“I can believe it,” Empress Aki said. “Self-doubt is a ghost that feeds on fear. Starve it with bravery, and you’ll prevail.” She patted him on the back. “As you have.”

“Good luck, Your Majesty,” Hana said, bowing.

The empress thanked both Hana and Sora, then boarded the ship. Fairy and Broomstick said their goodbyes and took Tidepool on board with them.

And then they were gone.

The space between Hana and Sora suddenly seemed both empty—without Fairy’s constant chatter and Broomstick’s laughs—and too full. There was so much Hana needed to say, but she wasn’t ready to yet.

Sora seemed to feel it, too, because she kept looking straight out onto the ocean, even after the ship was far enough away that it looked like a toy in the distance.

Finally, she turned inland, and dread filled Hana at the questions and accusations that were sure to tumble forth.

Instead, Sora smiled kindly and said, “Want to make some dinner for Papa while you tell me what you know about the bloodstone castle?”

It was as if she knew that Hana couldn’t say all her apologies, couldn’t handle all the regrets and tears right now. And instead, she gave her this gift—just to be with her family for a little while, and to work together, as she’d always dreamed.

The next day, Hana and Sora left Papa safely hidden in the hollowed-out tree, then swam across the channel, back to the main island of Kichona. As dawn broke, they decided to make camp outside of Shima, since it would be wiser to rest during sunlight hours and travel at night. They’d easily be able to make it to Jade Forest and the Imperial City tomorrow to begin scouting and to wait for the empress to return, hopefully with reinforcements from the mainland.

Once Hana and Sora had settled into a cave in the hills just beyond Shima, Hana summoned her magic and conjured a three-dimensional, glowing, green model of Prince Gin’s palace. Small figures paced around the perimeter and stood watch on the pointed towers. “I know every passageway, where the ryuu are stationed, their alarm and guard protocols . . . everything,” she said.

Sora studied it. “It’s less daunting than the actual castle. Still a challenge, though.”

“Yeah,” Hana said. “And even though we’ll be invisible, we need to know where the ryuu are positioned because we don’t want to run into them. They know you can make yourself unseen, so they’ll be on guard for unexplained movement. Even if you brush one of their uniforms or dart out of sight but stir the air around them, they might notice.