CHAPTER 59
Sakura
She appreciated the fact that he’d just saved her brother’s life. But did the fool man have to sacrifice himself to do it?
Oliver dropped her arm, darting forward to fight off the blue dragon. Kagemori drew his sword and lunged toward Kasumi, but Cherry jumped in his path, hissing like an angry cat.
And Sakura was left alone, helpless in it all.
Her hand flattened over the emerald in her waistband. I just want to help! Why is there no way for me to stop this madness?
The pea warmed under her hand. To her surprise, a light glowed in her mind, tugging her toward Kasumi. But how did that help? It wasn’t as if she could—
The feeling intensified around the maid’s pocket.
Of course. If she could get the tinderbox from Kasumi, she could order the dragons to stop.
Dodging around Kagemori and his battle with the baby dragon, she ran toward her maid.
It was a good thing Mother had decided to stay behind, she thought idly as she stretched her hand toward Kasumi’s elbow.
If the sight of a dragon attacking her unconscious son hadn’t sent the queen into hysterics, Sakura grappling like a child on the street would have.
She latched onto her maid and jabbed her hand toward the pocket. Kasumi, distracted by Oliver’s fight, jerked around in surprise. She grabbed Sakura’s arm. Sakura ground her teeth in frustration as Kasumi slowly pulled her hand away.
Keenan’s harsh cry drew her attention. She needed to get the tinderbox so she could put a stop to this, and she needed to do it now.
If she wasn’t stronger, she’d have to be smarter.
Sakura strained harder, grabbing her own wrist and pushing against Kasumi. Her hand began to creep down again. Kasumi brought her other hand out of her skirt.
Perfect.
Releasing the wrist Kasumi held, Sakura thrust her free hand into the maid’s pocket. Her fingers brushed against something solid, and she smiled in triumph.
But then she was tumbling backward, thrown by a hard, angry push, with nothing in her hand.
“I won’t let you have it!” Kasumi panted, clutching something to her chest. “You don’t deserve it any more than your ancestors did!”
Then she turned to Cherry. “Enough fooling around. Churippu, burn Mori and the princess!”
Sakura threw an arm over her head, little good though it would do against a dragon’s flames. But instead of complying, the little dragon skittered away from Kagemori’s sword and hunched down. “I don’t want to,” she cried. “Breathing fire isn’t fun when my friends are the target!”
They gawked at her. Sakura realized that the sounds of fighting on her other side had ceased, and she whipped her head around.
Mamoru sat in a ready position, one arm pulled back as if preparing to strike. But she was frozen, staring at Kasumi as if waiting. Oliver stood in front of her, clasping his raised sword in both hands and panting heavily.
“Mamoru, finish him!”
The dragon lowered her hand. “No.”
Sakura hardly dared breathe. Was it a trick?
Oliver’s sword clattered to the ground, and he dropped to his knees next to Keenan.
Only then did Sakura notice the stains on the back of Keenan’s shirt, dark in the moonlight.
Oliver set a hand on Keenan’s back and bowed his head.
Turning away, Sakura covered her mouth, fighting to keep her stomach where it belonged.
“That’s impossible,” Kasumi gasped. “You can’t—” Her eyes drifted down to the object in her hands. Then she turned to Sakura. “You touched it, didn’t you?”
“I only grazed it,” she replied, confused. “You clearly still have possession.”
“But not control.” Sakura hadn’t known her maid’s eyes could look so venomous. “I promised Keenan that no member of your family would touch it, or the command would revert to him.”
That was all it took? That little touch had been enough to save them?
Kasumi’s focus returned to Keenan, and she pulled a knife from her belt. “But if he dies, command will be free to whoever takes it.”
She took a quick step in his direction. Sakura scrambled to her feet. She didn’t know if the maid planned to murder Keenan or the guard healing him, but it didn’t matter. If only she had the strength to truly do something about it!
But as it turned out, her strength was irrelevant.
“Drop the knife.” Kagemori’s voice was hard, the voice of a man who has seen things he wishes he hadn’t rather than the boy who had traveled the mountains with them. His sword was inches from Kasumi’s chest. “Don’t think I won’t do it.”
Leaving him to handle the arrest, Sakura grabbed a handful of skirt and hurried to Keenan’s side.
He was unconscious, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask if it was because of Oliver’s magic or his injuries.
There were so many, she could hardly bear to look at him.
Even if the simple thought of the blood wasn’t making her lightheaded, how could anyone survive that?
“I can speed the healing, but not enough,” Oliver worried. “Can you do anything?”
The dragon shook her head. “My skill is with the mind, not the body.”
“Is there nothing that can be done?” Sakura asked desperately. “You have magic. Surely there’s a way to save him!”
“Even magic has limits, Your Highness,” Oliver said gruffly. “It can’t do everything.”
“But it may be able to do this. Chasseur!” the dragon roared into the sky. “Speed me back to Helian – Keenan Kyaputen needs her help.”
The wind picked up as a dark shape swept overhead. Sakura stared open-mouthed as the silhouette took the form of a large gryphon.
“Do what you can to stop the bleeding, and then I must go,” Mamoru said hurriedly. “It will take precious hours to make the journey, and his time is short.”
Sakura pressed her lips together, pretending those words didn’t pierce her as Mamoru’s claws had Keenan. Oliver closed his eyes for a few moments, then sat back and nodded his head. The dragon gathered Keenan carefully in her clawed hands, then spread her wings and launched herself into the sky.
Sakura stared after them, her heart trying very hard to crack as they disappeared into the night. What if they didn’t fly fast enough? And could their friend save him even if they did?
“I should retrieve the tinderbox,” Oliver said quietly, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “And you should tend to your brother.”
He set a hand on Hari’s forehead, then stood. Her brother stirred, blinking rapidly as he turned his head to take in his surroundings. “What in the heavens just happened? I could have sworn my window broke, and then a dragon was peering in at me—How did I get out here?”
Sakura flung her arms around him, burying her head in his shoulder. “Oh, Hari!” she sobbed. She had thought she would never see her brother alive again. Yet here he was, alive and unharmed. While Keenan was…
She couldn’t bear to think of it. Why did he have to be so noble?
She choked on a miserable laugh. Wasn’t that ironic? If she married him, the law wouldn’t let her be queen because he wasn’t born to the right family. But if it judged by actions, he was more worthy than any member of her court.