Cinn's Arc

Chapter 12 of 12

Cinn walked without the light at her back for the first time in weeks. She carried the twins' secret now, heavier than any tablet. Ember and Cinder bonded two rainbow-eyed pandas years ago, before they took the fire seat. The same hidden bond they punished her for. If she used it right, the twins would protect her seat instead of threatening it. But first she had to learn one thing. Were they allies she could bargain with, or enemies who would bury her? She could not tell. So she went to the one shaman who had watched them longest. She found Kareth Bonewhisper at the edge of the temple steps, grinding bone to powder in a dish. He was the man whose secret she had once handed to the council. He did not look up. His hands kept grinding. "You exposed me," he said. "Now you come to me." "I need to know the twins," Cinn said. "Are they safe to approach?" Kareth set down the dish. His painted face was hard. "Safe is the wrong word for them." He studied her. "They caught me watching them once. Years back. They smiled at me. Same smile, same second. Not a word." He wiped his hands. "They watch everyone. They let the fire tell them things. If you walk up carrying a secret, they already know you carry it." Cinn felt the ground shift. "Then they can't be surprised." "No one surprises them." He stood. "But I'll tell you this for free. I'm done keeping other people's secrets. Mine's out. Theirs is next. Yours too, if it suits me." He held her eyes. "You and me, we both act like we know what's right. That's the dangerous kind." He walked off before she could answer. The threat landed clean. Kareth would expose the twins himself, soon. If she wanted their bond as leverage, she had to use it before he spent it for free. Cinn climbed the temple steps. The twins sat together at the fire, one head turning as she came. Two eyes found her. "The anchor girl," Ember said. "Without her light," Cinder said. Cinn's heart knocked. She touched the eye charm at her throat and steadied her breath. "I came to speak plain. I know about the pandas." Neither face moved. The fire cracked between them. "We know you know," Ember said. "We knew when you learned," Cinder said. So Kareth was right. They missed nothing. Cinn made her choice. "Then you know Kareth means to spill it. I don't. I'd rather trade." The twins looked at each other, one quick turn of the shared head. Then both eyes came back to her. "Then we are not your enemy," Ember said. "Not yet," Cinder said. "Sit." Cinn sat by the fire. She had her answer. The twins were allies, for now, bound to her by the same man who hated them both. But Kareth was loose, and her leverage had an expiry.