But that day would never be.
Hana lay on her sleeping mat for a few more minutes, the first morning in a long time that she hadn’t jumped out of bed. Had she made a mistake in letting Sora go?
Why do I care? I gave her a choice, and she chose the taigas over me.
The iron ball in Hana’s chest grew heavier, though. Love was an unwelcome guest in her heart.
And then she thought of something that made a dreadful morning even worse—if Sora had chosen the taigas over the ryuu, it also meant she’d chosen Empress Aki over Prince Gin.
“The body!”
Hana tore out of the tent and sprinted toward the cart at the edge of camp that held Empress Aki’s corpse.
Please let everything be where it’s supposed to be.
The ryuu who were supposed to be guarding the body were dead or unconscious.
“Gods dammit!” she screamed. “You fools! How could you let her past you? How could you allow her to steal the empress from right under your nose?”
The ryuu lay on the ground, unmoving.
But Hana’s questions were really directed at herself anyway. She had trusted too easily. She should have known. Sora’s priority had always been the Society and her friends.
Hana’s anger ripped the cart apart. The wooden frame that held the canvas cover broke into pieces and flew into the air, then rocketed straight down, spearing themselves just inches from each of the ryuu.
She stormed back into the main part of camp.
“Pack up now!” she yelled at the ryuu.
“B-but we haven’t had breakfast yet,” one of them dared to say.
Hana glared at him. Her fury could burn a hole straight through his head.
“I don’t care. Pack up camp and be ready to move out in thirty minutes. Today, we destroy my sister and her precious Society, and we put Emperor Gin on the throne.”
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Inside the Citadel, Sora commanded the ryuu particles to set her massive magnifying glass against the inside of the fortress wall. Sweat poured down her temples from the effort of floating and steering the crystal from Rose Palace. It had taken longer than she wanted, not only from being careful, but also because she’d decided it would be safest if she and the magnifying glass were invisible. Doing so drained nearly everything Sora had in her.
But the commotion of gathering troops at the main gates roused Sora. She hurried over, pushing past squadrons who were still assembling, ignoring the surprised calls of apprentices who hadn’t known that she was back home. She stopped only when she found Broomstick.
A moment later, Daemon and Fairy appeared, framed by the rising sun. An avalanche of relief roared through Sora when she saw her roommate. “You’re all right!”
Then she noticed that Fairy and Daemon were holding hands, and a different kind of avalanche crashed down on her, one that made her sick to her stomach, even though she had no right to feel that way.
Gods. Sora blinked as comprehension set in. It was jealousy.
She looked at Daemon’s and Fairy’s fingers intertwined, and Sora realized that, in the back of her mind, she’d always assumed he was hers. She had taken their togetherness for granted. She’d mistaken her attachment to him as mere partnership.
But now, seeing him with someone else, she understood. She’d loved him since the day he arrived at the Citadel like a wolf cub, with his unkempt tufts of hair and feral eyes, the way he crouched on all fours and snarled at the other tenderfoots. She had imagined him as a boy out of one of her mother’s Kichonan fables. Everyone else had wanted to tame him. Sora had been the only one who wanted him to keep his wildness.
Fairy cocked her head at Sora, as if to ask if everything was okay.
Sora took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. What else could she do? Sora hadn’t tried to make a move on Daemon. Besides, the Society wouldn’t have allowed it. Geminas couldn’t get involved with each other like that.
So she nodded. Yes, it was fine. Everything was fine.
Besides, she couldn’t afford to waste time on her feelings right now. Glass Lady always said curiosity killed the cat, but sentimentality killed the taiga. Maybe this was what she meant.
“I heard about your sister,” Daemon said. For once, he didn’t pick up on Sora’s emotion through their gemina bond. Or, more accurately, the fact that she wanted to shut off the spigot of her emotions. Maybe he was too wrapped up in Fairy to feel the subtle change in his and Sora’s connection. “I thought the reason you left Copper Bluff was to keep Fairy safe,” he continued. “But now I also know it was because of Hana.”
Sora sighed and closed her eyes. It took a second before she opened them again and answered.
“Yes. She’s alive. She’s on the wrong side, but she’s alive.”
Daemon looked at his feet and shook his head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you found Hana. You must have a hundred different feelings about it.”
“I shouldn’t. I don’t want to feel anything right now except the drive to stop Prince Gin.”
“Taigas aren’t superhuman. We have emotions, just like regular people. But no matter what happens, I’m here for you. We’re here for you.” He looked to his right and left, at Fairy and Broomstick.
Sora nodded, feeling at the same time his comforting reassurance through their bond. “I know.”
Glass Lady ran up to them. “The ryuu are approaching. Please tell me everything is in place.”
Sora blinked, confused for a second that the commander was talking to them, mere apprentices.
“Spirit,” Glass Lady snapped. “Broomstick said you were preparing a magnifying glass of some sort. Where is it?”
Sora shook herself out of her surprise. After all, she had come up with the plan, and it was a good one. Good enough, she hoped. “Yes, Commander. It’s right over there.” She pointed at the slab of Rose Palace propped a short distance away, against the inside of the Citadel’s walls.
Glass Lady actually took a step back at its size. “That’s the weapon? The Ora imperial crest?”
“Yes, Commander,” Sora said. “Do you like it?”
A small smile actually crept onto Glass Lady’s face. “I do, Spirit. Very much.”
Sora grinned at Daemon. See? She’d been right. The road to becoming legendary didn’t have to be without irreverence.
Glass Lady grew serious again. “Everyone in your places. Let’s get to the top of the fortress walls.”
From there, they looked down on the main gates. The ryuu were indeed nearly upon them. As they marched, their fire, bone, insect, and other magic was on full display. Glass Lady inhaled sharply as wasps swarmed above the ryuu in a noisy storm cloud, flames licked toward gates, and stones rolled up to the walls and began piling themselves to form steps.
Sora frowned. Something was wrong. The realization shot through her gemina bond like an arrow.
“What is it?” Daemon asked.
“This isn’t all of the ryuu,” Sora said.
“Maybe they’re going to attack other parts of the fortress,” Fairy said.
Broomstick peered through a spyglass and shook his head. “No signs of approach from the other sides of the Citadel. And we haven’t heard alarms from the perimeter.”