Page 107 of A Forgery of Fate

Praise the Sages, it was delicious. I licked my lips, my eyes slowly widening as the aftertaste matured on my tongue, releasing a familiar punch of savory deliciousness. “This soup…it’s…”

“Incredible?” The ends of Kunkoi’s hair curled with pride. “I know.”

The soupwasdelicious, but that wasn’t what I’d meant to say. I dipped my spoon, chasing a morsel of steamed fish under glistening beads of oil. “What’s in it?” I asked.

“Anyone else, I’d tell them my finest scallops and abalone, a sprinkling of my noblest spices, and five cordyceps petals.” He leaned close. “But for you, Lady Saigas, I’ll share the true secret: the broth is kelp based. Simple as that. You boil it for a night, then after that, you can put whatever you want inside.”

Kelp based.Gaari had told me that once, about the soup we’d adored at Luk’s. I swirled the broth in my mouth, reveling in the salt and fat as my tongue unwove new flavors, from the thickness of the spring onions to the springiness of the noodles. A familiar taste from a lifetime ago. Could it be…

My breath grew shallow, my pulse faster with each beat. I stared at Kunkoi, mentally superimposing Gaari’s face over him. No, it wasn’t him. The merman hadn’t left Yonsar in years.

Then?

In my mind, I already knew the answer, but I refused to consider it. It was impossible.Impossible.

Still, I had to ask. “Kunkoi,” I started, each syllable scrapingout of my throat like rock against rock. “Where did you learn to make this soup?”

“A cousin taught it to me,” replied the merman faintly. He was counting the chilis I’d added to the broth, and he wasn’t very attentive once peppers were involved. “I forget which one—I have far too many cousins, but he was sent to land years ago. Said he’d start a restaurant there. Farsighted of him. Elang tried to send me to the shop, but I stayed here.”

“The shop. In Gangsun?”

“I don’t know the mortal realm well enough to say, but Lord Elang would know—he used to frequent the place every other week.” Kunkoi noticed the intensity in my voice. “Is something the matter?”

My head was growing lighter with each passing moment, and I started floating off my chair, forgetting how to keep myself anchored.

The noodles, which I couldn’t stop eating only an instant before, now tasted like sand.

I set aside my bowl, suddenly feeling unwell.

“Lady Saigas, are you all right? You’ve gone pale. Is it thefood?”

My heart was hammering. “Will you send for Mailoh?”

Kunkoi lurched for the door. “At once.”

With bated breath, I waited until the door closed fully, then I shot up. I had to be quick.

With only a twinge of guilt, I twisted off my opal ring and dropped it into a teapot.

“Sorry, Shani,” I muttered, shutting the lid. Then, feeling like an interloper in my own castle, I sprang out of my room.

I knew exactly where I was going.

Chapter Thirty

The secret room smelled of tea. The malty, nutty black tea that Elang was always drinking.

There were at least a hundred crates in the room, a few floating along the ceiling. So this was Elang’s treasury.

It’s where Lord Elang keeps the valuables he acquires from his trips to land,Mailoh had informed me before that first tour.Tea is his main conquest. Last I checked there were also a few old maps.

Every crate I opened confirmed her words. I encountered countless tea tins, a few carefully rolled maps of western Lor’yan, then an arsenal of books, enough to fill a library. After a while, I gave up on the crates and started knockingagainst every surface I could find, hunting for a hidden compartment. With a frustrated grunt, I sank to the ground, sitting beside a pile of books that had fallen out of their crate. What was I looking for, anyway?

A few of the books started to float, and I caught them with a frown. Elang had told me that the rest of his books were still in Gangsun. But here were boxes upon boxes of books. Surely a good part of his collection.

I sprang up, letting myself hover above the crates.

“Reveal yourself to me,” I spoke aloud. My words were shaky and vibrated against the walls. I gathered myself, speaking more forcefully: “Reveal yourself to me. Nothing shall be hidden from the lady of the Westerly Seas.”

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