My eyes go wide. “And the Hannos still made an alliance with him after all that?”
“The Night War was devastating for Paper castes, Lei. We’ve all heard the stories passed down by our ancestors. Years of cooperation and partnership with demons, eradicated in an instant. Of course, there has always been conflict between clans. But now there was a force uniting the demon clans, giving them reason to forge alliances and maintain peace between their groups in order to hold power over Paper castes. You yourself have experienced this force firsthand. I am sure that the last thing the Hannos wanted was to pledge their allegiance to the very demon who betrayed them. But the clan needed time to recover, and Ketai’s forbears understood that they needed the King’s support in this new world. That they could later use his power as their own. So they went to him, groveling.” A growl rises in Kenzo’s throat. “How could the King resist the sight of his enemies, made to kneel at his feet like beggars?”
“But he knew what he’d done to them,” I say, absently pushing aside the windblown hair from my face. “Didn’t he worry they’d end up betraying him, too?”
Kenzo releases a rough laugh. “An arrogant warlord like him? I bet he didn’t think of it once. All he saw was a chance to use their connections among the human clans. Look at the trouble the King is facing now. Winning a war is the easy part. All it takes is brawn. Maintaining your rule afterward is the real test.”
I stare. “So the Hannos have been planning their revenge for two hundred years?”
“How many years would you wait for revenge against those who stole your kingdom from you?” Kenzo’s bronze eyes fix me to the spot. “Who tore down what you had so patiently been building? Who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of your kind, and laughed while doing it?” The hatred in his voice is as powerful as thunder; it rolls through the air between us and into my bloodstream, an electric vibration that charges my whole body. He adds, quieter, but just as fiercely, “I’d wait a lifetime to gain my revenge against someone who hurt just one person I love. For an entire kingdom of them?”
I think of Mama.
Of Wren.
Kenzo watches me. “Two hundred years doesn’t seem so long now, does it?”
“But… what happens after? Once they’ve had their revenge? If that’s what it’s all about—”
“Of course it’s not. By all accounts, the Hannos were genuinely open to seeing how this King’s rule developed. Along with needing to recover their military strength, I’m sure that was another factor in their waiting so long. But the Demon King’s regime only proved to them the importance of claiming back the throne. Now, with the Sickness and greater rebel activity than ever before, the King’s rule has grown even harsher. And not just for Paper castes.”
He turns jerkily away, staring into the darkness. When Kenzo looks back, there’s something sad and almost broken in his eyes, which makes me wonder if there’s a story behind his words, what memories might be haunting him.
“Is that why you’re helping the Hannos?” I ask. “Something happened to make you turn against the King?”
“Yes,” he answers simply. He looks down at me through narrowed eyes. “Wren told me you’re from a rural village in Xienzo. Maybe it’s hard for you to understand, coming from somewhere so peaceful.”
I take a shaky inhale, harden my gaze. “We were attacked by the King’s men seven years ago. They took my mother.”
“So you know what it’s like to have a loved one stolen from you,” the wolf says. With surprising tenderness, he reaches for my hands. His huge, pawlike hands easily swallow mine, but unlike his touch earlier, it’s comforting this time, almost brotherly. The way he is with Wren. He comes closer, the earthy scent of him unfurling from his ash-gray coat, ruffled now from the wintry wind. “Wren trusts you, Lei. She believes in you, and that means we all do. Will you do this for us? Will you kill the King?”
And even though it terrifies me—even though all I want is for a laughing Wren to come out behind a bush to tell me this is all some crazy, horrid joke—there’s no hesitation when I answer.
“Yes. I will.”
Kenzo blows out a forceful exhale. Lowering his head, he brings the backs of my hands to his forehead in a light press and murmurs huskily, “Thank you, Lei. Eighty times, thank you.”
“On one condition.”
He looks up.
“My father and Tien are protected from any punishment should…” I swallow. “Should it go wrong.”
“Of course. We’ll look after them, whatever happens. You have my word.”
I nod. Then I take a ragged breath. “Well. I guess it’s settled, then.”
In an instant, Kenzo’s furred fingers wrap around my own, as though closing the promise into my skin. “Come,” he says, and tugs me in the direction of the forest. Though I stumble to keep up with his long, loping gait, he doesn’t slow. “Time to show me what you’ve learned from Wren.”
The clearing is hushed, the heaviness of the cloudless night pressing down on us like one of the sky gods’ mighty hands. Kenzo draws me into the center, and I think he’s going to say something—I’ve just agreed to murdering the King, after all. But just like that first time with Wren, the swing of his fist takes me entirely by surprise.
I yelp, scooting back just in time. “Wait—”
He cuts me off with a spinning kick, the whir of his foot as it passes overhead making me flinch.
“The King will not wait,” he growls.
“Don’t you think I know that? At least give me a moment to prepa—”
He interrupts me with a thrusting punch to the gut. His pointed fingers catch me right in the middle, the contact throwing me off balance. I fall over, more out of shock than anything, a sharp exhale escaping my lips as I land painfully on my tailbone.
“Wren never hit me!” I shout up at him, rubbing my spine.
Kenzo’s lips pull back in a wolfish snarl. “But the King will.” Still, he holds out a hand, helping me to my feet. “This time tomorrow, you’ll be alone with him. And unlike us, the King will not go easy on you. He will not hold back. You have to be prepared for what that will be like. The minute he realizes what you are doing, he’ll retaliate. It’ll take everything you have to stay alive.”
I jut my chin, glowering. “Why did you even ask me, then, if you think I don’t stand a chance?”
“I don’t think that. It’s just that your chance is slim. But this is how the earth and heavens work. How they have always worked. All that is needed for anything to happen is for someone—god or mortal, demon or man—to see that slim chance, and take it.”
He fiddles with the tie at his waist, pulling up the hem of his shirt to reveal a leather band slung above his hips. Fixed to the belt is a short sword. I get a glimpse of a delicately engraved jade hilt before Kenzo’s fingers close around it. The metallic song of the blade as he pulls it free from the scabbard sets my teeth on edge, reminding me of that night under the theater, the moment the assassin drew his blade on Wren.