A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle (15 page)

5

Jinji

~ Roninhythe ~

They had been traveling for days and all Jinji could
think was,
Oh the spirits that man is loud
. He was loud when
he was awake, talking and talking, until even her short answers
caused her voice to run hoarse, and she was in awe that he had
sound left in his body. He was loud when he slept, drumming thunder
into her ears at all hours of the night, keeping even the animals
awake.

Loud.

Loud.

Loud.

And all she wanted to do was quiet him for a
mere moment. Even Leoa did not talk so incessantly, dragging on and
on. Her friend had known when words were no longer needed, were
more of a bother than a comfort.

But not this Rhen, this newworlder who had
saved her life only to make her die this slow, intolerable
death.

At first, it seemed like a purposeful
distraction. The farther they moved from the forest, the deeper the
pit in her stomach grew and the louder he seemed to become. Every
so often, Jinji would catch him watching her, turning his head up
to observe her expression as she rode Ember. And for a while, she
even appreciated it. The talking kept her from thinking, from
missing, from feeling.

Only two days before, she had turned to
watch as the treetops disappeared from eyesight, fading into the
green grass of a rolling hill, and in that small, seemingly
insignificant moment, her home was gone.

Rhen caught her arm as she slipped from the
horse, shock numbing her grip. He continued chatting while her
breath grew short, her eyes filled up, her stomach bundled into
knots. She couldn’t recall a word he had said, but he didn’t wait
for responses anyway. Instead, he pushed on with words that Jinji
barely comprehended, yet were somehow enough help.

But now, he continued, battering her with
speech she did not want to hear, and all she wondered was if the
distraction were really for him, not her.

"Jin?" Rhen nudged her leg, pointing an
elbow deep into her thigh to grab her attention.

She looked down, meeting his wide eyes and
preserving her voice.

"Did you hear me? I said you can see the
city of Roninhythe on the horizon."

She didn’t wait for him to finish and
instead darted her eyes ahead, earning a low chuckle.

Her mouth dropped open—that earned a louder
chuckle.

There was a stone Jinji used to climb as a
child, all the children did—they would dare each other to stand at
the top. She could picture it perfectly, dropped in the middle of
the forest, almost like some giant creature had casually discarded
it amongst the trees. And Jinji remembered staring at the height
she had to overcome to end Janu's taunts, wondering how anything
other than a tree could grow so tall.

Even so far in the distance, Jinji's breath
caught at the sight of this stone city—a patch of gray rising from
the green hills, cutting into the sky, angular and unnatural. Ahead
of them, a road—also gray, also unnatural.

She looked at the green below Ember's
hooves, at the soft warm way the grass cushioned her feet. What
would it feel like to walk on something so unforgiving, so tough?
Even dirt after a long hot summer baking in the sun had some give,
would eventually soften under her feet.

As if called, the elemental spirits danced
into her vision, sparkling along the grass in a faded green hue.
Looking up, Rhen was still shrouded in a blanket of hot red fire,
sparking and spinning around his person.

Above the city, the wind howled, throwing
yellow spirits into spirals, weaving webs out and over the walls,
spilling back down to disappear from Jinji's vision. The very sight
of so much unchallenged air set her on edge. Where were the green
spirits, swooping out of the trees to mix with the breeze? Where
was the water, dripping down to be caught by the wind, or the heat
of a fire, blazing red?

Where was the balance?

It was unnatural.

Jinji shivered, hugging her arms close, for
once listening for the rumble of Rhen's voice.

"That road up ahead, we call it the Great
Road, it connects all of the original cities to Rayfort, to the
king. It was built over the span of one hundred years. For a
century, the punishment for disobeying the law was ten years labor
on that road. Many were lucky if they survived, and many more
considered themselves unlucky for the same fate. But before you
test their craftsmanship, which I assure you is quite
awe-inspiring, we must stop."

Rhen tugged on Ember's reins, shushing her
sighs with long brushstrokes up and down her neck.

"There is something I have not told you," he
said quietly, still looking at Ember. Jinji scrunched her eyebrows,
waiting. What could he have possibly left unsaid? She knew more
history of the kingdom after a few days with him than she had
learned in a lifetime.

"I am not who you think I am."

Her fists clenched, her body suddenly tight.
A warm pain started in her heart, surprising her with its
sting.

He looked up, green eyes piercing hers,
deepening the pain. His lips were drawn in a tight line, struggling
with what to say.

He couldn't be…he wouldn't just go…

"My name is not Rhen…"

Jinji held her breath.

"It's Whylrhen. And I was not asked to
search the forest by the king, I was actually strictly forbidden
from leaving Roninhythe."

He looked away, looked back, shrugged.

Jinji tilted her head, waiting for the words
he still held back, the ones he was trying to force out. A chill
started in her fingers, traveling up her arms, bringing goose bumps
to her skin as she looked out to the city. So unnatural, so
unfamiliar—what would she do without a guide? Without a friend?

"You see, well…the king is really my
father…that is to say, I'm his son." He bit his lip. "I guess
that's the same thing really. But what I'm trying to say is,
well—"

"You're a prince?" Jinji finished the
sentence for him, her voice higher than normal, alarmed.

He nodded, deflated, letting the air out of
his body in one big sigh.

Silence hung between them.

Heavy.

Cold.

Jinji looked behind her, searching for the
trees, finding none. No familiarity. No comfort. Her breath
shortened.

"Are you leaving me?" She asked, forcing the
words out, the fear out, as her throat tightened with panic. What
would she do? Alone?

"No," he said quickly, putting his hand on
her shoulder, squeezing it once. "Of course not, no, Jin, I would
never do that to you—not after—you're just a kid. I'm telling you
because you deserve to know."

He reached past her into the saddlebag
behind her thigh and pulled out a bright red cloth.

Just like the fire spirits
, she
thought.

"Will you?" He asked, handing it to her.

Jinji reached out, grasping the material. It
was soft, thin. She rolled it between her fingers, amazed. Her own
clothes, Janu's skins that she still wore, felt coarse in
comparison.

Holding it aloft, Jinji realized it was a
shirt. Golden threads, the color of the sun on a clear day, were
woven through the sleeves. Glittering stones caught her attention
and she brought the spot close, gasping at how crystal clear the
rocks were.

"Here," he said, tugging on the material,
pulling it over his bare chest and handing her the shirt he had
just removed. "You might want that."

Jinji looked at the dull brown cloth in her
hands, damp with sweat, and wrinkled her nose.

"Why?" She questioned, looking up.

He raised his brows, grinning. A golden
speck glistened in his grassy eye, calculating, reflecting some
idea sparking in his head.

He shrugged, and it disappeared, decision
made. "Never mind," he said, his voice too light, his lips too
upturned. He grabbed the shirt, but Jinji held on.

"No, I will wear it," she said, now nervous.
He was far too pleased with himself—far too silent.

Shaking his head, Rhen pulled hard, and the
shirt slipped from her grasp. In one swift move, he ripped it down
the middle, dropping the remains at his feet.

"You know," he said, "in the kingdom you
must bow before royalty, on penalty of death. Did the emissary
forget to mention that?"

He looked back, smirking.

Jinji slapped the only part of him within
reach, his head.

"Hey," he said as he rubbed the spot with
his hand, "that actually is punishable by death." He continued
massaging his scalp. "For a little thing, you have a good arm.
You'll be a good swordsman. I can teach you, you know. I always
wanted," he coughed, clearing his throat and looking back to the
city. Softer this time, he finished, "I always wanted a little
brother to teach…" Rhen looked over his shoulder again, devilish
grin back. "But I suppose you'll do, little Jin."

"I'm not so little," Jinji retorted, still
unused to being referred to as a boy. Especially by a man who was
no more than a few years older than she. "Perhaps you are too
large."

Rhen barked out a laugh, loud and sudden,
almost echoing on the wind. "No such thing, Jin, no such thing.
Just ask the whores."

"Whores?" Jinji didn’t recognize the
word.

Rhen shook his head, walking forward toward
the road in the distance. "You have so much to learn but…" He
tugged on the leather straps, prodding Ember along. "I think I'll
enjoy teaching you. Tonight, after the docks, we'll go to the
Staggering Vixen, I know a girl named Martha who would love to meet
you."

He turned, winked.

A blush rose on Jinji's cheeks as
realization hit. Her father had mentioned these women, one of many
reasons he forbade her from visiting the stone cities.

"The docks?" She asked, changing the
subject, trying to erase it from her thoughts. The Staggering
Vixen? She was certain that was not a place she wanted to
visit.

Ever.

Jinji looked at the looming city again,
swallowing a gulp. It was large, probably full of more people than
she could imagine. Maybe she would find a new guide…one not so
focused on her education…a woman, maybe.

"We need a ship," Rhen said, interrupting
her thoughts.

"Why?"

"How else will we travel to the Golden
Isles?"

"Across the sea?" She asked, turning her
gaze sharply on him. The wide waters, the great blue expanse, she
had only seen it once while traveling with Janu. They had snuck
away from the village, exploring, and after two days of walking,
they had reached the edge of the forest, the edge of the world.
Jinji could still feel the breeze brush her cheeks, could still
feel the warmth of Janu's hand as the two of them stood, toes
inches over the rock, looking down, down, down toward crashing
waves.

Her fingers tightened on the saddle, rubbing
harshly against the leather.

"We need to figure out what those Ourthuri
were doing here, and there's no better way than stopping in to say
hello to their king."

A new guide
, Jinji sighed, rubbing
her eyes.

She needed to find a new guide.

"I'm going to show you the world, Jin. It's
a lot bigger than you realize."

That's what I'm afraid of
, Jinji
thought and tried to relax in her seat. But the city still loomed
ahead, growing larger and larger with each step they took, and it
was growing harder to understand if leaving the forest would be any
help at all.

Would the shadow still find her behind those
tall stonewalls? Would it continue to haunt her? Or would she be
discarded, left to live alone, always questioning why and how? Was
she traveling toward answers or away from them?

Clicking noises drew Jinji from her
thoughts. They had reached the road.

Ahead, she saw travelers scurrying to the
side, hastily shifting their horses and possessions to make way. As
they walked by, Rhen nodded from side to side, but the people were
not looking. Their eyes were downcast. Their entire bodies seemed
to bend toward the ground. Only the children dared look up, and it
was not at Rhen.

No, it was at her. She felt eyes scan her
body, pop open, shocked.

"Is that a…?" One boy asked loudly, only to
be quieted by his mother, pulled behind her skirts. But still, he
peeked around her large belly, eyes locked on the Arpapajo riding
the horse.

Jinji looked ahead, tunneling her vision on
the city, trying to ignore the gasps chasing down her ears.

The gates were not far off, wooden slabs
breaking up the walls of stone, but they were bolted with
metal—nature maybe, but trapped and bound. The doors were open,
perhaps welcoming to Rhen, but not to her. To her, they looked like
a trap, waiting for the right moment to swallow her whole.