The soul pearl tugged in Sora’s collar desperately, sensing that its owner was near.

Lead us to the Dragon Prince.

Sora set off through the tunnels, trying to interpret the minuscule movements of the pearl. The red streaks in the black stone seemed to glow more ominously than ever as they wound their way through the storage rooms.

In the distance, explosions sounded.

“Broomstick, Fairy, and the empress have begun their assault,” Sora said.

“That means the ryuu here in the castle will be on high alert,” Hana said. “Why didn’t we have them wait until after we’d tried to kill Prince Gin?”

“Because this way, the ryuu will be focused on the attack, not on us,” Sora said. “The castle will be mostly empty, because the warriors will all go outside to deal with the assault. And don’t forget we’re invisible. If we play it right, they won’t know we’re here until it’s too late. You just have to get close enough to Prince Gin to get the pearl back down his throat.”

“You never did like doing things the easy way.”

Sora cocked her head. “No, I suppose not.”

They slipped out of the storage rooms, up a dark staircase, and into a corridor on the first floor.

The pearl rolled to the left of Sora’s pocket. “That way, I think.” She pointed.

“That’s the direction of the throne room,” Hana said. She took off, and Sora followed.

A half dozen ryuu turned a corner ahead of them, hurrying into the hallway. Sora smashed herself against the wall, hoping they wouldn’t hit her as they ran past.

Hana shook her head furiously, as if to say, Are you kidding me? She pointed to the ceiling and leaped, adhering her hands and feet to it.

Gods, why hadn’t Sora thought of that? She jumped up and crouched against the ceiling next to Hana.

The ryuu ran beneath them only seconds later. The warriors jostled one another in their rush. One of them stumbled and brushed the wall where Sora had stood.

Hana mouthed, I told you so.

Apparently, the ryuu hadn’t taught her that saying that was incredibly annoying. But Sora ignored it. Some things didn’t matter anymore when you were dealing with life and death.

Sora and Hana decided to stay on the ceiling. It would lower the chances of running into more ryuu. They crawled onward—the only downside of being up here was they had to move slower—and peered into every room they passed.

The dining hall was empty, chairs probably knocked over from the ryuu hurrying to their posts once Broomstick’s explosions began.

Likewise, there was no one in the ballroom, the receiving hall, and the other common rooms. But that was no surprise, and Sora and Hana climbed higher into the castle.