“Return to the dragon’s den so soon after we escaped?” Daemon asked. “That’s suicide.”

“We could save a lot of lives if we go back,” Sora argued, waving a piece of fish jerky for emphasis. “Not only the empress’s, because we’ll also kill Prince Gin if we can. He’s bringing war to Kichona. If we thought the Ceremony of Two Hundred Hearts was bad, just wait until he antagonizes all seven of the kingdoms on the mainland. Their armies and navies will fight back by coming here and slaughtering millions of innocent Kichonans. We have to stop Prince Gin.”

“I say we blow up that mind-stealing bastard.” Broomstick’s fingers moved as if already imagining the explosives he’d rig for the purpose.

Daemon groaned. “Couldn’t we find somewhere quiet and let me work on my magic first? We don’t stand a fighting chance if we face the Dragon Prince right now.”

Sora shook her head. “What if it takes us months to figure out how to change you from wolf to human? For you to hone your electricity into a weapon? How much damage will Prince Gin have done by then?”

Daemon sagged as if deflated. Dammit. Sora should have known better. He’d never been great with magic, and now she’d basically said as much, demigod power or not. It was like hitting an exposed nerve with a sledgehammer.

“I’m sorry,” Sora said. “I didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine.” He huddled over his knees.

“No, it’s not.” She moved over to him and held him by the shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes. “You’re more powerful than ever before, and you’ve already saved us, twice, in the short time since you discovered your abilities. You’re invaluable. I’m sorry that what I said came out the wrong way. I only meant that we don’t understand what your magic is yet, and it’s going to take time to figure it out. Together. But we can’t lose the element of surprise while the ryuu are regrouping—it’s all we have right now.”

He held her gaze for a moment, in a way that made Sora tingle, as if the sparks from his wolf form were still somehow inside the human version of him and traveling through their gemina bond. He was strong in ways that she wasn’t and vulnerable in other ways that she could complement. If he was the sky at night, she was the earth in the day, and together, they were one.

But then Fairy said, “She’s right, Wolfie. You’re incredible.”

Daemon blinked. He looked over at Fairy and actually smiled.

He may be mine in some ways, but he’s not in others, Sora reminded herself. And I’m happy that he has Fairy. She’s brave and bold and beautiful—everything he deserves.