Page 76 of All the Wandering Light

“It’s all right.” I wrapped my arms around him. “We’re all right.” My own exhaustion, held back until now by nervous energy, swelled. Tem was here, none of us were about to be flung in a dungeon, and if River was right, we were safe from Esha—at least for now.

Someone was pounding on the door. “Wonderful,” River muttered, moving to answer it. Several raised voices emanated from the corridor. River gave a curt response, then slammed the door shut. There was a moment of startled silence, and then came another knock, more timid this time.

“They’ll go away,” River said. “Most of the palace staff thinks I’m half-mad.” He surveyed the wreckage of the room. “Still, I’m not sure that will pass as an explanation for this.”

Tem’s head nodded forward. Against his ashen skin, the bruise was even darker.

“What’s that?” River wasn’t looking at Tem—he was looking at me. He touched my shoulder, thumb brushing my neck. I flushed, and remembered that my chuba was stained with old blood.

“Oh—nothing,” I said. “Ended up on the wrong end of the arrow.”

“Nothing.” River gave his head a rueful shake. “The three of you need rest.”

“No,” I said, even as weariness surged again. I still had a hundred questions for him. And we had to figure out what to do next. I opened my mouth, but Lusha intervened.

“We can rest after we’ve spoken to the emperor,” she said.

“The emperor is away from court,” River said. “He won’t return until tomorrow. In any case, I’ve already warned the General of the Second Army that the witches are preparing an attack. He’s agreed to deploy soldiers throughout the Three Cities, though he won’t take additional action without the emperor’s approval.”

He didn’t understand. “We have to give the emperor the star now. River, we don’t know when—”

I was prevented from continuing by Lusha, who, shifting position, lowered her knee onto my hand. I yelped.

“Sorry,” Lusha murmured, shaking her head at her awkwardness. Lusha was never awkward. She turned her face toward mine, and I saw the warning written clearly in her eyes.

“The star is safe here,” River said. “And the emperor has no need for a resurrection spell.”

“But—” I began. There came another, more determined knock at the door, and River moved to answer it with an exasperated sigh.

Lusha was looking at me, her expression ferocious. “Kamzin.”

I understood.

River didn’t know what the star was for. I searched through my visions of him, and saw my guess confirmed. He knew that it was a source of power, and he knew now that it could raise the dead. But he didn’t know that the emperor had used a fallen star to bind the witches’ powers.

I sat back, stunned. Little was known about the binding spell—not even Chirri knew how the emperor had cast it. River, clearly, couldn’t learn the truth about the star. As much as he hated Esha, I didn’t think for a moment that he would allow the emperor to recast the spell.

Lusha was still watching me, a wariness in her expression. I had, for a brief moment, forgotten that River wasn’t one of us. Lusha hadn’t. Did she think I would hesitate now, out of loyalty to River, or reveal the star’s true power?

I thought of how River had saved me in the Ashes. I also thought of how he had lied to me, used me to get what he wanted, and abandoned me on Raksha.

I swallowed. I met Lusha’s gaze and nodded once.

“The servants are preparing your rooms,” River said, returning.

I didn’t meet his eyes. Lusha said, into the silence, “Tem will need a healer.”

“I’ll see to it.”

Moments later, we were being escorted down the corridor by palace servants. After strolling for what felt like an hour, they stopped outside a set of enormous doors more simply carved than River’s, but still imposing. One of the servants, a young woman, motioned for Tem to enter.

“I’ll stay with him,” I said, taking his arm. The girl raised an eyebrow at me, and I flushed. “I don’t mean—”

“Kamzin.” Tem gave me a weary smile. “I’ll be fine. And you need to rest too.”

I stepped back and watched him disappear through the doors. Lusha’s room was next to Tem’s, while mine was on the other side of the corridor. When the door swung open, I drew in my breath.

The room was high-ceilinged, the walls hung with woven tapestries in bright patterns. All the windows were shuttered save one, which overlooked a courtyard crowded with vines and a fountain, its water catching the dawn light like jewels. The bed towered over the room, draped with so many blankets and hangings it was difficult to see how I would even climb in. In the end, I merely pulled off my boots and soiled chuba and fell on top of it.