Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1)(68)

Wolf,

Fairy and I are headed to Copper Bluff in Dassu Desert with Empress Aki for negotiations with Prince Gin.

Please meet us there.

—Broomstick

He couldn’t write the truth, that Fairy would be bait, masquerading as the empress. He couldn’t risk the message being intercepted. But he needed Wolf there. It wasn’t just for support. It was because, if there was going to be any way out of this, they’d need as many of their heads together as possible.

And they’d always said that if they were going to die, they wanted to die fighting together. All four of them.

Maybe it was better that Sora wouldn’t be there. Maybe she would be spared.

Broomstick rolled up the miniature scroll and secured it to a dragonfly.

“Gods-speed,” he said, as it dashed out the window to the Society outpost at Tiger’s Belly. “Gods-speed to both you and Wolf.”





Chapter Forty-Three


The pearlescent orange-and-black buildings along the Striped Coves’ coastline glimmered in the midday sun. As the center of Kichona’s tiger pearl industry, the ocean-side city was always bustling, full of diving outfits harvesting the gems, jewelers creating world-famous baubles, and wealthy trading companies taking the goods abroad and bringing back chests full of gold.

But rather than catch the city unawares, the ryuu found something was already waiting for them when their ship pulled into the harbor at the Striped Coves. An enormous wooden sign with a letter tacked to it. It was clearly marked in large script: “Prince Gin.”

Hana leaned so far out over the railings to get a better look, she nearly fell over the edge.

“Virtuoso,” Prince Gin said, as he strode to the gangplank. “Come with me.”

As usual, he took his time. He was the one with the upper hand; he didn’t need to rush. Hana matched her steps with his, practicing the gravity of power.

When they reached the sign, the prince charmed the letter to untack and open itself. It remained suspended in the air as they read it.

Dearest Brother,

What a surprise to find you have returned to Kichona.

I understand you have been poaching my taigas, to which I, of course, object. I have ordered the Society to take precautions and evacuate outposts you may be tempted to take possession of.

I also request that you cease and desist your activities, and that we meet for peace talks and negotiation. I am sure we can come to an acceptable compromise.

Please meet me at Copper Bluff in the Dassu Desert in three days’ time. Bring only yourself and one warrior.

Your sister,

Aki

Prince Gin took a long, slow breath. When he’d finally exhaled, he said, “It seems my dear sister has figured out what we’ve been up to.”

“It appears so, Your Highness,” Hana said. “But it’s not unexpected. You knew she’d catch on to your plans sooner or later.”

“Yes, but I’d hoped to capture one or two more cities before we were discovered.”

Prince Gin glanced at a small cage hanging from the bottom of the wooden sign. There was a dragonfly inside, presumably so he could respond to the Society. “They’re still using these messengers,” he said. “How quaint.”

He quickly scrawled a note to Empress Aki, accepting her request for a meeting, and simply enchanted the scroll to fly itself to the Citadel, without the dragonfly.

“You’re going to go?” Hana asked, mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“It’s a trap. I’m sure of it,” he said. “And yet, this would be a good opportunity to get Aki off the throne, away from all the witnesses in the Imperial City. Then I could take the crown without being seen as killing my own sister.”

“You could have one of the ryuu do it, Your Highness. You’d avoid the risk of being ambushed yourself while still achieving your goals.”

The prince’s expression was uncharacteristically conflicted, his eyes shadowed and mouth turned down at the corners. Was it just that he was unsure of what to do next? Or was there something more that made him hesitate?

But then he nodded. “That’s an excellent idea. Make it happen, Virtuoso.”

Hana’s breath caught. Crow’s eye, she hadn’t meant to volunteer herself. She didn’t know if she could do it. Hana wanted Prince Gin on the throne, but his sister was still the ruler of the kingdom. Assassinating an empress with one’s own hands was a very different thing than talking about someone else doing it. As much as she hated to admit it, Hana still respected the symbol of the throne, even if the person sitting on it was the wrong one.

But the relief in Prince Gin’s expression—the way the creases around his eyes and the frown lines at his mouth smoothed at her suggestion—extinguished her doubts. Hana would get this done for him. Somehow.

Prince Gin looked again at his sister’s message hovering in the air. “Take Spirit with you. Two invisible ryuu are better than one. And it will be a good test of her abilities.”

Great. Not only do I have to do the impossible, I have to do it with my sister.

But even as she told herself that, she knew she was starting to feel differently about Sora. And Hana reluctantly admitted that it was unreasonable to have expected her sister to come after her a decade ago. As Sora pointed out, they were children then. A bunch of eight-year-olds couldn’t have commandeered a naval ship and sailed after the kidnapped tenderfoots. There was nothing they could have done differently during the Blood Rift.