Three women hurried by. They were dressed in plain brown tunics and trousers, white aprons around their waists, hair pulled back in neat buns. The Society employed an entire staff of non-taigas like these kitchen girls to help the Citadel run. Fairy recognized one of them as Mariko, who was friends with Broomstick and often would give him extra cookies when the baker made too many.

“Psst, Mariko!” Fairy whispered. Hells, she knew it was risky, but maybe they could help her. Or if they tried to fight, Fairy could easily take out three untrained girls in two seconds. Four seconds, at most.

No, definitely two.

The girls passed her, though, chattering excitedly about cooking for Emperor Gin.

Had they been hypnotized?

If so, maybe Fairy shouldn’t call out to Mariko. She did follow them down the long corridor, though. After all, it looked like they were heading to the kitchen, which was exactly where Fairy’s stomach wanted her to be.

The kitchen was bustling, preparing for dinner in a couple hours. It smelled not only of stewed beef but also dumplings, fried noodles, and roasted vegetables. Fairy’s stomach threatened to stage a revolt if she didn’t eat something soon.

She stepped into a nook with shelves lined with folded uniforms. Fairy grabbed one of the starchy white tops and buttoned it over her black tunic and pulled a matching white apron over it. Now she looked just like Mariko and the other girls.

Fairy emerged into the main part of the kitchen, next to a counter lined with baskets of rolls ready to be set on the long rows of tables in the mess hall. The rolls were shaped like triplicate whorls, the symbol the goddess Luna used to mark those she blessed as taigas. Fairy clenched her jaw. How dare the ryuu use the taigas’ symbol! She had half a mind to poison their meal, and she began to reach for the satchel on her belt.

But then she stopped. If she poisoned the food, she’d kill not only Prince Gin’s ryuu but also the innocent taigas who’d been hypnotized.

Gods dammit.

She left her satchel alone but grabbed a roll and crammed it into her mouth. The buttery dough seemed to melt on her tongue, and she almost moaned aloud, catching herself at the last moment. She gobbled up three more rolls to silence herself. Then she found an empty rice sack next to the counter and upended a couple baskets of bread into the bag to bring to her friends.

“Hello, servants,” a gruff voice said from the entryway to the kitchen.

Fairy looked up to see three ryuu—a man and two women. She didn’t recognize them.

“Master Ram,” the head chef said, bowing and fawning. “And Masters Quill and Edgewood. How can we be of service?”