on the grazing lands. It’s our answer. The way forward. I see it in my mind as clearly as if it had been written in my Book of Whisperings.
“We have to go now, to the grazing lands, before the city falls,” I say as I rush from the alleyway.
For the first time in our lives, Serik gapes as if I’m the irrational one. “It’s so late, and we don’t have a plan.”
Oh, but I do have a plan. “We’re going to Verdenet,” I announce. “And we’re taking the shepherds with us.”
“Why would we go to Verdenet? It’s overrun with soldiers. The king’s been replaced by an imperial governor. And how do you plan to get there? It’s clear across the grasslands and the snow squalls—”
I squash a finger against his lips. “You will take care of the snow squalls, obviously. And that’s precisely why we must go to Verdenet—to reinstate King Minoak and raise an army of our own.”
“How do you plan to reinstate a king who’s vanished? No one has seen him since the assassination attempt. He could be—”
“He isn’t dead. The Imperial Army hasn’t found him because they’re not looking in the right places. They’re trying to solve a Verdenese riddle using Ashkarian logic, which will never work. They can’t see the answer because they’ve never made an effort to get to know us.”
“If we can find King Minoak”—Serik’s tone makes it clear he doesn’t like our odds—“do you honestly think an army of Verdenese crafts workers and exhausted shepherds stand a chance against the Imperial Army and Zemya?”
“No. But it’s a start. King Minoak’s sister is married to the vice chancellor of Namaag. If we alert them to the truth, they may be willing to fight. And if what Temujin told me about the conditions in Chotgor is true, they have no reason not to join us. Without the Protected Territories, Ashkar is small. And weak.”
Serik chews the inside of his cheek. “You realize this is outrageous? Not to mention dangerous?” I fold my arms and stand taller, gathering up every shred of ammunition I can think of to volley back at him, but a sly grin creeps across his face and he claps. “Which is exactly why I like it. Let’s raise another rebel army and find ourselves a missing king.”
We skirt around the city center and down to the river. My feet hesitate when they reach the wheel-riddled streets of the grazing lands. The shepherds won’t be glad to see me, and they definitely won’t want to follow me—not without Temujin.
“Do you want me to go first?” Serik grabs my elbow, but I shake my head and take a decisive step forward. I’m done hiding in the shadows. I’m done trailing behind like an obedient dog. From now on, I think for myself. Speak for myself.
Trust in myself.
With a nod of encouragement, Serik falls in beside me and we advance across the frozen fields. With every step, I let the night peel away, fluttering to the ground like fall leaves until we’re standing, exposed, in the middle of the grazing lands.
The shepherds huddled around their cooking fires murmur and point. As the gasps escalate to shouts, more and more people pour from their tents. I want to draw my hood or retreat behind my hair. But I raise my chin and let them look. I let them see the good and bad, the fair and ugly. All of it.
All of me.
“What are you doing here?” someone demands.
“Did you come to incinerate our camp like the Sky Palace?” another shepherd jeers.
Serik lunges forward, but I grab his elbow and pull him back. “I came to guide you to safety,” I say with far more conviction than I feel. “Zemyans have infiltrated the capital. Sagaan will fall and you will fall with it, unless you come with us now.”
The majority of the multitude stares as if slugs are dripping from my mouth. A few outright laugh.
“Where’s Temujin?” several voices call. “If what you claim is true, shouldn’t he be leading us?”
“Temujin has joined ranks with the Zemyans. The aid he provided was not as selfless or as noble as it seemed.”
Cries of disbelief and disapproval pelt me like arrows. A good portion of the crowd turns away. My breath goes with them, sucked from my belly as if jabbed by the butt of a saber. The burning hollow it leaves hurts even more than expected.
“You’ll be the first to perish!” I yell. “The Sky King made it