by Evelyn Skye
Hana let out a messy sob and nodded furiously. She looked up at Sora, and it was the same doe-eyed expression of admiration and love from when she was a tenderfoot watching her big sister’s every move.
Papa reached his arm around to draw Sora into their embrace. Grief and joy mixed in her chest: sadness that Mama was gone but happiness that Hana might finally be back.
“You have to be all in,” Sora said. “One false move, one indication that you’re still loyal to Prince Gin, and I won’t hesitate to act against you. We serve Sola and Luna, Kichona, and Empress Aki. That much must be clear. There are a lot of good people’s souls at stake, including yours and mine.”
“I swear to you,” Hana said.
“That’s all fine and good, but I need proof, too,” Sora said. “I have an idea for a good first step.”
Hana looked at her expectantly.
Sora gestured at their small group. “There are only four of us that can fight. Five, if we can depend on you. But that’s not enough. We need to build our army.”
“Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it,” Hana said.
“I want Tidepool as our prisoner.”
“Why?”
“No questions. Can you do it or not?”
Hana bit her lip. But then her uncertainty gave way to the commander she’d become, and she set her jaw and nodded curtly. “Give me ten minutes.”
She ran away.
“I don’t know,” Daemon said. “What if she’s going to get reinforcements? Now’s our chance. I can manage flying everyone out of here. We can still get Empress Aki out of harm’s way and come up with a final plan to stop the Dragon Prince.”
Sora hesitated. But then she said, “Take the empress, Papa, Fairy, and Broomstick and fly high, out of reach.”
“What about you?”
She looked at the empress, who nodded. “I’m going to give my sister a chance,” Sora said. “Ten minutes, and if she comes back fighting us, get everyone else to safety.”
“I won’t leave you.”
“You’re not. You’ll be right above me. Swoop down and someone will pull me up if it comes to that.”
Daemon grumbled about it, but he stooped to allow Empress Aki, Papa, Fairy, and Broomstick to climb onto his back. He flew them up into the air.
Sora’s stomach tied itself into knots as she counted down the minutes.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, . . .
Three, two, one . . .
Zero.
Just a little longer. It wasn’t an easy task she’d given Hana.
Sora decided to allow two more minutes.
But that time also passed.
Disappointed, Sora raised her arm to signal Daemon to come back. They had to get out of here if her sister had double-crossed her and was preparing again to attack.
But then Hana reappeared through the bushes with Tidepool, a dagger against Tidepool’s throat.
“A ryuu who controls the sea,” Hana said. “As requested.”
A wry smile blazed across Sora’s face. “It’s the perfect reunion gift, Hana. Thank you.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
With the skeleton troops destroyed and Tidepool captured, Sora and the others were able to make quick work of the remaining ryuu stationed near Dera Falls. There hadn’t been many, as Prince Gin had assumed that stationing his most powerful ryuu—Hana, Tidepool, Skullcrusher, and Skeleton—along with a navy of corpses would be enough.
But making assumptions about the League of Rogues was a grave mistake.
Still, Sora decided to move, and once they were on another of the islands in the tiger’s paw, they hunkered down in the hollow of an enormous tree that must have been thousands of years old. It was broad enough to fit them all, and on top of that, Hana kept everyone invisible. Her ability to do so, like Sora’s, was limited to proximity, but she’d been using ryuu magic for longer and could hide people even if they weren’t right next to her. It would come in handy when they snuck back into the Imperial City.
“Congratulations,” Sora said, once everyone was settled. “We rescued Empress Aki, and we have Prince Gin’s soul.”
Daemon, Fairy, and Broomstick cheered. Hana and Papa looked a little confused. Empress Aki smiled serenely. Tidepool probably would have glared, but Fairy had drugged her, so the ryuu lay asleep against the roots of the tree.
“But we’re not done yet,” Sora said. “Hana and I are still damned, as well as every taiga and ryuu. And our family, friends, and the whole kingdom remain in danger. Prince Gin will continue to pursue the Evermore and bring death and destruction to Kichona. So we have a few things we need to accomplish. One, we have to get to the gods to beg them for the purification ritual. Two, we need reinforcements, because after those skeletons, it’s painfully obvious to me that I underestimated his ryuu’s abilities, and we can’t fight them on our own. And three, we have to . . .”
Sora trailed off. She’d just seen her own mother killed and couldn’t bring herself to talk in front of Prince Gin’s sister about assassinating him. But she did touch her collar, where the soul pearl was safely stashed again.
Empress Aki sighed. “It’s all right. I know it has to be done. We let my brother go after the Blood Rift, and look where that got us. I wish I had the opportunity like you did to see your sister return to our side, but I don’t. Gin has to be killed, for Kichona’s sake.”
Papa bowed his head. “Your Majesty, what if he repented as Hana did?”
“Then I would give him a chance. But I don’t think he will.” She looked to Sora. “Please continue with your plans.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I was actually wondering if you knew anything about Gin that could help us get close enough to reunite him with his soul? I can handle infiltrating the castle, but he’s so well protected. . . .”
Empress Aki shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s been a decade since we’ve lived together. I don’t know what his daily routines are, whether he’s exposed at meal times, or when he’s getting dressed in the morning or anything like that.”
“Oh,” Sora said, trying to hide her disappointment. It had been a long shot, but ideas were few and far between right now, and it would have been nice if something was easy for once. “That’s all right. I’ll think of something.” She gave the empress what she hoped looked like a confident smile. “Let’s start with the other part of the plan that requires your help. You have good diplomatic relationships with the mainland kingdoms, right?”
The empress nodded. “Most of them, some better than others.”
“Do you think they’d respond to our call for help?”
“Well, not Thoma because . . .” Empress Aki’s eyes watered.
Sora nodded grimly at the reminder that Tsarina Austine was Prince Gin’s prisoner.
The empress wiped away a tear and shook her head as if to clear it. “I have no doubt that Ria Kayla and Emperor Geoffrey would offer their navies and marines,” she said, refocusing on Sora’s question. “Queen Meredith is a possibility if I asked her in person. I’m less sure about Queen Everleigh and Empress Vivíana, because they don’t have as much military might. And I’d ask High King Erickson last. He’s mercurial and hard to predict.”
“That’s all good to know,” Sora said. “I say we focus on just the first three kingdoms, then.”
“But even if we could get distress messages to Kayla, Geoffrey, and Meredith,” Empress Aki said, “it would take weeks for their troops to arrive. We don’t have that kind of time.”
Sora glanced in the direction of the sea. “Under normal travel conditions, that would be true. But we have a way to move across the ocean even faster than a sailfish: Tidepool.”
Everyone turned to look at the unconscious ryuu. She was an intimidating brute of a warrior who wore a scowl even in sleep.
A slow smile crept onto Empress Aki’s face. “You’re going to have her propel me on a ship to each of the mainland kingdoms and then bring their navies back.”
> Sora grinned.
“It’s a good idea,” Broomstick said slowly, “but how, exactly, are we planning to control her? The only reason she hasn’t drowned us yet is because we knocked her out.”
On the way from Dera Falls, Sora had talked intently with Hana about Tidepool, learning everything her sister knew about the ryuu. From that discussion, Sora had concluded two very important things: Tidepool was more practical than emotional, and she loved herself immensely. This meant she was definitely not a martyr. While Tidepool believed in the Dragon Prince’s pursuit of the Evermore, she wasn’t going to fall on her sword just in the name of honor.
“This is where Fairy comes in,” Sora said, pointing to her roommate, whose eyes lit up with anticipation. “I want you to poison Tidepool with something that would kill her if left unchecked but that could be held at bay if we gave her small doses of an antidote every few hours. Tidepool loves herself too much to let the poison simply take hold. I believe she’ll do our bidding if it means she can stay alive. Do you have something in your botanicals that can do this?”
Fairy was already unlatching the satchel at her belt. She grinned as she pulled out a small glass jar that clinked with what looked like tiny black, star-shaped candies inside. “This is abrinori. If left unchecked, it dissolves internal organs, beginning with the stomach, then working its way through the bloodstream to the intestines, the kidneys, and the heart. And this”—she held up a slender vial full of a viscous, bright yellow liquid—“is the antidote. One drop every two hours will counteract the abrinori. And I can concoct a permanent antidote if we wanted to cure Tidepool after we successfully get to all the kingdoms and return with their navies.”
“Perfect,” Sora said. “The team for the mainland journey will be you for coercion, Broomstick for force, and Empress Aki for diplomacy. You’ll have five days, which, with Tidepool’s powers, ought to give you enough time to cross the ocean, spend a day each in Brin, Caldan, and Fale Po Tair, and return to Kichona. Everyone on board?”
The three of them pounded fists over hearts.
Papa snarled. It caught everyone off guard, and they jumped back from him. But a moment later, Papa rubbed his eyes as if trying to wake from a strange dream. “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what’s come over me.”
Daemon spoke up. “This is what’s happening to Kichona’s people with Zomuri’s gloom influencing them. Even the kindest men lash out. That’s another reason we have to kill Prince Gin soon and get Empress Aki back on the throne, so she can reinstate Sola as our patron god.”
Papa looked horrified. Hana hugged him and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be yourself again soon. We’ll make sure of it.” He relaxed a little. Her word—even just her closeness—seemed to mean so much to him. Sora felt better about allowing Hana to join them.
“Our number one goal is to kill Prince Gin and restore our kingdom and our people to their peaceful ways,” Sora said. “Carrying out the assassination will be a mission for me and Hana.” She looked over at her sister.
Hana gave her a solemn nod.
“We’ll wait five days to give Empress Aki, Fairy, and Broomstick time to return with our allies. In the meantime, Hana and I will head to the Imperial City to make sure we understand the lay of the land. You’ll send me one of my dragonflies when you’re on your way, so that we can time our attacks to coincide with each other. Papa will stay hidden here, where it’s safe.”
“And then what?” Papa asked.
Sora fidgeted with her necklace. She didn’t know.
“I have an idea,” Hana said.
Everyone stared at her.
“Prince Gin doesn’t know I’ve turned,” she said. “As far as he’s concerned, I’m still Virtuoso, his second-in-command. We have to find a way to get the soul back into his body so that he’ll no longer be invincible—I’m the only one who can get close enough to him to do it.”
Sora mulled it over. She’d have to trust her sister completely for it to work.
“Believe in me,” Hana said softly.
Sora stopped playing with the necklace.
This is what Mama would have wanted, for Sora to stretch beyond what a normal person would, to tap into the well of kindness inside her and believe that Hana could change.
Could she do it?
But she already had, hadn’t she? She’d accepted Hana’s capture of Tidepool as proof of her loyalty, and she had welcomed Hana into the planning.
“All right,” Sora said. “We have a few days to plot out the details of how you’ll get to the prince, but we’ll figure it out.”
Papa beamed at his two girls working together. Sora wasn’t quite that enthusiastic—she was still working herself up to fully believing that Hana was on her side—but she still gave Papa a smile.
Then Sora turned to Daemon, who was guarding Tidepool by the roots of the tree. “And that brings us to the last thing we need to do—learning about the purification ritual. But I have to admit, I’m at a loss here. We could try to contact Liga again, but he’s not that helpful—”
“I’ll go to Celestae,” Daemon said.
“You’ll what?”
“Fly to Celestae. Pound on the gates or shout at the fortress walls or whatever it is that’s supposed to keep me out. And then I’ll find Luna and persuade her to tell me about the purification process. She’s my grandmother and the taigas’ patron god. She has to help.”
“That’s . . . crazy,” Sora said. Not only the part about him trying to get into Celestae and convince Luna but also the possibility that he’d see his father, Vespre. She remembered how conflicted Daemon had been back in Jade Forest, when she’d originally come up with the idea of reaching out to his father. It had been almost a relief when they’d gotten Liga instead.
Now, though, Daemon crossed his arms. “And since when has the ever-mischievous Spirit been against crazy ideas?”
Fairy laughed. “He has a good point.”
Everyone else nodded.
“Besides,” Daemon said, “I promised to do everything I could to save you from an eternity in the hells, and I meant it.”
Sora bit her lip.
“All right, then,” she said. “I guess we have a plan.”
“Yes, we do,” Daemon said, “but could I talk to you privately?”
She frowned. “Uh, sure.” She turned to the rest of the group. “Why don’t you all get a little rest? Hana, watch over Tidepool. Daemon and I will be right back.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
They walked a short way to a thicket of banyans—trees that grew one on top of another, their seeds landing on a branch of one tree and casting down roots, such that dozens of trees could fuse together, their long roots draping over one another and hardening into a forest of interwoven trunks.
“What’s going on?” Sora asked.
Daemon spun and faced her. “I actually hate the idea of splitting up again.”
“Sorry,” she said, confused. “But didn’t your part of the plan—going to Celestae—also involve dividing up? It makes sense, and we’ve been doing it this whole time.”
“Yes, but I don’t want . . . Ugh, I don’t know how to explain it without . . .” Daemon closed his eyes as if it was suddenly all too overwhelming, and he rested his head against a banyan tree without finishing what he was saying.
She went over and touched his shoulder. “What don’t you want?”
He mumbled something, but it disappeared into the tree.
“I’m sorry. . . . I couldn’t hear you,” Sora said.
Daemon paused, then pulled himself away from the branches. “I don’t want to lose you,” he said.
At first she thought he meant he was afraid she would die damned. But when Daemon turned back around, his eyes met Sora’s, and their gemina bond buzzed as loudly as if his electricity was at its fullest. Sora gasped as her entire body vibrated with the charge between them.
“I don’t want to lose you,” he repeated, except this time, their bond also fil
led with rose—both the color and the sensation of blooms unfurling.
Sora’s mouth parted. Did this mean . . . ?
Almost immediately, though, he raised his mental ramparts and cut her off. “I shouldn’t have . . . You know what? Don’t say anything. You’re my gemina. I’ve probably ruined everything—”
She stepped closer, so there were only inches between them. She put her finger on his lips, and the warmth of his breath on that little sliver of her skin was enough to make her light-headed.
“You like me?” she dared to ask. “I mean, as more than just a gemina?”
Daemon cast his gaze downward but nodded, almost guiltily. “I know I’m not supposed to. I tried to fight it, but Fairy was right. I just can’t. . . . I’m sorry.”
Sora laughed softly to herself. “Don’t be sorry.” She traced the curve of his mouth with her finger.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he looked at her again, his gaze intense, waiting, hoping. Actual sparks flickered off his skin.
Sora could barely breathe.
And yet she held back. There was a reason the Society forbade geminas from getting involved. If it didn’t work out, you were still stuck with them as your partner for life. You’d have to see them with someone else and feel their love for that other person. There was no escape. She pulled her finger away from his mouth.
“You’re scared,” Daemon said.
“What if we mess everything up?” she asked. “You’re my best friend. You’re my favorite person in the entire world.”
“And what if we don’t try?” he said. “What if we miss out on the most amazing experience of our lives?”
Sora thought of Mama then. About how unpredictable life could be. How you never knew when it would end. And she also remembered Mama’s entreaty for Sora to be more.
It wasn’t only about being the best taiga or the best friend or the best sister. Mama meant it in every respect.
Be more than what ordinary expects.
