Folding the Sky

-9-

"As far as we know at the moment, he isn't here," said Kalindi. She stood at the front of a room, before a detailed map of the Kirovian city-states, the outline of which looked faintly like a rabbit if Zuri turned her head a bit. Kalindi grabbed a carved mahogany pointer from the table and designated a city-state on the map. "He's in Sinje."

"Sinje?" Chike repeated quietly, and though Zuri glanced at him, his gaze was cast down towards the floor, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Precisely," Kalindi said, guiding her braids behind one shoulder. "The River State. Though our intel suggests he fled there two years ago, three months before now he was spotted outside his old shop just outside the central district. But given his talents, he can practically weave himself into invisibility. We don't know much else besides that."

"Hey," Jem said, regarding Chike, who sat opposite her at the meeting table. "What's that face you're making, Chike? Do you know something?"

He shook his head. "Hardly. It's just that—well, I'm from there. Sinje. In fact, my family is still there."

It wasn't the sentence in itself that startled Zuri, but the manner in which Chike said it: a sorrow taste hidden somewhere beneath each word. She didn't need to see into his mind to know that there was something more to this. She asked him, "You've lost touch?"

He glanced at her. His eyes were naturally round, giving his face the illusion of nearly childlike youth, even if he had seven years on Zuri. "Sort of. Yes," he said, and shrugged. "But I suppose it's better that way."

Jem scowled. "I have no idea what that means."

"Moving on," Kalindi said, clearing her throat. Jem raised an eyebrow at her, but the princess didn't seem to notice. "Lucky us. All it means is we'll have someone who understands the terrain and the culture. Even better."

"Let me venture a guess here," said Aldric, who'd been strangely quiet ever since Kalindi had snapped at him earlier. He leaned back in his seat, his hands clasped over his stomach. "Our first step is to go to this shop of his and take a look around."

Kalindi nodded her head. "It's not likely that he'll still be around—he moves fast, after all. But all things considered, I believe it's a good jumping-off point."

Zuri exhaled, leaning her cheek into her palm. "As good as any."

"And after that?" Aldric asked.

"We figure out the rest," Kalindi said, and when everyone eyed her warily, Zuri was surprised to see a high, pinkish flush come to her cheekbones. "What! Believe it or not, I don't know everything. My mother called you all here because she believes you can do what she asks. Are you saying she was wrong?"

"No," Zuri said, getting to her feet. The princess narrowed her eyes at Zuri, and the gap between the two women stretched like a never-ending sea before Zuri's eyes for a moment. Kalindi, pure royalty, born into finery, born for the crown—and Zuri, nothing but a poor civilian who thanked Kiro for every penny she got. How could it be that they were even standing in the same room?

"She wasn't wrong," said Zuri, and she met eyes with each of the Celestials one by one. Jem beamed at her proudly, Aldric's eyes shone with a fainter fondness, and Chike's face revealed wary but steady confidence. Only Kalindi was impassive. "We can do this, and even if we can't, we have to. For our sake, for our family's sakes, for Naino's sake. Right?"

Kalindi straightened her shoulders, a flutter of respect passing in her eyes, just for a second. She coughed, setting the pointer down and making for the door. "I'll have the guards lead you to your quarters for the night," she said, not looking at them, one hand on the doorknob. "Get some rest. The train for Sinje leaves early tomorrow."