Jinji was leaving.
She would wait until Rhen was reunited with his family, until he was distracted, but as soon as that happened, she was gone.
She had to be.
It had all started with a dream—so small, so insignificant, yet everything.
Jinji sat in the golden palace. Rhen's head rested on her lap. A gold dress flowed over her limbs, her eyes were hooded with the veil, and she ran her fingers lovingly over his cheeks.
"Rhen," she whispered, dipping her lips down so they skimmed the soft skin below his ear. "Wake up."
Hair fell over her shoulder, hair that was black and long and luscious—hair that was not cut in mourning, that showed no respect for her heritage, for her family.
A hand gently cupped her cheek. It was coarse and callused, yet comforting.
"Jinji," a deep voice said. She pulled back, meeting sparkling green eyes—the color of the forest just before twilight.
Rhen.
And he looked at her like she was his world.
Slowly, she pulled the metal mask off her head, but his expression bore no surprise. He knew who she was. He had known the entire time.
His fingers slipped behind her neck, running through her heavy locks, massaging the skin around her shoulders before pulling her down.
Down.
Closer.
Until their breath mingled, hot and electric.
And then his lips were on her skin, setting it ablaze. His fingers like lava as they traced a path down her back, over thin fabrics, to her hip, and still lower.
Jinji gasped.
She had never been touched like this before. Never been held like this.
Her skin prickled, hot to the touch. Her fingers stretched into his hair, gripping the short strands, forcing his face closer.
But then they both stopped moving, halted in time.
Suddenly, his lips turned cold. His hands fell away.
Jinji sat up. But it was not Rhen below her anymore.
It was Maniuk—face frozen in betrayal.
She blinked.
The face changed to that of her father—eyes downcast with disappointment.
Tears blurred her vision, so she rubbed them away.
Now her mother—mouth open in disgust.
"No!" She yelled and stood, backing away.
The body shifted, flipped over—rotting fingers gripped the ground, pulling the carcass closer. The figure stood.
And it was Janu.
"Have you forgotten?" He asked. The skin around his lips flaked away. "Have you forgotten what you are?"
His hands rose up and gripped her cheeks. His skin melted off, dripping to her feet until finally it was her own face that remained.
"Remember," she said, "remember."
And then she had awoken, panting in the darkness, her heart racing as fast as it had ever felt. But it wasn't the shadow—it was her own guilt haunting her.
The dream played on repeat in her sleep, sometimes changing location, but always the same. Rhen or her family. Rhen or her vengeance.
She could not have both.
Traveling with Rhen had brought her no closer to answers. It had been a distraction—perhaps a needed one, a way to free herself from the loss, to open herself up to the outside world, now far less scary than it had been only weeks before. But there was no forgetting her people or her mission.
The spirits were guiding her, but toward what? It was time to take fate into her own hands. And if Rhen could not help her defeat the shadow, she needed to leave him behind and find someone who could.
No matter how much her heart tightened at that thought.
"Are you practicing? Like that?"
Jinji turned. She had forgotten about the sword resting in her lap, the one Rhen was trying his best to teach her how to use. Her mind had been elsewhere, but now she was aware.
The world filtered back into focus.
"No." She shrugged, removing it and letting it drop onto the ground beside her. She was at the bow of the ship, sitting with legs crossed as she gazed out at the waters before her.
They had left the deep canals, the cliffs, and the river behind long ago. Now they were in the White Stone Sea as Rhen had called it, affection evident in his voice. This was his territory, his home. And it was as beautiful as anything she had ever laid eyes on.
The sea was turquoise—brighter and more vibrant than any waters she had ever seen before. Rhen said it was the sand.
There was a mountain range in the middle of the sea, huge peaks that stretched endlessly into the clouds. The locals called them the Gates—the entrance to the spirit world. No humans had ever been able to climb them and live to tell the tale, though Rhen assured her that some had tried. But the stones, he said, were pure white. The mountains looked like snow and ice from afar, but they were rock. A smooth, polished stone unlike anywhere else in their world.
The sand was made from that rock—the waters beat against the mountains, knocking pieces off and breaking them down into rubble. The pure ivory that decorated the sea floor turned the water the most unbelievable hue, a liquid gemstone.
"We should be arriving in Rayfort today, a few hours at the most," Rhen said from above. He stood next to her, resting his forearms on the wooden rail, eyes focused on the search for his home. "I recognize the shoreline."
Jinji stayed seated, keeping her distance. "What will happen when we get there?"
"I imagine my family will be both relieved and annoyed at my appearance. The Naming should be happening soon, they've likely been postponing it until I return. The ceremony cannot be completed without the entire royal house present. My brother and I must hand over our right to the throne to the new Son of Whyl, removing our claim to keep the future succession untainted."
"And what will happen to me?"
"During the Naming? Nothing. Only the noble—well, let's just say it is a closed ceremony. But afterward, I will show you my home. We can train you to be a knight, you can grow up to serve your kingdom and your king." Rhen shrugged, as though that was the normal—the only—path for her to take.
Was that why he had wanted to teach her swordplay? Why he had demanded?
Jinji pulled her legs into her chest.
She had been right. Rayfort was the end. After that, she and Rhen would have to part ways, to follow different fates.