She tore at her hair as she stomped through the Citadel. The other ryuu who saw the storm clouds in her expression darted out of her way.

What to do?

The best way to handle this, Hana thought, is to lie low for now. Continue fighting for Emperor Gin, because maybe he was right and this would all be worth it. But she’d keep an eye on Sora and her friends, in case they figured out how to undo the ryuu’s damnation.

And what about how to feel?

“The best thing to feel right now,” Hana said quietly to herself, “is nothing.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sora had used ryuu magic to carry Broomstick out of Naimo Ice Caves, but as soon as they emerged from the caverns, he’d woken up, and she didn’t have the heart to knock him out again. Plus, she realized she couldn’t keep up the effort of using magic to carry him all the way to Paro Village.

Unfortunately, he was still convinced it would be better for Kichona—and all the kingdoms on the mainland—if he remained buried deep inside the Lake of Nightmares. So Sora had tied him up with invisible rope and laid him across his horse’s saddle, carried like a prisoner. Undignified but necessary. And maybe the bouncing of the horse would jolt the rest of the water out of his lungs, if that was, in fact, what was ailing him. That wouldn’t be a bad thing. Sora’s most immediate priority was fixing Broomstick. But she also had to get them back to the Imperial City soon. The soul pearl in her pocket needed to be reunited with Prince Gin.

Late the next day, they reached Paro Village. Even though she’d been here before, it still struck her as such an oddity. The little hamlet was so deeply buried in dense forest that Sora wondered how sunlight managed to reach it. Thick curtains of flowering vines draped heavily everywhere—around the perimeter of town, in between the shops and homes, even in the middle of its main street. The thick perfume and dampness of foliage weighted the air, and it took a little more effort than normal to breathe.

She released the rope that bound Broomstick. It was too far for him to run back to the ice caves now.

Sora really didn’t want to go into the village, though. After seeing her parents, she and Broomstick had avoided people. If she’d had her choice, they would have headed straight to Jade Forest. But Broomstick needed a place to recover, and hopefully her messenger had gotten to Daemon and Fairy, and they’d be on their way with Liga soon.

“Let’s skip the village and go around to the Society of Taigas outpost,” she said. “There will be beds there and maybe food, if those feral little kids didn’t eat it all.”