“But who decides which souls go to the peaceful afterlife and which go to the hells?” Fairy asked. “It’s the gods. We could appeal to them to pardon Spirit. It wasn’t her fault she got ryuu magic, and she’s using it for good. That has to count for something.”

Daemon shrugged listlessly. “Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn’t. Kitari used devilfire peacefully, and she was still condemned.”

“Liga promised he wouldn’t forget us. I’m going to try summoning him again and ask if he can help.” Fairy took Daemon’s hand. “Hope isn’t lost yet, all right? The League of Rogues has always considered rules negotiable, and I’m not about to stop now. So come on. We’ll get to the bottom of this and find a way out.”

He sighed but nodded. “You’re right. We can’t give up without a fight.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Invisible, Hana slithered to the floor of the study. She’d been watching Wolf and Fairy the whole time, amused by their complete obliviousness to her presence. She had intended to spring on them when the moment felt deliciously dramatic enough.

But then they’d found that story and the possibility that the ryuu were eternally damned. . . .

Was it true? The implications were so overwhelming, Hana felt suddenly paralyzed, and she’d let Wolf and Fairy escape.

“Why would Emperor Gin do this to us?” Hana asked the empty room.

But maybe he hadn’t known. Yes, that must be what had happened. Emperor Gin had discovered ryuu magic a decade ago. Back then, he was about the same age Hana was now. He couldn’t have known the repercussions of taking Sight from the afterlife. Maybe he only read that story later, and that’s when he wrote the note in it.

Or maybe Wolf and Fairy were wrong, and their theory was just plain stupid.

The only way to find out was to ask.

Hana pulled herself off the floor, smoothed her tunic, and exited the study. Emperor Gin had told his war council he’d be in the throne room if anyone needed him, so that’s where she headed.

She slowed as she entered the hall that looked like a dragon’s mouth. Hana smiled at the toothlike crimson crystals that lit the corridor; they reminded her of the emperor’s uncompromising determination. The ryuu had been refugees in the Shinowana mountains for a decade, but he’d led them through that adversity, never wavering in his belief that they would one day prevail. And look at them now.

Hana rapped on the door.

“Enter,” the emperor said from within.

She pulled on the carved dragon handles and strode into the throne room. Emperor Gin sat relaxed on the crimson stone of his throne, the orange sapphire flames at the top crowning his head like an opulent threat. Hana bowed.