narrow passageway that led to the grotto opening, cautiously sticking out her head to see what had made the painful animal wail.
The awful ryuu Skeleton and his minions lay dead—truly dead—on the ground. Aki’s heart skipped as she saw Fairy standing over the bodies.
But then she saw another taiga apprentice—Wolf, she recalled from her time at the Citadel—holding a hysterical girl in his arms. This was the source of the cry Aki had heard.
She pushed out of the passageway and ran to their sides. Oh gods, the girl was Spirit. “What happened?” Aki cried.
“Your brother murdered her mother,” Fairy said, coming up behind her.
Aki took in a sharp breath. That’s who that couple was. Gin had been using them as bait. Or vengeance.
Spirit let out a desperate sob. “And Papa . . .”
“What happened to her father?” Aki asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
“Hana—Virtuoso—has him,” Wolf said with a snarl.
Aki shook her head. She had hoped she could still find some strand of goodness in her brother somewhere, but after the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts, the acid torture he’d intended for her, and now this, it was clear that there was no trace of the boy she used to consider her best friend. Perhaps because he was literally soulless, or perhaps he’d lost his conscience long before that. Either way, her twin brother was gone.
She looked at Spirit, the once fearless leader of this mischievous crew, crumpled like a wet handkerchief. “Mama . . . Papa . . . We have to save him . . . ,” Spirit whispered between sobs.
“You’re prisoners, too,” Aki said, understanding.
Wolf’s eyes flashed as he saw her face. “Your Majesty! What happened?”
A bitter sadness prickled Aki as she touched the remnants of the acid blisters on her cheek. “My brother.”
“I’m so sorry.” Wolf cast his eyes downward. “You’ve been imprisoned and tortured. Kichona has fallen. And Prince Gin has apparently already taken Thoma and their tsarina. We let you down, Your Majesty, in every way possible.”
The confession hung in the humid air of the grotto.
But Aki shook it off. “Don’t you dare say that.” Even though she was filthy from being in this waterfall prison, she was imposing, too. She was born to lead, and that’s exactly what she was going to do.
“The three of you have done more than any three taigas in our kingdom’s history,” Aki said. “You should be proud of that. I know you’re feeling hopeless, and you should take whatever time you need to grieve.”
Spirit looked up, the usual light in her eyes now dim.
Aki gave her a sad smile. “But when you’re ready,” she said kindly, “let’s be angry—for your parents, for the Society, for our kingdom under my brother’s rule. You are my League of Rogues, and you don’t quit. Defeat only makes you fight harder, and we have a great deal to fight for. We’ll make my brother pay for what he’s done.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Daemon was angry all right.
No, not just angry. Pissed.
They were once part of a glorious society of warriors, living in a beautiful, peaceful kingdom. And now they were reduced to this—an empress and three apprentice warriors, imprisoned in an underground waterfall.
But worst of all was Sora shivering in Daemon’s arms, sobbing. The devastation over her mother’s death and the worry over her father had smothered his bold, fearless gemina’s will to fight back.
He wiped away a stream of Sora’s tears with his sleeve.
“I failed everybody,” she said.
“You did not,” Daemon said. “If it weren’t for you, we’d all already be dead.”
At the sound of the word “dead,” Sora fell into another bout of sobs. “I’m useless! I couldn’t even protect Mama and Papa. They had nothing to do with this war. But it’s because of me that they got dragged into it, and now Hana has Papa, and Mama is . . .” She couldn’t finish.
“Shh.” Daemon rocked Sora against him. “Don’t for a second think this is your fault. It’s the Dragon Prince’s. We’ll get out of here somehow and save your father. And you’re not useless. I mean, look what you managed to do.” He slipped his fingers into the hidden pocket in her collar and retrieved the silk drawstring pouch where she kept Prince Gin’s soul.
“What is that?” Empress Aki asked.
“I’m not sure you’d believe us if we told you,” Daemon said.
“I think I’ve seen quite enough in recent days that I’d believe anything now.” She let out a mirthless laugh.
It was a fair point. “All right.” He