Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1)(66)

“This came in today, Your Majesty,” Glass Lady said, passing a stack of miniature papers, curled at the edges, to the empress. “You were right. Prince Gin is involved. And now we know his plans.”

Aki took the magnifying glass offered to her by Scythe, one of the councilmembers. She took her time reading the details of her brother’s attacks on Paro Village, Sand Mine, Kaede City, and Tiger’s Belly, as well as his subsequent targets.

“This message didn’t come from your naval ship,” she said when she’d read the pages twice.

Glass Lady’s usual arrogance faltered. “No, Your Majesty. It’s from an apprentice.”

“An apprentice? I thought you said you didn’t have any taigas who could reach the far outposts before the navy could?”

“Er, we didn’t send Wolf,” Glass Lady said, looking down at the table. “He and his gemina, Spirit, slipped out of the Citadel on their own initiative.”

Spirit? The name sounded familiar. Aki glanced up from her magnifying glass. “Was Spirit the one who set off the fireworks at Rose Palace?”

One of the other councilmembers, Bullfrog, made a croaking noise. “Unfortunately, yes. She and her friends have a penchant for breaking rules. Or at least for finding the loopholes in them.”

“And you say the Council didn’t sanction Spirit and Wolf leaving the Citadel?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

Aki pondered this for a moment. The Council had been spinning their wheels, unable to figure out the mysterious assault at Isle of the Moon or protect against Gin’s stealth attacks. They were relying on a specific way of doing things, which may have worked in the past, but clearly wasn’t getting them anywhere right now. In the meantime, Spirit and Wolf had tossed traditional methods aside and uncovered Gin’s plot on their own.

Interesting. Perhaps this was what Kichona needed. An unorthodox approach to an unorthodox enemy.

“We must stop my brother before he grows his army further,” Aki said. “Can you send a dragonfly to the Striped Coves before he arrives?”

“I cannot guarantee it, but we’ll try.”

Aki nodded. “Good. Tell the Striped Coves taigas to evacuate the citizens. And then the taigas themselves should hide.”

Strategist smacked both hands on the table. “You want the taigas to hide like cowards?”

Glass Lady glared at him. She turned to the empress with an apologetic dip of her head. “What my colleague means, Your Majesty, is that, with all due respect, we don’t think it’s advisable to leave the Striped Coves completely unprotected.”

“I don’t mean for them to abandon their duties. The Striped Coves are a valuable part of Kichona, and we won’t leave it open to pirates. But they can’t stay at the Society post there. The taigas would be captured by Gin, and we’d be handing him an army, which is precisely what he wants.” Aki sat back in the commander’s chair and crossed her arms. “I want half of them to stay in the Striped Coves, and the other half to regroup here to protect the capital, which I guarantee is where Gin will end up. I appreciate your perspective, but with all due respect, I defeated my brother once. I can defeat him again. We will do this my way.”

The councilmembers held their tongues. She knew they didn’t approve. They probably thought her inexperience was leading her to act rashly. But the old guard’s way isn’t working, Aki thought. Gin certainly isn’t following the old rule book.

“Actually,” she said, “have this message posted at the harbor for my brother: I would like to meet with him in neutral territory where there is nothing to tempt him—let’s say, Dassu Desert—to discuss a cease-fire and peace treaty.”

“He’ll use his magic to hypnotize you,” Glass Lady said.

Oh. Aki hadn’t considered that. Now the Council really would think she was just plowing headlong into folly.

There was some scuffling beneath the floor of the black stone table. The councilmembers leaped to their feet, weapons trained on the source, while the Imperial Guard grabbed Aki and began shoving her toward the door to safety. Her heartbeat skittered.

“Don’t hurt us!” a boy shouted, his voice muffled but loud, as if he were pressed right up against the floorboards. “It’s Broomstick. And Fairy.”

“What are you doing down there?” Scythe asked.

Glass Lady rolled her eyes. “Eavesdropping, I’d wager.”

Bullfrog grumbled. “Like I said. Penchant for breaking rules.”

The councilmembers muttered a spell that allowed them to heave the boards off the floor. Two apprentices climbed out, covered in dirt and coughing.

“Aren’t you two already in enough trouble for Spirit’s last stunt?” Glass Lady asked.

Broomstick screwed up his face. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“And you thought it would be wise to tempt fate by crawling under the floorboards of the Council Room to eavesdrop on the most confidential of conversations?”

Fairy shrugged sheepishly. “It seemed like a good idea at the time?”

Glass Lady sighed. “Your Majesty, meet Broomstick and Fairy. They’re two of your fireworks hooligans.”





Chapter Forty-One


Fairy and Broomstick laid themselves prostrate on the ground.