Whisper of Blade | ✓ (Crimson #1)

Chapter 46: Sunset

Kaolin threw Kodak's blue cloak over Minerva's shoulders. "I've packed two trunks with everything you should need. They're already in the care of the embassy."

Stepping into the thick, fur-lined boots Kaolin had set before her, Minerva looked around her aunt's room. It never had the time to become hers. Now, with her belongings stashed for travel, it seemed as empty and abandoned as ever.

"How long have you anticipated this?" Minerva tested her tread. The boots fit snugly, much like the dress she'd had to pull on over her head. She felt like a walking puffball despite the thick clothes being her size.

"Long enough." Kaolin pulled up the cloak's hood, tucking any strands of Minerva's black hair out of sight. "The Hydro King wanted your hand for his son, while the Draco Empress arranged for the same. Her Highness Kovine wanted you out of the empire. Two out of the three will be content with the outcome of this."

"You should have told me. You never even hinted at the politics going on behind the scenes."

Kaolin huffed, sweeping her bangs from her face. "You would have gone catatonic. Don't tell me you wouldn't locked yourself in your room before trying to break Tobias' nose—or Kodak's for that matter. I needed you neutral. Besides, you did better than that. You kept the Hydro prince charmed."

Minerva glanced at her feet. "I don't think he'll be very fond of me after what I did in the arena."

Finger under Minerva's chin, Kaolin tipped her head up so their eyes met. "Don't talk that way. You don't have the luxury of hiding anymore and I won't be around to help you. Kovine may not be out for your blood, but she's a puppet too. There are evil forces at work in the world that want to rule us and they'll suck humanity dry to do it."

"The Immortals," Minerva whispered.

Kaolin nodded. "Things are going to get worse before there's a chance of them getting better. The Immortals want war—they feed off it. There's no other good reason for the empire to be rallying against a former ally."

"How do you know so much about them?"

Kaolin stepped up to a portrait hanging on the wall—artwork of the Flower Maiden. When her lover died in the Imperial War, she opened her mansion as a haven for those who returned to recover from its atrocities. Decades later, she passed away in her sleep and they laid her in a small boat on a lake covered with cherry blossoms. She had never married, but as the boat and her body burned, the hundreds of men and children she'd taken in wept for her.

In the portrait, the Flower Maiden slept in the boat on a bed of pink and white flowers. A peaceful smile played about her lips, as if she'd gone home to meet her beloved at last.

Kaolin slid the frame aside, a panel of the wall moving with it. A woman stepped out of the dark recess behind.

"Nola!" Minerva ran to her nurse and hugged her tight. The fabric of her shirt smelled of woodsmoke and herbs. "I thought you'd left to visit relatives in Manticar," she said, Nola's shoulder muffling her voice.

Nola patted Minerva on the back. "And leave you to get neck deep in trouble after all the work of raising you for almost twenty years? I think not."

"Aunt Nola knows the ancient texts well," Kaolin said. "They speak of the gods' return and the end of the age."

Nola scoffed, squeezing Minerva one last time before pulling away. "Well is an overstatement." She peered at Minerva's eyes. "Your mother spoke to you?"

"She did, though I don't understand all of her riddles. I only know that I can't remain here ... Will either of you be coming with me?"

Kaolin and Nola shared a sober glance.