During the trip further into the city, Aston looked like he’d taken an overdose of caffeine and awakened from a nightmare at the same time, unable to keep his hands still or his face as sober as usual.

I understood why his professional paranoia had to be screaming at him, but there was nothing for it. The people we’d met were hardly strong enough to threaten my guards, and none of us could sense any hidden traps. Besides, I didn’t want to dither around, look like a coward, or appear too mistrustful. Not that I would have trusted them too far, but diplomacy worked better if you didn’t shout that from the rooftops.

The city seemed almost deserted, with most people huddling inside their homes. Those grew larger and more beautiful as we went further into the city. We reached what must have been the city hall or a similar building quickly, and a girl in the first stage, the only one of the original group I’d met who hadn’t made themselves scarce at some point, showed me into a comfortably appointed room. I sat down in the chair I assumed had been left for me, since the amount of gold it sported was a little too large compared to the amount of cushioning. The other chairs were empty when we entered, though Tenira and Kajare quickly took the two beside me. A few moments later, Elis finally appeared, though he didn’t sit down.

Then the large doors opened and four people filed into the room. They all wore simple, practical clothing in dark tones, and ranged in age from around twenty to a gnarled old man stooping over a cane. They were all in the second stage, with nature and earth affinities, just as you would expect from your average commoner. They probably could have walked through almost anywhere in the Dominion without getting a second glance. Probably more proof I shouldn’t underestimate them.

These people had barely entered the room before they threw themselves to the ground until they were lying prostate on the floor facing me.

Surprise stole my voice for a moment. Then I said in Zarian, “Please, get up. No need for quite that much deference.” I smiled at them.

They stood up and stepped closer. From the way they were acting, I gathered this wasn’t some particularly fraught gesture. Probably just what people of their status were usually supposed to do when they met someone of very high status in the Dominion. I found it interesting that they followed such courtesies, a custom based on strength like most things in the Dominion, even here, but that kind of thing was probably normal for them. And I imagine they aren’t exactly familiar with Imperial customs or social norms.

One of the women had been among the group I’d first met, but I hadn’t seen the others before. They all returned my smile with varying degrees of warmth. Then the older woman spoke up. “Thank you, Imperial Princess Inaris. We’re all honored to meet you.”

I nodded. “Sit if you like, please. I think we have a lot to talk about.”

They did, pulling up chairs so we sat facing each other. “Your people clearly knew enough to deal with the city’s wards. Are you familiar with our organization, Your Highness?” the woman asked.

I shook my head. “I can make a few obvious guesses, but no. I’ll have to have words with my informant.”

I glanced at Elis, who only shrugged and smirked. “I didn’t know the Basement would be here in such strength. Or try to take the city.”

A few of the Zarian smiled slightly. The younger woman inclined her head in his direction. “We didn’t expect you to come with the Empire’s army, Elis Arialko, though perhaps we should have.”

I raised an eyebrow. He’d mentioned the resistance group (or something like that) called the Basement, but only in passing, and I didn’t know much about them. Still, the situation lent itself to some obvious conclusions. It was pretty remarkable that a group clearly composed mostly, if not solely, of members with low cultivation had managed to take this city, or given it such a good try, at least.

“How did you know we’d be coming here?” I asked.

The younger of the two men shrugged. “We didn’t know for sure, of course. We knew that the Imperials would invade, and we narrowed down the options we believed made sense as targets for an attack. This was one of the major possibilities. We’ve been concentrating our strength here over the last few months, and stepped it up once we knew that the Empire made its move.”

I nodded slowly. They’d clearly acted according to an established plan. Most likely, they’d wanted to make a point. To show their strength to us, maybe? It could be they wanted to persuade us to work together, and helping us get the city like this would make for a pretty good offer. The other obvious take-away was how well informed they’d been, and clearly still were. Not that I found that surprising.

“I can see that. I imagine you know a lot more about what’s going on in the Dominion than most people would believe possible,” I commented.

They exchanged a quick look. Then the younger man cleared his throat. “Indeed, Your Highness?”

I smiled with as much charm as I could muster. “If my own experience with Imperial nobles is anything to go by,” — or, more likely, stories I’d read — “then any normal patrician would be hard-pressed to see how someone in a low stage could possibly threaten their interests. I would assume you have quite a few members working as servants in noble households, don’t you? Placed where they’d be able to overhear some interesting details.” I thoughtfully tapped my fingers. “Not to mention a few clerks, dockworkers, prostitutes around army bases, probably others.”

They exchanged another look. The woman bowed to me. “And astute supposition, Your Highness.”

I got the feeling they weren’t entirely pleased by the way I was talking, or were at least a little off-balance. They probably thought they’d have to face an entitled princess who’d be hard-pressed to imagine how a bunch of unwashed peasants could possibly be useful to her.

“How did you manage to shake this city like that, by the way?” I asked. “Did you suborn some of the soldiers? Or something more indirect? Poison?”

They shifted a little, before the older woman spoke up. “It was mostly poison, yes. We accumulated a little store of some very potent stuff over time. We also managed to subvert some of the wards and other formations around the city.”

I nodded. That made some sense, although it still couldn’t have been an easy proposition. Still, I had to remind myself these people obviously weren’t lacking in guts or organizational capabilities. And you could still learn about formations even if you didn’t have the qi to make or use them yourselves.

“You obviously put quite a lot of resources into this operation,” Kajare said, gazing at them thoughtfully. “Which leaves the question of why. If you’d taken another city, the Dominion’s soldiers would have taken it back in short order, and this one is now in the Empire’s hands. Effectively, you simply helped us against the Dominion. Why?”

I was happy to notice that he didn’t talk to them with any condescension. Instead, he sounded honestly curious, as if he was carefully considering the situation’s politics.

I decided it was time to join him and push a little. “You also took a risk. You’ve put yourselves within our power, along with many of your members. And there’s also the chance that we would decide to simply burn the city.”

The shifted a little at the last sentence, and several of them weren’t quite good enough at hiding their surprise.

“We were quite certain you wouldn’t do that, Imperial Princess,” the older man answered.

I smiled thinly. Ah. It was probably a matter of reputation. I guess they’re right. I’m Rijoko’s daughter. They might have cause to worry if it was the Storm, but the Moon isn’t exactly the type for violent overkill.

“I’m honored by your high opinion of me,” I answered. “Am I to assume that you have an equally high opinion of the Empire in general?”

“It can hardly be much worse than the Dominion,” the younger man muttered under his breath.

“From what I understand, everyone within the Empire of the Sky is given basic rights that protect them, their property, and certain individual freedoms,” the younger woman said. She raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong, Your Highness?”

I shook my head. They probably kept switching speakers to keep me from guessing who, if anyone, was their leader. “Of course not. Every citizen of the Empire has unassailable civil rights, such as the right for a fair trial, with the same consideration as a noble.” I hesitated, then added, “We also don’t restrict who may own land or property, taxes are based on wealth and income, and anyone can visit public schools. Or marry whoever they like.”

It seemed I’d hit a sore spot with that. The way the younger man looked, it wasn’t hard to guess what his problem was.

“That alone would be more than worth it,” the other man said.

I smiled and leaned back in my chair. From my reading, I knew marriage was generally restricted to the same stage or the immediately adjacent ones, though there were a few exceptions. Cultivators in the seventh and eighth stage could marry anyone from the fifth up, not that they did that often, those in the second only up to the early part of the third, and there was a hard limit between the third and fourth stage. It was a prime example of the way the Dominion kept everyone at their ‘proper’ place.

“Well,” the older woman said, “a few of us are pretty taken with that idea.”

“And many of the rest just think the Empire’s going to win, anyway,” Elis commented.

She hesitated for a moment, before she shrugged. “Yes, that’s right, too.”

I exchanged a glance with Tenira. The four of them might as well have ‘please recruit us’ written on their foreheads.

But I didn’t jump on the chance. That didn’t just have to do with the unease in the back of my mind, which had been steadily growing the longer we talked. It was still very limited. I didn’t think I was in any immediate danger, but my intuition was putting up warning signs.

“We’re certainly eager to find any support we can,” I said slowly, “but I can’t promise you anything. I’ll have to discuss this with my advisers and generals, you understand, not to mention the Regent.”

They looked a little disappointed, but not very surprised. I smiled to take the possible sting out of my words. We really could use their help, not just with the fighting, but more importantly, with what came after. Ultimately, after all, we were here to stay. Which meant somehow trying to fit the local population into the Empire, in all the ways that mattered. It might be a little early to worry about that, but on the other hand, I couldn’t afford not to worry about it. Having a well-organized group of ‘normal people’ who supported the Imperial occupation and could help us handle problematic issues would be a blessing.

But that was why I had to be careful. After all, they had their own agenda, and I’d have to be sure what I was getting into. I didn’t want to win this war, come to rely on them, only for them to turn around and demand the death of every patrician, down to the children. Or the complete abolition of private property. Or who knew what their goals might be.

“I hope you’ll keep in mind the many ways in which we could help you, if the Empire chooses to take us into the fold,” the older man said. “We could help your agents get many places they would never otherwise reach, provide information on the inner workings of and event in the Dominion, help you take further cities, and help the people accept you.”

“And we can offer some more concrete support, as well,” the younger woman said. She smiled, then reached into the bag she’d put down behind her chair, forgotten, and pulled something out. “We brought this as a little demonstration.”

I leaned forward, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling as I tensed. It was a wooden box, of simple make, but inlaid with a few runes, and I could faintly sense the qi of what it contained. It felt like darkness and space.

“What is it?” I asked, as my guards shifted.

“Something we took from the castle in the confusion,” the other woman answered. “You must have noticed the soldiers’ new ability to move places? Well, they need certain devices for it. Spatial anchors. Some of them mark an area where you can teleport to, others are used to travel, unless you have one of the really good experts with you.”

I leaned forward, intrigued despite the unease that had sharply stepped up a notch. I didn’t need that feeling to realize this device was dangerous. “Give it here, please,” I said.

One of my guards stepped up, and the younger woman stood, opened the case and took out a complicated mechanism of metal and precious stones. She set the case on the floor and stepped forward to hand it to the guard, Yin. The sixth-stage light cultivator scrutinized it closely for a moment, with a brush of his qi, before he turned to hand it to me.

I reached out to take it, surprised at the weight. Its qi seemed to flicker a little as it connected, and touched my own briefly. It settled down after a moment, and I started turning it around analyze it more closely.

Then the feeling of unease morphed into a sudden, abrupt spike of danger.

For a moment, I was almost paralyzed by conflicting impulses. I glanced up, the still calm qi of the device fading into the background of my awareness, just in time to watch the young Zarian woman come at me with a dagger so black it sucked in the light. It was from a storage ring that must have been in the box as well, I realized, my mind moving at lightning speed while my body could barely begin to react. Everyone’s attention had been diverted by the device.

The woman was only in the second stage, or so I could have sworn a second ago. But she moved with unnatural speed, as if she was at least in the fourth. I started to step back and to the side, but I barely managed to shift my weight before she’d crossed most of the short distance between us.

Then suddenly, so quickly I couldn’t really perceive it, Aston was there, his qi flashing outward in a stony defense.

The dagger cut through it like it was butter, but at least the impact seemed to slow it. The woman twisted, her arm bending too far, and the dagger slid into my chest with a hiss.

But she’d been aiming for my head originally, and I’d moved enough to blunt the attack. Blinding pain seized me, and I screamed, before some vestige of control had me shut down all sensation south of my neck.

I stumbled backwards, barely noticing how Aston took care of the assassin or the rest of the guards moved forward. I felt darkness qi, some technique in the weapon, which was burning through not just my flesh, but seemed to attack my qi itself. Similar to my own greatest technique, though not quite the same. More parasitic, less contained.

I turned and fixed my gaze on Tenira. “Burn it out,” I said, my voice hoarse.

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t stop to question me. Instead, my girlfriend held out her hand and formed a swirling mass of black qi composing the Void’s Nibble above it. Then she stuck out her hand.

I moved forward just enough. Her technique burned even worse, but it attacked the foreign qi more than my own, since there was more of it.

I took a deep breath and cast my affected parts out. It wouldn’t have worked for a normal person, but there was too much qi woven into my body. I fed it into the furnace enough so it burned all of the tissue along with it and scoured out the attack’s qi.

I swayed on my feet, but didn’t look down. I could feel the large hole in my torso. My heart had a chunk missing, enough to ensure it would never pump again. But I was the Moon’s daughter and my body was mine to shape. Even as I felt the onset of the price blood loss and lack of oxygen would demand, I took a step back and focused my will on repairing the damage. New tissue and bone formed where it had been lost, and qi crept in to fill it.

I exhaled and looked down. There was no sign but the large hole cut out of my clothing. Although now what had happened was really starting to set in, and I bit my tongue to keep from cursing.

Jideia must have infiltrated the Basement. Dammit.