The Other Side of the Sky - Amie Kaufman Page 0,139

me. “Are you sure you can … Jezara, I cannot imagine she’ll abandon her plans peacefully.”

Jezara watches me. “Please,” she says quietly. “Let me try to save my daughter, Divine One.”

I’m still searching for my voice when the tiniest of sensations whispers across the hairs at the back of my neck. I freeze. Though this connection with the mist is new, it’s powerful—and I recognize it immediately.

We aren’t alone.

I glance at Jezara, who’s watching me quizzically, having seen the change in my expression. I put a finger to my lips, and she nods, her eyes widening. Carefully, I let a little of the mist loose, fighting the urge to let it all explode from my control, like a pack of dogs.

There. A person, alone, crouched in the bushes not far away. With a jolt, I realize I can feel her—for she is certainly a her. Though I cannot quite read her thoughts through the mist, her tension feels like my own; the jumble of emotion in her heart rolls off her in waves.

She’s watching us.

I get slowly to my feet, gathering up more mist even as I reach for my spearstaff. Power builds within me, begging to be set loose—only my will contains it. With an effort, I manage to take two steps toward the figure concealed in the bushes before I let the mist free.

An invisible force rushes forward and slams into the woman, who goes sprawling with a grunt of surprise and pain. I rush up before she can recover, Jezara close on my heels. I swing my spearstaff around, ready to level it at the throat of the intruder—and I gasp as I see her face in the dim predawn light.

“Elkisa!”

My guard is ashen-faced, wide-eyed, dusty from travel and lit with emotion. “Nimh—Nimh, forgive me! Please, it’s me, don’t—” But there she falls short, unable to explain what force knocked her to the ground.

“Gods, El, I’m sorry. How did you … ?”

“The smoke from the boat. You can see it for leagues if you get above the canopy. I did not know it was you, but I thought if it was, you might be in danger… .” Her eyes drift to the side, and I realize Jezara is leaning over us behind my shoulder.

“You know this woman?” she asks, her eyes narrowing as she inspects Elkisa.

I nod, head bobbing like a float on a fishing line. “She’s my guard—she’s my oldest friend. We were separated, and I thought … But she’s here. She’s all right. You’re all right?”

Elkisa’s nodding, but my attention’s split by a sudden tension in the older woman at my side.

“You trust her?” Jezara speaks bluntly, voice carrying a hint of that metal-edged armor again. She’s drawn herself up, one hand resting on her walking stick. I can’t help but remember the flash of insight I had in her house—that her own guards were the very ones who had thrown her out of her home all those years ago.

“Of course I do!” I reply, getting myself under control with an effort. Too much effort. As if sensing my emotion, the mist is all around me. Still invisible, but waiting for danger, like a ferocious animal sensing its master’s agitation. I take a deep, steadying breath, and though I’m speaking to my predecessor, my eyes are on Elkisa’s face. “I trust her with my life.”

To my astonishment, a muffled sound from Elkisa warns me only seconds before her head drops, and her shoulders quiver in a sob.

“Oh, El—are you hurt? Come, sit up.” I draw back to make room, knowing she won’t move unless she’s certain she won’t touch me. “What is wrong?”

I see tearstains on her cheeks as she levers herself upright. She shivers. “Who is this, Nimh?” Responding to Jezara’s faint frown, Elkisa assumes one of her own, until both women are watching each other uneasily.

I hesitate only for a moment. “This is … well, this is Jezara, El.”

Elkisa’s face goes slack, and she leans backward as if her surprise is so deep it borders on fear. “Nimh—you don’t understand! That woman is Inshara’s mother. Inshara is her daughter. You can’t trust her.”

For a moment, I almost feel like laughing—but her face is so intent and serious that it sobers me. “I know, El. She told us.” “You must ask her to go—we must leave this place—come, Nimh, let us—”

“She stays!” That irritation flares, and I take a deep breath, disconcerted at how readily the mist in the air around me responds to