Chapter 17
The other River orphans and I fight in the pits in Charvellan—the only way we can earn money to survive.
And when my hands are dark with Salt blood, all I can think about is the way they murdered Baba, and the blood that poured from him, staining the forest floor.
And all I know is that one day the earth will be red with theirs.
—Letter from Kiyan to his family, unsent
Kiyan
Take me to the mountains.
I studied the key in the morning light, the inscription repeating itself in my mind. There were two major mountain ranges in River, and I could only hope this message meant one of them and not mountains from another Court.
Especially not the crystal mountains in the Court of Salt, which I had no desire to ever visit.
I looked out my office window at the tall mountain in the distance, the one I looked at several times a day that housed the Golden Palace I hadn’t been able to enter in over ten years.
Tirich Mir. King of Darkness. The mountain’s name rang through my mind, sitting in my chest, as familiar as the steady thump of my heartbeat.
Take me to the mountains.
Though I didn’t know what lock this key opened, there was another way I could find out more about it.
A churail gave it to me.
I closed my eyes and remembered the desperation on the boy’s face, his eyes haunted—already hollowed out by the Salt Court.
And I had killed him.
Even if my hand was puppeted by another, it had been my thorn that pierced his heart.
My eyes burned at the memory of his slight weight in my arms.
A witch had given them the ring and had told them who I really was. The witches of River had mostly fled our court when Salt had taken over.
But I knew there was one still in Charvellan City.
I walked across the glass bridge from the River Palace toward the city, which hugged the stretch of riverbank to the north. The bustling bazaar stretched down the center of the street, filled with vendors and those shopping for wares.
It was market day, which meant I’d be more likely to find the churail, if she was selling her bargains and spells.
I tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, but it was less feasible than I wanted after working for a murderous dictator.
When I walked toward a peri with blue braided hair and polished gold skin, she hastily closed up shop, lowering the curtain around her stall, not meeting my eyes.
I winced, remembering my days running barefoot through the bazaar, stealing food where I could and hiding behind the hag stalls to avoid getting caught by the Salt soldiers.
Now I wore the same blue coat, with the silver three-pointed crystal emblazoned on the shoulder that they did.
I was now the thing I despised.
But that was what I wanted, wasn’t it? To be one of them, to have their trust, to make them think I was on their side, so much that I had become shunned by everyone else.
Until I could finally take back what was ours.
Hiding was not something that came naturally to me, and yet I’d had to do it most of my life.
I nodded to Salt soldiers as I passed them, stopping to talk briefly about rebel activity, asking if they’d noticed anything.
It had been a while since my guards had patrolled the bazaar of Charvellan, and if word got back to General Faisal or the Viceroy about my presence here, I wanted it to be as innocuous as possible.
And then I saw something I wasn’t expecting—the human girl was at the bazaar with a peri named Ramishah who worked in the kitchens at the River Palace.
They walked away from the stall of a night hag after buying a bushel of vegetables.
Ramishah was talking animatedly, and the human nodded alongside her.
The human’s wild hair was braided today in a thick plait over her shoulder, and for some reason my fingers itched to unravel it, to see the untamed strands run free, looking like the storm of curls I’d first seen.
I glanced at her hands to check if she was wearing the haath phool, but the only jewelry she had on were two thick bangles on one wrist. They weren’t ornate like the Queen’s jewelry but still looked simple and elegant on her arm.
Not for the first time did I wonder what she was doing in the River Court. An unknown human, wearing ancient fae magic? She must have been a spy from another court—that was the only explanation I could think of.
In any case, I shouldn’t be imagining running my hands through her hair.
My hand pressed the key under my tunic, the metal biting into my skin alongside my sister’s ring. A reminder that I had bigger things to concern myself with than an intriguing human girl.
But despite that, I continued to follow the human and Ramishah through the market.
They stopped at another stall, this time a potion conjurer who had several jashtan heads hanging from the edge of her stall, the shrunken pixie skulls warning away anyone who would cheat her.
I watched them from a distance, hanging back by a River peri who sold Tashuna gold amulets which apparently provided protection against curses.
I caught snatches of their conversation, with the girl peppering the interaction with various questions of how the potion conjurer brewed her concoctions.
“This one will turn your enemy into a mongoose,” Ramishah pronounced, holding the dark green vial up into the sunlight.
“What an odd punishment. I’d rather my enemy not have the power to rip my throat out with spiny teeth, thanks,” the human responded with a shudder.
I laughed in spite of myself, thinking that is exactly what General Faisal would try and do if I turned him into a mongoose.
“Spying on females at the market, now, brother? I thought your job was hunting down members of the Red Jasmine.”
My dagger slid into my palm, the blade ready before I could exhale, ready before I could even think.
But as I pressed it to my would-be attacker’s throat, I let out a rough exhale.
“Damn it, Tal.” I sheathed my blade.
Talal grinned from ear to ear as I put away my knife, looking me up and down.
He hadn’t changed since I’d last seen him—his black hair falling in thick waves over his bronze-colored eyes that were lit with an amused light, his casual gray tunic hiding the fighter’s physique he’d kept since our days fighting giants and Salt soldiers in the pit.
It had grown quiet around us, with many peris from the market dispersing as soon as I had pulled my weapon, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire between a Salt soldier and a rebel.
As a result, we were now alone in a darkened lane behind the bazaar stalls.
“What are you doing here, Talal?”
Tal tilted his head, an amused expression on his face. But I knew him better. Behind his jokes and smiles, he’d gut me in a dark alley without hesitation if he needed to.
Even if he was my best friend.
“As far as I know, I should be able to come and go as I please. The Court of Salt hasn’t issued an edict limiting our movements yet.”
“There’s still time,” I muttered, knowing that Reza wasn’t above anything.
“What are you looking at?” He leaned over, trying to catch sight of the two females I’d been watching. He frowned. “Who is the human with the pieces of cracked glass on her face?”
“I don’t know,” I said, trying not to look over at her. It wasn’t quite a lie, I didn’t know who she was, not really. I didn’t know why I didn’t want to volunteer information about her, but something inside me recoiled at the thought of him targeting her.
The girls stopped at another stall, this time a butcher’s shop, choosing cuts of meat for the palace kitchens.
Thank the River that market stall didn’t have shriveled pixie heads hanging outside it.
I didn’t think I could stomach a pixie-head stew, which was saying something given the meals the Salt Court had introduced to our kitchens.
If I had to eat one more dinner of salted river crocodile, I might go back to growing my meals by magic in the gardens at night.
“The human is working at the palace now,” I finally said I didn’t tell him about Queen Azari’s haath phool I’d seen gracing her wrist. “She might be from another court, but I don’t know who sent her.”
“A spy?”
“That seems the most likely explanation.”
Talal snorted. “About time the other Courts got their heads out of their arses and came to see what’s going on here. I’m surprised the Court of Vultures hasn’t directly attacked Salt for breaching the accords.”
“They’re too busy dealing with the Cold Desert to give a damn about us.” I rubbed my chin, thinking of the amount of times I’d asked the other courts for help, only to be met with silence. “I wrote to my cousin once, but he never answered me.”
I smiled grimly, remembering when I’d so naively thought the other courts would come to our aid when Salt had invaded. But even my own family members in the Court of Vultures hadn’t answered me.
“They should give a damn, Salt will come for them next.”
“If Salt still has the power of King Rusul’s crown, the other courts won’t raise a hand against them.” I shrugged. “At least not until they’re provoked.”
Tal grinned, but his smile was dark and haunted, as if he, too, was reminded of things he’d hoped for. “It’ll only be a matter of time before Salt does the provoking, then.”
He nodded toward the human. “Well I can confirm she isn’t working with the rebels.”
“I understood that much, Tal,” I said drily.
“And you’re here to what? Skulk about the bazaar by the fish stalls and stare at human girls shopping for dinner?
” He sniffed, making a face at the strong smell of miniature river dragons encased in the glass beside us, the green-gold nihangs watching us with their luminous eyes.
“You’ll certainly attract the human with that smell. ”
I crossed my arms over my chest, my mouth pulling into a scowl. “I’m not trying to attract anyone.”
“That’s clear. What are you doing here, then?”
I gave an exaggerated sigh.