by Evelyn Skye
Sora shivered. That did not sound good.
“Where is this lake?” she asked.
Liga shrugged. “I do not know for sure. Somewhere very cold, I imagine. Gods loathe the cold, so none of us would bother to go there, no matter how glorious the treasure was.”
“Naimo Ice Caves.” Sora gasped. They were glacial underground labyrinths in the southernmost part of Kichona. Both remote and bone-chillingly frigid. “I’m willing to bet that the lake is there.”
The others thought it over, listing other chilly places in Kichona. But after a few minutes, they agreed that Naimo Ice Caves was the most daunting—and the coldest—of the possibilities.
“Assuming that’s where the Lake of Nightmares is,” Broomstick said, “we still have a problem. If the vault is protected against gods and demigods, then how do we have a chance?”
The lines around Liga’s eyes creased again, as if he were barely restraining his laughter.
“What?” Broomstick said.
“We’re not important enough for the gods to worry about,” Fairy said. She turned to Liga for confirmation, although she was surprisingly unperturbed. “Isn’t that right? It’s kind of like what you were saying, that you don’t care about human trinkets.”
“It isn’t that we don’t care about humans,” Liga said. “It’s more that we don’t notice you all that often. For example, how closely have you been paying attention to those ants?” He pointed to a tree on the far side of the grove. Sora couldn’t even see the ants without a hawkeye spell, let alone expend any thought to what they were doing.
“And how worried are you about them stealing your things or ruining your plans?” Liga asked.
Daemon grumbled, but it came out more like an offended growl. “Humans aren’t ants.”
“It’s an imperfect analogy—” Liga began to explain.
“I understand,” Sora said. “There’s a lot going on in the world, as well as in Celestae, I imagine. Our human affairs are small in the grand scheme of it all. But ironically, it helps us if Zomuri didn’t put much thought into protecting his vault from humans. We should head to the ice caves as soon as possible.”
“I can’t go,” Daemon said.
Right. Because he was a demigod, and Zomuri had protected the vault against them.
“You could wait outside the ice caves,” Broomstick said.
Daemon shook his head. “And be completely useless while you all have to face whatever’s in there? No way.”
They stood around for several moments, trying to come up with a better idea.
“I could stay with Wolf outside the caves,” Broomstick said. “We could be your guards.”
“Or maybe we could try to rescue Empress Aki first,” Fairy said. “She might know a weakness—or something like that—about her brother that can help us get close enough to him so that we can reunite him with his soul and kill him.”
Sora chewed on her nails. “I think you’re both right,” she said.
“How?” Fairy asked. “Our suggestions are mutually exclusive.”
“No, they’re not. We’ll divide up again,” Sora said. “We have three things we need to get done right now: retrieve the soul pearl, find and rescue Empress Aki, and do everything in our power to stop—or at least slow down—Prince Gin’s progress toward attacking the mainland kingdoms. So Broomstick and I will go to the ice caves to take care of the first part, and Fairy will stay with Wolf here to work on the other two. With our gemina pairs divided, we’ll be able to use our bonds to check in with each other.”
“And each pair will also have some brawn,” Broomstick said.
Fairy rolled her eyes. “We don’t need boys to protect us.” She glanced at Daemon, though, and seemed to realize something. “But still, I can stay with Wolf. I feel like we could use that time productively.”
Jealousy reared its ugly head at Sora, but she shoved it away. I’m happy for them, she reminded herself.
It helped to keep focused on the gargantuan tasks before them. “Maybe Liga can also teach you how to use your powers,” Sora said to Daemon, “and you can train for our inevitable showdown against Prince Gin.”
“Oh no.” Liga raised both hands in the air. “I only came to sate my curiosity about your prayers and to see how my brother was doing.”
“What?” Sora shook her head. “We’re up against an army with more magic than we’ve ever encountered before. You have to help us.”
“I can’t risk being seen involved in a plot against Zomuri and his Evermore army.”
Sora huffed. “You’re a coward!”
“I beg your pardon?” Liga looked as if she’d slapped him.
“You’re scared to pit yourself against Zomuri?” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Yes, I am,” Liga said. “Have you noticed that he eats hearts for pleasure? I’m half human. If he wanted to punish me, I could die, just like you. I can only live forever while under my father’s protection in Celestae. But if I wrong another god, my life is fair game.”
He’s not immortal. It began to sink in why Liga would be afraid. But still, they needed him.
“Please.” Sora lay herself in a bow before him. Maybe she should have done this all along. Maybe she needed to show him more respect and offer him something, like how Sola took a year of life. It wasn’t an easy thing to give up, but what else could Sora do?
“My lord,” she said, “the citizens of Kichona have worshipped the gods for millennia. They pray to you every night, throw festivals in honor of you every season, and put all their faith in you that you’ll protect them and their children. Don’t you owe it to them to do something more than just bless their harvests? Teach Daemon how to serve them. Teach him how to use his powers so we can save the kingdom. And in return, I offer you a year of my life or whatever you wish to take.”
Liga started laughing.
Sora rose from the ground. “Why is that funny?”
He couldn’t stop. “Because . . . you . . .” He pointed at her, still on her knees. “I . . .” He gestured at the piles of flowers and the sleeping-mat prayer stations. “I’m only a demigod. No one prays to me.”
Daemon offered his hand to Sora and pulled her up. Then he stepped forward. “All the more reason to help us, brother. Your mother was mortal, just like mine.”
“And the alligator constellation is still relatively young,” Fairy said. “I know you don’t mark the passing of time in Celestae, but it’s possible your mother is alive.”
The laughter left Liga’s face. “She might be here on earth?”
Sora nodded. “If I remember correctly, your constellation has only existed for twenty-some years. If you help us fight for Kichona, you might be helping your mother, too. And Zomuri wouldn’t be mad. You’re not doing anything related to Prince Gin’s soul or actually fighting him. That’s our job.”
Liga considered it.
“What do you say?” Sora asked.
“Well, even if I assented, I could not stay long. If our father notices I’m missing and why, I might be exiled from the sky, too. I’m happy to have reconnected with you, Wolf, but I don’t wish to leave Celestae as you did.”
“I understand completely,” Daemon said.
Liga looked around at Sora, Fairy, and Broomstick. “You’ve picked a scrappy crew, brother. Clever, too.”
Daemon nodded. “It’s what makes us good.”
Sora glowed with pride.
Liga thought about it for a moment more. “I can stay for a short while before Vespre notices I’m gone. I will teach Wolf about his powers.” He grinned. “Things were getting dull in Celestae anyway.”
Chapter Sixteen
The acid pool in the grotto boiled, and Aki’s stomach clenched—another ryuu visitor was coming again.
Instead of one orb this time, though, two enormous emerald bubbles surfaced from the depths. The first one opened, and Virtuoso hopped onto shore with a smirk on her face. “Hello again, princess.”
Then
the second bubble yawned open. Gin stepped out, wearing a crown of gold claws and opulent, embroidered silk robes with dragons slithering up both his arms.
Aki let out an unintentional gasp.
“Hello, sister.” He hopped out of the orb as lightly as if this were a social call.
She stood as regally as she could, even though she didn’t feel the least bit royal. “What are you doing here?”
“Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“When you stole my throne and locked me in some sort of acidic waterfall prison? Not particularly. Why haven’t you killed me yet?”
Gin frowned. “Have you already forgotten? Because you made me suffer for the past ten years. Now you’ll endure the same fate.”
Aki shook her head sadly. “I didn’t want to fight you during the Blood Rift. I didn’t want you to be hurt or exiled. That was your own doing.”
Gin strode across the grotto and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides. Aki tried to wriggle away, but his grip was firm.
His nostrils flared as he shook her. “My own doing? After all these years, why can’t you see that the Evermore is good for our kingdom and our people?”
Aki closed her eyes for a brief moment. Her brother had always been obsessed with the Evermore.
“It’s not worth the cost,” Aki said, wrenching herself free from Gin’s grip. “It never has been and never will be. Too many lives will be lost. Not only Kichonans but all the people in the mainland kingdoms you have to slaughter in the names of war and glory. What happened to your compassion? You didn’t used to be this cruel.”
The scarred ridges on Gin’s face seemed to harden as his expression did.
Virtuoso took a step forward. Aki had almost forgotten the girl was there.
“There’s always a price,” Virtuoso said. “But leaders who are truly great aren’t afraid of paying it.”
“Besides,” Gin said to Aki, “whatever qualms I may have harbored disappeared when I gave my soul to Zomuri.”
“You gave up your soul?” Dizziness hit Aki, and she had to prop herself up against the grotto wall.
Her brother laughed. “In exchange for being invincible.”
“This is wrong,” Aki said.
Gin leaned down so he was eye level with her. “I’m going to get what I want. You tried it your way, and you lost. Now it’s my turn, and I’m going to succeed in achieving what no other has done before: uniting all the heathen kingdoms on the mainland under our gods and living forever as their immortal emperor. It is what is best for Kichona, and if you’d admit I was right, I might show some leniency. Or you can continue being stubborn.”
She looked straight back at him without flinching. “We’re twins. We were both cursed with the same obstinacy.”
“That’s too bad for you.” Gin rose. He moved with a sense of cruel purpose.
Fear lodged in Aki’s throat.
Chapter Seventeen
Hana watched as Emperor Gin stood over his sister and gestured at his orb.
“What are you doing, Your Majesty?” Hana asked.
A coil of thin tubing floated over to him. “Showing my sister something I learned about while in exile. I’ll get it started, and you’ll finish it.”
Hana nodded obediently as the heat of anticipation washed through her body, the magic at her fingertips eager to serve the Dragon Emperor.
A bucket floated out of Gin’s orb and dunked itself into the pool of acid.
Empress—no, Princess Aki pressed herself into the wall, as if an extra millimeter would keep her safe.
“Dear sister,” Gin said. “I’d like to introduce you to Shinowanan acid torture. It’s a slow drip, terribly painful but effective.” He cast a spell to bind Princess Aki’s arms behind her and her ankles together.
“Hey!” She struggled but couldn’t break free of the bonds.
The ryuu magic lifted her several feet off the ground and rotated her as if she were a rabbit on a spit.
Something inside Hana trembled. But why? She believed in Emperor Gin and his pursuit of the Evermore, and this was part of what it took to achieve it.
There was a tiny spigot at the bottom of the bucket. Gin attached one end of the tube to it, then floated the bucket above Princess Aki’s head. The acid dribbled down into the tube. Gravity would do the rest.
Hana gasped. “Your Majesty, you don’t mean to . . . ?”
“She’s my twin,” Gin said. “My suffering began not with exile after the Blood Rift. It started long before that, when I was made hideous with these scars. My sister is about to learn how it feels to be so ugly.”
A drop began to form. It would fall on Princess Aki’s cheek any second.
Oh gods. Hana had to look away. She had killed her fair share of people, but this was a member of the imperial family, someone anointed by the gods. . . .
“Gin, please!” the princess cried.
“It’s your choice how long this goes,” he said. “You always have the ability to make it stop. Just say I’m right. Just say you, too, want the Evermore for Kichona.”
“I won’t.”
Hana dared to look back.
The drop of acid swelled.
And then it fell.
Princess Aki screamed as the acid seared the apple of her cheek. Her flesh bubbled and popped where the acid had hit.
A wave of nausea surged in Hana’s gut.
Another drop was already forming.
The princess tried to twist away from its path, but there would be no way to escape it.
Gin just shook his head, as if he thought his sister ought to take her punishment with more dignity. “Virtuoso, take it from here. I’m going back to the castle.”
Hana stared wide eyed at the bucket of acid. “But she’s a member of the imperial family.”
“And I’m the emperor, giving you a direct order.” He shook his head. “You’re usually a tornado of violence when presented with opportunities like this. You had no issue with the command to assassinate my sister in Dassu Desert, but you can’t do this?”
Hana twisted the hem of her tunic. “Spirit carried out your orders in Dassu Desert.”
Princess Aki stared at Hana, as if just realizing that she was Spirit’s younger sister. Two siblings on opposite sides of a war, just like the princess and Gin.
The second drop of acid splattered on Princess Aki’s cheek then, searing into her skin, and she screamed.
Hana cringed.
“Virtuoso,” Emperor Gin said, “whatever your lingering issues about the imperial family, get over them. Aki is a prisoner of war, and you will treat her as such.”
Hana’s heart pounded as if attempting to stage a rebellion.
I am a good solider, she told herself. The most loyal of all ryuu. If the emperor said this was how it had to be, then he was right. The gods wanted him to do this; they let him come back from the brink of death with new magic because pursuing the Evermore was his destiny. And serving him was Hana’s.
Emperor Gin stepped into his green orb.
“Brother—” Aki strained at her bindings.
“I wish it had turned out differently,” he said. “Maybe if you’d just let me rule from the start, we wouldn’t be here like this. But . . .” He shrugged as though there were nothing he could do to change the course he was taking. The emerald sphere closed around him. It sank into the grotto pool, whisking Gin away.
Another drop of acid hung like a threat above Aki.
“Please,” she said to Hana. “I can tell you still don’t want to carry out his orders. Just like Spirit, you’re better than this.”
Hana’s eyes flashed. “Don’t you dare compare me to Spirit. As far as I’m concerned, I have no sister.”
And yet, after another scathing glare, Hana floated the bucket of acid away and lowered Princess Aki to the ground.
What am I doing? Hana asked herself. I need to follow orders. I won’t be weak like I was before.
“Thank you.” Princess Aki exhaled
.
Her gratitude—as if they were on the same side—snapped Hana back to her senses.
“Don’t be so hasty in your thanks,” she said. “Emperor Gin is right. You’re a prisoner of war, and I need to treat you like it. I may not burn you with acid, but I’ll still carry out the intent of what he wants.” Hana raised her fist.
The princess cowered.
“This is for defying the emperor.” Hana smashed an uppercut into Princess Aki’s face.
“This is for refusing to support his pursuit of the Evermore.” Hana kneed her in the gut, and the princess doubled over.
“Please . . . ,” Princess Aki gasped. “Please stop.”
Hana scoffed, but she turned as if she were going to walk away.
Then she paused. There’s one more thing that deserves punishment.
“And this, Your Highness, is for bringing up my sister.” Hana whirled, leg extended, then hooked it with vicious flare.
The princess crumpled, unconscious, onto the grotto floor.
A chill of guilt rippled through Hana.
But her anger and sense of righteousness were stronger, and they quickly burned away the cold pang of conscience. She had been too soft in the past, too easy on Sora and Princess Aki, and the mess of that battle in the Imperial City had been the result. Hana needed to make up for it.
She climbed into the emerald orb and sailed away, without bothering to look back.
Chapter Eighteen
After Sora and Broomstick left the next morning, Daemon turned his attention to learning how to use his new magic. It was what he’d wanted from the start, when Sora had decided to return to Kichona. If Daemon could turn into a wolf and use his speed and electricity at will, the balance of power would change between their side and Prince Gin’s. Daemon would be able to fly, and Sora could make them invisible; they might be able to reunite the soul pearl with the Dragon Prince before he even realized they were upon him.
