When Jamila heard what Kin had said, her ears twitched. Was he joking? Heck, was he insane? How would he make her Sulten? What, how…?
She looked at him and asked, "Are you insane? Why would you want to make me Sulten? What will you do about my father?"
"Your father? Well, if he's still alive by then, I don't think I'll want a man like him ruling Bintan. His ambitions have made him unsuitable to do such a job."
"What? Why? My father has given his life to the prosperity of Bintan, but you talk about him like he ran the city into the ground."
"Well, given the current situation, I'd say he did," Kin replied.
"My father did no such thing!" Jamila replied in outrage.
"I don't really care about your father. Not anymore. What I care about is Wize," Kin said.
"What you care about is yourself," Jamila said and turned away, closing her eyes to sleep.
Kin looked at her for a while and sighed. He understood why Jamila would defend her father like she was doing, and he didn't hate it—not entirely, at least. He just ignored her, going on to keep watch, and maybe even trying to rest a bit.
The next day came, and Kin and Jamila were awake very early. The journey to the Whispering Mountain would be long, so they rose early and started traveling. Kin tried to speak to Jamila, but the young girl still seemed angry. Their conversation the previous night had clearly rubbed her the wrong way. Kin didn't really care, though. He just wanted to get her to the temple safely. As for making Jamila the Sulten of Bintan—that itself wouldn't happen unless he took down his uncle and everyone opposed to him claiming the throne, a hurdle which currently seemed impossible to jump. He had nothing—no allies, no army, no one. Everyone wanted him dead.
Kin had plans for the future, but he wasn't really sure if taking Wize would even be worth the trouble. But he was willing to try. He needed to avenge his parents. Even if he didn't become King, he needed to at least kill Jai. A lot weighed on his mind. He remembered the conversation he had with Ashell some days ago. She had told him that the responsibilities of a king were not something to joke about, and if he wouldn't take it seriously, maybe he shouldn't take back Wize. Kin knew he had taken his position as a prince for granted, and the first opportunity he got to display his power as a king had ended badly…
Kin frowned at the memory of that night. No matter how hard he tried to forget, it still plagued his mind in ways he wished he could escape. He had made a promise to take back his kingdom, but the truth remained: he had no real reason to. One could even say he was unmotivated. Maybe he was. Kin thought about how his life would be if he chose to walk away from everything.
What would life be without trying to reclaim his kingdom? Could he have a simple, ordinary life if he just disappeared? Would it be so bad if he simply let Jai rule Wize and vanished?
Kin tightened his fist. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let Jai kill his parents and get away with it. He wouldn't allow a man who threw his country into chaos for power to be the sole ruler just like that. He needed to make Jai pay. He needed to make him suffer, and more than anything, he needed to be the one to put Jai down like the dog he was. Kin couldn't live any other way. He couldn't do anything else.
The thing that seemed to be his greatest enemy before was fear—even now, it still was. Kin could barely stop himself from shaking whenever he thought of his uncle. The man was terrifying. Anytime he locked eyes with Jai, he could see extreme hatred and darkness. He would shake whenever he remembered his face; even now was no exception. He was trembling on his feet, but at the same time, Kin knew he would not back down. Not anymore. Whether it was Jai, the Sultens, Omi, Eru, or even the feared Inaria, he wouldn't back down. Things were different now; he was stronger, smarter, better, and not alone. He had no one—but he had someone. And with Ashell by his side, he was optimistic he would get stronger. Strong enough to defend his throne from anyone. Strong enough to defeat Jai.
He had an advantage that Jai didn't know about: his curse would help him defeat Jai and kill him. Speaking of Jai, Kin still didn't know how he had survived that night. If summoning a curse had helped him survive, could it be the same for…
"Kin!" Jamila screamed, snapping Kin out of his reverie.
"What?" Kin asked, startled. "Is there a problem?"
"Look, it seems we're here," she said. Kin looked in front of them—or rather, down below. There was a small valley below, covered in mist. He didn't see anything that suggested a temple was nearby, so he looked at Jamila and asked, "Where exactly is 'here'?"
"Are you blind? We made it! I can see the temple up ahead," she said.
Kin looked at her oddly, but before he could speak, he heard Ashell from within her domain.
"Only the worthy can behold," Ashell muttered. "Interesting," she added.
"What do you mean?" Kin asked.
Kin immediately activated the Eyes of Ra and used it to scan the area. His eyes glowed as he tried to penetrate the mist, but something strange seemed to be blocking his senses.
"Only the worthy can behold," Ashell repeated inside her domain. "Interesting…"
"What do you mean?" Kin asked again.
"It seems you're not worthy to behold the essence of fate. Even till now, Kadara still displays her pettiness," Ashell said.
"What are you talking about?" Kin asked in frustration.
"I'm trying to say, the reason you can't see what Jamila sees is because she is favored by the goddess of fate, while you are not," Ashell explained.
"What?" Kin asked, his voice laced with outrage. "Who the hell does she think she is?"