The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)(85)

Without changing expression, the Deathseeker replied, “I don’t know.”





22


The engagement celebration would push through regardless of the army’s losses; Emperor Shifang insisted it would. “It is not the custom for the emperor to rescind his own orders,” Tansoong informed us. “He is infallible.”

“Half his army has fallen victim to someone else’s Compulsion, and he worries about his infallibility?” Zoya was in a fighting mood. Her attempts to explain the spell had fallen on deaf ears. It took all our persuasion to keep the emperor from executing the soldiers for treason, finally getting him to understand the nature of Compulsion, if barely. The only good thing to come out of this was the emperor honoring his promise to let us into the city, to finally find the old forger. Not for the first time, I cursed my inability to act then, to seize the azi and turn on these Daanorians. But the old Heartforger was still somewhere in the city, and Inessa continued to insist on diplomacy despite everything.

“There is little to be learned about Kalen’s would-be assassin,” Shadi spoke up. “His name was Leehuang, and he was a loner. What is strange is that he joined the army voluntarily instead of waiting to be conscripted, like most.”

“Did he have a family?” I asked quietly. “Children?”

Zoya and Shadi glanced at each other. “No family or friends,” the latter said gently. “It’s not your fault, Tea.”

“I killed him. Of course it is.”

“You told me he wasn’t under any Compulsion,” Zoya chimed in. “The chances that he was in league with one of the Faceless is likely. This isn’t a man who was being forced to act against his will.”

“What about the other man? The one I killed when I destroyed the seeking stone on him? Did he have family?”

“Tea…”

“Did he have family?”

“A wife and a son.”

I bowed my head. We had gathered in Khalad’s room, with Princess Inessa and Likh conspicuously absent. As the guest of honor, the Kion princess was preparing for her engagement party that night, convincing the court concubines that she needed only Likh to help her dress. Shadi and Kalen had combed through the palace, hunting for any more seeking stones in the vicinity, and came up with nothing.

Some of the dead soldier’s blood had gotten under my fingernails. I rubbed my hands frantically against the sleeve of my hua, but try as I might, I could not rid myself of it.

“Are you OK?” Fox asked me quietly.

“I’m fine.”

Do you want to talk about it?

No.

I think we should talk about it.

There is nothing to talk about.

Tea.

There isn’t!

“What about the Shaoyun boy?” Shadi asked. “The missing suitor. Any word of him?”

Zoya shook her head. “They’ve questioned his family. They haven’t heard from him in more than a year, but they also say that’s not unusual. He travels frequently and spends most of his time in the cities.”

“That makes our jobs harder. I hope the old forger’s OK. Baoyi hasn’t found any reason to think he’s injured or worse, but it’s hard to be sure when we can’t find him ourselves.”

“Inessa’s finally convinced the emperor to let us visit the city tomorrow, at least. Now that we know there are Faceless agents inside Daanoris, let’s err on the side of caution. Likh says he might know how to remove the wards.”

Everyone turned to Likh, who had just entered the room.

“It’s only a theory,” he mumbled, blushing.

“Any theory’s worth discussing at this point,” Khalad said, encouraging him.

“Well,” Likh began shyly, “the main problem is that there’s not a separate ward in each room. It’s one large ward woven throughout the castle, so I can’t undo one part of it. But without access to any runes, I don’t see how I can—”

“And that’s why I’m brilliant,” Zoya said with a grin, fishing out the seeking stone she’d taken during the savul fight. “The Unraveling rune doesn’t need as much effort to channel. We can probably muster enough magic with this to destroy the wards, as long as we focus on the one spot that will undo the whole spell.”

“I can start this instant,” Likh babbled, jumping to his feet. “It might take a few days to figure out the weakest point, so the sooner I begin, the better.”

“Don’t dismantle anything until we find the forger,” Zoya cautioned. “They might stage some new devilry if they knew what we’re doing. Khalad, go with Likh.”

“Why?” Khalad asked.

“Why?” Likh echoed.

“The forger’s good at untangling complicated spells,” Zoya told them brightly. “He’d be a big help. Get on with it already.”

“Zoya,” Shadi remonstrated. The asha shot her an innocent look.

“Usij isn’t at the Haitsa mountains then,” Kalen said suddenly after a beet-red Likh led a slightly confused Khalad out. “Everything points to him being in Santiang.”

I killed my first man when I was fifteen, Fox continued doggedly. I threw up for an hour afterward. I know how you feel, but you can’t let it take over you.