War of Storms Read online

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Cast of Characters

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Epilogue

  Glossary

  Cities and Places

  Magic of Sagen Sy Itagami

  About the Author

  Discover more Entangled Teen books… War of the Wilted

  Toxic

  Illusions

  Valiant

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Erica Cameron. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

  Entangled Publishing, LLC

  2614 South Timberline Road

  Suite 105, PMB 159

  Fort Collins, CO 80525

  [email protected]

  Entangled Teen is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

  Edited by Kate Brauning

  Cover design by Bree Archer

  Cover photography from iStock, Shutterstock, and depositphotos

  ISBN 978-1-64063-708-5

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  First Edition November 2018

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for supporting a small publisher! Entangled prides itself on bringing you the highest quality romance you’ve come to expect, and we couldn’t do it without your continued support. We love romance, and we hope this book leaves you with a smile on your face and joy in your heart.

  xoxo

  Liz Pelletier, Publisher

  This book is dedicated to those who followed me on this voyage, to anyone who risks taking a journey of their own, and to everyone who’s looking for home.

  Cast of Characters

  Ahnatiolio – one of the Denhitran elders and leaders and married to Ralavanonav; he/him

  Ahta – a Ryogan child living in the Mysora Mountains with eir mother Dai-Usho; ey/em

  Akia – one of the elders of Soanashalo’a’s family, a responsibility shared with her husband Hoku, and a citizen of the hanaeuu we’la maninaio tribe; she/her

  Amis – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; oraku mage; he/him

  Anda – Khya and Yorri’s blood-mother and a kaigo councilmember; rikinhisu mage; she/her

  Arinri – one of the born immortals trapped on Imaku with Yorri; akuringu mage; she/her

  Atsudo – a tyatsu guard serving in Jushoyen; she/her

  Chio Heinansuto – Tsua’s husband, Varan’s brother, and one of the original twelve immortals; dyuniji mage; deceased; he/him

  Chirida Josenshi – the general of the Ryogan army and the Jindaini’s military advisor; she/her

  Daitsa – former second-in-command of Tyrroh’s squad; dyuniji mage; deceased; she/her

  Dai-Usho – Ryogan woman who lives in the Mysora Mountains with her child Ahta; deceased; she/her

  Donya – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; kasaiji; ey/em

  Elyini – one of the original twelve immortals; he/him

  Etaro – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad and currently platonically partnered with Rai; rikinhisu mage; ey/em

  Gentoni Gotintenno – the elected leader of Ryogo who holds the title of Jindaini, he is married to Jintisu; he/him

  Hoku – one of the elders of Soanashalo’a’s family, a responsibility shared with his wife Akia, and a citizen of the hanaeuu we’la maninaio tribe; he/him

  Hykin – Tyrroh’s childhood best friend who was imprisoned on Imaku by Varan; kasaiji mage; he/him

  Jintisu Gotintenno – a leading figure in Ryogo and wife of Gentoni; she/her

  Kazu – commander of the Ryogan ship that carries Tyrroh’s squad to Ryogo; he/him

  Keili – an originl member of Tyrroh’s squad; deceased; he/him

  Khya – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad, Yorri’s older sister, and Tessen’s current partner; fykina mage; she/her

  Miari – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad and currently partnered with Nairo and Wehli; ishiji mage; she/her

  Mytua – one of the original twelve immortals; ratoiji mage; she/her

  Nairo – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad and currently partnered with Miari and Wehli; kasaiji mage; he/him

  Natani – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; zoikyo mage; he/him

  Neeva – Tessen’s blood-mother and a kaigo councilmember; rusosa mage; she/her

  Ono – Khya and Yorri’s blood-father and a kaigo councilmember; oraku mage; he/him

  Osota Tarusuta – Ryogan smuggler and descendent of Suzu’s family; married to Shiodeso; she/her

  Osshi Shagakusa – Ryogan historian who sailed to Shiara looking for proof of the bobsu’s existence; he/him

  Rai – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad and currently platonically partnered with Etaro; kasaiji mage; she/her

  Ralavanonav – one of the Denhitran elders and leaders and married to Ahnatiolio; ey/em

  Reeka – a yonin attendant whose partner Taya was killed by Varan and who helped Sanii and Khya look for Yorri; she/her

  Remashi – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; rikinhisu mage; she/her

  Ryzo – former second-in-command of Tyrroh’s original squad, but one who initially remained on Shiara; hishingu mage; he/him

  Sanii – Yorri’s sumai partner and the one who discovered the truth about Yorri; hyari mage and tusenkei; ey/em

  Shideso Tarusuta – Ryogan smuggler; married to Osota; he/him

  Shiu - one of the elders of Soanashalo’a’s family and a citizen of the hanaeuu we’la maninaio tribe; he/him

  Shytari Leowesa – captain of a Khylari cargo vessel; she/her

  Soaholia – one of the Denhitran elders and leaders; she/her

  Soanashalo’a Shuikanahe’le – Osshi’s friend and the voice of a hanaeuu we’la maninaio caravan; she/her

  Sotra – the ahdo training master who taught Khya, Yorri, and Tessen in Itagami; kyneeda; she/her

  Suzu – a leader of Sagen sy Itagami and one of the original twelve immortals; sykina mage; she/her

  Syoni – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; ishiji mage; she/her

  Tessen – a one-time member of Tyrroh’s squad and Khya’s current partner; basaku mage; he/him

  Thelin – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; deceased; she/her

  Tsua – Chio’s wife and one of the original twelve immortals; rikinhisu mage; deceased; she/her

  Tyrroh – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad; oraku mage; deceased; he/him

  Varan Heinansuto – leader of Sagen sy Itagami and one of the original twelve immortals; ishiji mage; he/him

  Vysian – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad, but one who initially remained on Shiara; rikinhi
su mage; he/him

  Wehli – member of Tyrroh’s squad and currently partnered with Miari and Nairo; ryacho mage; he/him

  Wyrin – one of the original twelve immortals; hishingu mage; he/him

  Yarzi – an original member of Tyrroh’s squad, but one who initially remained on Shiara; ratoiji mage; ey/em

  Yonishi Tsukadesu – the leader of the group of kaiboshi (priests) who serve the goddess Masya-Mono and also acts as a confidante and counselor to Jindaini Gentoni; he/him

  Yorri – Khya’s brother, Sanii’s sumai partner, and a born immortal; kynacho mage; he/him

  Zonna – Chio and Tsua’s son and a born immortal; hishingu mage; he/him

  Epigraph

  Who are the Kaisubeh to control our lives with such heavy hands while denying us the least proof they exist? Essentially, we’re expected to unquestioningly follow beings about whom we know nothing real.

  The teachings the kaiboshi claim our gods left behind contradict themselves, which just proves the kaiboshi are as greedy as they are ignorant. The stories I learned as certainties growing up in the north are treated like frivolous folklore in the southern provinces, and that’s nothing to the differences between our beliefs and what the nomads or anyone outside Ryogo calls truth.

  Maybe the reason we still tell tales about gods no one’s heard from in ages is because we don’t want to accept the truth—the Kaisubeh are dead. Maybe they’ve been dead for the last three thousand years, since the schism that broke the world.

  If that’s true, what I’m attempting is the only way humanity will ever be unified again. If what I created in Kaisuama does what I intend and Chio wakes up from this sickness transformed, then Ryogo will finally get a chance to meet their Kaisubeh. We will lead them, kicking and screaming if we must, and we will make Ryogo more powerful than it has ever been before. After, the world itself will fall at our feet, and the generations that follow will barely remember the names of the so-called Kaisubeh.

  They’ll tell stories about the Miriseh instead.

  —Excerpt from the journal of Varan Heinansuto, written 3205 A.S., seven years before the beginning of the Great War and twelve years before the bobasu’s exile

  Prologue

  Lightning cracks through the sky, fast and close. Thunder is a continuous rumble that shakes the foundations of Shiara. Every rock on the island trembles and vibrates, and Yorri has felt it for so long he can’t remember what it’s like to be still.

  Days. Weeks. A moon cycle or more. Yorri can’t be sure how long ago the Miriseh abandoned him and the other prisoners in the mountains, leaving them to the torment of the elements. The storms haven’t broken once.

  Thunder shakes the air and the ground. Heavy raindrops batter him from above. Lightning blazes overhead, leaving glaring streaks even against Yorri’s closed eyes. He wishes he was numb to all of it—shouldn’t he be by now? He’s not. Whatever power heals the burns from lightning strikes and keeps him alive without food also seems to make him feel each drop of rain as if it’s the first to strike. It makes each deafening crash painfully fresh. Lack of sleep should’ve sent him into delirium and unconsciousness ages ago, but the fresh sparks of pain continuously shock him into alertness, and his mind processes each moment in perfect clarity.

  He wants to scream, to struggle against the magic binding him to the black platform he’s laid out on. Instead, he presses his lips together to hold back outbursts of agony and anger. He doesn’t think anyone is guarding the valley, but he can’t be sure, and he refuses to give the Miriseh the satisfaction of screaming for the help no one is going to give him.

  Swallowing the pain, he tries to find something else to focus on. The only option, though, is staring at the others trapped on their own platforms. Some are as still as their stone beds, but others thrash and flail, arching up against the cords binding their wrists and ankles to the rock, their mouths open in shouts Yorri can barely hear over the thunder.

  If Khya were in my position, she’d find a way to free herself from this, he thinks. By now, she would’ve found a way to free us all. He knows his sister sees him as the problem solver with a mind that can see its way out of any situation, but this… What the bellows is he supposed to do about this? Not even his enhanced strength can break his bindings, and the storm isn’t the only anguish he’s suffering.

  The ache in his chest has been getting worse. Between his lungs is a spot where a pale yellow warmth bloomed when he bonded with Sanii, but they’ve been apart for too long. The connection has stretched and strained and soured. The spot has grown cold. It’s sent out barbed vines; they wrap around his lungs and heart and slowly constrict. He didn’t notice at first—not in the midst of the storm. Now, it’s impossible to ignore.

  The only way he has to mark the passage of time is the steady increase of that pain and the water slowly filling the small, rocky valley. Now, swells lap at the base of his black stone bed, and sometimes wind forces the waves to crest over him. When the water covers him completely, will it bring death or just a new kind of torture?

  Lightning strikes the closest peak. Thunder cracks and rumbles. Huge chunks of stone break off the slope, dropping into the valley below. Several land in the water, sending up massive waves. One cracks off a piece of the platform closest to Yorri, missing the prisoner’s hand by inches. One falls straight on someone else’s leg, crushing it completely.

  I can’t do all the work, little brother. The whisper sounds like Khya, and his sister’s voice soothes even though she’s not here; all he’s hearing is what he guesses Khya might say. I’m fighting to save you. The least you can do is help.

  We never gave up on you, Sanii, his sukhai, would likely add. Don’t you dare give up on us.

  Tessen’s imagined voice throws down a challenge. Khya always bragged about how smart you are, Yorri. Prove it.

  But he can’t. There’s no way to win a fight against magic, a mountain, and a storm.

  He stares at the bloodied mess of the prisoner’s crushed leg, only blinking to clear the rain from his eyes. Over time, the flattened, pulped places round out and the skin smooths. The injury heals completely; only their torn pants and the faint bloodstains not washed away by the rain prove it happened at all.

  Yorri huffs, and then he laughs. He laughs despite how the pain between his lungs pierces and pulls. In part, he laughs because of it. His pain will never be enough to kill him. His injuries will always heal. He can’t die, and for some Kujuko-cursed reason, he doesn’t even have the partial oblivion of false unconsciousness anymore. He’s awake, he’s aware, and he’s watching as the water gets higher with each hour of rainfall.

  How long, he wonders, will he be able to drown?

  Chapter One

  Rido’iti is burning. And all I can do is watch.

  We’re on a ridge overlooking the city and the ocean beyond, a seemingly endless stretch of white-capped water so dark it’s nearly black. The position is a hundred feet up and half a mile away from the city, and we’ve barely moved for the last two hours. Sanii is as mute and still as the nearby Zohogasha, the statues of the Kaisubeh standing sentinel on the coast. Etaro holds Rai tight, face turned against her shoulder. Nearby, Sanii, Zonna, and Natani stare at the city below us, unblinking. Tessen leans against me, his breathing shallow and too quick, his body trembling.

  When Varan’s army landed, I stayed because I needed to see what he would order his nyshin mages to do. And if they would listen. A small part of me had hoped, despite knowing exactly how well the citizens of Sagen sy Itagami unquestioningly follow orders, that those I once called clan would look at where they were and see that the city they’d been commanded to decimate was defenseless, its people weak and unprepared. I’m too far away to see faces or watch individual reactions, but the army didn’t seem to hesitate before the slaughter of Rido’iti began. Now, only ruins, blood, and ash remain.

  I barely blink as my gaze traces the narrow, twisting streets dividing the tightly packed, sharp-peaked buildings of
stone and wood—or the lines of what’s left of them. We reached this height while the Itagamin army was still marching across the ocean, and then the wide thoroughfares were nearly empty; the raging storm had driven everyone indoors. Even in the darkness of the storm and with my vision blurred by pounding rain, I could see the bright paint on the structures and count the trees lining most roads. It’s easy to imagine what this place might’ve looked like on a sunny morning with a harbor full of ships and a city full of life. I’ll never see it like that. I will only ever see it in flames and ruins.

  Fire has engulfed most of the city, crawling from building to building with the help of brutal gusts of wind. The flames are so thick and hot not even the rain can put them out. It’ll extinguish itself eventually, but only after everything it can consume is gone. No one is here to douse the flames anymore. The citizens have either fled or died, and the Itagamin army is already leaving the chaos behind to move north, away from the roiling ocean and into Ryogo.

  “How many do you think died?” Etaro asks.

  “Too many.” I close my eyes. Acrid smoke burns my nose, the scent full of burning wood, roasting flesh, and singed hair.

  At least the screaming has finally stopped.

  “What do you want to do, Khya?” Tessen’s voice is so low that I might not have heard the question if he hadn’t rested his forehead against my temple. “We need to go, or we’ll get caught by their scouts.”

  I nod to let him know I heard, but I don’t move yet. We were so close. After four moon cycles in Ryogo, hunting secrets and building weapons, we had finally been about to get on a boat and sail home. When we reached Rido’iti, we found an army instead of a ship. There’s no way for us to get back to Shiara—for me to get back to Yorri—now. Even if there was a ship in the harbor that hadn’t been broken into pieces by weeks of vicious storms, we can’t leave Ryogo to the revenge of the bobasu. But that doesn’t mean I have the first clue how to stop them.

  We never planned for this. And it’s ridiculous that we didn’t. Or maybe the others have been considering this kind of failure and I was too focused on saving Yorri to worry about the rest of the world. Even now, if I found a ship, I’d be tempted to leave this place behind.