itself. Those who suffocate others in this way usually require great strength and stamina. For you to be able to do it already...well, it's a testament to your power-and that's nearly as frightening as the act itself."
The full impact hit me. "Wait...there are people who do that on purpose? Steal someone's air so they can't breathe?"
She shrugged. "Well, to those with the skill, suffocation's an effective weapon."
"It's sick...it's an inhumane way to die."
"I agree. And most people don't have that kind of strength, so it's not an issue. Among those who do have the strength, most would never consider doing it to another person, enemy or no."
I groaned. "Well, if that's true, then she has to understand that I wouldn't purposely do it to her either. She has to believe that it was an accident."
"I don't think you're going to have a lot of luck with that."
"Why not?"
"Because while most consider such torture unusually cruel, there was one person who enjoyed denying someone their breath-and who frequently used it as a form of execution and entertainment." Shaya's look was meaningful. "Tirigan Storm King."
Chapter Thirteen
Ysabel couldn't be coaxed out of her room, no matter how hard I tried. I even sent Shaya to do it, seeing as she tended to be a bit more personable than I was. No luck. Ysabel remained firmly entrenched and would only ramble over and over about how she was going to tell her lord about me and escape this accursed place.
Evening wore on, and I couldn't drag myself back to Tucson. My feelings were in turmoil. I'd never expected to feel guilty about anything pertaining to Ysabel, but there it was. And as more time passed, I didn't just feel bad about inadvertently suffocating her. As soon as I'd realized what I had done, I knew I had to cease practicing this kind of magic immediately. Storm King had used it to kill his enemies in horrible ways. Kiyo had warned that delving further and further into my powers would put me on a path I might not be able to turn away from.
And yet...that was the problem. I knew I had to stop...but I didn't want to.
Sure, I didn't want to learn air magic to kill. But after touching that power...I couldn't stop thinking about it. I found my mind spinning, analyzing the air around me and how easy it would be to manipulate it. What had started as a seemingly small lesson from Ysabel was quickly moving into larger and larger implications as I grasped more of air's patterns and how it worked. It was like I didn't even need a teacher. My own nature and pull toward magic was running away and creating its own lessons.
My conflicted ruminations were interrupted when a letter arrived via the Otherworld's equivalent of the Pony Express. It was from Leith. As I'd suspected, he'd devoured the engineering books. What I hadn't expected was that he'd already developed a plan for how to implement some of the irrigation systems and was going to accompany some workers out to Westoria in the morning to get started-unless I had any objections, of course. If I didn't, then he would be honored if I would come out to meet them.
He also added in his letter that he had investigated the towns near the Yellow River crossroads. None of them had any reports of missing girls. It figured, I thought. I either had enough bad luck to be the only monarch with runaway girls-or I possibly had an enemy specifically targeting me. Considering the number of gentry who resented my rule, the latter wouldn't have surprised me.
Regardless, I decided I had to go out to see Leith tomorrow. Even if it was just an elaborate attempt to woo me, he was still going to an awful lot of trouble with this. Plus, I hoped that if I spent the night here, Ysabel might finally emerge.
So, I stayed over, giving me the opportunity to meditate with the land. While I noticed no ostensible difference in the morning, there was a strange, intangible feel to it.... It seemed healthier. Like always, I couldn't exactly articulate why. Perhaps most disturbing of all, I found that staying over wasn't quite the agonizing ordeal it used to be.
I was preparing to head out to see Leith when a guard announced that a rider was approaching. I wondered if it was a messenger-or possibly Leith himself. Instead, it was someone quite unexpected.
Dorian.
The castle servants fell all