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He doesn’t question me, which makes it worse. He believes me. He trusts me.
Hokzuh isn’t my friend, I remind myself. We made a deal, and I owe him nothing outside of that. Whereas Vanna is my sister; I will protect her until my very last breath.
I bury my secret deep. With every stroke of my oar, that future with Hokzuh drifts further away. The dragon starts whistling, and it’s the song that I sang to him while I nursed his wounds.
I bite down on my lip and pretend not to hear.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I don’t remember falling asleep, but it’s dawn when I awaken, and Hokzuh is flying. His wings, mostly healed, beat forcefully as he tows our boat across the sea using a rope tied to his ankle.
Ukar flicks my cheek with his tail. Finally! I was about to try to choke you awake.
My eyelids are crusty, and my hair sticks to my face, glutinous with sweat. You let me sleep?
The dragon told me to. Said you needed to be fresh to kill the Demon Witch.
I flick a glance at Hokzuh. How considerate. “Where are we?” I call out.
Hokzuh answers, “Tai’yanan, just ahead.” He swats away a seagull that perches on his shoulder.
We must be close to land if there are birds.
I shield my eyes with my hand and stretch my gaze as far as it will go.
To the north is Tai’yanan, Island of the Sky Mountains. The air is clear and blue, and the mountains are perfect domes lining the horizon. Foam from the sea rushes against the crags, indeed making it look like they are floating on the clouds. It’s beautiful.
“We’re nearly there,” Hokzuh says, closing his wings and causing the boat to rock as he lands. “The wind will take us the rest of the way.”
“You look better,” I say, bowing my head low in thanks.
“The potion worked.”
It worked for me too. The gash on my leg is gone.
I reach for the fishing net at my feet and slice off a length of cord. It’s a ragged thing, nowhere as sturdy as the gold chain that Hokzuh used to have, but I offer it to him. “For your moonstone.”
I’ve caught him off guard, and from the way his shoulders fall, I wonder how long it’s been since someone has shown kindness to him.
His hands are too big to thread the cord through the moonstone, so I take over for him, then tie it around his neck.
“It’s more than a trophy off Meguh’s neck, isn’t it?” I say as I hold the stone. “There’s magic in it.”
Hokzuh’s shoulders stiffen. “They say snakes are sensitive to magic. Should’ve guessed that included you.”
I recognize his flat tone. Adah speaks in such a voice when a matter is closed and I’m not to broach it again. But Hokzuh simply changes the topic. He reaches for his ankle, where he’s strapped a dagger.
“Take this,” he says, thrusting the weapon into my hand. It’s double-edged, the same dagger he used to kill the suiyaks. “I doubt they’ll let you bring your spear into the palace.”
The dagger’s hilt smells of fish, which makes sense given that’s all we’ve had to eat for the last day.
“When you see a demon, don’t aim for the heart. Go for the eyes or the throat.”
“Why not the heart?”
“It’s unbeatable.”
He waits until I get the joke. “Gods, Hokzuh,” I splutter, laughing even though it’s not funny. “That was awful.”
