The Spirit Heir (27 page)

"We need to jump!" he shouted, pulling Jinji to the side. He would not give in without a fight, not like this, not so passively. Both of them deserved more, deserved to die knowing they had done everything they could to stay alive.

But Jinji kept her feet rooted to the deck, surprising him with her strength.

Rhen turned, just as she shook her head, the word
no
forming on her lips.

A gust of wind blew against Rhen, making him step back from the force as the sails above their heads snapped tight. The world began to shift. The shadow of the battering ram slid over their boat. Rhen held his hand aloft, sure he could touch the Ourthuri ship if he just reached forward, wondering if somehow maybe he could stop it, stop everything.

And then the wind blew strong once more.

And again.

And again.

Until they were moving out of the ship’s shadow. Out of harm's way. A grin pulled at his lips. A lightness filled his heart.

A second later, the world exploded.

Boom!

Impact.

Rhen’s stomach flipped, sinking to the ocean floor.

Wood splintered, flying into the air, landing on them, littering the deck of the boat, splashing across the waters around them. Rhen raced to Jinji, shielding her body, trying to cover his eyes as debris sailed like arrows into his skin, pelting his arms and back but not doing any serious damage.

When the dust settled, Rhen looked up slowly, surprised that water did not rush over their feet, did not consume them. Jinji shook beneath his arms, breathing rapidly.

They were safe.

Rhen gasped as his eyes shifted further.

The admiral's ship was destroyed. Cut down the middle, two sections floated in the water, slipping lower and lower below the surface. Men screamed. Moans filled the air. Sailors began to jump over the edge as arrows rained down from the Ourthuri ship. The enemy didn't care that some of their own had been thrown into the water, that some of their own were being hit by the blanket of arrows, were drowning. There was no aid. No pause. Not until every last man seemed to disappear under the icy liquid. Rhen prayed that some of his people had escaped, swam toward a friendly ship, but his heart was empty. Vacant of hope.

An eerie silence took over, broken by the gurgle of the water as it continued to swallow the ship, and the random cracks of wood continuing to break apart.

"Rhen," Jinji breathed.

But he had no answer, no words to console her, so he just held her close.

"I tried." She swallowed. "I put up an illusion of fog, tried to cover the ship, but it didn’t work. And then the other ship was so close, all I could think about was taking us away, saving us, and now…"

Jinji trailed off. Lost for words.

"Don't ever think this was your fault—the only thing that you're responsible for is saving our lives. This is war, Jinji—the fault belongs with men who sit on thrones, dreaming of glory, never caring about the consequences."

With me
, he thought,
with my family
.

Rhen closed his eyes tight against the thought, hatred filling his veins. Why did he deserve to live? To escape?

The truth was, he didn’t. But that would never change the fact that those men died fighting to keep his family alive, fighting to save him, and he would not dishonor their memory by waiting here for death to take him.

Especially not when the fight grew more hopeless around them.

As Rhen set sail for opposite shores, for anywhere but here, the fog continued to lift, burning away as the heat of the day took over. As far as the eye could see, gold sparkled, a wall across the Straits, stretching back and back, disappearing into the remaining mist. Wooden shards exploded across the sky, decorating the surface of the water with half broken ships just waiting to sink. One by one, the ships of his homeland fell. The blood of his people flooded the sea.

And then the jagged edges of the cliffs slipped into view. Almost as soon as they did, arrows rained down across the sky, landing on Whylkin ships. Even with the distance, Rhen could hear the roars of the rebellion, the cheer of victory on their lips as his soldiers disappeared.

"Retreat," Rhen whispered, shaking his head. "Please, retreat."

But he would never know if they did, because eventually the battle vanished from view. No sound carried across the distance. No images. Almost as though it never happened, as though it were a nightmare.

Rhen rubbed his eyes.

But there was no waking from this.

The cries continued to burn his throat, even as he turned away—from his people, from his home, from his family. Turned away to keep his promise, to live, even as one word whispered across his thoughts.

Coward.

Rhen shuddered, trying to push it away. But he failed.

Coward. Deserter. Traitor.

His deepest fears all turning to truth before his eyes. Rhen had abandoned them all.

"Rhen," Jinji whispered, voice soft with concern. But he could not meet her eyes, could not look at her, could not bring himself to speak.

Jinji deserved better than him.

Everyone in the kingdom deserved better than him.

When he closed his eyes, all Rhen could see was King Razzaq sitting on his father's throne. A throne of white stone. A throne of Whyl. A throne never made for gold. Lord Hamish was a fool if he thought King Razzaq would stop at Rayfort. The Ourthuri king wouldn't be satiated until all of Whylkin was under his control, people in chains, identity burned away as scars covered their wrists.

And Rhen had no way to stop it.

His people deserved a better hero. A true Lord of Fire. A god.

For a moment, Rhen had tricked himself into thinking he could be that god, but he was just a man—no longer a prince, no longer anything but a traitor.

"Rhen, where are we going?" Jinji asked, sitting beside him and draping her arm across his broad shoulders. Her fingers barely reached.

"I don't know," he told her, voice hollow.

"I do."

The determination in her voice pulled Rhen from his thoughts, making him turn to her, meeting her gaze. Fire blazed in Jinji's eyes.

"Take us to the Gates," she said, focus drifting to the mountain peaks glimmering white in the distance, larger here on the open water than they ever appeared from Rayfort.

"The Gates? There is nothing there."

"What better place to hide?"

Rhen paused, brows knotting together. "The mountains are too steep, we'll never be able to make land. There's no food, no shelter. We should go to the forest."

"No." Jinji shook her head, adamant. "We go to the Gates."

Rhen almost wanted to fight her, but he didn’t have the energy, or the drive. Shifting directions, Rhen gazed at the mountains in the distance, an easy guide.

On his shoulder, Jinji yawned, resting her head. A tear slipped free of her eyes. For her lost loved ones. For the men who passed today. Rhen wasn't sure. But he wouldn't pry—the two of them had realized long ago that information should be offered, not stolen.

"You should go below deck and rest," he said, even as his hand brushed the hair from her forehead, running down her cheek. The silky feel of her skin brought a sense of comfort to his limbs, a slight sense of peace.

Jinji just shook her head, already dragged away by sleep, breath slowing to a steady rhythm as her lids slipped closed.

She should go below deck, to the soft bed, out of the elements, the best place to recover. But Rhen was too selfish to move her so far away. Instead, he shifted slightly, bringing her head down to rest on his lap, careful not to shift her injured shoulder too much.

His fingers continued to roam her body, drifting up and down her arm, across her back, soothing. Jinji sighed beneath his touch.

Rhen looked ahead, to the mountains breaking through the water, pure white.

He had nothing left to live for but the woman in his arms. So though he doubted the destination, he stuck true to the course.

What waited at the Gates, Rhen had no idea.

But it was important to Jinji.

And that was enough for him.

17

JINJI

~ WHITE STONE SEA ~

The sun was just beginning to rise when Jinji woke, still in Rhen's lap, muscles aching from the damp air. One glance up and she knew Rhen needed sleep far more than she. His eyes were focused on the horizon yet seemed utterly blank, hanging open, barely blinking. Deep bags cut into his cheeks, draining them of color. Everything about him felt flat, completely opposite to the lively prince she loved.

"Rhen, get some rest," Jinji said, gently sitting up. The pain in her shoulder felt mildly better, though she still took care not to move it.

"I'm okay," he whispered, voice barely audible.

Jinji looked forward, catching the mountain peaks against the light peach sky, glistening with a yellow hue in the morning light. Soon though, she knew they would be white. Even without the spirit strands filling her eyes, Jinji sensed the power pulsing from that spot, so strong she could feel it in her bones.

"We don't know what waits for us at the Gates, you'll need your strength," she said, trying a different argument. He looked weary enough that even walking might prove difficult. Still though, Rhen shrugged.

Jinji reached over, prying his fingers from the wheel. They slipped off easily, further confirming the truth in her words as his arms fell slack against the deck. Cupping his cheek in her hand, Jinji forced Rhen to meet her eyes. His gaze was hollow, and she knew exactly why—his thoughts were still stuck at the Straits and at Rayfort.

"Rhen," Jinji said slowly, making sure he heard her words. "If we reach the Gates and all we find are walls of steep mountain rock, we will both need your strength. My arm is useless, I cannot climb, so you must rest so you can be strong for both of us."

Rhen blinked as his irises narrowed, suddenly really looking at her as he absorbed her words. For a moment, Jinji thought he might protest. But he didn't. Instead, he squeezed her fingers tightly one time and wordlessly stepped below deck.

She took his place, settling in with her back against the mast, loosely holding the boat on course with her good arm, and waited for the voice to come.

I'm here
, she shouted across her mind.

Silence.

Jinji sighed. The voice would come, true, but who knew when. Likely when she least expected it, unless she could speed the process along.

So Jinji tried to separate from her body, stepping out of the world and into her thoughts. She focused on those distant mountain peaks until her vision grew hazy, unfocused, all the while letting her thoughts wander, moving her attention inward and leaving the physical behind.

Of course, the first place her mind wandered was to Rhen, hopefully fast asleep a few feet below her. Part of Jinji ached to run down and wake him, to bring some hope to his sad, lost eyes. She wanted to tell him what might wait at the Gates, her true powers, a way to defeat the shadow, finally some answers.

But the other half kept her lips sealed, buried the words deep inside. Because as much as she wanted to see him hope again, Jinji knew another defeat might destroy him. And for all she knew, the Gates would only hold more questions, more disappointments, more failures.

Why haven't you healed yourself yet?
the voice asked, yanking Jinji from her preoccupation with Rhen.

She grinned—like she'd thought, only a matter of time. But then Jinji paused, actually listening to the words. She sat up, asking slowly, "What do you mean?"

I can sense that our body is still in pain, still ill, but I know it has been at least a day since we spoke. Why did you not heal yourself? The ache is a block in our connection—it makes us weak.

"Heal myself? How do I do that?" Jinji asked, voice full of wonder, utterly confused.

Just think it and it will be done, as we do all things.

"But," Jinji paused, biting her lips, "but those are just illusions, tricks, it's not real."

Not real? You weave the spirits, the very elements of this world, a world created by the powers we possess. How could it not be real?

"But," Jinji started and then stopped, brows furrowing as random memories slipped to the forefront of her thoughts.

The illusion of Rhen in the darkness of the dungeons, actually holding her, body firm beneath her touch, arms tightly wound around her frame, so real.

The fires in the underground castle—the flames Rhen was able to pull under his skin, was able to manipulate just like the fire threads always circling his body.

The gusts she created to blow against their sails, sending them freely out of the path of the Ourthuri ship, sending them away—not imaginary but actually affecting the world around her.

Something had changed when the voice had awoken inside of her—Jinji sensed the shift in her illusions, but never realized how drastic the transformation was until this moment. She had come so far from the dim images of Janu woven in the clearing of her family home, slightly translucent, rudimentary. Now, the world bent at her command.