Kiet's captain of guards was attacking Taeichi, a ring of sailors surrounding them and a cacophony of gulls above. Isla had heard from the servants who brought them their breakfast. She arrived onto the main deck just as Taeichi caught the captain's blade between the serrated ribs of his folding fan.

'I said I do not fight.'

'You will if you want to pass off as a member of the maharaj's personal guard.'

He was indeed dressed as one; armour and tunic, leather over linen in Kiet's silver and royal blue. Isla almost did not recognise him. She scanned the circling men for the maharaj, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Again the captain swung, aiming low for his waist, and again Taeichi blocked—this time with the guard of his fan.

'Wood and paper can only hold me off for so long.'

Taeichi flicked his fan open once more, daggers out, and slashed just to send the man jumping back. 'Enough. Before someone is injured.'

'You've clearly had some training.' The captain did not pause long. He shot forwards, swinging high, but again and again his blade scraped off the edge of Taeichi's fan.

Isla found herself too rapt to intervene. The folding fan should have splintered by now, but the steel never left so much as a scratch. Even the sailors began to mutter among themselves. The captain, on the other hand, was growing frustrated, his attacks becoming less controlled, less rhythmic. Another blow, and this time the shock was clear in Taeichi's face.

The truth-weaver slipped aside one last time before lunging in close. The movement was quick, unexpected; he brought the point of his index and middle fingers together and hit the captain three times. Chest, abdomen, forehead.

He drew back, wiping blood from his forearm where it had scraped the captain's blade.

'What ... did you do?' The man stood frozen where Taeichi had tapped him, one knee still bent in an offensive position, sword in one hand and the other shielding his midsection.

The sailors backed away, breaking the circle, their voices rising to match the shrill call of the gulls above them.

'Relax. The hold should only last a few minutes.'

'Release me!'

'I can do nothing of such kind.'

'You call this a fair fight?'

A loud cry interrupted Taeichi's response. Another bird came swooping in, larger than any of the gulls, clawing, pecking, screeching them away before taking a watchful position upon the ratlines. Kiet walked under its shadow, the sailors parting to let him through. 'Akai, you should be honoured. Not many are fortunate enough to ever witness the Refined Gingko's elusive art of martial combat.'

The captain looked mortified at Kiet's presence, his face quickly turning red. 'Maharaj ... forgive me that I do not bow.'

Kiet laughed. 'I've heard tales of the three finger-hold, and still I can hardly believe my eyes. Perhaps you can teach my men this skill.'

'Your soldiers have no use of such cowardly techniques!'

Taeichi passed the captain to meet Kiet. 'You called it martial combat, but we prefer self-defence. I fear the Refined Arts may be ill-suited for your men, maharaj. It requires a certain ataraxy and grace that many soldiers lack.'

Akai snorted. 'Three taps of a finger! A child could do it!'

'It is not the movement, captain, but the force behind it.' Taeichi folded his fan shut with a jerk of his wrist. 'Or did you think it was magical wood that kept my fan from breaking?'

'Interesting.' Kiet waved the sailors away. They dispersed as quickly as the gulls, leaving the three men and Isla in full view. Kiet, however, was more interested in the truth-weaver. 'I may have some use for you yet, seunghwan. It is a pity you're a pacifist.'

Like you aren't? Isla stepped around a pile of crates and made her presence known. 'Are you all quite done harassing him, now?'

All but Taeichi startled at her voice, though Kiet was quick to respond. 'Harassing him? It is my captain who is paralysed.'

'Yes, after he cornered Taeichi-seung into a fight.'

'I was inducting him!' complained Akai. 'Testing his skills!'

A gull drifted down from the sky and landed upon his knee. Isla laughed despite her initial irritability. 'Well now you've had a taste of it.'

'Have you truly no way of releasing him from the hold?' asked Kiet, a smile across his own face. 'It does look uncomfortable.'

'If only I could, maharaj, but the body must release itself. His meridian points are momentarily stunned. Like numbness or the tingles, it will disappear in time.'

'Very well, but since you've incapacitated my captain, you'll have to help me prepare the prisoners for landing.'

Isla shooed the bird from Akai's knee, even if he deserved no such mercy. 'We must be close to port, if we have gulls and a seahawk swarming the ship.'

'Are you talking about my bird?' Kiet whistled, and the creature came gliding onto his extended arm from the ratlines.

Since when did he keep a pet? He stroke the bird on his arm, and Isla thought of Aldir and his erne. What was it with all these men and sea birds?

'This is a swiftlet.' continued Kiet. 'It's far too small to be a seahawk.'

Isla exchanged a glance with Taeichi. 'Well, he's far too big to be a swiftlet.'

'You think so, too?' He paused, his voice suddenly thick with concern as he inspected its forehead. 'I fed it a sun bear when it was a hatchling, but I've never seen after-effects such as this before ...'

'You did what?'

'My theurgy. Surely you've heard of it? I thought everyone in the realm knew.'

They say he could kill with a touch. Isla did not know much about the details other than it was a rare kind of theurgy. Rarer, even, than hers.

'You fed it your pranopeucy?' Taeichi, however, seemed well up to speed. He stared at Kiet, looking a mix of disgust and disbelief. 'Legends speak of abominations created this way.'

'Superstition and old wives' tales. Nothing ever survives a feeding. Not for long. The madness always takes them.'

'Yet how long has this swiftlet endured?'

'This one was at the brink of death when I fed it. I suspect its own life was forfeit, hence why its body accepted the new.'

'Perhaps you should have let it die.'

The bird screeched and beat its wings, as though angered by Taeichi's words, but Kiet calmed it with a few gentle strokes. 'I took you not for a man of superstition.'

'Wait until you hear about the love charms,' interceded Isla. There was a growing tension between them, despite their exterior civility, and she needed both men to get along for any of her plan to work.

But her comment did not have its intended effect. 'Love charm?'

'Are you familiar with the Tsun paper talismans, maharaj?' Taeichi smiled faintly. 'Isla-dae asked me to mark hers.'

'You asked for his mark?' Kiet twisted to face her, eyes narrowed like his hawk's.

Isla clicked her tongue. 'It's completely normal. It's a thing they do in Tsunai, so—'

'So! The last thing I want is to get in the way of a love charm.'

'I thought you didn't believe in superstition.'

'Charms are simply watered-down forms of runecraft. There is nothing superstitious about runes. You should keep that in mind the next time you ask for someone's mark.'

Kiet left before Isla could respond. He was very touchy, these past days, but what else did she expect, considering all the terrible things he had learnt about his mother? They must have been close, for it to hit so hard. Perhaps I should have waited before flooding him with more revelations on top of it all.

Taeichi lifted his brow. 'That is the man you hope to be king?'

'You shouldn't be too harsh on him. You two are more alike than you think.'

'I cannot see how. It seems to me he enjoys all the privileges of being a prince, but wants none of its responsibilities.'

'He values his freedom, just like you.' Isla sighed. She had a long way to go to making allies out of them. 'Nothing's working. He won't do it. I'll be running forever.'

'There is a simple solution to that.'

Isla glared at him. Of course Taeichi did not know Kiet had her bloodrune pendant. He would have advised her against it. 'How would that make me any better than Rajini Amarin, or Dhvani, or even your beloved Emperor?'

'But that is why they reached the top, and we at their feet. Kings and queens do not have the luxury of remaining virtuous. If you wish to see your maharaj at the throne of Surikhand, you must be prepared for his virtue, too, to be tarnished.'

All his life confined under Emperor Gyoseong's thumb must have made a cynic of him. 'That's a bridge I'll cross when we get there. For now I have bigger concerns.'

Taeichi followed her across the deck until they stood to the ocean. A shadow stretched far in the distance, shrouded in mist.

'Porswa.' She nodded toward the silhouette. 'That's the port city in which we'll be arriving. I suppose Kiet has arranged for an escort to take us to the Grand Palace, but Tam Mai ... she wants to sail on to Napoa.'

'And you cannot go with her.'

'My place is here.' The rails were cold under her grip. 'We have family in Napoa—well, friends, but they are as good as. Tamma will stay with them until everything's done.'

'That could take years, if ever.'

'At least she will be safe there.' She sounded less certain than she felt. Isla turned to Taeichi. He watched her, as though knowing already what she would ask. 'Kiet says he doesn't need you for the trial, but I ... I might need you to look out for Tam Mai.'

Taeichi smiled. 'This is my fight as much as it is yours.'

'Just ... at least until she gets there. She can't travel alone. Not in her condition.' It was not a request he could easily refuse. Isla felt guilty, putting him in such a position, but what other option did she have? 'She needs to be able to take care of herself. What you did back there, to Akai ... you called it self-defence, and I think it could benefit my sister if she, too, could ...'

'You would like me to teach her?' He filled in her silence.

'It's presumptuous, I know. Kiet mentioned it was an art exclusive to your clan, so—'

'We are not prohibited from sharing it with others, only that it takes time and patience and it is much easier for a Refined Gingko to master as it suits our nature.'

'Do you think Tamma might be able to learn it?'

'Certainly, if she is willing. I do not know her well, but my impression is that she fits the profile well enough.'

Good. Tam Mai needed to learn how to fight, how to defend herself. It might even give her some sense of control—something Eshe said was greatly lacking in her sister's life. Training would keep her grounded, too. Keep her practicing what she had learnt under the mind-healer's guidance, only through different methods.

But only if she's willing. 'It might be best if the offer came from you.'

'Sisterly quarrel?'

'She'd refuse a golden egg if it came from me right now.' Isla sighed. 'You don't have to give me an answer today. I am asking much from you. But please consider it. If anything, you'd be further from the Emperor's reach in Napoa.'

'I will do it,' declared Taeichi. 'I will escort Tam Mai-uchi to Napoa.'

That was unexpected. Not only that he would acquiesce, but also that the decision came so easily. Relief rushed over Isla. Which god had she pleased, that she had been blessed with so many helping hands thus far? Isla bowed in gratitude, masking the water in her eyes. 'Thank you, seunghwan! I don't know how I could ever repay this kindness, but thank you.'

'There is not any need for that. I would not even be here were it not for you. Nor do you need to be so formal with me. You may call me Jinsei.'

Kiet would not like that. Isla's cheeks warmed despite the cold air. What did she care for Kiet's approval, anyway? She straightened, guided by the truth-weaver's hands on her shoulders, and stopped short.

Tam Mai stood behind them, face contorted in fury.

Ifrit's breath. How long has she been there?

'Making decisions for me again, Eldest?'

Long enough. 'Returning to Noi and Bart was your decision.'

'And an escort?'

'What do you think? That you'd be going alone?'

'That you'd talk to me about it first before begging people to babysit me!' Heads turned at all the yelling. Taeichi stepped away. Isla doubted he understood a word of Srikh, but the essence was clear. 'Also, I never said I wanted to go to Napoa without you! You're the one who decided that, like always!'

'What?' Isla thought back on their conversation, but her ears had started ringing so hard, she could barely concentrate. 'That's not how it—'

'No, you just hear what you want to hear! If you wanted me out of the way, then just say so!'

The deck spun below her feet. Isla stumbled, her back hitting the rail. The ringing bounced in her head, round and round and round, carrying an endless echo of her sister's garbled words.

'Isla-dae?' Taeichi's voice sounded so distant, though he stood inches from her face. A hand was on her back, propping her back up.

'Ah ... she doesn't mean to ...'

'Are you well?' Taeichi guided her away from the railing. When Isla looked, her sister was gone. 'You should return to your cabin. I will speak to Tam Mai-uchi.'

Isla nodded, but the movement only compounded the spinning. She leaned against the masts to collect herself. Her head cleared in fragments, but one thought jumped at her with all the clarity of a morning sky.

Something needs to be done about her theurgy.

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↝ END CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO ↜

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☆ this chapter is dedicated to Sali99_ ☆

Video: Music is At My Worst by Pink Sweat
Image: Original artists unknown

Looks like whatever Isla does, she's going to end up pissing someone off... but do you think Kiet and Taeichi will ever start getting along?