Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1)(78)

“They took her,” Daemon said, running past Broomstick. He stopped short as he burst out of the tent.

Imperial Guards. Some on the ground. Some suspended upright, as if held up by invisible string. Pools of blood, coagulating and sticky and already attracting flies with their iron tang.

And every single warrior was missing body parts—arms, legs, entire midsections of their torsos. The absent parts were nowhere to be seen.

“Good gods,” Daemon said. Why hadn’t Prince Gin hypnotized them, like he had at the other cities? Why kill these taigas?

Broomstick emerged from the tent and froze in horror when he saw the grisly murders.

“Is she . . . ?” he whispered.

Daemon shook his head. “Fairy isn’t among them.”

Broomstick exhaled in relief. But then his eyes grew wide again. “Just because she isn’t here doesn’t mean she’s alive. The ryuu meant to kill Empress Aki.”

Oh no, Daemon thought. Prince Gin must not have come. That’s why Sora and the other ryuu killed the Imperial Guards, instead of adding them to their army.

“I think Fairy is gone because the ryuu had to take her body back to the Dragon Prince as proof,” Daemon said.

“No.” Broomstick crumpled to the ground, not caring that he collapsed among dismembered corpses.

It still didn’t add up, though. I got through to Sora, I’m sure of it, Daemon thought. If she had her mind back, she wouldn’t have killed Fairy. She would have thought of some way to trick the other ryuu into thinking Fairy—the empress—was dead.

To test his theory, he reached out through their gemina bond. It was the kind of gentle nudge he and Sora would always send each other in the mornings, to check if the other was awake.

A moment later, a reassuring nudge came back to him, like the foamy touch of low tide on bare feet.

Daemon nodded. She was all right.

He pulled Broomstick up and out of the graveyard of mutilated bodies. “Sora’s with Fairy. She’ll keep her safe.”

“Are you mad? Did you not see what I saw? Spirit is a ryuu. We have to go after Fairy.” He started to run toward the dirt road that led down the side of the bluff.

Daemon caught up and grabbed him. “Sora is still one of us.”

“You’re not thinking clearly,” Broomstick said, every single one of his knives in his hands. “She’s your gemina. It’s affecting your judgment.”

“And the fact that Fairy is your gemina is affecting your judgment,” Daemon said. “But . . . okay. Test your gemina bond. Can you still feel her on the other end?”

Broomstick pursed his lips as he tried to connect to Fairy. “No. It’s like a cemetery in my head,” he said, choking back his despair.

“Sora must have done something to knock her out. If they have to present a body to Prince Gin, Fairy has to look like a dead empress.”

Broomstick shook his head skeptically.

Daemon took him by the shoulders. “I know this is hard. Trust me. I just went through thinking my gemina was taken by the ryuu or dead. And I care about Fairy too! But I have a gut feeling that she’s all right, that this is all part of Sora’s plan. Whether or not you believe in Sora right now, the reality is that we can’t go after Fairy. You see what ryuu can do.” He waved behind them, but he didn’t look. The image of the carnage was burned into his memory forever. “If we chase after Fairy, we will walk straight into the entire ryuu army and they’ll kill us in half a second. Then we’ll be no good to anybody.”

Broomstick sagged. The five knives he had in each hand fell to the dusty ground.

Daemon picked them up. “Let’s go home. We have to tell Empress Aki and the Council everything that’s happened. They’ll know what to do.”

“Do you actually believe that?”

Daemon sighed. “I have to.”





Chapter Fifty-One


The president of the Striped Coves’ most famous jeweler—Tiger Pearl Trading Company—had supposedly offered his home to Prince Gin, and this was where Sora and Hana found him when they returned from Copper Bluff. They were still covered in Dassu Desert’s fine brown sand, but Hana had insisted they report on their success immediately. Hana levitated Fairy’s body behind them. Her eagerness to please Prince Gin had overridden her squeamishness over the empress’s assassination.

One of the jeweler’s servants led Sora and Hana to the fourth floor of the mansion, out through a sunroom, and onto a cliff-side patio that overlooked the Kichona Sea. Prince Gin sat at a table, watching the waves while drinking a bottle of fine whiskey and nibbling on chili-dusted peanuts.

It was Sora’s first look at him since regaining command of her mind. She clenched her fists to keep herself in check, fighting the urge to fling herself across the table, smash the whiskey bottle, and use it to cut the prince’s throat.

“Your Highness, the empress is dead,” Hana said, dumping Fairy’s gold-haired body to the floor.

Sora winced at the impact. Fairy might seem dead, but she could still be hurt.

Hana frowned at Sora’s reaction. Sora slapped a smug smile on her face, as if she too were pleased with the empress’s death.

Was her sister suspicious that Sora was no longer under Prince Gin’s spell? But she couldn’t be. There was no precedent for anyone breaking out of his hypnosis. I’m just jumpy, Sora thought. But it was a good reminder to be more vigilant in how she acted, just in case.