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My chest felt tight, then relaxed as I considered my next steps.

The rumor was that their mother had been killed quietly by one of the Emperor’s Council.

Nuti had told me it was Lord Dalimu, and Lady Dalimu had said her husband was allied with General Kacha.

The pieces fell together in an interesting pattern.

I had misjudged the two Bemishu daughters. “Is that what happened to your mother?”

Both of them paled even further, their iridescent makeup the only color on their faces. Swallowing, Pito grimaced, showing her teeth. “Our mother died of a strange illness.”

The pieces laid out in front of me were a puzzle I could decipher; everything was in what they weren’t saying.

Was it possible the same assassin had killed their mother and Emperor Millu?

I repeated what Lord Sotonam had once said about Emperor Millu’s death: “Far away from the palace? Out of reach of any doctor who might help her?”

How could it be that Lord Dalimu and General Kacha were responsible for their mother’s death, and they had become two of the most trusted confidants of the only murderer still alive?

Shaking her head, Topi said, “No, it was within the palace. But it happened at night, very quickly. By morning, her body was cold.”

“That is… interesting.” My mind whirled. Not only had I underestimated them, but I had underestimated their entire plot. They had spent years weaving themselves closer and closer to General Kacha, until he no longer saw them as anything more than toys, pawns that were his to direct.

You didn’t need to wield a blade to be an assassin. Not when a political assassination could be just as effective. They had a plan to take General Kacha off the Imperium’s game board. Now, I just had to see if my own plan could align with theirs.

“I imagine that General Kacha has feelings about anyone who would practice illegal magic inside the Imperium.” I waited, watching both women, and was satisfied when Pito flinched.

“General Kacha is a loyal member of the Imperium,” Topi said. That surprised me; I had thought Pito was the stronger of the two. “His opinions on the matter are quite well-known.”

“I imagine they are. It would be a shame if anyone informed him of what I had just implied.” I considered my next morsel of food, choosing a bite-sized delicacy with a fruit jam in the center.

Then I looked up to the sky, jerking my head.

Dawn fluttered down, accepting the food from between my fingers.

“A shame for General Kacha. After all, I would hate for him to cross the emperor.”

“Because you have the emperor’s full authority?” Pito asked.

Topi shook her head. “Because you have the emperor’s affection.”

“I would hate for anyone to cross the emperor by crossing me. Accusing me of illegal magic within the Imperium might have a lethal effect on someone’s person. And I know General Kacha wants nothing more than to see the Imperium thrive by spilling foreign blood.”

I wondered if I had gone too far. Had I pushed them too much?

But Topi took a long drink of her tea, and Pito placed her uneaten food on her plate, picking up her fork and cutting it into increasingly smaller pieces.

Both women appeared to be considering my words until finally Topi said, “Yes. As your very good friends , we would hate for anything to happen to you. And General Kacha is known for acting rashly.”

“Good.” I watched them, hoping my next words were true. “Then I am glad we are in agreement.”

Pito smiled at me, so sweetly that I might have believed we were talking about something as easy as the weather. “More tea, Prince Airón?”

I didn’t have long to wait. That evening, Asahi cornered me. I was considering the latest report from Hipati, glad again that I didn’t actually have to dig through years of bills and letters myself.

With the room crowded but organized, the boxes stacked and labeled, the papers filed into an order that only Hipati recognized, Tallu’s library looked less and less like the elegant chamber he had first lent me for this project.

“General Kacha is coming for you.” Asahi frowned. He clearly knew I was planning something but couldn’t see the whole of it yet. “Are you ready for him? He’s convinced he has evidence that you are animal speaking.”

“I’m ready,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure I was. The one-month celebration was only nine days away; we were running out of hours to take care of Bemishu and Kacha at the same time.

“He has a plan. One he won’t even tell me.” Asahi crossed his arms. “What is your plan?”

To survive. At least long enough to plant a bomb on a flying airship that would take down the Imperium. To free a warrior enslaved by his missing magic. To let one single person survive the genocide of the blood mages.

Asahi frowned at me, then turned and walked out of the room.

The stiff set of his shoulders told me he didn’t think I was taking this seriously, but he was wrong.

I was taking it more seriously than I had anything since Yor?mu had first put a blade in my hand and told me it was my job to make sure it made its way into the emperor’s throat.

“Any news from Miksha?” I asked Lerolian, who now stood in the corner.

“No.” He shook his head. “She and Liku are still not sure it is worth the risk.”

“ I’m not sure it’s worth the risk. Not for her.” I looked out the window, frowning. “It would be nice, though, to have a happy ending for them.”

“I do not think any of us get to have that,” Lerolian said. “Where is your bird? Terror?”

I spun to face him, but the blood mage had already disappeared, and I was left with a sinking feeling. Where was the raven?

I opened the window, but none of the birds were nearby. Tallu found me there, an hour later, frowning into the coming darkness.

“Airón?” His voice was low, as though I was some animal he didn’t want to startle.

“Kacha has my bird. Terror.” I knew it in my soul. What was he doing to him?

“We can go and demand the bird back,” Tallu said.

I shook my head. “We continue with the plan. Now. Before he catches the other two.”

Only the day before Dawn had delicately taken the food from my hand. Ratcatcher had shown me his entire collection of shining stones, forgetting that what I had actually asked for was court gossip.

“I believe the Bemishu twins have been working to take down Kacha since their mother’s death,” I said. When I looked over at him, Tallu’s eyes searched my face, his frown only growing deeper. “They believe he killed their mother. She was poisoned years before the emperor.”

Tallu’s brows drew down as he considered. “Kacha fared well under my father.”

“Even a loyal dog will bite the hand raised against it.” I turned away. The reds and oranges had faded from the sky, and still Dawn and Ratcatcher stayed away.

“Tonight. We will do it tonight,” Tallu said. “I will go request General Kacha tend to me.”

Tallu left, and I stared out the window, wishing for the cold, icy breeze of the north, where things were clearer.

Sometime later, Tallu coaxed me to eat a plate of food, and then I went into his bedroom, waiting for our plan to begin.

Tonight, Kacha was going to try and steal my magic, and instead, he was going to hang himself.