A moment later, she tripped. The ground flew toward her face.

Everything went black.

36

When Aina next woke, she sat up straight immediately, surprised to find she was still breathing. Thick, crimson blankets surrounded her in a large bed. Her panicked breaths slowed as she checked her surroundings.

A broad window was behind the bed, revealing manicured gardens, a dark gray sky, and heavy rain lashing the window. A gold chandelier hung above. To her right, a crystal glass of water sat atop a mahogany desk with a newspaper spread out next to it.

Her thoughts were still scattered, but at least her vision was no longer blurry, and her limbs weren’t numb. She checked to make sure she had all her weapons. As she reached for the glass of water, the door opened with a slight creak, and Ryuu, Teo, and Raurie entered.

“You’re awake!” Teo said with a sigh of relief.

Guilt twinged through her as memories of last night returned and made her head spin. She’d said some terrible things to Teo, but he walked over and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, hoping he could sense an apology, then straightened.

“How did I get here?” she asked in a hoarse voice. Her mouth tasted like all the firebrandy she’d drunk last night.

While Teo and Raurie had gathered around her at the edge of the bed, Ryuu hung slightly back, leaning against the desk with his hands clenched over the edge of it. She wondered why he wasn’t yelling at her to get out right now.

“What did you do?” Raurie whispered. “We were really worried when we got Ryuu’s note.”

When Aina hesitated to answer, Teo asked, “Did you go to Kohl’s?”

She nodded, but only once, because her head ached if she moved it too much. Before Teo could do more than muster a look of surprise, she added, “I wanted to fight him. Then he set all of his people on me at once. I don’t know how I’m still alive.”

A silence fell on the room, broken only by the rain pounding on the window. She could remember nothing after falling in the street outside the Dom. How had she arrived here unscathed?

“How are you all here? Did you find me, Ryuu?” she asked, hating the bit of hope that leaked into her voice.

He nodded once, the smallest movement out of the corner of her eye. “Last night, I went to the kitchen to get some water. I saw you passed out on the floor. You don’t remember how you got there?” When she shook her head, he continued, “Well, I couldn’t let you stay there. Plus, I found something I wanted you all to see, so I sent a message to Teo and Raurie to come here.”

Still refusing to look directly at her, he withdrew a long piece of paper from a folder inside the drawer at the desk. “I held Kouta’s funeral a few days ago. Kept it quiet, only invited a few families from around here. Before we buried him, I found a note in his pocket. On it was an address and a code to open a bank security deposit box. Inside the box was this folder.”