Page 90 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

“Are you not the western wind?”

Raiden stiffened, his hand twitching. “I’ve lost that privilege.”

Cassidy and Aryn appeared on the dais next, and Kora’s heart flipped as they held hands awkwardly, raising them up into the air.

“We thank Thanos for being the conduit between realms, bridging the gap between life and death. As so, we represent the bridge between lands, between peoples old and new. We recognise your mark of connection.” Cassidy and Aryn spoke in perfect unison, their tones monotonous as if they wanted to be anywhere but there. A subtle blush lined Aryn’s cheeks as no sweep of power emitted from them, but one look from Zephyr and the crowd knelt regardless.

“We bless the western wind.”

Raiden’s tension was palpable as his shoulders hunched from the blessing. Despite the sky appearing clear through the Mist, an unmistakable rumble of thunder answered the blessing. Kora’s hairs stood on end, and she didn’t think twice as she took Raiden’s hand, guiding him away from the crowd as Zephyr brought the ceremony to a close with generic jargon about praise for the new year.

Her body instinctively drove her to the shoreline near the entrance to the promenade, and she halted to a stop, her fingers still entwined with Raiden’s. The ocean soothed her instantly, and she tried not to leap with joy at how her body pulsed in time with the lapping waves, at how her water beast purred in delight so much that she could dive into the ocean right now, and never look back.

“It’s always embarrassing,” Raiden spoke thickly as he stared at the Mist blanketing the horizon.

“Why are you excluded?” Kora didn’t pull away as she caught his vacant gaze. Instead, she gripped harder, in hopes she could ground him like he’d been grounding her lately.

“I’m not who you think I am,” Raiden answered, his voice strained. “I’ve done things, caused things—bad things—to happen to my family. This is my punishment.”

“You’re talking to the queen of doing bad things,” Kora scoffed, pointing to her chest. “I’ve probably murdered at least one person connected to every family on this island.”

And her nightmares didn’t let her forget it.

“You were misled,” Raiden argued. “Erick twisted your mind, made you believe you were doing the right thing.”

“But so was Erick,” Kora said softly. “I know no one can understand why I’m defending him. But he’d lost so much, and was told it was the rebels. He was retaliating in vengeance and it repeated with me. It all leads back to Barron.”

“I can assure you there were no rebel attacks on officers over ten years ago. We usually deal in stealth and information.” Raiden gave her a pointed stare and Kora’s mind tripped over itself.

No.

“That bastard,” she growled, and Raiden’s stare shifted into curious surprise.

The cogs clicked into place as Barron’s unending dark manipulation expanded before her like a map, telling her what Erick failed to see.

“It was Barron,” she uttered. “It had to be. No one would ever have done what Erick did. Not unless you were so broken, so blind with revenge.”

Indeed, Barron was a master manipulator. He’d created the perfect puppet. He’d torn Erick’s life away and used the empty shell to create his own weapon. Just like they both had with Kora. Gods, did Erick know? Did he have any idea of the level of betrayal Barron had stooped to?

Raiden grimly nodded, then glanced down at their entwined hands. He stared for a long time before pulling away, clearing his throat.

“Let’s not dwell on the past.” He smiled, but his eyes didn’t dazzle the way they usually did. Within a second, Raiden revealed a wrapped oblong package with a small box placed on top. Kora raised her brows in shock as he handed it over.

“What? What is this?”

“Open it.” He winked before folding his arms. Kora opened the little box first, revealing a singular chocolate tart, the buttery pastry already causing her mouth to drool, topped with pistachio cream and tiny flakes of edible gold.

“Oh my!” She didn’t hesitate as she bit into it, moaning as the decadent flavour cocooned her with its velvety aftertaste. “You must give your chef my thanks!”

Raiden’s smile widened, his crystal eyes turning blue. “He knew you’d like it.”

Kora tore into the second box, in hopes of it being more treats from the castle’s chef. Gods, she could live off the tarts forever. As she pulled the chromatic wrapping away and opened the lid, she froze. The box fell away as she gripped the dagger in her hand, its handle contoured to fit her palm perfectly. A curved sabre, decorated with water runes she recognised from Aerion’s lessons, meeting a dark blue hilt that shimmered a vibrancy of colours whenever the light hit it.

She placed the weapon across two fingers. It was perfectly balanced. Longer than her daggers from the empire, Kora swished it through the air, and her skin pleasantly prickled at the tiny ring of Galenite silver cutting the atmosphere. The hilt was simple, reminding her of a night’s sky reflecting in the ocean’s surface, and at the top of the pommel were a collection of pearls woven together.

“Happy birthday, Huntress.”

“It’s . . . it’s my birthday? But . . . I’ve already . . .” Words evaded her as she glanced back to the fierce weapon in her hands.