Fairy turned to consult with Wolf. “Ideas?”

He took in the shipyard below. “Setting it all on fire would probably be too obvious.”

“Agreed. We want to hurt them without letting them know we’re around. Otherwise we won’t be able to come back, and we have to be able to do that so we can keep searching for Empress Aki.”

Wolf rubbed at the stubble along his jaw. “We could punch holes in the bottoms of the ships.”

Fairy smiled. “And if we made the holes small enough, they wouldn’t notice until they were ready to launch.”

“Too bad we don’t have any tools on us.”

“What sort of tools do you need?” Liga asked. “What about these?” A leather sheath full of needle-tipped awls appeared from thin air.

“Wow.” Fairy gawked as she reached for one. It weighed nothing, yet it was solid in her hand. The tip of the awl gleamed almost wickedly, seeming to be made of something much sharper and stronger than metal.

Wolf took an awl out of the leather sheath, too, and whistled appreciatively.

“Shall we engage in some sabotage, then?” Liga asked. His flying grew bouncier with his excitement. “It appears the ryuu have ceased their shipbuilding operations for the night. I surmise this would be the perfect opportunity.”

Wolf and Fairy shared a smile.

“Take us down, Liga,” she said. “I feel like causing some trouble.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

A day after fleeing from Samara Mountain, Sora finally slowed down.

Broomstick pulled on the reins of his horse. He hadn’t complained at all, knowing that Sora needed to put some physical space between herself and what she’d seen of her parents.

However, during their ride, a dragonfly messenger from Daemon and Fairy had caught up with them.

“An entire shipyard? Crow’s eye,” she’d sworn, horrified, as she passed the tiny scroll to Broomstick. Daemon, Fairy, and Liga had also flown over the nearby towns as dawn broke, and they’d observed formations of men and women marching in unison; it appeared that the Dragon Prince had begun hypnotizing ordinary people to conscript them into his army. The ryuu were fierce warriors, but any army also needed foot soldiers as the first line of defense—or, if you thought of it more cynically, sacrifices.

Broomstick skimmed the scroll and cursed, too. “They’re really moving quickly on their plans to launch a war.”

“And Daemon and Fairy still haven’t found any signs of the empress.”

Sora and Broomstick had been stunned into silence and rode the rest of the afternoon without much conversation.

Now, though, it was time to let the horses rest and to send a message back to Daemon and Fairy.