“What?” Daemon whispered, confused.
Sora shook her head. She didn’t understand either.
Prince Gin dipped his head in acknowledgment. He clearly knew what Zomuri was talking about. Then again, he’d been a devotee of Evermore legends since childhood. “I understand the effect your reign will have on the people of this kingdom. But what I’m proposing is a deal that will benefit both of us even more—a guarantee of glory and empire for you and a clear path to the Evermore for me, my ryuu, and all of Kichona.”
Zomuri floated above the throne. “I’m listening.”
The Dragon Prince rose to his feet and took his time walking to his throne. He sat in it casually, with a surprising lack of deference, given the fact that he was in the presence of a god. Maybe being emperor allowed him that.
Or maybe he’s just an arrogant snake, Sora thought.
“Make me immune to death—invincible,” Prince Gin said.
Sora’s jaw dropped. Was that possible?
“You already have magic superior to that of anyone else you will face,” Zomuri said.
“True, but I can still die, and my enemies are clever and savage. Give me the power over death, my lord. You and I both know that I’m your best chance at achieving what you’ve craved for centuries—the entire mainland united under your name. The people of the world will worship you and offer all their riches for your blessings. There will be no god as loved as you’re loved. No god as wealthy and glorified as you. If you grant me invincibility, I can all but guarantee this to you.”
“Invincibility . . .” The god pulled on his beard as he contemplated Prince Gin’s offer. “Perhaps I could do that. But it would cost you.”
“What do you want?” Prince Gin said.
Sora held her breath as she waited for Zomuri to reply to the prince. Anyone who knew anything about the Kichonan gods knew that Zomuri loved only three things: blood, glory, and treasure.
“I want your soul,” the god said.
Prince Gin crossed his arms. “Choose something else. If I give you my soul, then it won’t get to rest in the afterlife if I die before reaching the Evermore.”
Zomuri chuckled, and it shook the room. Sora and Daemon had to let go of the doors or the handles would jiggle too much and give them away.
“You speak of your research,” the god said, “but for a man who prides himself as a scholar of Kichonan legend, you are woefully undereducated. You must not have read the legend Dassu and the Warrior.”
Daemon whispered to Sora, “I’ve heard that one before. . . .”
Zomuri, in the meantime, continued speaking to Prince Gin. “If you had, you would know that you are condemned to the same fate. Ten years ago, when you were on the cusp of death and your soul traveled down the final tunnel of light, you caught a glimpse of the glittering emerald magic that awaited you there. But instead of crossing the threshold to the afterlife, you reached in, stole the ability to see the magic, and brought it back to this life, where it is not supposed to be used in so powerful a manifestation. Do you really think the gods will let your soul rest in peace after that?”
Daemon threaded his hands through his hair and tugged on the blue locks. “That’s how he got ryuu magic?”
Sora just stared through the keyhole. She didn’t know it was possible to go to the brink of death like that and return, let alone steal an ability like Sight from the afterlife.
Prince Gin seemed equally stunned by what Zomuri had said but for a different reason. “If I die without agreeing to your terms, my soul is condemned to the hells?”
Zomuri laughed, as if dealing with a less than diligent student. “Go back and study your books, Gin, and you will find the answer.”
The Dragon Prince took a moment to pull himself together. But then he shook away his shock and asked, “What happens if I give you my soul instead?”
“I haven’t decided yet. But that’s a risk you’re going to have to take.” Zomuri rubbed his hands together in malicious glee. “There is, however, a third option—you achieve the Evermore and you never die. If you do this, your body will live freely and forever in paradise, while your soul merely looks pretty in my treasure vault. This gives you even more incentive to make sure you achieve what you’ve set out to do. But I am finished with this discussion. Do you accept my offer or not?”
“No,” Sora whispered, sick to her stomach. If Zomuri made him invincible, Prince Gin couldn’t be killed. There was no way Sora would be able to save Kichona, even if they did find Empress Aki. Everyone would become a puppet of the prince. Pawns on the front lines of his wars. Marching toward their deaths without even realizing they were at the ends of their lives.
Daemon stood motionless, as horrified as Sora was.
Prince Gin took a long moment to consider Zomuri’s offer. On the one hand, there was invincibility. On the other hand, there was the risk of a cruel god’s whim.
But in the end, Prince Gin must have either thought it was worth the gamble or had immense confidence in his own abilities if he were both a ryuu and invincible because he said, “You are a shrewd negotiator, my lord. I accept. I offer you my soul.”
Zomuri grinned, baring his gold teeth and the dried blood on his lips, likely from the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts.
“We have to get to Prince Gin now,” Daemon said to Sora. Their gemina bond burned violet with fear. “We have to stop this before it begins.” He grabbed the door handles.
Sora threw her arms around Daemon to pull him back, to keep him quiet. “That’s the Dragon Prince and the most vicious god in the realm in there! If we charge in like this, we’re dead. And then Empress Aki and all the brainwashed taigas might as well be dead, too, because we’re the only ones left to save them.”
Zomuri plunged his hand down the prince’s throat, so far that his arm seemed to disappear. Prince Gin’s eyes bugged, and his body convulsed.
Sora stood frozen as the improbable unfolded before her.
A few seconds later, Zomuri yanked his arm from the prince’s throat. He held what looked like a small gold pearl.
“To safety, in my vault,” he said to the soul pearl. In a puff of smoke, it disappeared, magicked away.
Prince Gin straightened his robes, as if what had just happened to him was no big deal. Then he unsheathed a sword and rammed it straight through his own middle.
Sora gasped.
He twisted the blade through his organs, then withdrew it. The sword dripped with blood.
But Prince Gin was still standing. He pushed aside the fabric at his stomach. The gaping wound healed before his eyes, the blood and flesh reabsorbed into his body, the skin smoothing without a scar.
“Excellent,” he said before sitting back on his throne. He cast his sword to the floor and smiled smugly.
Sora’s knees nearly buckled beneath her. There went her hope of assassinating the Dragon Prince tonight and putting a quick end to this. As long as Zomuri had the soul, they wouldn’t be able to kill Prince Gin or stop him from turning all of Kichona into a mindless game of war.
“There must be a way to fight back,” she whispered.
“He’s invincible,” Daemon said. “It’s over.”
Chapter Ten