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MIKAIL

ROSE PALACE, GAYA

I stride through the palace, ignoring the servants who bow to me, and then I throw open the door to my bedroom. All of Sora’s and Tiyung’s things are still here—not that he would need anything if he did, in fact, betray us.

Calier. Gambria. Fallador, to some extent. Was Tiyung a traitor, too?

He was so in love with Sora that I never suspected he could be working for his father. But was he? As soon as Fallador said they were gone, I began to wonder: Were they taken, or did he arrange for them to leave? And did I play right into his hand by having him stay behind with her?

With no clues in the bedroom, I sprint up the stairs of the watchtower. I breathe and move without agony, which gives me a lightness I haven’t felt since Khitan.

When the Flaming Sword bonded to me, it took away all my pain.

But I might’ve also lost the ability to wield water.

So much happened tonight that I can’t even stop to think about that.

I’m sure I’ll pay some terrible price for using two relics, but right now, I don’t care. All that matters is finding Sora.

I reach the top of the tower, and I search for any sign of her. Two spyglasses, one broken, and a small lantern litter the floor. And there’s a stain. I tap the wetness on the stone. It’s blood—a lot of it.

Fury rises through me, but I force myself to exhale. It’s probably not hers. Whoever took them wanted them alive, or I would’ve found their bodies. And Fallador heard a man’s scream. This is likely someone else’s blood.

Once I finish checking the tower, I take the stairs back to the palace. There are a few spots of blood, and then they stop. I take a deep breath, trying to exhale my anger. If they hurt her, I’ll burn down the world.

There are three possible groups who could have targeted her: Rune’s men, bounty hunters, or Seok’s men.

If it was Rune, what did Fallador know? He seemed frenzied when he ran out of the palace, but was it all for show so that I wouldn’t suspect his involvement?

I don’t think he could fake that, but he convincingly acted like royalty for years.

I must know, and there’s only one way to find out.

I call him and the entire household staff to the throne room. Aeri and Royo also join us. I don’t need her protection now that I can summon fire, but I know they want to be here. They care about Sora just as much as I do. And that lessens my rage…somewhat.

The staff files in. Most are dressed in white cotton nightclothes and rub sleep from their eyes, but some were awake. They will all answer to me.

“Two of my guests were taken from the palace tonight,” I say. “I need to know what you saw. What you heard. Give me anything that will be useful in helping us locate them, and you will be rewarded.”

I wait on the throne, but the cavernous room is silent. No one speaks.

After a few seconds pass, I exhale and lean forward. “Am I to understand that not one of you noticed a group of men invading this palace and leaving with two hostages? No one investigated the scream Fallador heard from the bath?”

More silence greets me.

I tap the armrest, my patience wearing thin. “How interesting that none of you heard or saw a thing. Perhaps because you were complicit in their kidnapping.” I sharply change my tone. “May I remind you all that you pledged your loyalty with your lives.”

The line of servants reacts. Some pale while others go wide-eyed, but either way, they stay silent. I allow a full minute to pass, slowly scanning down the line.

“You have all witnessed how I handle treason,” I say.

My impatience mounts with every second. Maybe I should’ve dismissed them when we first arrived. We are more than capable of cooking and cleaning for ourselves. Instead, I accepted these strangers’ vows but cast Hana out. And she was loyal in the end. Yet she died and they all still live.

I stand. If I can’t solve this as a king, I will resolve it as a spymaster.

I pull my sword, and it flames to life. The men and women gasp and stare.

I suppress a laugh. They’re awestruck by a gimmick as the real Flaming Sword warms on my skin, begging to be used.

With a snap of my fingers, I could light all of them on fire.

In the recesses of my mind, I consider it.

The relics vibrate like my own heartbeat, but using etherum isn’t necessary when a blade will do.

“Where are they, and who took them?” My voice thunders in the room.

Thirty-six of my household servants stand silently. Wan, my head of household, stayed at the Port of Charm to report on the fleet.

“Adoros,” Fallador says. “The men who took them were in and out within the span of a bath. Without hearing the scream, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. It’s possible none of them saw anything.”

It’s also possible that everyone is lying—him included.

There’s always a way to get to the truth, if you have the stomach for it. I grab the girl closest to me and hold her so she faces the staff. She’s a chambermaid around Aeri’s age. Yulia—the cook’s daughter.

“I take your silence as complicity and judge you guilty of conspiring against the throne.” I bring my sword closer to her neck. She sweats and whimpers.

Some of the servants shake their heads. Others immediately start crying. They saw what I did to the women who tried to poison me. The memory and current threat should be enough to make someone turn on the others.

The flame on my sword dies out as I wait. They are either being truthful or fear someone else’s retribution more.

“No, please,” the cook says, falling on his knees. He wrings his thick hands, his round face lined with pain. “Spare her. She did nothing wrong. She was asleep, and I heard nothing in the kitchens.”

“Tell the other servants they need to come forward, then,” I say. “Because someone heard or saw something, and she will be the one to pay for it.”

Desperate, he looks around at each of them. He really didn’t hear or see anything despite being awake. That means it wasn’t bounty hunters—they would’ve been far sloppier. The blood on the floor also indicates a tactical strike where a soldier fell, but the men refused to leave a man behind.

Rune or Seok, then.

My thoughts are interrupted by the loud cries of the girl. I haven’t hurt her, but she’s wailing. Her cheeks are stained strawberry red.

I stare at her. Maybe I should put her out of her misery.

“Mikail.” Aeri rises from the black wood throne and walks toward me. “Enough. Let the girl go. They don’t know or, more likely, they’re too afraid to talk.”

“They’re too afraid to obey their sovereign?” I grip the girl’s arm, and she yelps, crying in a pitch so high I instantly regret it.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m saying,” Aeri replies.

“This isn’t the way, and you know it.” She shakes her head and lays her hand on my shoulder.

“Every second we waste in anger is one that could cost Sora her life. You knew this in Oosant; you know it now. Whoever took Sora and Tiyung must be bringing them to Yusan. The question is whether they’re going to Rune’s encampment or Qali Palace. ”

I stare at Aeri, but she doesn’t flinch or look away.

She’s right, and I do know it, but I’m furious.

I sliced off Joon’s head and threw it into the sea, and it didn’t make a dent in my anger or grief.

Instead, I lost Fremo and Hana, and I was betrayed yet again.

Good people died tonight, and killing a bad man didn’t erase it.

It was supposed to be a victory.

With a sigh, I let go of the chambermaid, sending her back into the staff. I know killing an innocent girl won’t help, either.

Aeri nods once, and then I ball my fists. I was the one who convinced Sora to stay behind. It’s my fault she was here, but I’d rather strike at anyone else than blame myself.

“S-sire,” a stable boy says.

Aeri and I both turn toward the kid. He’s probably eleven. He takes a deep breath, puffing out his narrow chest as much as he can, then steps forward.

“Speak freely,” I say.

“I… I don’t know if it has anything to do with anything. But I found this on the steps before you came back. I just thought it was pretty. But maybe it’s something.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a red plume.

My heart stops when I see the feather. Blood drains from my face, and tendrils of fear creep along my back. We just got rid of one tyrant king, but the other now has Sora.

Stars.

Aeri closes her eyes for a long, pained blink. It’s the worst possible answer. Rune, at least, would’ve kept Sora alive as a bargaining chip. Seok will kill her.

“Qali?” Royo asks.

I nod. “Seok has them.”

The three of us stand quietly.

“You’re all free to return to your duties or beds,” I say to the staff.

They back away slowly, then scurry from the room like rats from a fire.

I sheathe my sword, then stare at the hilt. I allowed my anger to get the best of me tonight. This isn’t the way of a king—at least one hoping to not be a tyrant. I want to offer something to the chambermaid and the stable boy, but I don’t know what.

Because I don’t know how to rule.

The heavy weight of despair makes me sigh.

“Money,” Fallador says, eyeing me. “You give them money, and they’ll only think about your generosity.”

I nod and then wonder how he knew what I was thinking.

“I’ve known you for years, Adoros.” He smiles. “I know when something is troubling you. When you are less than who you are, it haunts you.”

Hard to say who I am right now. Sora is the one who reminds me.

“Send word to Rune that I accept his terms,” I say to Fallador.

Aeri and Royo look over at me. We hadn’t discussed this, but we are now out of choices.

Fallador’s eyes shift, but eventually he nods. “All right.”

“Let him know that you are to remain here as collateral,” I say.

He gives me a small smile as he bows. “Yes, Adoros.”

There was something sad and resigned about him when he agreed. This is probably another trap. But odds even out on a battlefield. If Rune crosses me again, I’ll cut him down myself.

Once Fallador leaves, Teo and Duval also bow and go. Duval is now my most trusted guard, having proven himself on the mission, even if I’m certain he couldn’t grow a full beard if he tried. I trust Teo as well, but he is grieving his brother.

Aeri and Royo are the last ones left in the throne room.

“Thank you, Aeri.” I say it and I mean it. Euyn would call me a demon when I was angry like that, and she went toe to toe with me for what was right.

She gives me a kind smile. “I’m worried about her, too, but we need loyalty now, not fear.”

Aeri continues to be the biggest surprise, born to rule as a queen but raised outside of all the excess and corruption.

“We will get them back,” Royo says.

“I know. It’s why I agreed to Rune’s terms. Yusan will come for us now that Joon is dead and there’s no risk to Seok’s only heir. It’s no coincidence that both happened tonight, so either Calier sent word that Tiyung was unguarded or we have yet another traitor in our midst.”

Perhaps Seok was paying far more attention to me than I imagined. Or maybe he’s working with someone who knows me well. Someone like Tiyung.

“What do we do?” Royo asks.

I stare at the Gayan throne. The wood carved by the gods who abandoned us long ago. I think about my parents, who sat there, and all the Miats before them.

All dead except for me.

“We try to survive,” I say.