Daemon grumbled. “And we’re even worse off now than when we started. We still have no idea where Empress Aki is, and based on that war council meeting that Fairy and I saw, the Dragon Prince is about to begin his attacks. On top of that, you’re contaminated by ryuu magic, and Broomstick is—”

“Evil,” he finished miserably.

“You’re not evil,” Sora said.

“I don’t believe you,” Broomstick said.

Fairy leaned her head on his shoulder. “Do you believe me?” she asked softly. They were geminas in the way Luna truly meant for them to be—sister and brother warrior, bonded forever.

Broomstick hesitated, but then he rested his head on Fairy’s. “Depends on what you say.”

“I’ve been connected to you since we were seven years old, and I know you inside and out. There’s not a mean cell in your entire body.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you rest for a bit?” Sora said. “We’ve been through a lot. Maybe you’ll feel better after a nap.”

“Doubt it,” he said. “But it’s worth a shot.”

Fairy wanted a nap, too, so they went into the shack while Sora and Daemon stayed outside.

“What now?” Daemon asked.

Sora chewed on her lip. “I don’t know. Liga’s too hard to get answers from, and even when he does try to help, he’s confusing. So I guess that means it’s up to us to figure everything out—how to reunite this pearl with Prince Gin, how to kill him once he’s no longer invincible, how to reach the gods to get them to fix Broomstick’s confidence and purify me from the ryuu magic, how to find Empress Aki . . .” She slumped.

“It’s too much to ask of us,” Daemon said.

She scowled at him. “Don’t start again with how impossible this is and that we need to give up. We’re Kichona’s last hope. We’re my last hope. If we don’t step in, no one will. So don’t say that it’s too much—” Sora caught the slight lift of his mouth, a smirk attempting to hide. “Oh. You’re only pretending to be defeated in order to rile me up, aren’t you?”

He feigned shock and pressed his hands to his chest. “Who, me?”

Sora punched him in the arm. But his ploy had worked.

“So,” Daemon said, trying hard not to grin and show how pleased he was with himself, “I don’t have answers to the things we need to accomplish, but I do have the map that Fairy copied down when we broke into Prince Gin’s study. Maybe there’s something on it that will help.”

“Let me see it,” Sora said. Having a task to focus on would be good.