Chapter 26 Rose
The last time Rose had seen Shen’s cousin Kai Lo, he had been knocked out by Grandmother Lu.
Along with his father, Shen’s uncle Feng, Kai had attempted to murder Shen, and when that plan had been foiled by Rose, he had come after her with a vengeance. He had caught up with her in the desert, and Rose had truly thought he was going to kill her – until Grandmother Lu appeared with her cane. After that, he had been arrested and placed under guard in the Sunkissed Kingdom.
This is why Rose was expecting Shen to lead them to a heavily guarded dungeon hidden somewhere deep beneath the sands. Instead, he brought them to a small squat building not too far from the stables. Though it was surrounded by guards, the sloping red roof, ivy-covered walls and flickering everlights made it look remarkably … pleasant.
‘This is the dungeon?’ Rose said, frowning.
‘In a matter of speaking,’ said Shen, nodding at one of the guards, who unlocked the heavy wooden doors, and handed Shen the set of keys.
They made their way down a lavishly decorated hallway, with polished tiles and a vaulted ceiling, where Shen paused in front of another thicker wooden door that was bolt-locked from the outside.
‘Are you sure you’re ready to see Kai?’ he said, turning to Rose. ‘I can go in without you, if you’d prefer.’
Rose straightened her skirts and her spine. ‘Shen, I am a queen. I can face a prisoner, you know. And it is a favour for me, after all. Oonagh Starcrest is my problem.’
Shen caught her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘You know as well as I do that any problem of yours is one that I will gladly take on.’
‘Me, too,’ said Celeste, who was standing just behind them. ‘You aren’t facing Oonagh alone, Rose.’
Anika let out a dramatic sigh. ‘I suppose this is the part where you all expect me to make a declaration of my loyalty to Rose.’ She swept her hair from her face, fixing her tiara. ‘I will remind you that I am the princess of a different nation.’ She paused, meaningfully. ‘But for the good of Gevra and your country, I will stand by you in your fight against Oonagh.’ She glanced uncertainly at the locked door. ‘I’ll admit I am curious why we are coming to fetch what sounds like a deliciously dangerous man, though.’
‘Because he’s the best fighter I’ve ever seen,’ said Rose, grimly. ‘And I know we’ll have a better chance of killing Oonagh with him on board.’
‘Better than King Shen?’ said Anika. ‘Truly?’
‘Only just,’ said Shen, begrudgingly. Then he sighed. ‘Rose is right. My cousin is the strongest warrior witch in my entire kingdom.’
Anika arched a brow. ‘I’m not sure I can stand another minute of suspense.’
‘Let’s just get this over with,’ said Celeste.
Shen unbolted the door and turned the key in the lock. It yielded with a keening groan, and he stepped inside, ushering the others to follow.
To Rose’s complete and utter surprise, the room didn’t look like a cell at all. In fact, it looked very similar to the other luxurious bedrooms she had seen inside the Palace of Eternal Sunlight.
‘Hello, Queenie,’ came a smug voice that Rose recognized all too well. Sitting in the middle of the room, lounging on a low sofa, was Kai Lo himself. ‘Did you miss me?’
Rose gaped at Shen’s cousin. His hands were wreathed in golden chains, but he was clearly more than comfortable in here. ‘This is not a dungeon! This … this … this is luxury!’ she fumed.
‘These bedsheets are finer than my own,’ remarked Anika, who was taking a tour around the room.
‘And why does he need more than one pair of boots?’ said Celeste, peering into the wardrobe.
‘Shen!’ said Rose. ‘Explain at once!’
‘He is my cousin,’ said Shen, rubbing his brows. ‘And Lei Fan’s brother. He spent some time in the sand dungeons, but he’s been upgraded. For good behaviour.’
‘Good behaviour!’ Rose exclaimed. ‘Shen, he tried to kill you!’
‘It was your idea to ask for his help,’ he reminded her.
‘My help, huh?’ Kai perked up. ‘I see how it is. Lock me up when I misbehave a little bit—’
‘Misbehave!’ Rose’s voice cracked. ‘That is certainly an understatement!’
Kai steepled his hands in front of his mouth. ‘Listen, Queenie. I’ll level with you. Did I attack Shen? Yes. Did I then try to attack you? Also, yes. But these past few months in the dungeons, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I did, and you have to see that it was all because of my father …’ His eyes darkened, the truth casting gravel in his voice. ‘He was manipulating me all along.’
‘Feng admitted as much in the sand dungeons,’ said Shen. ‘Where he will be staying for a long, long time.’
‘Fine by me,’ said Kai, bitterly. ‘This was all his idea to begin with.’
‘And what?’ said Celeste, with a snort. ‘You were easily led?’
‘I can be very impressionable.’ Kai flashed a flirtatious smile. ‘And I can make quite the impression.’
‘Not on me,’ said Celeste, with another snort.
‘Stars save us from the arrogance of burly men,’ muttered Anika.
‘Enough small talk,’ said Kai, sinking back into the sofa. ‘Did you just come here to insult me or do you actually need my help with something?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ Rose relented, deciding to come right out with it. They had wasted enough time already. ‘My undead ancestor Oonagh Starcrest has returned and is building an army. I want you to help me kill her before she sets foot in Eana and tries to seize the throne.’
Kai blinked. ‘Well,’ he said, scrubbing his jaw. ‘That’s quite a predicament, Queenie.’
‘No greater than your own, cousin.’ Shen crossed his arms, as he looked down on him. ‘Do you want your freedom or not? This is your chance to prove your loyalty.’
‘Of course I want my freedom.’ He looked at Rose, his brows hunching. ‘Give me the chance to earn it.’
Rose locked eyes with Kai and remembered all the terrible things he had done to her, to Shen. For a moment, she wanted to march out of this room and throw away the key.
Freeing him felt dangerous, not to mention utterly reckless.
But these were dangerous times. Reckless times. And Rose wanted every possible advantage over Oonagh. The other warrior witches would have to stay behind to defend the Sunkissed Kingdom but given that he was a prisoner here, she knew Kai would not be missed.
Still, Rose hesitated, trying to decide if it was really worth the risk of freeing Kai. Anika relinquished her snooping and jostled in front of her. ‘A big, beefy warrior like you would get along just fine in my brother’s army. If this one –’ she jerked her head towards Shen – ‘doesn’t want to keep you around, you can certainly come and try your luck in Gevra. Our morals are much looser. Although if you betrayed the crown, we would have to feed you to our beasts.’ She pulled a face. ‘We don’t believe in forgiveness. Or redemption.’
Kai snorted. ‘Sounds like paradise.’
‘I think abruptly switching allegiances to a foreign nation at this moment would probably worsen Kai’s case,’ said Shen, pointedly. ‘Not to mention call his loyalty to me into question. Again.’
‘Yes, yes, King Shen … All hail, King Shen,’ said Kai, in a bored voice. ‘Blah, blah, blah … I get it.’ He raised his hands, jangling the chains around his wrists. ‘Well, Queenie? What will it be?’
Rose blew out a breath, choosing to trust her instincts. ‘Get ready to sail to the Sunless Sea, Kai Lo. But know this, I’ll be watching you. And at the first hint of misbehaviour, I’ll throw you into the waves myself.’
‘You’ve got much better at threats,’ said Kai, with a wide grin. ‘And that one is especially effective as I don’t know how to swim.’ Then he frowned. ‘Wait. Why are we going on a boat?’
Shen clapped his cousin on the back. ‘I’ll fill you in.’ Then he glanced at Rose. ‘Grab your things and meet me in the stables in ten minutes.’ He kissed her, then, right there in front of the others, his lips brushing against hers for only a moment, but Rose felt the urgency behind it. As if he was worried if he didn’t kiss her now, there would be no other chance.
She knew then that he was truly afraid of what was to come.
‘Carrig is frightfully cold, even by my standards,’ said Anika, as they made their way back to the palace. ‘You two will need furs. Luckily for you, I always overpack. Come with me.’
Anika, along with her nine trunks, had been installed in one of the many guest rooms in the palace. Rose noted the room was nicely decorated, with pale blue drapes along the four-poster bed, and gold suns spiralling across the walls.
Anika pointed at her trunks. ‘I suppose I can’t bring them all if we’re riding back to Wishbone Bay on horseback, can I?’
‘You know you can’t,’ said Celeste. ‘Choose your most practical outfit.’
‘And what am I meant to tell my valet?’ Anika lamented. ‘I didn’t just magically appear here, you know. I came with staff.’
‘Leave a note instructing them to follow tomorrow, and swiftly,’ said Celeste, opening one of the trunks and pulling out a purple cloak trimmed in silver fur. ‘Oh, this is divine.’
‘Take it,’ said Anika, breezily. ‘I have a dozen like it.’
‘And you can wear this one,’ she said to Rose, pulling out a thick red cloak lined with white fur. Rose and Celeste quickly changed back into their travelling dresses, and went to meet Shen and Kai in the stables.
Kai, now unchained, leaped up on his horse in one smooth movement, his whip slung around his waist. He caught Rose looking at it and gave her a wolfish grin. ‘You hardly expect me to take down your evil ancestor with my bare hands, do you?’
Rose gave him a tight smile as she mounted her own horse, desperately hoping she’d made the right decision. As they rode east, towards Wishbone Bay, the desert air thrummed with a sound she would never forget – the thunder of a thousand wraith horses galloping across the sands.
A warning to them all.