CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Queen Maebh would not be a simple opponent. Though not an arcanist, she fought and defeated many who were on a regular basis. Her skills with a blade overcame hierarchs utilizing the full extent of their magic. She was a seasoned veteran of many battles, and she'd never been defeated. Save once, at the hands of the only student to ever surpass her. The goodfolk of Althandor revered their queen as if she were a goddess, and she was a goddess of war.

Fortunately, Jin didn't hold a high opinion of the divine as of late.

Charging forward in a burst of speed, Jin leveled an opening swing at neck-height. Once Maebh's sword came up to parry, Jin lessened the force behind her strike, reversed momentum, and slashed upwards from hip to shoulder. That, too, was parried, but Jin hadn't expected to land a blow so easily. She kept her grip on the sword languid and fluid, and as soon as she met resistance, Jin arced her sword to strike at a different angle. Fast and rapid, Jin struck five times in the opening three seconds.

"You're slower than you used to be," Maebh observed, thwarting each attack seemingly without effort. "Not using sorcery?"

I will when I need to, Jin thought. She favors second and fifth stances, adept at transitioning between them using first stance as the intermediary. Purpose is to draw opponent in close for rising slash. Lateral movement becomes paramount. Circle to avoid counterstrokes. Guard against thrusts. Third stance is most favorable.

Jin sidestepped, and Maebh's sword missed connecting with her arm by less than an inch. The queen didn't press toward direct contests of speed and strength. She preferred to outmaneuver her opponent, unbalance their stance with strategically placed feints, before delivering the finishing strike to the torso.

Steel struck steel again and again. Dust kicked up from their footwork. They circled the same stretch of ground, seeking to open a breach in their opponent's defenses. It went on for another fifteen seconds, maintaining the same blistering pace, before Jin saw her mother's brow furrow in concentration.

Even a practice match could turn deadly when using real swords, but Maebh was confident in her ability to pull back before crippling her students. Without fear, she demanded they come at her with everything they had. Jin obliged, because she was just as confident. Jin knew how to kill, because Maebh taught her how. Knowing how to kill also brought the knowledge of how to avoid it, but Jin couldn't afford to hold back until that moment came. Anything less than her full ability, and her mother would defeat her easily.

Jin felt the tension in her arms build up. She couldn't maintain this pace for long before her movements grew unwieldy. Thus far, Maebh kept on the defensive. She hadn't pressed forward to steal the momentum. She allowed Jin to set the pace of their swordplay. Her arms wouldn't be feeling the same fatigue yet. She would tire at slightly more than half the rate Jin did.

Familiar tactic, Jin thought. Lead opponent towards overconfidence. Strike once flaws appear in their form.

It was a tactic that often ended their sparring in the past. In the time since then, Jin had gained enough experience to see it coming. Even better, she'd learned how to counter it.

Jin changed to fourth stance. Her sword was held overhead, poised to rain down heavy slashes. The unconventional change took Maebh by surprise for a moment, enough that she couldn't strike at Jin's unguarded torso before a sword came arcing down towards her head. Unable to sidestep now that they were pressed in close, Maebh held up her sword to catch the blow. The standard response would then be for the attacker to lock crossguards, thereby limiting the defender's ability to maneuver and forcing a contest of strength. Jin had no such interest. Maebh would escape such a paltry attempt to pin her down, and Jin would then be at her mercy. She had a more advantageous plan in mind.

Fourth stance was a feint.

Aborting the downward slash, Jin pivoted on her back foot and kicked with her lead foot. The blow took Maebh in the stomach, but she tensed her abdominals to avoid getting winded. Jin spun and followed through into a roundhouse kick towards Maebh's temple, then she went low to sweep at her ankles. Maebh ducked and hopped over both attacks and readied her sword to strike at a third, but the kicks had done their job. Jin's arms had a moment to rest, and she could renew her assault. Back to third stance, and now there was a bead of sweat on Maebh's brow.

"Very good," Maebh said in praise. "You've improved, Jinny."

Jin didn't respond. She pressed the attack. The strength behind her mother's sword lessened with every blow. Jin continued the onslaught for another eight seconds before she felt the tension reappear in her arms. It came with something else.

A need.

Jin stopped and retreated two steps. Maebh backed off also, a look of bemusement on her face. She was breathing heavily from the exertion of fending Jin off, and the collar of her uniform was darkened with sweat. Jin lowered her sword to her side.

Their swordplay had drawn a small crowd. Grimdar stood off to the side, watching. Deebee was there, also, a look of worry on her face. Armsmen, knights, palace staff, the two village girls, and nobles. They kept a respectful distance, observing the duel in silence.

"What are you doing?" Maebh asked, keeping to first stance.

Jin moistened her lips. "I cannot beat you."

"What? You haven't even used sorcery yet. I can tell. Don't you hold back on me, girl. I'm not a crone yet. I could go like this for another hour."

"It is not about you," Jin said, raising her voice. "I cannot beat you."

"Put on some self-enchantments, and you may just have a shot. Swordplay isn't the place for pride. You have a tool like sorcery, use it."

The need struck. Jin's hands shook even as she gripped her sword. With nothing but willpower, Jin made her hands still so she could return her sword to its scabbard.

"We are done here." Jin turned her back and walked away.

Gillwyn and Cana were between her and the palace. The two girls didn't seem to know what to think about any of this, but they came forward to meet her.

"Don't you walk away from me!" Maebh shouted. "Jin, so help me, if you..."

Jin made it five steps before her legs gave out on her. She dropped to one knee, and she was vaguely aware of the people around her crying out in surprise and calling her name. Mother was beside her, checking her for a wound she might've inflicted without realizing.

"Jin, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Your Highness?" Cana said with a tremor.

"I cannot," Jin panted. "I can't hold it back." She braced against the ground with one hand while the other grasped feebly towards her belt pouch.

"Winds take me," Maebh muttered. "This is..."

Someone else crouched down in front of Jin. Silver-skinned hands took hold of her face. "Jin?" Deebee shouted. "Jin, can you hear me?"

She nodded. Her fingers wouldn't obey her as she fumbled at her pouch.

"Winds and flames, she's gone pallid. I've seen this before."

Maebh put a hand to Jin's forehead. Her hand felt like ice against the raging fever burning from within. "Oren withdrawals," she whispered in horror. Her voice became hard. "How long since your last dose?"

Jin answered from between clenched teeth. "Three months."

"Months," Maebh repeated, as if it wasn't a word she understood. "That's impossible."

"Three months," Jin panted, losing the strength to even remain on one knee. If not for Deebee and Gillwyn holding on to her, she'd have already fallen to her face. Jin felt blackness creeping into her vision. Consciousness faded.

Deebee tore at the fastenings around Jin's pouch. Her hand went in and came back out with the five vials. Frantically, she uncorked one and held it to Jin's lips. "You must be delirious. Here, girl. Take it before..."

Jin snatched the uncorked vial, as well as the other four. She brought it to her mouth, but something stopped her before she could drink it down.

"Rise."

"I cannot," Jin mumbled.

"Don't be daft, Jin," Maebh said in an overly patient and soothing tone. "Here, let me help you."

Mother's hands wrapped around the vials. She guided them closer.

Jin screamed. From rage. From frustration. From agony. Bone plates erupted from her skin to encase her arms. With a surge of strength, Jin crushed the vials in her fist. The viscous blue liquid splattered across the ground, and Jin lost control.

The ransom of her elder magic claimed her.

Bone wrapped around Jin's face and body. It constricted against her muscles until it felt as if it would crush her. She heard muffled screams and shouts all around, but it felt more like the roll of distant thunder. Jin knew nothing but pain as her bones rebelled against her. She felt them writhing throughout her body, twisting into unnatural forms and pulling her flesh into shapes it was never meant to go.

Suffering. Unrivaled suffering. It was a comfort to know she could still feel pain like this.

Then, blessedly, blackness claimed her as she fell unconscious.

But she remained aware. Jin stood and saw the dark forest cloaked in mist. Ghostly figures swirled around her and towards the trees far ahead, encircling the figure of a woman.

"Rise, my daughter."

The barbaric woman, adorned in pelts and teeth, was far away, but not quite so far as in past visions. Those brown eyes glared from beneath her feathered shawl, and her toned body glistened with sweat as if she'd been running for leagues. Jin noticed something else she hadn't before. The woman's chest didn't rise and fall. She wasn't breathing.

Jin took a step towards her, then another. "Who are you?"

The woman matched Jin's every step. "You already know."

Continuing forward until they were ten paces apart, Jin narrowed her eyes to peer at the woman's face. She was Althandi, with a broad jawline, high cheekbones, and a doll-like nose. The woman was small of stature, two hands shorter than Jin, but nearly as strong of build.

"I do," Jin said.

"Names are important, my daughter," she said. "You must name me."

"You're Algara," Jin whispered.

The woman shook her head as she grinned. "I took their holy 'Al', because I needed a name they would know to fear. But, that wasn't me. The crown makes one faceless, and Algara was my crown." She came closer until they were face to face. "Name me, Daughter."

"Gara," Jin said. "Before you were the Queen Founder, your name was Gara."

She inclined her head. "Daughter of Aeslyn, sister of Xio and Siobhan, mother of the first Highest King."

"Gain the First," Jin said, recalling what she knew of the family lineage. "Is it true? You had your son with an elf?"

"My first son, yes. I had many by others, but all my children but Gain fell in the years following the death curse. The Aleesh did not end with their empire, and they continued to fight us for decades to follow." She reached out and placed a palm against Jin's chest. "My half-elf son's bloodline continued. It endured until it became you."

Her hand felt real. It was solid. Jin could feel it pressing against her as if it belonged to a living person.

"You can't be real," Jin said quietly. "I'm going mad. You're not real."

Gara raised an eyebrow. "Am I not?"

"You died centuries ago. We aren't bond forgers. Our elder magic doesn't prevent us from passing Beyond."

Gara leaned closer and looked up into Jin's face. Her brown eyes took on a fierce intensity. "Where do you think you are?"

A frigid chill passed through Jin's veins.

"You are dead, aren't you?" Gara asked. "You killed Jin Algara."

Jin's breaths grew labored. She couldn't draw in air. Fear pressed in on her until she could feel it as a tangible thing.

"You didn't come alone," Gara said. "It follows you. It wants you. It hates you. It comes, Daughter, and it seeks to use your weaknesses to destroy you."

It was behind her.

Jin raised her chin as she felt its presence. A fearful tear fell from her eye. The fiend's hot breath was on her neck, and its broken and rotted fangs drew closer to her flesh. Jin could hear it, a low growl only an inch from her ear.

"What is it?" Jin asked, breathless.

Gara held her gaze. "Evil."

Jin turned her head to face the fiend. Gara's hand on her cheek prevented it.

"Don't look, Jin," Gara said. "Once you see it, you will be lost. It's an insidious creature, and it knows you well. It's learned how to destroy you with only a look."

"You told me I have to face it," Jin said.

"Once you're ready," Gara said. "Until you become my daughter in soul as well as blood, you can't face it and hope to survive. Only a royal assassin can destroy it."

"I am an assassin," Jin said.

Gara shook her head. "You were told from the beginning that you would never be one. You proved them wrong. You trained against their wishes. You forced them to acknowledge your spirit. Even then, they thought you unequal to them. You were weak, so you made yourself strong. Stronger than they ever imagined." She held Jin's face between her hands. "But you aren't yet ready. None of them are, but from here in the Beyond, I see what you can become. You have it in you to be the first true royal assassin, greater than I was. You can fulfill the promise of our elder magic."

"What promise?"

Gara bared her teeth. "To kill the monster who gave it to us."

Jin felt the dark forest begin to fade.

"When you are ready," Gara said, "you can destroy this fiend. Only then will you be strong enough to destroy the demons forever. The doom has arrived, but so has Jin Algara. Only she can save the world now."

"I can't do it alone," Jin whispered. "I need my friends."

"You have no need of friends," Gara said. She placed a hand over her heart. "You have family."

The vision of Gara faded. The forest, the fiend, and the queen were gone. Jin was lost in hazy blackness, waiting for anything to come and give her something to latch onto and pull herself from this nightmare realm.

She felt constricted. She couldn't breathe for the tightness over her chest. As the minutes passed, the hours, maybe days, Jin became aware of voices. Familiar voices. When she strained, she could hear them as if they were coming through the walls of an adjacent room. By degrees, Jin began to understand them.

"She lives," someone said. "I don't know how, but she's still alive in there."

It was a woman with a motherly voice. A strong voice. Jin knew her. It wasn't her own mother but someone she loved just as dearly.

"I know little of oren," Deebee continued. "I only know what Jin herself has told me. She's always been quite clear that she couldn't go longer than three days without it before succumbing to the withdrawals. Reyn tells me she stretched that out to five around the time of Moran Valley, but three months? It defies reason."

"If that's true, she should be dead." It was a man. It was Jin's father. "No assassin has ever gone without oren so long. Dashar went a week without it once, but he had the sustaining spell from his blood magic to aid him. Even then, he was a wreck by the time he got his next vial. Jin has just... endured it?"

"It might be she misspoke from the pain," Deebee said. "She might not have meant to say three months."

"Even so, she's been unconscious for four days. No one can administer oren to her while she's like this. It goes against everything I know to be true, Lady Storyteller. My daughter should not be alive, but she is."

Deebee hummed. "I won't presume to know her better than you, Your Grace, but I've found Jin to be remarkably strong-willed. If there is anyone in the world who could survive something like this, it would be her."

The effort of understanding became too great. Exhausted by listening, Jin let the voices become indistinct mutterings once again. She felt short of breath and tried to breathe deeper, but something prevented it. Putting her focus on that and that alone, Jin struggled to move.

She needed control.

Something changed. Her body jostled, and she felt movement deep within her. Bone deep.

"Did you see that?" Cathis exclaimed.

Jin struggled to exert control. Slowly, the plates of bone covering her face pulled away from her mouth and eyes. The light was blinding, but she could take a gasping breath of air. Her entire body was encased in bone. She was enshrouded by it, but as she took control of her bones back, she forced them to return where they belonged. She felt the rips in her skin seal over, and her body reverted to what it should be.

She was held cradled in her mother's arms. Mother wept as she whispered in Jin's ear. "You're not alone. I'm with you, Jin. I'm with you."

Jin dared open her eyes against the sunlight streaming into the room through glass windows. She focused and looked up to see her mother.

Briefly, Jin was reminded that love had a face.

"Where am I?" Jin mumbled once she was back to herself.

"In the palace guest suites," Deebee said. "Maya gave over her rooms for your recovery."

Jin was pulled to a sitting position, and she groggily pawed at her forehead. "I could use a drink."

"Here," Maebh said. She was sitting beside Jin on a bed, cradling her in her arms. She pushed a cup into her hands and helped guide it to her mouth.

Jin drank and grimaced. "Water. No, hand me my boot flask."

"Girl, really," Deebee scolded. She stood in human form next to the bed. "Vodka's the last thing you need right now."

Jin could only barely open her eyes. She squinted at the blustering lizard.

"Don't give me that look. I mean it."

"You need this more than alcohol," Cathis said. He sat down on the other side of Jin from Maebh and produced a vial of oren. "In your fit, you crushed what you had, and we couldn't give you ours while you were..." His voice failed him, and he put the vial in her hand.

Jin stared at it numbly. She sighed. "Four days?"

Cathis nodded.

"It's never lasted that long before," Jin murmured.

"Before?" Cathis exclaimed. "Winds and storms, but this isn't the first time?"

"It is the first time it came with an osteomantic attack," Jin said. "That much is new."

"We feared you wouldn't come out of it before it killed you," Maebh said. She held Jin's head to her shoulder and ran fingers through her hair. "Jin, if I'd known, I'd never have..."

"It is alright," Jin said. Her eyes were adjusting better to the light now.

"Jin, I'm sorry," Maebh sobbed. "My little girl. I can't bear the thought of losing you, too. Not after we've only just found you again."

It was impossible for Jin to focus on her mother. She was preoccupied by the length of time she'd been out. "Four days. Winds, the armada?"

The room grew somber.

"They're here," Deebee said. "Holding position just outside cannon range of the city, but not by much."

Jin tried to stand.

"Slow down, Eager Breeches," Deebee admonished. "They haven't attacked. The executor— you must recall Ku Ji Min— has come to the palace under a banner of parlay."

"Enfri?" Jin asked.

"Speaking with the executor now," Deebee said. "She wanted to be here for you, Jin. She truly did."

"I understand," Jin said. "What's been happening? Are the defenses ready?"

Cathis cleared his throat. Jin turned her head to look at him, and he gestured toward the oren still in her hand.

Jin tossed the vial away and pulled herself out of her mother's grip. "Demons, Father. That must be my first concern."

"You can't do anything about demons if you're half-dead," Cathis said firmly.

"Tell me," Jin demanded. "Tell me, and then I'll take whatever you want."

Cathis looked to Maebh, and she nodded.

He gave a heavy sigh. "As you say. When I haven't been here, I've been in conference with the Dragon Empress."

"And with others," Deebee added. "With the stakes being what they are, kings from across the Five Kingdoms have sent representatives or have come themselves to an emergency summit. The metavatarium hasn't seen this much use since it was built."

"Adeyemi is here," Cathis continued, "as is Omolade and Zoputan. Uncle Fen arrived yesterday. Princess Pacifica teleported to Ecclesia and returned with her brother. Lady Starra went to Gaulatia personally and came back with Crown Prince Gaston Marcel."

"We are readying to make our stand here?" Jin asked.

Cathis took in a slow breath. "I am not prepared to ask that of the empress. Her people have suffered enough. They should not bear the brunt of this war. If there is a way to avoid battle, I've urged her to consider her options."

Jin curled her lip. "Against men like Master Deveaux, there are no options."

"Enfri is aware of that," Deebee assured her. "She and your father have been holed up in her chambers for the greater part of the last four days trying to find a way through this mess, only coming back out well after sundown. The only people who've been with them through all of it has been Moon and Inaz."

It seemed obvious why Inaz would be present, but why Moon? "Just the two of you?" Jin asked.

"Mostly," Cathis chuckled. "Your sky woman is... a remarkable young lady."

Jin narrowed her eyes.

"If you're wondering," he continued, "I approve. Of you and her, I mean. After speaking with her, it's impossible not to."

Maebh hummed agreement. "I find much to admire in Her Majesty. All that power backed by compassion is something so rare in this world that it should be treasured." She smirked. "And she has a cute arse."

"Mama," Jin gasped, scandalized.

Her parents had a chuckle at her expense. Cathis then put his hand on Jin's shoulder. "We've been cautious. Empress Enfri and I often required others to come in and offer what they had to add. Each was screened to be sure they weren't shifters in disguise. Enfri had a goblin woman with us through everything to be doubly certain the demons didn't listen in on what we spoke of."

"Rippling Moon Karst," Maebh said. "Maya has become especially fond of that fey girl."

That answered one question, but Jin had plenty others. She looked up to Deebee. "You aren't with her?"

"I'm always with my beloved, thank you very much," Deebee said. "Unfortunately, the clutch... requires a little extra care at this juncture, and of course, if Enfri couldn't be with you, I needed to be. Next best thing to having Enfri here herself, wouldn't you agree?"

Jin took Deebee's hand. "I do. Thank you, Deebee."

The dragon smiled and tried to hide how she got a little misty-eyed. "Yes, well, pretty much everyone has been in and out of Enfri and His Grace's private conference. Ban, Reyn, Krayson, Sasha, the Akazewis, Dragon Lords, some Irdish artificer I've never met before, and— far more than anyone else— Elise."

"Elise," Jin said, unbelieving.

Cathis held up a palm. "For now, justice can wait on the needs of the world. It took sworn testimony from the Krayson for she and I to accept that we'd never met before this, but seeing as Vintus was involved with that fracas, I'm inclined to believe what I'm told of the matter."

Jin moderated her tone. "That does not change what happened in Westrun."

Cathis nodded. "It does not, but as I said, there are larger concerns. Desperate times make for strange bedfellows, and all that. For now, I can accept any aid Elise Alinwé is willing to give to this war, and if we're all standing at the end of it, I will take it into consideration when it's time to decide what's to be done with her."

"I..." Jin gave her head a shake and furrowed her brow at him. "I did not expect you to take her presence here so well."

"I'm really not," Cathis sighed. "But then again, Elise was never guilty of anything more than existing before my father and I burned down her home and slaughtered her people. I meditated on this for a long time, Jin. In the end, I believe what she has become falls as much on me as it does on her. A war criminal has no right to judge another."

"Someone must," Jin said.

"And they shall," Cathis said, "as they shall judge me."

Jin frowned.

He looked away from her. "I haven't mentioned this to the empress, or to anyone but your mother." He glanced up at Deebee. "If I could have your confidence, Lady Storyteller?"

Deebee appeared flummoxed by the question. "Hmm? Me? Oh, well, of course. Naturally."

Cathis turned back to Jin. "Once this is over, whatever the outcome, I will no longer be king."

Jin's lips parted in shock.

"I will abdicate," he said. "Your sister will be Highest Queen."

"You haven't told her, have you?" Jin said.

He shook his head. "She needs to remain focused on the here and now. I would ask you not reveal this. I want to tell her myself when it comes time."

Jin had difficulty processing. In that moment, hearing it said plainly, Jin realized she'd never truly expected to remove her father from his throne. She'd never known a world where Cathis wasn't the Highest King, and she couldn't imagine one where he wasn't. No more than she could imagine a world without a sky.

He took her by the hand. "I would have your word on that, Jin."

She nodded. "Yes. You have my word. Maya won't hear it from anyone but you."

"Now, was there anything else, or will you take your blustering oren like a good girl?"

Jin wrinkled her nose. She'd been willing up until he phrased it like that.

Deebee startled. "Oh! Just got the signal from Enfri. I think she's done with the executor. The announcement of what's to be will happen any moment."

Cathis rose to his feet. "I should go down to her reception hall. I'm sure she'll wish to inform the summit of what came of the parlay."

Jin struggled to swing her feet over the side of the bed. "Yes. Immediately."

Cathis protested, and Maebh tried to hold her down.

"My place is with her," Jin said.

"Your place is here, recovering," Maebh said.

"Mother, she is my heart. I left her when she needed me once already. I will not do it again."

Maebh drew in a small breath as if surprised by Jin's determination. She looked to Cathis for support.

"If that's what must be," Cathis said quietly. "Jin, you may come, but please, as your father, I ask you stay here. Whatever happens next, I know it will not be easy."

Jin braced herself against the bed before pushing to her feet. She took in a breath to steady herself and faced him with her head held high. "Thank you, Father, for your concern, but I know where I must be."

He looked into her eyes for a long moment before nodding. "As you say. Come, then."

Leaving the suite, Jin looked about for anyone else. The palace appeared deserted. "Where are Gillwyn and Cana?"

"Who?" Deebee asked. "Oh, yes. The young girls who were with you. As I recall, Princess Maya had them remain with her."

"You'd best have a talk with those girls, Jin," Maebh said lightly. "If you're not careful, Maya is liable to poach your handmaidens out from under you."

"They're not my handmaidens," Jin said, but if the village girls were with Maya, Jin believed they were safe for the moment. She still needed to fulfill her promise to see them to safety before the armada began the attack.

Deebee guided them through the palace halls. She took them down several flights of stairs before arriving on the ground floor. A cacophony of voices, some raised to shouting in anger, grew in volume until Deebee brought them into the main reception hall.

The large circular room was packed to capacity. Only the high-domed ceiling painted with glowing arcane pigments kept the space from feeling claustrophobic with so many bodies in attendance. Even the arrival of the Highest King didn't draw the masses from their whispered conversations or their shouting matches.

Panic. Jin heard panic cloaking them all.

"I need to find my beloved," Deebee said. "Jin, stay with your family for now. I'll tell Enfri you're here, and I'm sure she'll find you once things calm down a little."

Jin would've rather stayed with her, but she doubted she was in any shape to pull free of the queen at the moment. "As you say. If you need anything, I will be there."

Deebee smiled for her and touched her on the cheek before heading off to push her way through the crowd.

Jin caught sight of a large cluster of Altieri knights. King Sasha the Romov, a young man of eighteen with short and scarlet hair, stood with his guards from the Lost Company. A large man, with a huge scar down the center of his face that put a cleft in his upper lip, kept a hand on his sword as he watched over his king. Jin hadn't seen Knight-Lieutenant Trent Urdov since Enfri declared herself Empress.

House Akazewi nodded to Cathis when they saw him. They kept their own council and didn't engage with anyone. Omolade and Zoputan were fully armed and armored, acting as King Adeyemi's honor guard for the summit.

Many others. Jin saw Prince Gaston of Gaulatia speaking with Lady Thal Renoit. She spotted a few others she believed must've been members of the Cabal. Reyn and Ban, Krayson and Pacifica, Starra and Lord Seifer. All twenty-four Dragon Lords and their bound partners were present, only Enfri missing from their number. Armsmen, knights, heads of houses, dragons, and aviators filled every corner of the reception hall that could be crammed into.

With her mother holding one arm and her father the other, Jin was led to where House Algara waited. Maya and Gain were the first to see them approach, and Maya shoved her way through the crowd to reach them.

"Blustering twerp," Maya scolded, taking Jin from their parents. "What were you playing at, going without oren? I didn't give you my spares just so you could smash them."

"Maya," Maebh warned. "You weren't there."

Shockingly, Maya calmed herself. "Right. Forgive me, Sister. I was just worried."

Jin thought she must've still been woozy, because that couldn't have been what Maya actually said. "Deebee tells me you've taken custody of my..."

"Your handmaidens, yes."

"They're not my handmaidens," Jin said more emphatically than before.

Maya flicked her wrist dismissively, then indicated to where the pair stood near to Devara and Josy. They noticed Jin's arrival and all but wilted with relief. For her part, Jin gaped at the gowns they wore, equal to any worn by noblewomen of great houses. Cana especially looked spectacular, and both fretted with their hair as if ashamed to have it uncovered in public.

"Good to see you on your feet, Jin," Gain said, claiming her attention. "I take it you've heard what your sky woman is up to?"

"I've been informed," Jin said. "All that remains is to listen as Enfri gives the order to go to battle stations."

"That's not certain," Cathis said. "The armada lost the element of surprise long before they came into sight of Sandharbor. A battle here against dragons may cost them more than they're willing to suffer before reaching the Spired City."

Jin didn't have that much hope for avoiding immediate conflict. One way or another, it would happen.

The next moment, the noise of the crowd died down until the reception hall became silent as a tomb. The silence spread like a wave until it consumed everyone. Jin held her breath and knew who had arrived. Even being taller than most others around her, she still needed to get on her toes and crane her neck to catch sight of the head of golden hair coming in through the main doors.

Enfri wasn't alone. She walked beside a figure enveloped in white silk.

"Who's that?" Gain whispered.

"Ku Ji Min," Jin replied. "The eastern executor for the Jade Empire."

"That's a good sign," Gain said. "If it's coming to blows, their representative wouldn't be sticking around. Seems your girl bought us some time."

Jin exhaled. Gain was right, but Jin remained anxious about what Enfri had to give up to buy any amount of reprieve.

The crowd opened up to grant Enfri passage. She and Ji Min walked to the far end of the reception hall, where Ban and Deebee waited. Everyone standing near that corner wordlessly dispersed to make way for the Dragon Empress and grant her the floor.

She wore a dark green gown, arms bared to show her dragon tattoos. Silver accents glittered in the light. Beside the white formlessness of the executor, Enfri appeared even more grand and beautiful. Despite Jin's anxiety, she couldn't look on Enfri without smiling in awe of her radiance.

Enfri turned to look out over the sea of faces. She appeared to be searching for someone, but her eyes never came towards where the Algaras stood. Eventually, she gave up her search and dropped her eyes to the floor. Then, steeling herself, she raised her face.

"I have spoken with the Glorious Executor of the Jade Empire," she said. "There's no point wasting your time, so I'll get right to it. This may be difficult for many of you here to accept, but..."

Her voice faltered. Only for a moment. She lifted her chin and spoke in a loud and commanding voice.

"I have given Shan Alee's unconditional surrender."

It was like the air was pulled from the room. What sound remained was smothered by the utter horror Jin felt deep within her heart. Silence unimaginable.

Enfri continued. "These are the Glorious Emperor's terms, by which Shan Alee will abide. Our forces are to offer no resistance as the Jade Armada passes through our borders. Any reasonable demand for supply and quarter will be honored."

Murmurs began throughout the hall. They swelled to become voices of outrage.

"And," Enfri said, "the Imperial Legion, as well as the Arcane Knights, are to offer any aid and assistance deemed necessary in the Jade Empire's campaign to restore stability to the Five Kingdoms."

Gain uncrossed his arms. His jaw went slack. "Winds and storms. That... She's played us!"

"She'll fight for them?" Maya hissed.

"No," Jin whispered, unbelieving. "She wouldn't. She... wouldn't."

Jin turned to her father, hoping to see him nodding as if this was part of what they'd discussed. She didn't find that. Jin looked at her father and found him trembling.

The Highest King shook with fear.

Enfri had to shout to be heard over the accusations and epithets being hurled at her. "All visitors here have been afforded guest-rights. However, these allowances do not extend beyond my borders. Anyone not of Shan Alee who remains in my city beyond the dawn will be considered a vassal of the Jade Empire, to be dealt with as the Glorious Emperor sees fit."

"Your Majesty!" Cathis roared. He shoved his way forward through the crowd. "This is not what we discussed!"

Enfri turned cold eyes on the Highest King. "You advised I consider all my options, Your Grace. And I did. For the survival of Shan Alee and the Aleesh into the next era, I will not force my people into a battle that cannot be won."

Jin stepped forward. She placed her next step, and then the next. She was jostled from every side, but she kept moving forward through the press of bodies separating her from Enfri. Passing her father, Jin kept her eyes on her, unblinking, seeking out any sign that this was a dream.

Because... this couldn't be real.

Ban went to Enfri's side. He bowed his head to speak in her ear as his hands gestured emphatically. Enfri turned to speak short words to him, and Ban went rigid before stepping back, his expression stricken.

"Enfri..." Jin said, no more than a whimper and unheard in the shouting.

The shouts became screams. Panic returned, and many from the foreign delegations shoved their way towards the exits as if expecting flintlocks to fire into the room at any moment.

Deebee took Ban's place at Enfri's side. Enfri didn't respond to her questions, only gave shakes of her head.

"Enfri?" Jin called, but no one could hear her. "My heart, it's not true."

Tears ran down her cheeks.

"This isn't you," Jin shouted. "Enfri!"

Her family called her name, pleading for her to come back to them.

Jin broke through the crowd. She ran forward and seized Enfri by the wrist. "Enfri," she whispered.

Slowly and unconcerned, Enfri turned to look at her. She took in the tears on Jin's cheeks, her ragged breathing, the desperation apparent in her. Enfri saw this, and she kept her face a mask.

"This will come as no comfort to you," Enfri said softly, "but for what it is worth, I am sorry, my light."

Jin felt her strength fail her. Something deep inside was torn apart and left ruin in its passing.

"Did you think I'd forgotten?" Enfri asked in a whisper. She smiled, and it didn't reach her eyes. "Did you think I'd forgiven?"

Deep within her green eyes, Jin saw something pass behind them. It was like the wisp of a dark cloud blotting out the sun. Without any doubt, Jin knew she was no longer seeing a sky woman. This was a Dragon Empress.

Hands seized on Jin's arms to pull her away. Inaz dragged Jin three paces from Enfri before shoving her towards Cathis and House Algara.

"Forgive me, Highness," Inaz said to her. "I pray to never see you again. Facing you will be the last thing I ever do."

Jin didn't hear him, she only understood that her sky woman, her true love, her Enfri Page, was gone. She no longer existed. Jin had been right. She'd been right all along, and she never wished to be proven wrong so badly in all her life.

"Maya!" Cathis shouted. "Take us home!"

Jin struggled against her father's hold on her. She pulled to break free and reach out to Enfri once more. She wouldn't believe it. Jin would never believe it, not of her, not again, even as Enfri looked back on Jin with those cold, green eyes and a wicked smile born from the darkest years of the last era.

"I told you I had a plan, Grandfather," Enfri said to no one Jin could see. "I thought you'd have learned to listen to me by now."

Above the shouting and the manifestation of Maya's teleportation closing upon her, she heard the sound of her world ending.

Jin screamed.

END OF ACT ONE