I’d expected that Kiyanu would want to talk to me when I returned to the palace, though I didn’t think he’d be waiting for the airship personally. He stood before a few guards and younger people I recognized as his personal disciples, hands clasped behind his back and a serene expression on his face.

I glanced at Tenira and Yarani, gave them a tight smile, then jumped down just after the airship set down. This time, we’d landed on an actual landing pad on the ground, not too far from our research and development grounds. It was a cold morning, and the breeze blew a few strands of my hair over my face.

“Welcome back.” He inclined his head.

I bowed my head to him as well and smiled. “Thank you. It’s good to be back. There’s some things I wanted to take care of in regards to our new prototypes, but I suppose that can wait.”

Kiyanu nodded. “I’m sure your consorts can supervise things for a while. If you’d come with me?”

“Actually, could you give me a moment?” He’d just reminded me of something I should do.

He nodded again, so I turned around and stepped up to Tenira, who was about to leave with Yarani.

“Do you need me for something, Nari?” she asked.

“No, I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page.” I cleared my throat. “I intend to publicly call you my consort, and act accordingly, unless you don’t want that.”

Yarani looked like she was suppressing a chuckle, while Tenira raised an eyebrow. After a moment, she smiled. “I have no objections.”

I resisted the urge to kiss her right here. “Great. We can discuss other arrangements later. I’d be happy to have you move into a suite beside my rooms, but we’ll talk about that another time.” I glanced at Yarani. “I hope you’re alright with all of this?”

“I don’t know, Inaris. Maybe I should ask for an expensive gift to mollify me?” She grinned when I rolled my eyes, before her expression turned serious. “Of course I’m alright with it. Now don’t keep the Lord Regent waiting any longer.”

I nodded and turned around, stepping back to join Kiyanu. He didn’t comment on the conversation he probably overheard, but offered me his arm. I took it, then had to close my eyes as the world seemed to blur around me.

It was a different feeling than when Mother had moved me around. I experienced more of a sensation of extreme acceleration and deceleration while the wind qi around me prickled against my skin. It was over quickly, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heartbeat, as I looked around. Kiyanu had brought me to his office. There were two guards in the corridor outside, but no one else in the room. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a few stacks of papers were laid out on the wooden desk. Kiyanu released me and settled down in an armchair beside the desk, so I chose the other chair close by to sit.

“I suppose you want to talk about what I told Lei to do about Jian?” I asked. We’d communicated about that with qi talismans, but that hadn’t allowed for an in-depth discussion.

Kiyanu quirked an eyebrow. “A good place to start. To be clear, Inaris, I know it was you Hajake and Jian harmed, and I’m happy to let you handle that matter. As long as I don’t think you’re making a mess of things.”

I sighed a little and leaned back. “Alright.”

“We already received word that Akilei has arrested Prince Jian,” he said. “Kariva is sending a few of her people to help with his interrogation. King Varis isn’t pleased, but hasn’t tried to interfere, so far.”

I nodded. That was what I’d expected. “He might react differently if we’re going to kill his son,” I noted. “But not punishing Jian isn’t an option, is it?”

Kiyanu grimaced. “It’s not a good situation either way, but you’re right. It’s better to have to crack down on the Velisha than let something like this go. We can’t let any of our vassals think they can just rebel, especially with the war.”

I sighed. Here’s hoping King Varis is smart enough to realize sacrificing Jian is his only option if he doesn’t want to lose everything.

I glanced around the office again, then refocused on Kiyanu, who was watching me calmly. I wasn’t surprised by him asserting his authority somewhat. In fact, he was being very permissive, letting me do a lot of things on my own.

“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question, Kiyanu?” I said.

“Of course, you can always ask.”

I tapped my finger on the chair’s armrest, before I noticed what I was doing and stopped it. “I know you’ve been a loyal supporter of Mother for a while. Why did you decide to serve her?” I didn’t think it was just because she was his monarch. And he didn’t seem all that ambitious, for someone in his position.

The eighth stager steepled his fingers and regarded me for a moment, a faint frown on his face. “A fair question, I suppose, and you deserve an honest answer,” he finally said. “My sense of loyalty to Acura goes beyond legal or religious duty, but is rather personal. It goes back to a rather unfortunate event several decades ago.”

“Oh?” I leaned forward slightly, my curiosity piqued.

“A sea dragon had surfaced from the depths, causing some problems with the coastal settlements and ships. I went out to fight it. Or them, I should say. It was perhaps the most challenging battle of my life. I’d only just recovered from the backlash of an improperly mastered technique, and I have to admit the battle did not go in my favor.” He sighed.

“Go on,” I urged.

“Drained and almost defeated, I met your mother on the coast. She was still crown princess back then, not quite ready to break through to the eighth stage. She’d been supervising evacuations, a task the fight didn’t make any easier. Well, she stepped in and challenged the beast herself, giving me the opportunity to recover.” He smiled a little. “She risked her life, leading them away from the coast and battling the sea dragon over the open ocean, and eventually killed them.”

I took a moment to process, making a mental note to check my research on sea dragon culture. It was a pretty good story. I wonder if that was before or after her soul journey? Probably before, from the sounds of it.

And I suppose now I know where the heart she traded to Rijoko came from. Kind of weird. I glanced at my storage ring, where I’d stored my spear. She’d told me that it was crafted from the bone of a sea dragon. Probably the same one she’d killed.

“That’s not quite what I expected to hear,” I admitted. I had my suspicions, but they went in a different direction.

Kiyanu smiled. “I wouldn’t have expected you to. Besides, your mother’s bravery and how she saved my life aren’t my only reasons, my lady. For example, I do wish to see our nation led into a brighter future by the daughter of the Moon.”

I stiffened, not sure how to respond to that. I settled on a nod. “I’ll endeavor to be worthy of your hope.” My voice was a bit tight.

“So long as your ambition matches it.” His gaze had grown a little more intense. “I’m sure you’ll make your mark on this world.”

I scoffed. “Who said my ambitions are limited to this planet?”

Kiyanu blinked, then raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

“I have more than enough time for technology to develop far beyond what you, or even I, have seen,” I said. “My old world started on space travel; I intend to get at least to another planet. Not that we know much about them, unfortunately.”

Those were long-term ideas, so I hadn’t spared them much attention so far. We did have some knowledge of astronomy, but I couldn’t even be sure of the geography of the local solar system. Still, that isn’t really important right now. Though I definitely want to check out this world’s moon. I suppressed a chuckle at the thought. Who knows, I might even meet my father.

Kiyanu shook his head lightly. “Right. Be that as it may, we’ll have to secure the Empire’s hold here first, and that means defeating the Zarian. Or perish.”

I sat up straighter. “Has something happened?”

He pulled a map marked with several tactical symbols from a stack onto the table’s surface, his expression grim. “Blue Valley City has fallen.”

He let the statement hang in the air for a bit. I winced. A cold hand clenched around my guts as I gazed at the map, noting the new markers placed on the city’s location, and how much our forces and defensive line had deteriorated. I shook off thoughts of the university I’d built ransacked by Zarian soldiers.

“How much did we lose?” I asked.

“A few cultivators in the red stage, more in lower stages.” He grimaced. “A few hundred civilians, perhaps more. The south’s economy will feel the blow, and if we aren’t careful, we could risk a famine. And the Zarian advance won’t stop there.”

I sighed and rubbed my temple. “We need to get our new weapons finished and into production. And maybe we should see if we can get reinforcements from the Earth Continent, or the Terbekteri. Those the King sent already aren’t doing us much good at the moment, maybe we should send them south.”

Kiyanu shook his head. “We need to defeat this rebellion quickly. The Zarian will make us pay for it if our focus remains split.”

“Sure. I don’t suppose you have a brilliant plan to help us win against them quickly?”

“Well,” he leaned back in his chair, “there’s your brilliant plan to use the Wei scion against his clan. We actually got word from Ming Li updating us that he’d retrieved his target and is on his way back. They could arrive at any moment.”

I blinked, then smiled at the news. “That was quick. Though I suppose they were still in the process of moving him and wouldn’t have guarded him as closely as Carston.”

“We did send him out a while ago. Now, would you look over some other matters?”

He pushed a few papers at me, and I started reading them. Most of them had to do with the administration of the Empire and related matters. He’d made a few decrees and proclaimed several rulings, all of which seemed sensible to me. We spent some time going over them. I was glad he was running things by me. Although I couldn’t help but suspect that he was trying to take over for Mother, in a way, and teach me. And the worst thing is I probably need it.

We were on it for about an hour, before a knock on the door interrupted us. After Kiyanu’s invitation, Aston poked his head inside. “Sorry to interrupt, my lord, my lady. Lady Kariva has sent word that ‘the assassin and his package’ have arrived at the palace.”

I quickly stood up. “Good. Escort me there, Aston. It was good talking to you, Kiyanu.”

He nodded, but stayed seated, seemingly content to let me handle this, as well. I gave him a brief smile before I turned and left.

As I followed Aston through the building, I focused on my senses, trying to get a feel for the state of the palace. Nothing really stood out to me. But I felt a strong presence I recognized as Ming Li, in the company of Kariva and a few other people. Aston led me there directly and at a quick pace.

It seemed they’d arrived with an airship, considering the direction they were coming from. I decided to wait close to the palace’s side entrance, which was almost deserted at the moment. A few seconds later, the group arrived.

Ming Li bowed with a flourish. “Ah, Imperial Princess Inaris. Such a pleasure to see you again.”

“Ming Li.” I smiled at him. “Thank you. I’d like to talk to you later. Would you like to stay at the palace as our guest for a while?”

He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “With pleasure, my lady. You can come talk to me at any time.”

I turned my attention to our other guest, Wei Min. He looked like he’d lost two or three kilos since I’d last seen him, and his expression was far darker. He smelled like dust and grime, though beneath that I could still smell a hint of smoke and something like pine leaves. I’d call fire and nature affinity qi a rather unfortunate pairing, but he seemed to do well enough with it. Now that I actually focused on him, there was something else, maybe a faint resemblance, but I didn’t know to what.

“Let’s go somewhere we can talk,” I said.

One of my guards split off to lead Ming Li away, while the rest of us followed Kariva across the courtyard and past a few buildings. After a moment, I realized she was guiding us to the building she and her agents had worked out of after the coup. They seemed to have appropriated it, and I suspected the new arrangement would be official soon, if it wasn’t already, but I didn’t say anything.

Once inside, she led us into a conference room with a computer and several locked cupboards, and released a pulse of qi. I sensed enchantments woven into the walls and ceiling come alive, effectively sealing off the room. They were quite interesting, and I watched the process for a moment, taking note of some arrangements I hadn’t seen before.

When I turned back to the others, Wei had fallen to his knees. He pressed his forehead to the ground. “Imperial Princess. This one is honored to meet you again, and cannot express the depths of his gratitude for the rescue.”

“Rise, Wei Min,” I said. “And there’s no need to be so formal.”

He stood up, glancing from me to Kariva, whose face might as well have been carved from stone. Clearly, he felt that the atmosphere was not very friendly.

“Do you know why we have you here?” Kariva asked. Nothing in her tone indicated that he was one of her favorite subordinates.

“No, my lady.” He shook his head and bit his lip. “The Adzurian mercenary you hired told me some story, but surely he was just messing with me.”

Neither of us answered right away. As the moment of silence stretched on, he visibly deflated. I wouldn’t want to switch places with him. His own family betrayed the people he’s been working for.

“I’m afraid it’s likely true. The Wei clan were part of an attempt to take my Mother’s life and the throne,” I explained, keeping my voice gentle. “Their initial attack failed, but the fighting is still ongoing, though we’ve been winning against the traitors.”

He clenched his hands into fists, his face turning pale and red in blotches. I could tell he’d been afraid of that, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

“How could they?” he exclaimed. Then he bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. This is hard for me to grasp.”

“I don’t believe you were involved,” I said. “Especially since you were in captivity at the time. But you have to understand that there is some suspicion.”

“Especially considering they claimed to be acting for you,” Kariva added.

Wei Min ground his teeth, then bowed. “Of course. I had nothing to do with any such plot. but I will gladly submit to whatever questioning you deem necessary.”

I didn’t think he was lying, and judging from the way Kariva let a little sigh slip out, she shared my opinion.

“The question is, Wei Min,” I said slowly, stepping forward. “Where do your loyalties lie? With your family, or your oaths?”

He took a step back and sank to his knees again. “With you, Your Highness. My loyalty will always be to the Empire. And its rightful Empress.” He swallowed hard. “If my clan abandoned this duty, then their fate is sealed, and I will not hesitate to see them punished for it.”

I suppressed a sigh. This left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth, even if it was good for me, pragmatically speaking. But I didn’t let this show as I reached out a hand and helped Wei Min to his feet.

“Good,” I said. “Your devotion to your principles is admirable. What’s coming will be hard for you, I think, but you are helping the Empire.”

Kariva smiled. “It’s good to have you back, Wei.”