The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) - R. F. Kuang Page 0,167

power looks like. If we’ve turned you back into a weapon, then you’re going to be a damn good one. And stop panicking over me, Rin. I’m fine until I say I’m not.”

So she called the flame again and again, pushing the limits every time, until the shores burned pitch-black around them. She kept going even while Kitay screamed because he’d ordered her not to stop unless he said so explicitly. She kept going until his eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp on the raft. And even then, when he revived seconds later, the first thing he said to her was: “Fifty yards.”

When at last they reached the Red Cliffs, Rin saw with immense relief that the flag of the Republic still flew over Arlong.

So Vaisra was safe, and Daji was still a distant threat.

Their next challenge was to get back into the city without getting shot. Arlong, expecting a Militia assault, had hunkered down behind its defenses. The massive gates to the harbor past the Red Cliffs were locked. Crossbows were lined up against every flat surface overlooking the channel. Rin and Kitay could hardly march up to the city doors—any sudden, unexpected movement would get them stuck full of arrows. They discovered this when they saw a wild monkey wander too close to the walls and startle a line of trigger-happy archers.

They were so exhausted that they found this ridiculously funny. A month’s worth of travel and their biggest concern was friendly fire.

Finally they decided to get some sentries’ attention in the least threatening way possible. They hurled rocks at the sides of the cliff and waited while pinging noises echoed around the channel until at last a line of soldiers emerged on the cliffside, crossbows pointed down.

Rin and Kitay immediately put their hands up.

“Don’t shoot, please,” Kitay called.

The sentry captain leaned over the cliff wall. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“We’re Republican soldiers back from Boyang,” Kitay called, gesturing to their uniforms.

“Uniforms are cheap on corpses,” said the captain.

Kitay pointed to Rin. “Not uniforms that fit her.”

The captain looked unconvinced. “Back away or I’ll shoot.”

“I wouldn’t,” Rin called. “Or Vaisra will be asking why you’ve killed his Speerly.”

The sentries hooted with laughter.

“Good one,” said the captain.

Rin blinked. Did they not recognize her? Did they not know who she was?

“Maybe he’s new,” Kitay said.

“Can I hurt him?” she muttered.

“Just a little.”

She tilted her head back and opened her mouth. Breathing fire was harder than shooting it from her hands because it gave her less directional control, but she liked the dramatic effect. A stream of fire shot into the air and unfurled itself into the shape of a dragon that hung for a moment in front of the awed soldiers, undulating grandly, before rushing the captain.

He was never in any real danger. Rin extinguished the flames as soon as they made contact. But he still screamed and fell backward as if he were being charged by a bear. When at last he resurfaced over the cliff wall, his face had turned bright pink, and smoke drifted up from his singed eyebrows.

“I should shoot you just for that,” he said.

“Why don’t you just tell Vaisra that the Speerly’s back,” Rin said. “And bring us something to eat.”

Word of their return seemed to have spread instantly to the entire harbor. A massive crowd of soldiers and civilians alike surrounded them the moment they passed through the gates. Everyone had questions, and they shouted them from every direction so loudly that Rin could barely make out a word.

The questions she did understand were about soldiers still missing from Boyang. The people wanted to know if any others were still alive. If they were on their way back. Rin didn’t have the heart to answer.

“Who dragged you out of hell?” Venka elbowed her way through the soldiers. She seized Rin by the arms, looked her up and down, and then wrinkled her pert nose. “You smell.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Rin said.

“No, really, it’s rank. It’s like you’ve taken a knife blade to my nose.”

“Well, we haven’t seen properly clean water in over a month, so—”

“So what’s the story?” Venka interrupted. “Did you break out of prison? Take out an entire battalion? Swim the whole length back down the Murui?”

“We drank horse piss and got high,” said Kitay.

“Come again?” Venka asked.

Rin was about to explain when she caught sight of Nezha pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

“Hello,” she said.

He stopped just before her