When I opened my eyes again, the world was crisp and clear. I could sense the qi around me far better than I could ever remember, and my range had expanded considerably once again. My body seemed to brim with energy, and as I slowly got to my feet, it felt a little like I was floating through water.

I cracked my neck and examined my surroundings. I was still in Rijoko’s shrine, and since I didn’t see a clock or the sky, I didn’t know how much time had passed. It felt like a very fast breakthrough, though the people who’d been sheltering in the side rooms were gone. Instead, there were half a dozen guards kneeling beside the entrance and the closed double doors. The air smelled faintly of smoke, and while the guards all wore clean clothing, the scent of sweat, blood and ash still clung to them.

I stepped forward, careful of my new strength. While my body was ready to go, I didn’t feel as calm or refreshed as I might have expected. The events of the last few hours, or however long it was, were just too much, too raw. I couldn’t help but look at where Mother had almost died again. The fact that she was gone took some getting used to, and its implications were staggering.

I cleared my throat. “Please rise. How long has it been?”

The guards stood up, and their leader, a cultivator in the seventh stage, answered. “You have been cultivating for your breakthrough for half a day, Your Highness. Congratulations on reaching the fifth stage.”

Half a day. That was quick, certainly not as bad as it could have been. “I take it from your presence that we won this battle?”

“Yes, my lady.” He looked up, then dropped his gaze to the floor again. It wasn’t hard to read the awe with which he looked at me. Like the others.

“Then take me to whoever is in command here,” I ordered.

They led me out of the shrine quickly. I glanced at the corridor while I considered the situation. It didn’t look like a fight had broken out here. With the other people in the shrine, what had happened should be known already.

We moved quickly through the remnants of this corner of the palace. A few times, I saw signs of cleanup, where broken furniture had been removed and crumbling walls propped up. But it was still in bad shape. There were too many holes, and few of the windows remained, letting in the cool outside air. At least the smell of dust and blood was dwindling. A few times, I saw other people, moving through the halls and outside grounds with purpose. Most of them seemed to be soldiers, and all were at least in the fourth stage. I hoped that the weaker ones were still waiting in a shelter.

Someone had erected a tent before the main building, though one of its sides was completely open. Conference tables, chairs and cabinets were scattered throughout it, as were several strong cultivators. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Kariva and Kiyanu.

I almost wished that Aston was here, or my friends, but it was good that they’d been safe from the attack.

Everyone bowed deeply or knelt when I entered the improvised command center. A brief flash of relief passed through Kiyanu’s face.

“Rise,” I said again. “Good to see you’re all alright. How’s the situation?”

“My lady,” Kariva greeted me with a strained smile. “We won. After they started fighting among themselves and becoming easy targets, we managed to kill most of the attackers. A few fled, though, and we’ve gotten some concerning reports from outside. I assume that division was your work?”

I nodded. “Li’s disciples, I’d guess.”

Kariva shook her head. “I knew you were destined for greatness, my lady, but I never would’ve thought you could defeat someone four stages higher and a thousand years older than yourself. This is going to make you a legend, whatever happens.”

I shrugged, scratching my cheek. “It’s not like I killed him in a fight, more like manipulated him into killing himself.”

“It’s still impressive,” Kiyanu put in. “We heard … what happened to Acura?”

“Before I get into that, are my siblings alright?”

Kariva nodded. “They’re both alive, unharmed and safe. Xiaodan is still in the city’s palace, while we’ve put Alaster under guard close by here, with other civilians.”

I sighed in relief and took a moment to gather myself, before I briefly told them everything that had happened, including Mother’s ascension. I also related my impression that she was more or less gone now, at least for the immediate future.

There was a moment of silence after I finished. I could see they were trying to figure out what it meant, as did I. Am I going to be Empress now? I shivered. I hope not. I’m nowhere near ready, and many people won’t accept a fifth stager on the throne, no matter who her parents are. Well, Mother isn’t dead, anyway.

“Her Majesty did have a plan for an eventuality like this, in case she died before you reached the eighth stage, Your Highness,” Kiyanu finally said. “I’ll need a moment to find something.”

“Before we discuss that,” Kariva cut in. “We need to deal with another matter.”

“Carston.” I grimaced, feeling a stab of anger. I was almost positive he was involved in this, somehow. It would be too much of a coincidence, otherwise. My intuition told me he’d betrayed us. That could be a hint Rijoko had left me.

Kariva nodded. “I’ve apprehended him and been keeping him under heavy guard. He’s been belligerent so far, but perhaps he’ll respond better if you interrogate him.”

I smiled. If Mother was around, she might not approve of Kariva’s actions. But she wasn’t, and I did.

I glanced around at the other people, who hadn’t participated in the conversation so far. The man I recognized as Commander Wu of the Imperial Guard hadn’t stopped talking into a communication device once, presumably coordinating the palace’s defenses. A large squad of guards had also shown up here, who I assumed would be escorting me. The other military people seemed similarly busy.

“Let’s go talk to him,” I decided. If we got information from Carston, that would help me in figuring out how to deal with the rest of what was happening. My anger hadn’t abated, either.

Besides, I should do this before I met Al. Already, I didn’t know whether I was looking forward to or dreading seeing my siblings. I needed to see they were okay, but I’d have to tell them about Mother.

Kariva led me out of the tent and through the courtyard, before we entered another of the palace buildings. This one was in slightly better shape, and kept at least a few windows. The hallways were empty, but I could sense strong presences gathered below. Kariva guided me down a staircase into the basement, then stopped before a heavy steel door.

The room beyond was bare, with featureless gray walls, an interrogation table and two chairs the only furniture. Three elites in the seventh stage guarded Carston, who sat in one of the chairs. His hands were caught in heavy black handcuffs that radiated strong qi and seemed to clamp onto his aura. He looked a bit disheveled, with his jacket half undone, but his face was set into grim lines, and his expression didn’t flicker when we entered.

I got out a qi talisman from my storage ring and took a deep breath before I entered, with Kariva on my heels. I sat down in the other chair while Kariva remained standing further back, giving me some space.

“So, Dalcarston,” I said. “I assume that’s your name where you’re from?”

He regarded me in silence for a moment, then sighed. “The Dal- prefix marks me as a noble, but since my house doesn’t exist in this world, I cannot really use it. My name is Carston.”

I had to resist the urge to ask more questions about that. I’d suspected that he was from another planet, and while confirmation was nice, it didn’t matter much right now.

“I stumbled from an unstable portal about a hundred years ago,” he added, in a bored tone. “Just sheer, stupid, random chance to end up here.”

Mother had mention that rarely, random portals appeared, but we couldn’t predict or create them. At least that made sense.

“And you moved to this country after that. But because it’s not your home, you felt free to just betray it and the woman who loved you. And your son.”

I watched his expression closely, and saw his gaze flicker at the last two words. “Baseless accusations,” he stated, still in a calm tone of voice.

I snorted and leaned forward slightly. “Nonsense. I can tell you’re not innocent, Carston. I don’t even need improved intuition for that.”

He shrugged and didn’t say anything further.

“You know, I met a descendant of the Sun,” I said. My spirit enemies probably knew that much already, so I didn’t see a point in keeping it from him. “She’s quite good at reading people and knows if they’re telling the truth. I’m going to call my friends back, after everything that’s happened here, and ask them to bring her along. Of course, if we need to wait for her to arrive, it’s not going to make your interrogation any more pleasant.”

Carston frowned. “You wouldn’t dare harm me. Your Mother —”

“Isn’t here anymore,” I cut him off, staring straight into his eyes while keeping my face set in a cold expression. “Because of you and your associates. Believe me, I don’t have many scruples in this situation. I’d happily have Kariva torture you if that’s what we need to get the answers. Hell, I’ll watch and I might even enjoy it.”

He looked down, breaking eye contact. My icy stare must have unnerved him, and he must have seen I wasn’t bluffing.

“Besides,” I added in a slightly softer tone. “They clearly left you behind, cut their losses, and wrote you off. Don’t you owe it to us to explain, or at least to Al?”

“I did not betray Al,” he said stiffly. After a moment, he sighed, then raised his eyes to me again. “Although I will admit that I did betray you, Inaris, as a side effect. There’s nothing personal about it.”

I sat back, feeling a sharp burn in my chest at the confirmation. “You helped them through the wards?”

“I told them what I knew about them, then signaled them when it was a good time to attack,” he said matter-of-factly. “It was distasteful, but I had to do it. And, of course, I kept Acura distracted.”

I gritted my teeth. “You wormed your way back into her confidences, playing on her emotions. And you don’t feel guilty about that?”

A bit of fire entered his eyes now. “She deserved it,” he spat. “Wasn’t she stringing me along, before? Always keeping me at arm’s length, never really letting me into her confidences, sleeping with whoever caught her fancy while I saved myself for her.”

“You entitled bastard,” I hissed. “If you have a problem with an open relationship, you talk to your partner about it, not try to get her killed!” I took a deep breath. “Did the Zarian let you go?”

He shrugged. “I suspect a faction of them was involved, not their whole government. They let Isuro visit to talk to me, at least.”

I grimaced at hearing his name. “And what did he say?”

“Oh, not much. It was the others that really got into it.” Carston frowned a little. “They were rather determined to get me on their side.”

I took a deep breath. This just raised the question of whether his mind had been tampered with. I didn’t see any signs of it, and Kariva and her people couldn’t have, either, but there might be minor things. We might have to wait for Elia, after all.

“And?”

Carston crossed his arms. I noted his body language getting more defensive. “They made me swear an oath on Jideia’s name. I wouldn’t betray the Empire to the Zarian, but they did put me in contact with some who were unhappy with its leadership. I assume they’re connected via the Storm’s people, but you must suspect that already.” He pulled a face. “An oath like that isn’t easily broken, you must understand.”

I cocked my head, considering him for a moment. I didn’t think he had as little choice as he was implying. His words earlier certainly didn’t sound like it, and it wouldn’t be easy to force him to make an oath like this. Though manipulation was certainly involved.

“You said you didn’t betray Alaster,” Kariva prompted after a moment. She hadn’t moved from her spot, and her face was still expressionless.

Carston nodded, his face settling into a more serene expression again. “Yes. I made sure I received promises from every major player involved that he would not be harmed.”

I snorted, shaking my head. As if having his mother killed with the help of his father wouldn’t do psychological harm. “I presume me and Xiaodan were supposed to get killed,” I noted. “And the rest of the clan?”

Carston shrugged. “You, most likely. Xiaodan and the others, depending on the situation.”

“Then what was the plan?” Kariva asked.

Carston sighed. “The common people love the Leri, they knew that. They might not stand for having them deposed and exterminated outright. That was why they wanted to make this more palatable for the public, perhaps pin Acura’s death on an accident or Zarian saboteurs officially.”

I raised an eyebrow. I didn’t think the people would be so easy to pacify. But clearly the conspirators, mostly nobles, didn’t think highly of the common people.

“Then they would put Al on the throne,” he added. “With our eighth stagers holding the real power.”

There was a moment of silence as we considered this. I suppressed a shiver at the thought that they could have succeeded.

“Presumably, you’d play into this, as Alaster’s father,” Kariva said. “Probably hoping to leverage your position to gain power, and groom him. Did you realize they would eliminate him as well, if he became too much of a threat? Did you intend to have him actually take power once he reached the eighth stage, and you’d wormed your way into his trust?”

Carston glowered at her. “I would have protected him, and of course I would have helped him become Emperor in truth.”

I pushed my chair back and stood up, trying to keep my expression neutral. This might just be lines they’d fed Carston to ensure his cooperation, but it seemed possible.

“Well, Al will just love to hear that,” I sighed.

Carston looked up. “You’ll let me talk to him?”

“Oh, I don’t think he’d want to talk to you right now,” I said. I held out the small crystal I’d tucked under my robe, letting him sense the qi in it. “But I did record this conversation, and I’ll show it to him. It won’t be easy, but he deserves to know.”

For the first time, Carston’s composure visibly cracked, as he paled. Maybe he was recalling how he’d talked about our Mother. “Don’t,” he pleaded. “I need to explain to him myself.”

I shook my head and pocketed the device. “I think I’ve heard enough for now.”

Kariva snapped her fingers, and two of the elites descended on Carston, while she followed me out the door. Once I stepped outside, I took a moment to collect myself and exhale deeply.

“What are you going to do with him?” Kariva asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. He committed treason, but, shit, he’s still Al’s father. We can’t really keep him imprisoned, he’s too strong for that. Death would be easiest, but …”

“Yet you were willing to torture him,” she pointed out.

“That’s different. Execution is permanent.” I sighed. “Al might come to hate me for it, even if it’s in twenty or a hundred years.” I fell quiet for a moment, then shook my head. “There’s no other good option. It will probably have to be banishment, if we can find a way to keep him from going to the Zarian. Well, we have some time to consider it.”

Kariva frowned, but she didn’t argue.

I glanced at the door, then made my way back up the stairs and through the building, entering the courtyard. While I walked slowly back to the command center, I tried to think of how best to deal with this. Kariva followed me a few meters behind, talking into a qi communication device.

“This fight is far from over, my lady,” she said after a moment. “General Wei has fled to the east with some survivors of this fight, towards where nobles loyal to their conspiracy have started seizing cities and locations of strategic or logistic importance. The same seems to be happening in a few clusters throughout the continent. And to a lesser extent, at the front. Though thankfully, disruption there seems to be limited.”

I sighed and pinched my nose. All we needed was for the Zarian to take advantage of this civil unrest and overrun our frontline before conquering their way north.

I increased my pace. We needed to react to this.