Gin leaned down so he was eye level with her. “I’m going to get what I want. You tried it your way, and you lost. Now it’s my turn, and I’m going to succeed in achieving what no other has done before: uniting all the heathen kingdoms on the mainland under our gods and living forever as their immortal emperor. It is what is best for Kichona, and if you’d admit I was right, I might show some leniency. Or you can continue being stubborn.”

She looked straight back at him without flinching. “We’re twins. We were both cursed with the same obstinacy.”

“That’s too bad for you.” Gin rose. He moved with a sense of cruel purpose.

Fear lodged in Aki’s throat.

Chapter Seventeen

Hana watched as Emperor Gin stood over his sister and gestured at his orb.

“What are you doing, Your Majesty?” Hana asked.

A coil of thin tubing floated over to him. “Showing my sister something I learned about while in exile. I’ll get it started, and you’ll finish it.”

Hana nodded obediently as the heat of anticipation washed through her body, the magic at her fingertips eager to serve the Dragon Emperor.

A bucket floated out of Gin’s orb and dunked itself into the pool of acid.

Empress—no, Princess Aki pressed herself into the wall, as if an extra millimeter would keep her safe.

“Dear sister,” Gin said. “I’d like to introduce you to Shinowanan acid torture. It’s a slow drip, terribly painful but effective.” He cast a spell to bind Princess Aki’s arms behind her and her ankles together.

“Hey!” She struggled but couldn’t break free of the bonds.

The ryuu magic lifted her several feet off the ground and rotated her as if she were a rabbit on a spit.

Something inside Hana trembled. But why? She believed in Emperor Gin and his pursuit of the Evermore, and this was part of what it took to achieve it.

There was a tiny spigot at the bottom of the bucket. Gin attached one end of the tube to it, then floated the bucket above Princess Aki’s head. The acid dribbled down into the tube. Gravity would do the rest.

Hana gasped. “Your Majesty, you don’t mean to . . . ?”

“She’s my twin,” Gin said. “My suffering began not with exile after the Blood Rift. It started long before that, when I was made hideous with these scars. My sister is about to learn how it feels to be so ugly.”

A drop began to form. It would fall on Princess Aki’s cheek any second.

Oh gods. Hana had to look away. She had killed her fair share of people, but this was a member of the imperial family, someone anointed by the gods. . . .

“Gin, please!” the princess cried.