Chapter Sixty-Nine
The light shining through the crystal in Sola’s temple was even deeper crimson than the last time Aki was here. She kneeled at the shrine, her torn handkerchief before her with a new bloodstain on it now, knees aching from waiting for the goddess’s attention.
But Sola hadn’t come. Was she irritated at being summoned again so soon? Perhaps she would not heed Aki’s call.
Outside, the temple fountain bubbled as it always did. There were several Imperial Guards posted on the spiraling gold stairs. Aki should have been perfectly alone.
Nevertheless, she knew the instant he was there. The air stilled and, at the same time, grew colder, like the icy chill before a winter storm.
“Hello, sister,” Gin said, as he entered.
She turned around slowly. “You were supposed to think I was dead.”
Gin shrugged. “And you were supposed to think that of me. Funny how even after a decade apart, we’re still twins in our thoughts.”
He was taunting her. Reminding her of how differently they’d felt ten years ago. How those differences had split not only them but the entire kingdom, for a bloody night.
“I wouldn’t let you bring war to Kichona’s shores a decade ago, and I won’t let you do it now.”
He stalked closer to her. “Ah, but you don’t have to give me permission. I’m stronger now than I was then.”
Aki took a step backward. “You’re distorting the magic Luna gave you as a taiga. You’re brainwashing our own people. You must know that isn’t right!”
Her brother pursed his lips, and for a moment, he looked remorseful. But then he shook his head. “It’s for the greater good. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made. In the long run, Kichona will be better for it.”
Gin was still obsessed with the Evermore. He’d been that way since they were younger, and Aki wouldn’t be able to dissuade him now.
But he could persuade her of anything, if he wanted to. If she gave him more time, he could hypnotize her too. He could command her to abdicate, and the throne would be his.
She couldn’t let that happen.
Aki dove for his knees. Gin yelped as she took him down. He was the fighter, not her, and she’d caught him by surprise.
She took advantage of it and scrambled onto his back, locking her arms and legs around him. She jerked him into a headlock and tightened her grip, choking him to cut off both the air and blood to his brain.
Just a few seconds, and he would be unconscious. After that, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Killing him would be the surest way to stop him.
But she couldn’t kill her own brother, even if he’d sent his ryuu to make an attempt on her life. Aki would have to hope the taigas arrived soon.
She squeezed tighter. Gin grappled at her arms, trying to loosen her hold. He gasped for air. His legs kicked.
Suddenly, someone appeared out of thin air. It wasn’t Sola.
It was a girl. A ryuu.
“Enough,” she said.
Aki went flying across the temple. She slammed into the crystal wall and crashed down into the incense as she landed on Sola’s shrine. Ash and rice poured out of the pot, onto her bloody handkerchief, snuffing out the smoke and smothering her entreaties to Sola to intervene and save the kingdom.
She gasped, the wind knocked out of her. What just happened? Where had that girl come from?
Gin glowered as he rose to his feet. He rubbed his throat. “That wasn’t very nice of you to attack me, Aki. I came here and tried to have a polite conversation with you, and this is what I get?”
She crawled backward through the ash and rice, but there was nowhere else she could go. She was trapped. She found her voice, though, because gods dammit, she was an empress, and she would not be bullied.
“It wasn’t exactly a polite conversation, Gin.”
“Only because you’re so stubborn. But I did try while you still possessed your own mind.”
Aki paled. She crossed her arms in front of her face, as if that would stop him from hypnotizing her. “No. Gin, don’t. We can talk. We can think of a solution. We can—”
“It’s too late.” He looked at her intently, and her mouth smacked shut.
She tore at her lips with her fingers, but they wouldn’t budge.
Gin kneeled before her, an ivory-handled dagger in his hands. “I was going to kill you, but I’ve changed my mind. I have a better idea.”
“Mrrr!” Her pulse pounded in her ears as panic grew.
He spun the knife’s handle. “All of Kichona already thinks you’re dead. You made sure of that, thank you very much. I simply have to ask you to abdicate the throne, and then make you disappear. You should suffer in exile, like I had to all those years.”
Aki’s heart didn’t slow at learning that she wasn’t going to die. What really mattered was not letting Gin become emperor.
But he smiled like a dragon, and she knew she was lost.
A moment later, warmth like a summer breeze enveloped her. It reminded her of birthday parties as a little girl, playing hide-and-seek in the palace with Gin, and their father scooping them both up and twirling them until they all fell dizzy to the floor with laughter.
“Everything is wonderful, isn’t it?” Gin said.
Aki nodded. The red light in the temple, which had seemed ominous before, now took on a dark beauty, like sitting inside a hummingbird feeder full of the sweetest nectar.
“And you agree that abdicating in my favor is what is best for Kichona?” Gin asked.
“I do,” Aki said. She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen his perspective before. But then again, he always had been a visionary. She was the twin who saw what was before them. He was the twin who saw what was possible.
“Then make it official,” Gin said, reaching out and holding her hand. “Give me the throne.”
She smiled at his touch. It was just like when they were children, holding hands as they splashed through fountains and searched the gardens for dandelions to make wishes on. “I don’t want to be empress anymore,” she said. “I abdicate. I give you the throne.”
Gin’s grip on her hand tightened. His eyes glistened, but Aki didn’t understand why. Were they happy tears? And yet, he frowned.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Aki just grinned at him.
He squeezed her hand once more, then released it and turned away without looking at her.
“Virtuoso,” he said to the ryuu who’d been standing behind him at attention. “You know what to do.”
The girl nodded. She looked at Aki and narrowed her eyes.
It happened in an instant. Aki had no clue what had happened, but she gasped. Everything around her seemed tinted, as if a green haze had descended upon the world.
“What did you do?” she asked, gaping at the temple around her. A second ago, the walls had seemed like rubies. Now they were unpolished emeralds.
“You’re camouflaged to the rest of the world,” Virtuoso said. “You still exist, but . . . you don’t.”
Gin, still looking in the other direction, let out a long sigh. The warmth and contentment Aki had felt vanished, replaced by deep chill.
He’d released her from his spell.
“Oh gods, what have you done?” Aki asked.