“Ah, Virtuoso, I was wondering what was taking you so long. What do you have to report?”

Hana was confused only momentarily before she remembered that she’d made herself invisible in the middle of the war council meeting because she’d seen Wolf and Fairy hovering outside. She hadn’t said anything about it then, but the emperor knew that she would only vanish like that if it were important.

“I wanted to ask you a question, Your Majesty—”

“And I want your report first.” His gaze was steely and stern.

“Um, right, of course,” she said, years of military obedience kicking in, even though she desperately wanted to discuss Wolf’s theory. So she spilled her report as quickly as possible. “Your Majesty, I went invisible because two of Spirit’s friends were hovering outside the study. I’m certain they couldn’t hear through the castle walls, which is why I didn’t sound the alarm right away. Instead I waited to see what they’d do. They broke in after your meeting dispersed.”

Emperor Gin sat taller in his throne and looked down at Hana. “You let them break into my study?”

“I—I thought I might be able to learn something from eavesdropping. We haven’t known what they were up to since we defeated them and took over the capital.”

He frowned, and Hana felt it overtake her like a shadow. She’d always been his star student, and she hated feeling like she’d failed him.

Finally, he motioned with his hand for her to continue.

“It turns out, Your Majesty, that my sister’s team has been actively trying to sabotage us. They did something in our shipyard that will delay our plans to attack Thoma. As soon as I’m done here, I’ll give the order for the ryuu to investigate and fix the warships.”

The emperor huffed. “Those taigas are like an infestation I just can’t get rid of.”

“There’s more, Your Majesty. They copied down the map on the wall.”

Emperor Gin’s nostrils flared as he sat at full attention. “They can’t have a copy of our plans; you shouldn’t have let them escape.”

“But I—”

“Take Firebrand and Menagerie and find them. Destroy the map; kill the taigas.”

“Your Majesty—”

“That’s an order.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“If there’s nothing else, you’re dismissed.” He tilted his head back and looked at the mural painted on the ceiling. It was a scene of his near death after the Blood Rift Rebellion, when he’d crossed almost to the afterlife and took its magic to bring back to the living. Emperor Gin had believed his ability to do so was a gift from the gods. Now, Hana wasn’t so sure.