Page 115 of Cloak of Night
Empress Aki ran up to Daemon. “Take me with you.”
He hesitated for a moment to bring her to the crux of the fight. But then he scooped her up onto his back. The empress was in as much danger down here as she would be up in the castle. Besides, if this was truly the end of Prince Gin, she deserved to see her brother one last time. “Hold on tight,” he growled, then leaped straight up into the sky.
The ryuu at both the castle and the Citadel continued their attacks. Flames shot out like fiery claws. Metal shrapnel hurled itself into the air, slicing and impaling flesh. Blood literally boiled when one of the ryuu got too close.
Screams filled the air.
Below, Broomstick detonated more bombs.
Then Liga roared as he dove into battle. His thunder shook the entire Imperial City, and chunks of bloodstone broke loose and fell from the castle.
“Are you ready to face your brother?” Daemon shouted to Empress Aki through the chaos.
“No,” she said. “But I’m ready to take my kingdom back.”
Urgency lanced through his gemina bond.Sora!There was no more time to lose.
Daemon aimed at the tower and dove.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Prince Gin stared aghast at the arrival of Daemon and Liga. Sora didn’t waste the opportunity. She ripped herself free of his ryuu particles holding her to the wall and lunged back onto the balcony. Just as the tip grazed Hana’s stomach, Sora grabbed the sword out of Hana’s hand. It sliced through Hana’s clothes and broke the skin. Blood welled, but Hana, still under the prince’s control, didn’t even react.
It was enough to snap Prince Gin out of his shock, though. He tightened his grip on Hana. “Not one step closer,” he said to Sora.
Daemon burst upon them at full speed and plowed into the Dragon Prince. Sora, Hana, and Prince Gin flew apart like bowling pins, each hitting a different part of the tower inside. Empress Aki jumped off Daemon’s back.
Hana scrambled for the sword Sora had dislodged from her. “I have to die honorably,” she muttered.
“No!” Sora sent a wave of ryuu particles at the sword, knocking it out of Hana’s reach.
Empress Aki grabbed Hana by the back of her tunic.
But Hana shook her off easily.
Daemon’s blue glow buzzed and filled the room. Sora was already protected through their gemina bond, but now his shield enveloped Hana and Empress Aki, too.
The anger fell away from Hana’s face as the Dragon Prince’s spell lost control of her. She looked at her stomach and rubbed the cut. “What did I almost do?”
Prince Gin staggered away, his back against the tower wall.
Sora wanted to run to Hana and hug her, but they needed to deal with Prince Gin first. “You’re outnumbered,” she said.
He didn’t look at her, though. Instead, he turned to his sister. “Go ahead and kill me. It’s what you’ve wanted from the start.”
Empress Aki took a step forward. “No, it isn’t,” she said. “I wanted Kichona at peace, and I wanted my brother with me, helping me to rule.”
“You never would have shared power.”
“I offered it to you when Father died; your memory is selective. I would have been happy to lead our kingdom together. It’s the Cult of the Evermore and your pursuit of empire that I would never subscribe to.”
Prince Gin looked around the tower, as if assessing whether he had any chance of escape. But Daemon put a quick end to that speculation by taking away gravity’s hold on the prince, and the Dragon Prince floated up until he was pinned against the ceiling.
“Put me down!” he said, thrashing.
“It’s over,” Sora said.
“My ryuu will be here any minute.”
