“And what should we do instead?” Broomstick asked, crossing his arms across his chest. “Flee from Kichona to save ourselves? Those are our friends back there. We grew up with them in the tenderfoot nursery, sparred with them since we were old enough to hold weapons and cast spells, and stayed up way too late playing cards and drinking cheap rice wine. You really want to abandon them all?”
“You’re making me sound like an asshole,” Daemon said.
“That’s not what he means,” Sora said. “Trust me, we’re all beaten down, too. You say we’ve already lost. You’re right. If the four of us don’t step up, then every single one of our friends is lost. Right now, Prince Gin has control of their minds. He’s brainwashed them to love him, to want to charge into battle and die for him.
“Maybe we’ll fail. But if we don’t try, then it’s all over for everyone we know and love. We owe it to them—and to Kichona—to take down the Dragon Prince and restore our kingdom to how it’s supposed to be.”
They were quiet for a minute. Then Daemon let out a long breath. “I feel sorry for our kingdom that all they get is our ragtag crew.” But there was a slight lift in the corner of his mouth, and she knew he was in, even if reluctantly.
“We don’t look that bad,” Fairy said.
“Actually, we do,” Sora said. “But no one said heroes had to be pretty.”
“Wait a minute,” Broomstick said. “You want to rescue Empress Aki. How do we even know she’s alive? She might be dead.”
“If she is, then the Dragon Prince is the true ruler of Kichona,” Daemon said, “and even without being compelled, the people would be obligated to carry out every one of his deluded, twisted wishes.”
Reality killed the momentary high Sora had felt from rousing her friends. She frowned. “We don’t know that the empress is alive. But until we’re certain she’s dead, I think we should assume the opposite and that she needs our help. The last time I saw her, she had a knife at her throat, but they didn’t kill her. If Prince Gin wanted his sister dead, wouldn’t he have done it then? It would have had greater effect at the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts, in front of a crowd.”
Broomstick nodded slowly. “Good point. But how do we find her?”
“The Imperial City seems like a good bet,” Sora said. “Not much time has passed—she could still be there.”
“Return to the dragon’s den so soon after we escaped?” Daemon asked. “That’s suicide.”
“We could save a lot of lives if we go back,” Sora argued, waving a piece of fish jerky for emphasis. “Not only the empress’s, because we’ll also kill Prince Gin if we can. He’s bringing war to Kichona. If we thought the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts was bad, just wait until he antagonizes all seven of the kingdoms on the mainland. Their armies and navies will fight back by coming here and slaughtering millions of innocent Kichonans. We have to stop Prince Gin.”
“I say we blow up that mind-stealing bastard.” Broomstick’s fingers moved as if already imagining the explosives he’d rig for the purpose.
Daemon groaned. “Couldn’t we find somewhere quiet and let me work on my magic first? We don’t stand a fighting chance if we face the Dragon Prince right now.”
Sora shook her head. “What if it takes us months to figure out how to change you from wolf to human? For you to hone your electricity into a weapon? How much damage will Prince Gin have done by then?”
Daemon sagged as if deflated. Dammit. Sora should have known better. He’d never been great with magic, and now she’d basically said as much, demigod power or not. It was like hitting an exposed nerve with a sledgehammer.
“I’m sorry,” Sora said. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine.” He huddled over his knees.
“No, it’s not.” She moved over to him and held him by the shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes. “You’re more powerful than ever before, and you’ve already saved us, twice, in the short time since you discovered your abilities. You’re invaluable. I’m sorry that what I said came out the wrong way. I only meant that we don’t understand what your magic is yet, and it’s going to take time to figure it out. Together. But we can’t lose the element of surprise while the ryuu are regrouping—it’s all we have right now.”
He held her gaze for a moment, in a way that made Sora tingle, as if the sparks from his wolf form were still somehow inside the human version of him and traveling through their gemina bond. He was strong in ways that she wasn’t and vulnerable in other ways that she could complement. If he was the sky at night, she was the earth in the day, and together, they were one.
But then Fairy said, “She’s right, Wolfie. You’re incredible.”
Daemon blinked. He looked over at Fairy and actually smiled.
He may be mine in some ways, but he’s not in others, Sora reminded herself. And I’m happy that he has Fairy. She’s brave and bold and beautiful—everything he deserves.
However, it took more effort than Sora wanted to convince herself of that. But what could she do? She couldn’t have Daemon. It was against Society Code. And he didn’t want her; he was with Fairy. If Sora was a good friend, she’d stop whining to herself and be happy for them.
Sora swallowed the truth, but it went down like bitter tonic.
Broomstick chewed on his nails, studying all three of them. He made a small noise under his breath.
“What?” Sora said.
“Nothing.”
She frowned.
But he just moved on. “Really, it’s not important. Tell us the plan. That’s what matters right now.”
Sora sighed. He was right.
“We’ll go back to the Imperial City,” she said, “and cross the Field of Illusions together. Once we’re all across, I think we should split up into pairs. Fairy and Broomstick know every room, corridor, and hidden passageway in the Citadel, so they’ll search for Empress Aki there. Daemon and I will look for her in Prince Gin’s castle.”
“How long until we regroup?” Broomstick said. “We should set a rendezvous time.”
“Good idea. Is four hours enough?”
“Too long,” Daemon said. “We don’t know what we’re walking into. Although it’s probably a death trap.”
“Come on. I know it’s daunting, but we can do this,” Sora said. “Besides, they’ve just taken over the Imperial City. They’re probably still cleaning up after a massive battle, shepherding newly converted taigas into training, and settling into a new castle. The ryuu can’t possibly be organized yet.”
Fairy leaned in. “How about three hours? It’s enough time to cover the most likely places the empress could be kept prisoner. And if anything seems even a little suspicious, we abort.”
“I like it,” Sora said. “Three hours from when we split up, we’ll meet in the chestnut grove in Jade Forest. Remember, the number one priority is rescuing Empress Aki.”
“And if we have a shot at killing the Dragon Prince?” Daemon asked.
Sora swallowed. “If we have a chance to kill Prince Gin, we take it.”