Page 47 of Cloak of Night
Hana pulled herself off the floor, smoothed her tunic, and exited the study. Emperor Gin had told his war council he’d be in the throne room if anyone needed him, so that’s where she headed.
She slowed as she entered the hall that looked like a dragon’s mouth. Hana smiled at the toothlike crimson crystals that lit the corridor; they reminded her of the emperor’s uncompromising determination. The ryuu had been refugees in the Shinowana mountains for a decade, but he’d led them through that adversity, never wavering in his belief that they would one day prevail. And look at them now.
Hana rapped on the door.
“Enter,” the emperor said from within.
She pulled on the carved dragon handles and strode into the throne room. Emperor Gin sat relaxed on the crimson stone of his throne, the orange sapphire flames at the top crowning his head like an opulent threat. Hana bowed.
“Ah, Virtuoso, I was wondering what was taking you so long. What do you have to report?”
Hana was confused only momentarily before she remembered that she’d made herself invisible in the middle of the war council meeting because she’d seen Wolf and Fairy hovering outside. She hadn’t said anything about it then, but the emperor knew that she would only vanish like that if it were important.
“I wanted to ask you a question, Your Majesty—”
“And I want your report first.” His gaze was steely and stern.
“Um, right, of course,” she said, years of military obedience kicking in, even though she desperately wanted to discuss Wolf’s theory. So she spilled her report as quickly as possible. “Your Majesty, I went invisible because two of Spirit’s friends were hovering outside the study. I’m certain they couldn’t hear through the castle walls, which is why I didn’t sound the alarm right away. Instead I waited to see what they’d do. They broke in after your meeting dispersed.”
Emperor Gin sat taller in his throne and looked down at Hana. “You let them break into my study?”
“I—I thought I might be able to learn something from eavesdropping. We haven’t known what they were up to since we defeated them and took over the capital.”
He frowned, and Hana felt it overtake her like a shadow. She’d always been his star student, and she hated feeling like she’d failed him.
Finally, he motioned with his hand for her to continue.
“It turns out, Your Majesty, that my sister’s team has been actively trying to sabotage us. They did something in our shipyard that will delay our plans to attack Thoma. As soon as I’m done here, I’ll give the order for the ryuu to investigate and fix the warships.”
The emperor huffed. “Those taigas are like an infestation I just can’t get rid of.”
“There’s more, Your Majesty. They copied down the map on the wall.”
Emperor Gin’s nostrils flared as he sat at full attention. “They can’t have a copy of our plans; you shouldn’t have let them escape.”
“But I—”
“Take Firebrand and Menagerie and find them. Destroy the map; kill the taigas.”
“Your Majesty—”
“That’s an order.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“If there’s nothing else, you’re dismissed.” He tilted his head back and looked at the mural painted on the ceiling. It was a scene of his near death after the Blood Rift Rebellion, when he’d crossed almost to the afterlife and took its magic to bring back to the living. Emperor Gin had believed his ability to do so was a gift from the gods. Now, Hana wasn’t so sure.
“Actually, Your Majesty, I still have a question. While Wolf and Fairy were in the study, they read a story about a girl named Kitari, and they said they thought... Well, this is probably a stupid leap to conclusions, but Wolf thought you’d dog-eared those pages because they were an analogy to our situation.”
Emperor Gin raised a brow, but he didn’t comment. Hana stumbled on awkwardly. “Um, they thought you were like the warrior in the legend of Dassu, and by gifting us with ryuu magic, it was like the father gifting his daughter with devilfire, and that meant we were all damned.” Hana laughed nervously. “But that’s nonsense, right? Gods, I’m sorry I even brought it up.”
The emperor’s face softened. “Come here, Virtuoso.” He beckoned with a wave of his hand. “You’re so competent as a soldier, sometimes I forget that you are still a child.”
Hana hurried to the throne and knelt at Emperor Gin’s feet.
“All I want,” he said gently, “is the best for Kichona.That means uniting all seven of the mainland kingdoms under our gods, with Zomuri as our patron, rather than continuing to let those pagan kingdoms worship their own heathen deities.
“When we have done this, we will achieve the Evermore and bring paradise to earth. You and I and all Kichonans, including our new subjects on the mainland, will live forever.
