“They’re part bird, part woman,” I explain, remembering Professor Ryu mentioning them once in class. “They’re one of the only creatures that can fly between the Godrealm and the Mortalrealm. They’re wild but not dangerous, unless they’ve got their eyes set on a mirror and you get in the way. Then you’re in trouble.”

“Ugh, not another bird!” Emmett says, curling in his fingers protectively. His hands are still red and swollen from being pecked by the book-birds. “What’s her beef with mirrors, anyway?”

“It’s actually a really interesting story,” Taeyo says excitedly. “They say the first-ever inmyeonjo was a beautiful woman. She was so breathtaking that bachelors would line up at her door each day for a chance to win her hand. But she was young and vain, and careless with her affections. So one day, a scorned lover—who happened to be a Gumiho illusionist—cursed her to become an ugly, human-headed bird. Now, every time an inmyeonjo sees herself in a mirror, she’s reminded of the beast she’s become.”

“Hence her obsession with destroying them,” I add.

Emmett looks up at the light reflecting off the mirrored buildings. “I see why this is a problem.”

Taeyo nods, his excitement fading. “She won’t leave until every last shard of mirror is shattered.”

“Shirtballs…Good luck, I guess,” Emmett says. “Sucks to be you guys.”

Taeyo leads us through the maze that is the campus, and we eventually find Sora in a glass-walled meeting room inside the HQ. She and Austin are having a conversation with some older scholars, and if their body language is anything to go by, it looks serious. Sora is standing with her arms crossed, and Austin is scowling.

Taeyo knocks on the transparent wall and opens the door. “Sorry to disturb your meeting, but we have visitors.”

Sora signals for us to enter, and I take a quick peek at the vial hanging around my neck before I step through the door. A third of Hattie’s heart has now decayed, and the sight of it gives me the impetus for what I need to do next.

Sora raises an eyebrow at me. “I thought you left this morning?”

“I did.” I clear my throat. “But I’ve changed my mind. I’ve come back to initiate into the Horangi clan. I’ll be honest—I don’t really want to. But I need your help to find the last artifact, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

She studies me for a moment, and I assume she’s going to give me a lecture about how I can’t just initiate for the sake of it. How I need to want it. Mean it.

But she doesn’t. Instead, she smiles. “That’s good news.”