ravaged hearts

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT,

RAVAGED HEARTS | CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CONSTANZA SCOWLED, "YOU arranged this on purpose."

  Rhys raised a wry brow. "What makes you think that?"

  "The smart option would be to place you and Sanchez on watching the Falcons, because you're both wiccai. The prince does not require a bloody wiccai tracking him—Io could probably do it herself, the only reason we're not letting her do it alone is so that her personal sentiments don't get in the way."

  Excellent analysis. As expected from one of Io's students. People always still saw Io as this young child and couldn't comprehend the fact that she'd grown a lot in the past few years. Circumstances had forced her to grow up rapidly. Besides, she was twenty-five now, not twelve or fourteen.

  "And why would I arrange for her to be with Louis?"

  "So they could have time to be alone and talk. You want them to...?"

  "I think they'd be good for each other," Rhys murmured. It wasn't a lie. The rest of them had all found love. Friendship. Partners. It was just Io who drifted alone. They all wanted her to be happy, and if Asteria, Danna and Irina agreed that Louis Sanchez would be good for her...

  Rhys was tempted to believe it. It was rare enough for all three to agree on one thing. For them to take time out of their day to corner her about it together?

  When it happened Rhys had thought it was a bloody prank. Them asking her to play matchmaking might be the most hilarious thing to ever happen in her twenty-nine years of life. Rhysa Jiang. Wingwoman. Not something she'd ever expected to occur, but Rhys always took her duties very seriously, no matter how ridiculous they were. And she always, always excelled at them.

  She wasn't co-Captain of one of the most elite special operative forces in the world for nothing, after all.

"From what I've gleaned," Constanza said crossly, "the last time they got close, Io got stabbed."

  "They were children. It happens."

  Constanza looked incredulous. "No it doesn't!"

  Rhys shrugged. "Dominic and I got stabbed around each other all the time. We were holding the knives ourselves half the time."

  "You're wiccai."

  "Being wiccai does not make getting stabbed any less dangerous," Rhys pointed out. "People like to think we're gods and whatnot, but they forget that being wiccai is just being a normal human that's slightly stronger and faster and has better senses with one additional power that more often than not is quite weak. We die after getting stabbed in a bad spot, I can assure you of this." She stopped for a moment. "Besides, the Falcons are personal for me too, remember?"

  She had a score to settle with Claudio Bassanio, after all.

  "I remember when I first learnt you were once a Falcon." Constanza shut her eyes.

  "You were there," Rhys nodded. "Not in the centre of all the action, but you were there in Sai."

  "I was Danna's guest."

  "I remember you seeming very much wowed by the Scarlet Palace."

  "I spent half my life knowing the Yie Dynasty as the Court of Bones. Imagine by surprise when the palace wasn't littered with bones and corpses around every corner."

  "Still don't know where that rumour started," Rhys admitted. "Sure it was a revolution where blood had been spilled, but it wasn't that bloody either. Why would they just think we killed that many people?"

"Early on most of the countries had alliances and diplomatic relationships with the old Zhao dynasty, not the new Yie one. Makes sense some of them would try backing them instead."

Rhys shook her head. "Maybe. Still doesn't make much sense to me. Quite ridiculous, but it's been so long, no one really thinks we build palaces out of bones any more, so it's all fine with me. Give Louis and Io another chance, Constanza. It wouldn't hurt anyone. Io's not that fragile porcelain doll anymore. She's one of the strongest people I know. She's survived things that would have killed most people."

  "Are you not scared that one of those things might just eventually break her?" Constanza asked, pinching her nose. "I do. She's my friend, Rhys. She practically taught me everything I know along with Danna. I don't want to see her hurt."

  Rhys turned to face Constanza. Smiled. "Constanza? Let me tell you something. Yes, when you love something, you protect it. But you also let it go. Trust Io to take care of herself. This is her life, her relationships. We have no right to interfere any more than we already have."

  Constanza looked unhappy with that, but she didn't argue. The girl was protective of Io because Io was protective over her. It was perfectly understandable. But sometimes protectiveness turned too extreme, and it would just start hindering Io's life instead. She had to make sure Constanza carefully started taking steps out of Io's life. If she was constantly there, reminding Io of the past, Io could never make amends with what had happened all those years ago.

  And she had to. If she wanted to move on, if they wanted to avoid what had happened for the past nine months, she had to make peace. It was her journey, but they could give a few nudges towards the right direction and hope Io walked the rest of the journey herself.

  All they could do was cross their fingers and hope.

  -♡-

  "HE FOUND THE time to pack," Io said incredulously, staring at the emptied drawers. "He found the time to bloody pack, Louis."

  Her father's bedroom was unexpectedly empty. Most of the items had been cleared, and there was evidence of hastiness in the crooked tables and a few scattered items across the floor. The furniture wasn't expensive but it wasn't cheap either, the prince's last attempt at holding onto his former glory.

  He grimaced. "He really thought we'd let him go. At least this means he wouldn't have managed to go far."

  "He might not even have actually left town," Io pointed out. "He might be staying in an inn somewhere. He might actually come back here after we seem to leave."

  "Your father is extremely disappointing so far."

  "He's even more disappointing in person, believe me."

  "You said he let you go?"

  Io straightened and looked at him. "Seems like he feels some degree of guilt over leaving me all those years ago. And the killing my mother part. Doesn't redeem him, but it makes him slightly not as incorrigible."

  "You hate him so much your Princess-Irina-instilled vocabulary is starting to come out," he quipped.

  "That is one of those words she taught me," she agreed, nodding. "That's sad. Even oceans away, she's able to influence me."

  "The people who had influence over our youth control us for the rest of our lives," he said softly.

  Io guessed without missing a single beat, "Your uncle?"

  Louis gave a terse nod. "None of that now. Let's figure out where your father is and get him into custody, or some semblance of that. You and Rhys will have to haul him back to Sai."

  "We'll find a way. Not the first time we've had to do something like that." She pushed the drawers shut and moved to one end of the wall, where a painting was hung.

  "I'm not questioning your ability to do so," Louis said. "Just saying that you'll have to find a way to get him back to Sai. Don't think he'll happily cooperate with you, you know."

  "He won't," Io shrugged. "I'll probably have to gag him. He'll try to guilt and manipulate me into letting him go. Not sure how he'd do it if he's on a ship in the middle of nowhere heading to Sai, though."

  "He could kill you."

  "But he won't." Io wasn't sure why she was so certain about this, but she was. The prince wouldn't kill her. Because they still shared blood. Because no matter what he was still her father. Because no matter how much she hated him she didn't want his blood on her hands either.

   It was tragic. Io found it strangely difficult to hate people these days. A stark difference from her younger days, when she loved and hated whoever she wanted. Age, it seems, made people more careful with their thoughts and feelings. They learnt to hide it, shield it from the rest of the world. They learnt that feeling could be dangerous. So they stopped showing it, because in a world where everyone could mask their weakness, someone who couldn't was easy prey.

  Louis tilted his head. "For someone who doesn't know him well, you understand his motives and mindset with startling clarity."

  Io shrugged. "I'm his daughter."

  "You're not proud of it. I didn't think you'd actually accept it at, really."

  Io's laugh was bitter. "Of course not. But he's my father and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. But being his daughter, I also have an uncanny ability of realising how he thinks. I did spend my first two years of life in his orbit. And I spent a few more years of my youth obsessed with him. I know him."

  "He's not a smart man."

  "He outsmarted my mother. And if Lady Kuroki is to be believed, she was one of the brightest students she'd ever had."

  "Even geniuses can be outsmarted if their opponent has enough luck on their side. Besides, people usually think much more fondly of the dead, especially many years onwards."

  "The Duchess of Shui Xiang agrees."

  "Lady Asteria's mother was acquainted with yours?"

  "Lady Kuroki is the di nv of Asteria's grandfather. She was born of his difujin, his legal, legitimate wife. Asteria's mother and aunt are the xu nv. They're both the daughters of concubines. Lady Kuroki was, I believe in her mid-to-late teenage years when they were born. Asteria's mother briefly attended at the same time my mother did. Not unlike me and Asteria."

  "Interesting that this goes back by an entire generation."

  "Eh," Io shrugged, "just that Lady Kuroki has taught for a long time. Besides, history repeats itself."

  "History repeats itself," he mused, but then, suddenly, he stopped. "History repeats itself. Is that what you're scared of?"

  "What?" she asked, flummoxed and caught completely off-guard.

  "Are you scared you'll go down your mother's path?'

  Oh.

  Yes. She wanted to scream. Yes. That was what she was afraid of. All her life she'd been unable to escape her mother's path. Every step felt like it had been taken before. And when Io was younger, she was terrified she'd die the same way—betrayed by a lover, leaving behind those she loved, those who relied on her. It had consumed her days and nights, eating away at her courage. It had been Asteria finally to have held her one night in their dorms as she cried, letting out all her fears and worries and terrors.

  For a while all had been well until those concerns slowly creeped back into her life once more, stronger and firmer, and that time with good reason as she became a proper spy. As she played the roles of mistresses and whores along with ladies and heiresses. Every time she went on a mission she'd wondered, "did my mother do the same?"

  And after she'd met Louis, it had terrified her some days that he might one day be the one holding a pistol to her head, willingly or not. And in a way it had ended that way.

  Back then she'd been willing to risk it. Now she was not. If it meant pushing him away even though every time she did so it felt like she was cutting out a pound of her own flesh, so be it.

  Maybe it made her selfish. But while she'd once been selfish for him above anything else, she craved survival now. Because what was the point of having him if she was dead? Once upon a time she'd wanted to spend a lifetime in his arms. It was that or nothing because anything else would kill her, rot her from the inside out and destroy her.

  Io sucked in a breath. He took that as her being unwilling to respond, and started pushing, saying, "Is it? Is it?"

  Instead of replying directly, she said, "My father killed my mother. He loved her. In his own twisted way, he loved her." Io shut her eyes. "He still killed her. No one can be trusted, Louis. Not even the people you think are on your side.

  "You're scared."

  "I'm terrified," she admitted. "But can you blame me?"

  "You didn't know fear when you were younger."

  "That was my mistake." Io raised her chin. "If you want to live, you must allow fear. You must let yourself be scared once in a while. Misplaced bravado helps no one, not the least  to  keep yourself alive."

  "I'll never turn against you." Word, words, words. But the world didn't like promises, especially not people who tried to keep them.

  "Your word means nothing. Not because I think you won't keep your promise, but because we're spies. Fate is always working against us," she told him, somehow keeping her voice firm.

  "You want to live alone forever, then?" he challenged, raising his chin. He was annoyed and angry. Once upon a time she'd be distressed by this, now she just felt relieved.

  But to what he said... Some days that felt like Io's best choice. But no, she didn't want that, and he took her hesitation as an answer. "No. No you don't. So do something about it. I know people have always let you down, but not everyone will, Io. Some of us will stick by you. Some of us won't let go."

  Io shook her head. "I thought you would be one of those people but you proved me wrong long ago."

  "You still hate me for it. You can say you didn't but I know you did. Damnit—why are we having this conversation again? Why do you never learn, Io?"

  "I know," she simply replied. "I've learnt in the past. This is one of the lessons I've learned."

  He just shook his head. "Let's find the prince."

  "Louis—"

  "Let's go find the prince. I don't think I know who you've become now, Io. And I don't think I like her very much."

  And Io thought she didn't very much like who she'd become either.

  -♡-

  "I SHOULD HAVE punched her harder," Rhys said begrudgingly. "Him too, actually. Should have punched them both hard enough they never woke up."

  Very politely, Constanza suggested, "You could have stabbed both of them."

  Rhys sighed, dramatic as ever. "I could have. But I didn't. And now we have to deal with both of them along with all the other Falcons."

  Constanza muttered, "You think we have a chance?"

  "With sufficient reinforcements? Yes. Without? Hell no. Even at peak condition, I can maybe take on two of them at the same time–and that's not two strong ones, by the way. One of the stronger ones and one of the weaker ones, maybe. Not that any of them are particularly weak. I'd say the weakest is Sorrya, since her power is more to protect herself and those around her than actual battle, but she's out of commission right now."

  "The ones who survived the purges after the war would be the strongest one."

  "Don't call them purges," Rhys muttered, annoyed. "Makes it sound like we bloody killed them all. We let so many of them go it's actually slightly concerning." 

  Constanza shrugged. "Whatever you say, Briar."

  Briar. That was a name Rhys had chosen herself when she was in this exact time, living in that exact inn. She'd been on the run with Ronan. She knew her destination: the Iron Wolves in Sai. She'd heard stories about wiccai who worked for them being allowed to retire after a year or two, and she knew she couldn't immediately vanish into the populace and become someone normal. The Falcons would be on her tail. So she'd made a bet and joined in with the Wolves. It was in Saria she reinvented herself.

  She hadn't stayed here for long. Running straight to Saria had been a huge gamble in the first place—it was so close to a military base.

  When Sterling told them that Io and the agents were going to Saria, she knew they'd struck gold. So she volunteered to come. No one had thought much about it, everyone knew that she and Io were close friends. They'd all assumed she just wanted to protect her.

  That was part of it. But she'd also come here to feel a bit... nostalgic.

  She'd been in that military base a long time ago. Not to raid it, though, but as someone protecting it.

  How the tables turn. That was more than fourteen years ago. She'd have been, what, fourteen? Fifteen? Half a lifetime ago, it felt like. No, technically it was.

  "Note their rotation," she instructed. "We should strike when someone relatively less strong is on guard."

  "Mali," Constanza guessed. "Among that bunch, she'd be the weakest. She needs distractions and help to utilise her powers properly—she never seemed to know how to use her powers to their full extent without complete concentration.'

  "Lots of foliage though," Rhys winced. "If she's not taken out of the fight early, she'd cause a major headache. She could root us, block our vision, trap us."

  "Knock her out first, then. Are we willing to kill?"

  Rhys had been thinking about that. "We try our best not to. But if it's absolutely necessary, then yes. These aren't people who'd give up without a fight. They're all desperate. They're all survivors. They're backed to a wall with no way to jump over it. Their only way out is through a flurry of blades and bullets."

  "It makes it sound so artistic."

  "It is artistic," Rhys said, "Until you're one of the painters. Have you still not learned that lesson?"

  "I believe I had years ago."

  Rhys paused for a moment. "Most likely these guys would have to be transported to Valencia for trial. It'll be international. Most of the countries would want to see them behind bars or worse."

  "We have strong enough cells to contain them."

  "They're probably all facing life imprisonment."

  "Harsh."

  "They'd been given so many chances to switch sides, to stop living this life. They didn't take it. They know the consequences."

  "Maybe. But life imprisonment—" Constanza's voice trailed off. Rhys' eyes leapt back to the courtyard of the base before they narrowed.

  "Oh, for fuck's sake," she hissed, moving forward slightly to get a closer look. "Is that...?"

  "He looks like Io."

  "One would think he had the intelligence to turn tail and run? And by that I mean away, rather than right into their arms?"

  "The world is full of idiots," Constanza murmured. "Seems like Jing Huan qinwang is one of them."

  Rhys just shook her head in disbelief. "Tell me how this man spawned Io."

  Constanza raised one shoulder before dropping it. "I guess she took far more after her mother...?"

  Rhys said, "Seems like the only good reasoning for any of this." They shared a look. "Let's get closer. I need to get an earful of this. And here we were thinking we had to split into groups of two to watch them."

  "Sometimes," Constanza sighed, "our enemies simply decide to be dumb as shit. This seems to be one of those occasions."