this sickness. But she’s always neededmore.

“What’s wrong?”

Bibi’s voice booms into the infirmary suddenly. Yilas yelps out loud. Calla straightens off the wall, her eyes focusing on Anton’s sister hovering at the entryway.

“Nothing,” Calla says. “Chami fainted at home. I thought the palace had better facilities than the hospital.”

Bibi steps in. Observes the medic, who nods before returning to his task.

“You’d be right,” Bibi says. “The Crescents are scaring off the doctors at the hospitals. Major shortages.” She turns her gaze to Chami. “She doesn’t look so good.”

Yilas sniffs. “We’re aware.”

“No, I mean her qi is…” Bibi gestures with her hands. “Mangled.”

Calla tilts her head. There’s something about Bibi’s tone that gives her pause. The nobles in the palace have been known to make such remarks too—that jumping would water down their qi and weaken their energy—but this isn’t that. It is a surety, not a taunt.

“You can see her qi?” Calla asks outright.

“I can see everyone’s qi,” Bibi replies. “She’s got whole chunks taken out of her, but don’t worry. It looks like the holes are already closing. She’s healing.”

Calla blinks. Yilas shifts in the chair, hiding her frown. She clearly does not believe Bibi, taking the comment to be that of a rural dweller’s ravings, but Calla isn’t so sure.

“Bibi,” Calla says, “why can you see that?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bibi asks.

“Other people cannot.”

“Other people should not.”

This conversation is going in circles. Calla turns to Yilas and says, “Can you stay put and keep an eye on Chami?”

“Of course,” Yilas replies.

Without giving Bibi the option to protest, Calla walks toward her and takes her arm, steering her out of the infirmary. Bibi makes a noise of surprise, but otherwise matches Calla’s pace, going where Calla takes her.

The cold window at the end of the hallway. Gray daylight, streaming through the glass welded to its pane. Calla deposits Bibi right in front of it, and only then does she demand, “What do you mean? Why are you unique in seeing qi?”

Bibi scratches her forehead. “We’re still talking about this? It’s because I’m a Makusa. Anton is good at jumping. I can see qi. Our father said our bloodline is special.”

“What washecapable of doing?” Calla asks.

Bibi considers the question. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure.”

Calla is beginning to understand.

“Bibi, look me in the eyes,” she says.

Bibi’s lip twitches. She’s confused, but she follows orders. Her black irises are steady. “Are we going to kiss?”

The light changes through the window, strengthening behind a thick storm cloud. A flicker of yellow, from behind Bibi’s eyes. Barely perceptible before it disappears. Calla tries to pull, and it is not the same as pulling from Anton, but it isthereall the same.