The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) - R. F. Kuang Page 0,115

the north on purpose? That doesn’t get her anything.”

“She’s not giving it up. They’re building a shipyard, we’ve known that since the beginning—”

“And if their navy were any use, we would have seen it. Maybe we’re actually just winning this war. It wouldn’t kill you to admit it.”

But Kitay shook his head. “You’re talking about Su Daji. This is the woman who managed to unite all twelve provinces for the first time since the death of the Red Emperor.”

“She had help.”

“But she’s had no help since. If the Empire were going to fracture, you’d think it would have already. Don’t get cocky, Rin. We’re playing a game of wikki against a woman who’s had decades of practice against far more fearsome opponents. I’ve said this to Jinzha, too. There’s a counteroffensive coming soon, and the longer we wait for it, the worse it’s going to be.”

Kitay was obsessed with the problem of whether the fleet ought to curtail its campaign for the winter or to sail directly to Tiger Province, rendezvous with Tsolin’s fleet, and take on Jun and his army. On the one hand, if they could solidify their hold on the coastline through Tiger Province, then they would have a back channel to run supplies and reinforce land columns to eventually encircle the Autumn Palace.

On the other, taking the coastline would involve a massive military commitment from troops that the Republic didn’t yet have. Until the Hesperians decided to lend aid, they would have to settle for conquering the inland regions first. But that could take another couple of months—which required time that they also didn’t have.

They were racing against time. Nobody wanted to be stuck in an invasion when winter hit the north. Their task was to solidify a revolutionary base and corner the Empire inside its three northernmost provinces before the Murui’s tributaries froze over and the fleet was stuck in place.

“We’re cutting it close, but we should be up to the Edu pass within a month,” Kitay told her. “Jinzha has to make his decision by then.”

Rin did the calculations in her head. “Upriver sailing should take us a month and a half.”

“You’re forgetting about the Four Gorges Dam,” Kitay said. “Up through Rat Province the Murui’s blocked up, so the current won’t be as strong as it should be.”

“A month, then. What do you think happens when we get there?”

“We pray to the heavens that the rivers and lakes haven’t frozen yet,” Kitay said. “Then we see what our options are. At this point, though, Jinzha’s wagered this war on the weather.”

Rin’s weekly meetings with Sister Petra remained the thorn in her side that progressively stung worse. Petra’s examinations had become increasingly invasive, but she had also started withholding the laudanum. She was finished with taking baseline measurements. Now she wanted to see evidence of Chaos.

When week after week Rin failed to call the fire, Petra grew impatient.

“You are hiding it from me,” she accused. “You refuse to cooperate.”

“Or maybe I’m cured,” Rin said. “Maybe Chaos went away. Maybe your holy presence scared it off.”

“You lie.” Petra wrenched Rin’s mouth open with more force than she needed and began tapping around her teeth with what felt like a two-pronged instrument. The cold metal tips dug painfully into Rin’s enamel. “I know how Chaos works. It never disappears. It disguises itself in the face of the Maker but always it returns.”

Rin wished that were the case. If she had the fire back she’d incinerate Petra where she stood, and fuck the consequences. If she had the fire, then she wouldn’t be so terribly helpless, bowing down to Jinzha’s commands and cooperating with the Hesperians because she was only a lowly foot soldier.

But if she gave in to her anger now, the worst she could do was make a mess in Petra’s lab, wind up dead at the bottom of the Murui, and destroy any hope of a Hesperian-Nikara military alliance. Resistance meant doom for her and everyone she cared about.

So even though it tasted like the bitterest bile, she swallowed her rage.

“It’s really gone,” she said when Petra released her jaw. “I told you it’s been Sealed off. I can’t call it anymore.”

“So you say.” Petra looked deeply skeptical, but she dropped the subject. She placed the instrument back on her table. “Raise your right hand and hold your breath.”

“Why?”

“Because I asked.”

The Sister never lost her temper with Rin, no matter what Rin said. Petra had a freakishly calm composure. She never betrayed any emotion