Daemon had grinned, though, because he’d felt he was the winner of that match. Not because of the fight itself, but because she’d been so close to him, her lips nearly grazing his ear, the razor edge of her hair skimming his cheek as she declared victory . . .
He exhaled.
Everything was going to be fine. It had to be.
Chapter Fifteen
Paro Village was a town swallowed by the forest. Trees draped in long sheets of flowering vines curtained the buildings, so thick that a traveler could easily pass the city by, if not for the fact that the gravel roads ended abruptly here, going no farther south. The shops and homes themselves were made of stone and covered in thick blankets of moss, as if they’d risen from the forest floor as part of the natural landscape. And a waterfall in the nearby cliffs kept the air thick with chill.
Gin stood in the village square—really, a grassy field in the middle of the town—as the citizens assembled. Even the people here seemed a part of the woods, preferring rough-spun clothing the color of bark, their hair untamed in the breeze that whistled through the trees. Shopkeepers stood in the doorways of their stores. Families brought the elderly and the young. Whether it was because they were curious or scared or both, everyone turned out to see the Dragon Prince.
On the edges of the crowd, the Paro Village taiga warriors stood at attention. Hypnotizing them had been Gin’s first order of business here. Since he’d failed to take control of the Council at Isle of the Moon, this was plan B—stealthily enchant as many taigas as possible to create an army, then march on the Imperial City and take the rest of the Society. Without the taigas guarding his sister, Gin could seize the throne.
But that wasn’t all he needed. In order to begin his quest for the Evermore, Gin would have to perform the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts. He needed to persuade ordinary Kichonans to give their lives to Zomuri.
A ripple of nausea rolled through Gin’s stomach, the warning of seasickness before a storm.
Am I really going to do this?
He looked over at his original taiga warriors, who had stood by him since the Blood Rift. He remembered how close to death he’d been, and how dedicated they’d been to bringing him back to health. And then they’d spent years training in the Shinowana mountains, fumbling with this new magic, bruising themselves while sparring, and finally, mastering it.
This was what all that time and effort was for. To bring Kichona and its people a glorious, immortal paradise.
Gin turned his attention back to the assembling crowd in the square. Taking away their free will is a necessary sacrifice. The Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts is part of the process. It’s for the ultimate good of the kingdom.
“I’ve spent a decade dreaming of coming home,” Gin said. “You’re my kin. I missed you deeply.” He smiled.
A little girl in the front row shrieked. “His face is so ugly!” She buried herself in the folds of her mother’s skirt.
The woman flushed and took several steps backward, all while wrapping the fabric of her skirt around her daughter, as if doing so could make her disappear. “I-I’m sorry, Your Highness. She’s only three. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”
Gin clenched his fists. But he didn’t respond. The girl—and everyone else—would love him soon enough.
Now, in fact.
Emerald-green particles whooshed through the air, falling like snow on the people’s heads. A moment later, they smiled drowsily.
Gin glared at them. “As I was saying, I’ve been looking forward to coming home. You missed me too, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” the crowd answered in chorus. Their eyes twinkled with the kind of blissful peace only Gin’s enchantment could give them.
Perhaps free will was overrated.
“I’m here to bring eternal paradise to Kichona,” Gin said. “But I need your help. Are you willing?”
“Whatever you require, Your Highness,” the villagers said.
“Good. My sister has been empress for a while, but I intend to take the crown from her, so that I may lead you to glory and everything our kingdom deserves. There will be a coronation, and I would like to invite citizens from throughout Kichona. Is anyone interested?”
“Me!”
“Over here!”
“Your Highness, pick me, pick me!”
The crowd erupted in clamoring chaos.
Gin motioned for Virtuoso, one of the most reliable of his original warriors, to come over. “You know what to do, right?”
She nodded. “Two hundred slots that need to be filled. Ages one to one hundred, a male and female each.”
“We don’t need to find all of them here. We’ll make plenty more stops before the Imperial City as we amass our army. But go ahead and choose some here.”
Virtuoso nodded and began shouting at the people for order. The other taigas jumped in to herd them into lines to submit their names.
Gin turned his back on the square. He strode away, pushing through the curtains of flowering vines to the outskirts of town, where his warriors’ horses waited. Even from here, he could still hear the people shouting over each other as they argued for the honor of going to his coronation. For the privilege of sacrificing their lives for Zomuri.
Another little shudder of nausea rippled through Gin.
But this time, the guilt was smaller, and it passed quickly. Because after a lifetime of dreaming and ten years of planning in exile, everything was starting to come together. Gin had the makings of a magical army that no one would be able to defeat. He’d begun collecting Hearts.
And the fantasy of the Evermore was within reach.
Chapter Sixteen
Fairy and Broomstick pushed their way through the streets of Shima. Obnoxious, sweaty hawkers stood on the narrow sidewalks, each shouting louder than the previous one that their gambling hall had the most honest dealers, the greatest odds of winning, and the cheapest tobacco and beer. In every alley, crowds of people huddled in circles, exchanging bets and watching roosters screech and fight in a mess of blood and feathers. And pretty girls with too much makeup hung on the arms of men strolling through the tawdry city.
Usually, taigas liked to dress in street clothes when they were on leave. Kichonans respected taigas immensely, because the gods interacted with humans in only two situations—when they blessed babies as taigas, and when they were summoned by an emperor and empress. Thus, people bowed at the taigas’ feet and called them “Your Honor” wherever they went, and it wasn’t unusual for small children to run up and ask taigas—even apprentices—for their autograph. It was hard to blend in and enjoy a brief leave from school or duties when wearing a black uniform.
But there were other occasions when a Society uniform was needed. Going into Shima was one of those times. Fairy had worn a red dress here on her first leave as a Level 9 and had received enough leers to last a lifetime. She swore never to do that again.
Fairy and Broomstick finally arrived at their destination, a tiny herbal medicine shop that was sandwiched between a gentleman’s club and a pawnshop. The owner, Mrs. Mura, was from a long lineage of respected herbal masters, and she sold dried plants that had been used in ancient remedies for centuries. Unfortunately, the demand for traditional medicine was dying, so she found she had to cater to a less savory clientele to keep her shop open; she sold relaxing grasses and hallucinogenic mushrooms in the main part of her store. But Fairy was here for the rare seeds and crushed leaves that she needed for her botanicals. Like Sora had said, she needed something to distract her while her friends were off hunting a Dragon Prince.