Aoki wraps her arms round her legs, propping her cheek on her knees to look sideways at me. “I’m so sorry about Wren’s mother. Do you know if they were close?”
It takes me a moment to untangle her question from Wren’s original Xia family. She’s talking about the Hannos, of course.
“I’m not sure,” I admit. Wren has always spoken far more about Ketai Hanno than his wife. “I don’t think so.”
“Still, it must be awful.” After a beat, she goes on carefully, “The King is close with the Hannos. I’m sure he’ll do everything to look after Wren and her family.”
“They’re Paper castes, Aoki.”
“And still one of his most trusted clans. You know, he even gave them a special guard made up of his own soldiers?”
“Maybe one of those guards was the killer,” I snap before I can stop it.
Aoki winces. “I know you’re upset, but what you’re saying is—”
“Possible? Likely?”
“The King and the Hannos have always supported each other, Lei. Why would they turn on each other now?”
Because maybe the King suspects what the Hannos are planning. Maybe Wren’s mother was murdered by the King’s men to send a message to them. Or maybe, if he believes Wren to be involved, he had her mother killed as a way of getting her out of the palace. A death in the family is one of the only reasons a Paper Girl is allowed to take leave.
But I keep my thoughts to myself.
I walk out of Aoki’s room half an hour later, feeling even worse than before. My mind is reeling, and I’m so distracted I don’t notice the figure in my room until it’s too late.
A fur-covered hand clamps across my mouth.
“Not a word,” growls a low, husky voice.
THIRTY-THREE
KENZO DOESN’T LET ME GO until we’re outside, cloaked in the darkness of the gardens. His bronze eyes fix on my own as he glares down at me, waiting as I gulp in air, recovering. Our breaths spiral in the frozen air. It takes me a moment to notice that he’s wearing silk robes, his marbled wolf’s coat combed and slick. He must have come straight from the King’s pre–Moon Ball banquet.
“You scared me!” I hiss at him once I’m able to speak.
“I’m sorry,” he says, though his expression remains hard. “It was the only way I could get you alone. I was meant to meet Wren to finalize the plans for tomorrow. Then I heard the news. I waited as long as I could before coming to find you.”
I blink. “Find… me?”
“The plan has to go ahead, Lei. Wren won’t be able to return in time, but everything else is ready. You are going to have to kill the King in her place.”
There’s a pause.
Then I laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am deadly serious,” he replies, a growl deep in his throat.
“Look,” I say, lifting my hands and taking a step back, “I want to help, but—”
“You didn’t expect to have to get your hands dirty?”
My mouth snaps shut. “I didn’t expect to be the one to do it. Last time I checked I wasn’t a lost member of the Xia trained since birth to be a secret warrior-assassin-goddess.”
Wind catches my hair, making it dance. I clutch my night robe tighter around me. The air is as frosted as the ground, and the flimsy material of my nightdress isn’t much protection from the cold. But Kenzo doesn’t seem to notice. I suppose having fur makes you forget how vulnerable bare skin can be.
He regards me impassively with his bright wolf eyes. “We can adapt the plan,” he suggests eventually.
I goggle at him. “Adapt the…”
“All the elements are in place. You’ll be taking over Wren’s role, which you’re already familiar with. Being able to get the King alone, for him to let his guard down—that’s the important part. That’s why Wren had to spend this time cultivating a relationship with him. Only a Paper Girl can kill him without us risking our position in the court or exposing our involvement.” He pauses, something gentler in his look when he adds, “You have motive enough. It will look like a passion crime.”
“But Wren will be coming back, won’t she? She’ll come back and then we can try again.”
Kenzo shakes his head. “There’s no time.” Even with his voice lowered, it still has bite. He moves nearer to grip me by the shoulders and I brace at the sensation of demon hands on me. They’re so large they easily span the space from my neck to where my arms start to slope down. Memories jolt through me from that night with the King. Noticing my discomfort, Kenzo lets me go, but he stays close. “Listen to me, Lei. It has taken us years—Wren’s entire lifetime—to reach this point. You know how much we’ve sacrificed for this. We’re so close. If we don’t act now, we might not get another chance.”
I hug my arms across my chest, shivering. “What—what do you mean?”
“The King has been growing suspicious. I fear the Hannos are losing influence over him. Since the assassination attempt, he’s been hungry for retribution, to catch the court members who helped them. He knows there are those in the palace who’d betray him. I believe he’s starting to look at me as one of them.”
“But I thought you’re one of his most trusted advisers.”
“I am.” Kenzo’s lip curls, a wolfish gesture, his ears flicking forward. “And it’s been many hard years to get there. But recently, the King hasn’t been so receptive to what I’ve been advising. The Sickness is getting worse, and he’s convinced it’s because of the gods. That they’re punishing him for being a weak ruler. He’s been pushing ever more aggressive tactics to try to demonstrate his might.”
I nod. “He told me the same.”
“It hasn’t been easy,” Kenzo continues, rubbing a hand at the side of his neck, mussing his smoothed-down fur. “I’ve been trying to advise him differently, but I need to maintain my cover. It sickens me to think of all the deaths I’m aiding.” He turns his face away jerkily and lets out a cold laugh. “You know, there are official royal executioners. By ordering me, Naja, and Ndeze to do their work that day, the King was sending a clear message—do not cross me. Look at what happens to those who do.”
I squeeze myself tighter. “If he’s suspicious of your loyalty, why hasn’t he confronted you yet?”
“Because he understands the benefit in keeping his enemies close. Do you know how the Hannos even came to be aligned with him?”
I shake my head.
“They were one of the strongest clans in Ikhara before the Bull King’s ascension two hundred years ago,” Kenzo explains. “They occupied the entire Han territory. That’s where they get their name—from the two ancient families in the region, the Hans and the Nos. The Bull King was originally from Jana, from a tiny trading post village in the southern deserts. He had no influence over Han. He was only able to take control because the Hannos were supporters of equality between demons and humans. They welcomed immigrant clans and were keen to develop bonds between all castes. By all accounts, the Bull King impressed them with his intelligence and ambition, and he rose quickly through their ranks. And what were the Hannos rewarded with?” Kenzo’s nostrils flare as he lets out a hard puff of air. “Betrayal. The Bull King used his influence on the Hannos’ rule to empower the demon castes, manipulating them, making them hungry for control, then used their power to overtake their court.”