The afternoon heat built up as Aina walked to Amethyst Hill. Soon, all she heard was her own blood pounding in her ears, and all she felt was the dagger she gripped under her jacket. Being cautious hadn’t helped much last time, so now she would use surprise to her advantage. She wouldn’t waste time nor try to hide what she was here for. If killing any guard who tried to stop her was quicker than incapacitating them, that was what she would do. Today, she wanted to make an impression, that anyone who got in her way was a target. That way, once Kouta was dead and people heard she’d fixed her mistake, they would also hear how ruthless she’d been in the effort. She would be safe for a long time.

Ryuu would tell her exactly how his brother had escaped death, what their plan was, where his brother was now—and then he would die too.

Twenty feet away from the main gate, she paused in the shade of the trees, withdrew a wolfsbane dart and stuck it between her teeth. A steady calm settled over her. Her fears and her humanity slipped away, leaving the Blade she was in their stead. Beyond the gate, mansions and manicured gardens spread toward the horizon. She approached the entrance where the two guards sat within their glass enclosures.

One of them exited his tower as she approached, whistling casually.

“Good afternoon, madam. Please show your identification.”

Aina smiled and turned slightly to block the other guard’s view.

“Don’t have any,” she said, thrusting forward to lodge a knife between his ribs. She twisted and yanked it out, catching the guard as he fell. His hands grasped at the blood pouring from his chest.

“Help, I think he’s having a heart attack!” she shouted.

Footsteps pounded behind her. Spinning around, she dropped the bleeding guard and blew outward. The dart landed in the second guard’s neck. He collapsed to his knees, hands grasping for the dart, but even though he managed to pull it out of his neck, the poison spread quickly. He would be dead within minutes.

She left the guards where they’d fallen and made her way down the main road. Families passed her, sending her odd glances at the splash of blood on her sleeve. Most avoided her out of pure instinct. The bruise on her temple from Kohl’s punch throbbed as she walked, but she gritted her teeth against the pain and used it to fuel her adrenaline.

There were more security guards than last night at the Hirai mansion. A few were poised in windows on the upper levels. Others sat in trees, probably thinking no one could see them. She failed to remember the last time she’d climbed a tree, but there weren’t many other options.

She withdrew a dagger from her boot, took aim, and threw. It punctured the back of the guard’s neck, knocking him to the ground. After shoving his body behind a bush and retrieving her weapon, she climbed the tree and crawled along the branch, thankful there was only about a foot or two of space to jump between it and the open window. But first …