Everything had changed.

Chapter Four

Sora sat cross-legged on the floor and nibbled on a piece of fish jerky. Broomstick restrained himself and ate only half a package of rice crackers, saving some for the others. It was all they could find in the pantry, since most of the food left behind after the ryuu’s attack had already spoiled. Fairy scrunched her nose as she took a piece of jerky. “I miss sweet red beans and pancakes from the mess hall.”

Broomstick nodded. “And pork sausages and fried eggs and steamed rice with breakfast pickles.”

“Rose-apple jam and buttery rolls,” Fairy said.

“Forest mushroom tarts and seaweed scrambles,” Broomstick added.

Sora’s stomach rumbled. Of the four of them, she was the one who usually waxed poetic about food.

Daemon walked toward them, fully dressed now, and dropped beside Sora with a heavy sigh. He folded his long legs beneath him.

Everyone shifted awkwardly, as if the noise of their shuffling would spare them from having to talk about the earlier incident.

Broomstick was the first to speak. “Stale cracker?” He held out the package.

Daemon shook his head and sighed again. The sensation dribbled through Sora’s gemina bond, a mixture of frustration and resignation, like soggy autumn leaves being trampled in the mud.

“I didn’t mind being an electric wolf in the middle of battle,” he said, “but gods dammit. I’d really like to get a handle on what these powers are and how to control them so I can avoid . . . well, you know.”

Sora reached over and patted his knee. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

“Yeah,” Daemon said without much conviction.

“You should really eat something,” she said, taking the rice crackers from Broomstick and pressing them into Daemon’s hand. “Everything seems worse when you’re hungry. At least that’s true for me. But don’t worry, the four of us will work this out.” She managed to dig up a smile for his sake.

“And I’m sure Spirit has already thought of a plan,” Fairy piped up. “She’s always got something up her sleeve. Right?”

Sora worried her lip. “Well, sort of. We obviously need to destroy Prince Gin. If we can kill him, we cut the head off the dragon, and the body can’t function without him. No one else can control minds like he can. Without a leader, maybe the ryuu will fall apart. Plus, that will free the taigas from his hypnosis.

“We also need to figure out if Empress Aki is still alive. If she is, we’ll have to rescue her.”

Daemon let out a scoff of a laugh.

“What?” Sora said.

“That’s too much to expect of us.” He sat hunched over, looking smaller than usual. “We can’t do it.”

“I admit I’ve thought that, too,” Fairy said. “But we don’t have a choice. We have to save Kichona.”