Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1)(81)
“But what if . . .” Broomstick cast his eyes downward and fiddled with the reins still in his hands. “What about the possibility that Sora is one of them?”
“No.” Daemon left the saddle and turned to Broomstick. He met his gaze and didn’t let go. “I can resist the Dragon Prince’s charm somehow, and Sora seems to benefit from my immunity. I feel her constantly through our gemina bond now, not like before, when she was hypnotized. If she’s still with the ryuu, she has a very good reason for it.”
Broomstick said nothing.
Conviction swelled in Daemon’s chest. He put his hands on Broomstick’s shoulders. “If we don’t believe in each other,” Daemon said, “what have we got left? Prince Gin wants to tear the Society apart. But we have control over this. We get to decide whether we stand with one of our best friends. It’s been the four of us since we were kids. We can’t abandon each other now when we need our friendship the most.”
Silence.
“Fairy will be okay,” Daemon said. “So will Sora. They are the strongest, most tenacious people we know.”
Broomstick kicked at the dirt on the stable floor. But he nodded.
A Level 8 apprentice ran into the stable. Daemon and Broomstick spun to face him.
“Wolf and Broomstick, the Council requests your presence immediately.”
Daemon leaned on his horse. This was going to be a very difficult report to give.
“Do we have time to change into our formal robes?” Broomstick asked.
“No. They want you now.”
“All right,” Daemon said. “Tell them we’re on our way.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Aki’s rooms at the Citadel were more spartan than she was accustomed to, but she didn’t complain. She didn’t need much, and besides, the Society was equipped to house warriors, not empresses pretending to be in Dassu Desert. The taigas had done as much as they could to make this feel like home while she was in hiding. They had knocked down a wall between two suites to form a single enormous one, with a receiving room, an office, a parlor, a meditation room, and of course, her bedchamber. The floors were done simply in reed mats as with the rest of the quarters in the building, and the furniture was utilitarian, but the walls of her temporary rooms had been repainted navy, and they’d found gold fabric to pin up as drapery.
The windows, however, remained papered in black, which took some getting used to after spending a lifetime in the bright, crystalline light of Rose Palace. Nevertheless, these were trifling details. After all, Aki’s kingdom was on the brink of war.
One of her Imperial Guards stepped into the receiving room, where Aki sat on a simple bamboo chair, reading the latest reports from the taigas around the island. All major outposts had been evacuated. Many of the squadrons were coming here, to the Citadel, on Aki’s orders. Whether or not a temporary cease-fire was reached in Dassu Desert, she suspected Gin would eventually march to Rose Palace to try to take the throne.
“Your Majesty, the Council is here.”
They might have an update on whether her brother had agreed to a cease-fire and further discussions, or if he’d killed her decoy. Aki’s stomach swan dived in the most unregal way.
“Thank you,” she said, barely keeping her voice steady. “Send them in.”
Glass Lady, Strategist, Bullfrog, Renegade, and Scythe filed in. They had two apprentices with them. Broomstick had been one of the rogues she’d appointed for the mission. For a moment, Aki dared to hope that it had gone well.
Except Fairy and the Imperial Guards who’d gone to the desert weren’t here.
Aki’s hope plummeted.
The councilmembers and apprentices lay on the ground in deep bows. “Your Majesty.”
Aki pulled herself together as best she could and nodded as they rose. “You have word on my brother?”
“Yes,” Glass Lady said. “As you predicted, Prince Gin wanted you dead. However, there is a bit of a twist we did not foresee. Broomstick and Wolf will report to you, since they were there.”
Wolf shuffled his feet.
Poor boy, Aki thought. He was only seven years younger than she was, but he’d spent his life in school thus far, not exposed to the harsh realities that she’d dealt with—not only the Blood Rift that began her reign, but also the daily problems of the kingdom that had to be solved, from poor weather affecting the harvests to tiger pearl shipments lost at sea to pirates. The happenings at Copper Bluff—and of Prince Gin’s return, in general—were an awful lot for an apprentice to have to handle.
Wolf composed himself quickly and began to recite everything that had happened, not just at Copper Bluff, but from the moment he and Spirit went back to Takish Gorge to investigate the mysterious camp again. As he recapped the events, Aki stopped feeling sorry for him. Instead, she marveled at his strength. He’d watched in horror as Gin charmed taigas to his side and chose innocents as sacrifices for the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts, and yet Wolf had pushed on, at personal risk, to infiltrate their ship. He’d snuck into Gin’s cabin, stolen the ryuu’s list of targets, escaped capture, and swam to Tiger’s Belly to transmit his reconnaissance to the Citadel. He’d lost his gemina, both physically and emotionally.
And somehow, Wolf was still standing. I’m sorry, Aki thought. I completely underestimated you.