stopped. That’s it, she thought.
Sora smiled and rested her head back against the oranges. She was on Prince Gin’s ship.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Empress Aki paced the courtyard inside Rose Palace.
“I don’t like this,” she said to Glass Lady.
There hadn’t been any new typhoon attacks, which ought to have been good news. But there also hadn’t been any hint of the ominous magic or the ship that Glass Lady had seen. Aki got the feeling that an enormous trap was being set up around them, and they were too oblivious to realize it was happening.
“Are we receiving daily updates from the Society outposts around the kingdom?” Aki asked.
“Yes,” Glass Lady said. “The only post we did not hear from this morning was the Paro Village taigas, but that isn’t unusual. Things are slow out there, so they don’t always report daily.”
“What if that’s where the enemy is?”
“Unlikely. There’s nothing out there. There’s no reason why an enemy would want Paro Village over the larger, more valuable targets in Kichona.”
Aki stopped pacing and whirled to face the commander. “So we’re just sitting around, waiting for them to strike again?” As soon as she asked the question, though, she realized how much she sounded like a shrill teenager, accusing a grown-up of not knowing better despite all her years of experience. “I’m sorry,” Aki said. “That didn’t come out the way I meant it. I do not doubt the Society’s methods, but it’s frustrating that we don’t know anything more.”
Glass Lady nodded. “Believe me, I wish we knew more as well. But until we catch sight of our enemy again, all we can do is practice extreme vigilance. Taigas around the kingdom are on high alert and have been ordered to double their patrols. The navy is on constant watch for anomalies, everything from unregistered ships coming to port to unexplainable weather patterns. And the scholars at the Citadel are diligently combing through our libraries for references to the kind of magic I saw, whether it’s in historical scrolls or texts collected from other kingdoms or our own folklore. We have the very best on the job, Your Majesty, and when our enemy decides to rear its head again, we will be ready.”
“Very well, Commander.” Aki restrained herself from demanding that she see progress soon. The Society would get her information as soon as they had it.
But it wasn’t enough for Aki to do nothing while waiting. After Glass Lady left, the empress turned to Graystone, one of her Imperial Guards. “I need to go to the temple,” she said.
Graystone bowed. “I will fetch your kit, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you. I’ll meet you there.”
Luna was the taigas’ patron deity, but her sister, Sola, ruler of the sun, was the goddess of the imperial family. All emperors and empresses were blessed by Sola to rule Kichona.
Aki climbed the spiraling gold steps that led up to Rose Palace’s highest turret. Unlike the other towers, Sola’s temple was constructed of red and orange crystal to honor the fiery light of the sun. It stood alone in the center of the palace, and at the top of the staircase, a fountain of cool, clear water bubbled eternally, needing no rain or underground spring to replenish it.
At the threshold to the temple, Aki stepped out of her shoes, leaving the delicately embroidered slippers on the last stair. She washed her hands in the fountain, rinsing herself of the impurities of earthly life before she addressed the goddess. When she was clean enough, she walked into the small chamber of the temple itself. The Imperial Guards remained outside; gods and goddesses appeared only for the royal family.
The interior of the temple varied in color, depending on the time of day and the mood of the sun. Sometimes light streamed through the crystal and cast a pale orange everywhere. Other times, the room was a swirl of red and gold, like an autumn leaf made of sunbeams.
Today, however, the temple was dark crimson. This is not a good sign, Aki thought.
She knelt before the shrine and lit a stick of incense. Its smoky pomegranate scent wafted up toward the heavens but did nothing to soothe the empress’s nerves.
Aki set down the blue velvet roll Graystone had fetched for her. She untied the gold ribbon and unfurled the velvet on the low table, her fingers shaking. The contents of the roll constituted “the kit” given to each emperor and empress on coronation day: a long needle forged of pure gold; a small, rose-crystal disk;