The Burning Flowers

Chapter VIII

Ryokumo reacted just in time to prevent the blade from piercing his heart and killing him on the spot, but despite having just narrowly avoided death, he still couldn’t help but furiously berate himself for being taken by surprise, and the pain was excruciating. Since they were on the stairs, the attacker was standing just a few steps above and behind him, having shoved the weapon downwards and through his body at an angle, his blood dripping off of the blade’s tip that Ryokumo could see protruding from his chest. However, the changeling was just a couple of feet in front of him, so the attacker could only drive the blade so far through him before he would impale what Ryokumo assumed was his ally. Time seemed to slow, and the young man knew that if he didn’t react instantly, the assailant would slice the blade downwards and cut his entire torso open, so even though he felt he could black out from the agony, he still didn’t hesitate to spit out a single word.

“Proto.”

Propelling himself down the stairs at an angle, Ryokumo launched forward, feeling the blade pulled from his body due to the momentum, as he and the changeling went tumbling down the stone steps. Everything was a blur to him as more pain assaulted him each time he hit a stair, but if his instincts weren’t so fine-tuned, he knew he would have died a long time ago, so all Ryokumo could think about was survival.

Shoving the changeling to the side, Ryokumo used his magic to slow his body and launch himself back to his feet, though he only barely managed to avoid stumbling further down the stairwell. The moment he raised his head, he saw the attacker practically soaring toward him. It was almost certainly a man based on the sheer size of the individual, who most likely stood at around six and half feet tall, with broad-shoulders and a massive chest. But his size was about the only thing that he could see, for the man was garbed from head-to-toe in sparkling red and black armor, his features concealed behind the visor of a traditional knight’s helmet. Gripped in both hands was a spear, or more specifically a glaive, exactly as Ryokumo had guessed based on the appearance of the blade. The attacker was terrifying, leaving Ryokumo only a second to take in his appearance before the glaive reached him.

Shit!

Lurching to the side, the wind mage just barely managed to dodge the swift and terrifying thrust that skimmed the right side of his neck, causing warm blood to begin dripping out. The knight attacked at inhuman speeds, wind magic enhancing his thrusts as three more aimed for his torso, Ryokumo once again barely getting out of the way. In other circumstances, the young man would have been confident in his ability to win the fight, but having already taken a wound to his chest, the agony was too much for him, and he knew that he didn’t have a chance of surviving the battle if he stood his ground. Fleeing was the only option, but a part of him hesitated to do so. The changeling clearly intended to lure him down to the basement and hadn’t been ready for her act to be so quickly sniffed out, which meant that they hadn’t planned to fight him there on the stairs.

The tight quarters play to my favor, especially with his large size, Ryokumo noted. He’s limited in what he can do with the glaive, so the main attacks he’ll be able to get in will be thrusts like what he’s doing now! The environment’s in my favor, but…

The knight was heavily protected by his armor, and Ryokumo wasn’t sure how much magic it would take to break past those defenses. He supposed he could attempt to use Perkari and try to slip a blade through the armor’s gap around his neck, but given that the knight would be aware of that weakness, it would certainly take a lot of luck and precision for the shot to land. On top of that, his opponent was clearly trained in the arts of the Korrei-Tarr, meaning that he was quite skilled at mixing magic with weaponry, fusing his wind spells with his glaive to increase his speed and accuracy.

And if he knows Korrei-Tarr magic then he’s going to be well trained in basic wind magic! Even if I get past the glaive, he’ll almost certainly have spells prepped and ready to take me down. He internally grimaced, feeling for the first time in years that his life might actually be in danger. Shit, I could actually die here. I’m totally outmatched!

With graceful movements, the knight used both hands to swing the glaive upwards, forcing Ryokumo to move back in order to avoid it, only for three more thrusts to immediately follow. Knowing that escape was truly his only option and that he needed to reach either Abigail or Ilirianna for healing, the wind mage swiftly concocted a means of getting down to the next floor. Dodging to the left to avoid the first thrust, then immediately ducking down to avoid the second, Ryokumo prepared himself for the third and set himself up exactly as he intended.

“Nex!” he chanted, forming a shield of air between him and the knight, but rather than creating it directly between them, he turned it at an angle so that the glaive would deflect to the side, pushing it out of the way and giving him an opening.

Ryokumo then rattled off Condite, the ropes of air spell that the knight almost certainly feared. However, the man would have probably expected to be bound, so he wouldn’t have predicted Ryokumo’s actual move. Rather than attempting to bind the man or even to yank him backwards, Ryokumo allowed the ropes to form around his own wrists and latch onto the stairs just behind the knight. With a weak but smug grin, Ryokumo was pulled forward, flying directly toward the man, and with the glaive pushed to the side, he had no means of using it to defend himself.

As Ryokumo had predicted, the knight’s gauntleted right hand released from the glaive’s handle, magic already forming in his palm, but Ryokumo was just barely fast enough. Planting his feet against his opponent's large and armored chest, he uttered “Proto”, sending magic surging through his feet and into the knight. With that, he propelled himself off of him, sending himself soaring further down the stairs while hopefully knocking the massive man off of his balance.

Given the curved nature of the stairwell, Ryokumo quickly shifted in midair and used one of the walls to proto even further down, fighting tooth and nail through the pain as he continuously flew. All the while, between castings of proto, he managed to utter Benedio, the basic spell of healing. He had been taught the spell by his mentor, Daisuke Caeli, whose words of wisdom briefly returned to him at that moment.

“Not only is it critical that you know at least basic healing magic should you ever find yourself fighting alone, but it is also crucial that you are able to cast it mid-battle. Many mages are unable to do such a thing due to the natural complexity of healing while under excruciating pain, but if you can do it, then it could very well make a difference between dying and surviving.”

Damn it all, Master. How many times has your advice saved my ass now, huh?

Feeling the wound he received to the chest closing up, Ryokumo was confident that it would be fine for the moment and that he could get better healing when he reached Abi. He grinned weakly before emerging from the stairwell and blasting his way out into the corridor of the castle’s fourth level, where he knew their quarters were located. Both to his disappointment, as well as partially to his relief, there wasn’t a soul in sight, meaning that he didn’t yet have to worry about guards joining the knight to gang up on him. Believing himself to potentially be in the clear, Ryokumo glanced back over his shoulder in the direction he had come, only to see the glaive soaring towards him at a speed so fast that he didn’t have time to move.

His eyes went wide in horror as the long weapon pierced his back and flew directly through his body, blood spraying out of him as his magic failed, sending him tumbling out of the air and to the hard floor of the castle. The first impact nearly knocked him out and he could feel multiple bones breaking. He only managed to stay conscious due to the adrenaline, but he hit the ground so hard that he bounced slightly before rolling a few more feet and going still. Everything was spinning and he feared looking at his chest and seeing his internal organs hanging out. Blood was oozing from his mouth and dripping down the side of his face, causing him to gag, but he knew that if he laid there for even a few seconds, he would die. A man as skilled as that knight would have an easy time using magic to summon the blade back to his hand, so he spat out the blood, breathed in a ragged and shaky breath, then cast the first spell that came to mind.

“Con…dite…”

Like he did back in the stairwell, Ryokumo felt ropes wrapping around his wrists and violently dragging him across the floor, which was slipperier than it would have been otherwise without his blood all over it. He hadn’t had a clue where the knight was before he did such a thing, but he knew he reacted just in time when he heard the loud sound of the glaive’s blade slamming into the ground.

I’m not far from our rooms. I just need to get there! If I can just get help from any of them, I might live! I can’t die here! Not after everything that’s happened in the last few weeks! My life was shaping up perfectly! So… Allowing thoughts of the princess and his new Academy team to drive him further than he’d ever gone in his life, Ryokumo clenched his teeth to drive blood back into his head, and as the ropes continued to drag him across the ground, he placed his free hand against it and breathed,

“Corsikei.”

It was a spell that sent a sharp and powerful burst of wind from his palm like a shockwave, similar to proto but used with the hands rather than the feet. Like a bloody ragdoll, Ryokumo was once again launched into the air, and still without a clue where the knight was, he extended both hands and cast Nex, putting up shields on either side of him, just barely in time. He felt a sharp impact against the shield on his right as the glaive slammed into it, once again having been thrown, and had it collided with the spell any harder, the shield may have shattered completely.

With escape the only thing on Ryokumo Caeli’s mind, he cast Condite a third time, forming ropes around his wrist that connected with one of the corridor’s fire-magic lamps attached to the wall ahead of him. Pulling himself forward and using the ropes to create momentum, Ryokumo swung himself around the corner and put all of his mana into movement, continuously using the lamps to swing down the halls while simultaneously keeping his instincts aware of any magic that might be coming his way. With each swing, he alternated which wrist the ropes were attached to, using his free hand to send nature magic into his body, wanting to minimize as much damage as he could. Given that the glaive had gone completely through him, he knew he didn’t have the experience to fully heal himself, but at that point, even just a little bit of magic might be the difference between surviving the attack and getting himself killed.

When he looked back over his shoulder, he saw the man in the armor just barely behind him, Proto propelling him after Ryokumo. Yet, given his size and the weight of that armor, he was nowhere near as fast or nimble as the young wind mage was, and so even on death’s door, Ryokumo was just barely able to outpace him. Naturally, though, there were plenty of long-range attacks in the knight’s arsenal.

Ryokumo never heard him cast the spell given their distance, but he could sense the oncoming blades of wind, and having healed himself just barely enough, his mind was clear enough to react. He didn't bother with shields anymore, instead relying on the momentum of his swing to dodge and weave through the dimly-lit corridor, soaring downwards to dodge a perkari heading straight towards him, or launching to the left if it was coming towards his right. He moved mostly on instinct, relying on his years of practice to guide his fading mind in the right direction, but with all of the damage he had taken, avoiding all of the attacks was nearly impossible.

He sensed the casting of Condite in time to mostly avoid the ropes of wind forming around him, but one of them managed to latch onto his leg and attempt to pull him out of the air. Given that his own ropes were still pulling him forward, the knight’s spell failed to fully yank him down, but it was enough inhibition to allow a blade of wind to slice vertically through his right thigh, sending blood spurting out onto his leg.

But Ryokumo Caeli would not fall, no matter what, and when he finally swung around another corner, he could see the door to Princess Ilirianna’s quarters up ahead. The knight must have known where they were as well, for he abruptly stopped and propelled himself back the way he had come, and though it infuriated Ryokumo that the man would surely escape them, he found it didn’t matter in the end.

I’ve made it… I’m going to live…

Unfortunately, after exerting so much effort to reach that room, Ryokumo found himself unable to slow his momentum completely, and so he did the first thing that came to mind. Throwing all of his mana into his feet, Ryokumo twisted around and blasted straight through Ilirianna’s door, sending it flying from its hinges as the young wind mage toppled into the room, his momentum now lost as he forcefully collapsed into the carpet just in front of the couch and chairs. He had barely been able to make out both Ilirianna and Nakoma sitting there before hitting the ground, and somewhere in the distance, he heard cries of horror coming from them as they realized who he was.

Relief flooded his body as a warm sensation that was most likely healing magic entered his wounds, but as much as he wanted to communicate to them and tell them what happened in the hopes that they could still pursue the knight in the red armor, Ryokumo Caeli had nothing left, and so he couldn’t do anything but fade into unconsciousness.

***

When Ryokumo came to, he no longer felt as much pain as he did when he first passed out, but there was still a dull throbbing all over his body that made him feel like the healing magic that he knew had been used on him hadn’t completely fixed him. He was laying in a bed and when his eyes flickered open, he found himself in a dark room lit only by fire lamps. Given that he made out a curtained window off to his left, he knew that it must still be night. He didn’t know how long he had been out, but as he scanned his surroundings, he realized that he didn’t recognize them. It was an average bedroom, but it certainly wasn’t the one he currently shared with Nigreos. Then, just as he was properly gathering his thoughts, he realized that somebody was sitting in a chair just beside his bed, her head resting against the wall behind her and her eyes closed.

“Princess?” he muttered, his voice hoarse but still loud enough that Ilirianna lurched forward and turned a concerned stare his way.

“Caeli, you’re awake!” she exclaimed with relief before smiling at him. “Thank goodness! Myself and the castle healers did everything we could, but you were in such awful shape and I was worried that…” She cleared her throat and composed herself, returning the typically calm demeanor that he was used to seeing from her. “You’re lucky to be alive. For all intents and purposes, you should have been dead. You’re insane, you know that?”

Ryokumo grinned slyly, barely able to make a soft chuckle and give her a wink. “Yes, well, if somebody wants to kill me then I’m gonna make it a hell of a pain in the ass. But where am I? How long has it been?”

“You’re in the healing quarters on the third floor,” she told him. “And I would say it’s been about three hours. That being said, and as much as I hate to thrust this upon you just after waking up, I’m going to need you to tell us everything that happened to you. Lord Malloway’s been losing his mind ever since we told him that you burst through the door, half-dead.”

“Malloway, huh?” Ryokumo grunted, wondering how much of the Lord’s words were actually truthful. “Yes, I can make the report.”

“Good. In that case, I’m going to go get Master Taurus and Lord Malloway. I want them here so that you won’t have to explain it multiple times. And for that matter, I’ll send your team in.”

“My team?” He frowned. “Where are they? Are they okay?”

His thoughts frantically shifted to the possibility that the knight, or somebody else working for him, might have tried to attack one of the others, but Ilirianna’s warm and reassuring smile eased his fear rather quickly.

“They’re in the next room over. After having Nakoma help me transport you up here, I went and told your team what happened, and the three of them refused to go back to their quarters until you woke up so the healers allowed them to stay in another room for the moment. So give me just a second if you would…”

The princess departed, leaving Ryokumo laying there with his dull aching, doing his best to remember everything that happened so he could give as thorough a report as possible. Yet, he was only by himself for a few seconds before the door was shoved open and Nigreos, Album, and Abigail rushed inside with expressions filled with varying emotions, like terror and relief. All three of them began talking at once, and his sleep-heavy mind struggled to distinguish any of what they were saying, so he only grinned and raised a hand in an attempt to silence them.

“One at a time, my friends,” he teased. “I’m glad you're concerned for little ol’ me, but I’m in a tad bit of pain right now, so if you could speak softer, that would be welcome.”

They all exchanged glances, as if trying to determine who would be the one to talk first, and to Ryokumo’s genuine surprise, it was Album who stepped forward and took Ilirianna’s vacated seat. The light mage then reached out and gently touched his arm before smiling with tears in her eyes.

“We were worried,” she whispered. “Given what Ilirianna told us, we were all terrified that you were going to die. I’d ask what happened, but I’m sure you're waiting for the others to get back, so… Well, you’re clearly tough, Ryokumo.”

“Ah, thank you, Album,” he responded. “Yes, I surprised even myself tonight, though I’m still hurting like crazy. Abi, is there any spell you can cast to help me out here?”

But to his disappointment, his friend shook her head. “Sorry, but the pain’s actually because of the healing magic. You see, according to the princess, your organs were in need of intensive repair, with some even missing, so the healers had to cast some advanced spells to reform them, and that’s why you’re hurting so much. Try not to move around, by the way.”

Ryokumo eyed her hesitatingly, having not realized he was in that bad of shape. “I-is that so? Well, that’s unfortunate. And I pity the poor fellow who stumbles upon whatever corridor I lost them in.” He grinned wryly. “How long is it gonna take for them to properly come back?”

“Oh, just a few more hours,” Abi assured him. “You should be mobile by the morning, but you’ll probably be really achy and tired for the next couple of days. Reforming whole organs is not really easy, and so it takes a pretty high toll on the body.”

“Fantastic,” he chirped. “But I suppose I shouldn’t complain. A bit of achiness is a small price to pay for not dying.”

“That it is,” Nigreos chimed in. “And just know that I’ll be keeping an eye on you for the rest of our stay here to make sure you don’t overdo it. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear, my friend!”

With that, they spent the next few minutes enjoying each other’s company before the room’s door was once again opened, and while Ryokumo had been expecting Ilirianna, Nakoma, and Lord Malloway, he was instantly put on his guard by the fourth and final person to enter: Captain Rotana Vesh.

What the hell is he doing here?

At first, he had suspected the knight in the armor to potentially have been Vesh, but now that he got another close look at the captain, he realized that couldn’t be the case. While he was certainly a large man, he wasn’t quite as tall or broad-shouldered as the knight was.

That being said though, with a changeling in play, I suppose she could have altered his appearance to be just slightly different from how he usually is. I shouldn’t let my guard down.

“Mr. Caeli, thank goodness you are alive!” Lord Malloway said the moment he entered, looking surprisingly genuine in his concern. “When I heard what happened, I was just astonished! Between the break-in to my son’s room and now you nearly getting yourself killed, well I just… I must admit it's quite an embarrassment on my part and I…”

He shook his head and trailed off as Abi and Nigreos stepped back and allowed the newcomers to move toward the bed. Album, however, remained by Ryokumo’s side, never once letting go of his arm.

“What happened, Caeli?” Nakoma inquired. “You were clearly attacked, but by whom?”

The wind mage sighed, wishing he could have given them something of substance to go on, but given that he never saw the changeling’s real face, nor could he identify the knight, he truly had very little to tell them.

Even so, Ryokumo explained everything he could, informing them of how the changeling impersonated Abigail in an attempt to lure him down into the basement, though he omitted any details about his search for the doctor and the research project. At the moment, they didn’t think Lord Malloway was actually privy to what was going on in the castle, so even though he had accidentally admitted to the changeling that he had been the one to steal the notes, he knew he still had to keep up appearances with the lord. With that in mind, he also knew he would have to wait until they were alone to confess his mistake at revealing Nyx Rana’s presence to the enemy.

Once he had explained the changeling, he then went on to describe the knight and his subsequent fight and flight against him, finalizing it with his arrival in Ilirianna’s quarters. All the while, he watched Vesh as closely and subtly as he could, but the captain made no indication of what he might be thinking on the subject.

“I found it strange,” Ryokumo finished, “that the corridor was utterly devoid of guards. I would have thought somebody would have been nearby to provide me aid. Where were they, Captain Vesh?”

Deciding to be somewhat blunt, Ryokumo tossed the ball into his court, but the man merely shook his head and sighed. “Unfortunately, there was a reported disturbance down in the city that required some backup from the castle. My apologies, Caeli, for now I wonder if it was merely a diversion to draw them away.”

“And if it is then the implications are terrible,” Malloway muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. “There’s a changeling in the castle? This is the first I’ve heard of such a thing, and perhaps this explains the incident in Mallicent’s room. The knight was a wind mage, so perhaps he and the changeling were the ones who broke in and stole those notes?”

“It is possible, and even likely,” Ilirianna agreed, and Ryokumo was pleased by the fact that she was so quick to push that blame onto these newcomers. “Captain Vesh, do you have any clue who this knight could have been? Do you know of anybody so skilled in the arts of the Korrei-Tarr who prefers wind magic?”

Vesh shook his head once more. “I mean, of course I do, but none that match this description. That being said, not only do I have to wonder why these people targeted Caeli, specifically, but why they were so intent on killing him when they spared Mallicent’s life.”

“I do not find it strange at all,” Nakoma replied. “Killing Mallicent has far heavier implications and consequences than killing Caeli, though I do not know why they would go after him specifically.”

“But were they really trying to kill him?” Nigreos cut in, confused. “From the sound of it, they were trying to lure him somewhere by pretending to be Abi. Maybe they had different plans and Ryokumo sniffing it out forced their hands. After all, his survival has revealed to us that there’s a changeling somewhere in Aquesen.”

Ilirianna’s lips drew tight as she considered Nigreos’s suggestion, and in the dim reddish lighting of the room, Ryokumo could just barely see the fear in her eyes, a rather uncharacteristic expression for her.

“That is possible, yes,” she agreed. “But I don’t know what to make of this. The changeling could be anybody, and for all we know, she may have even replaced somebody and is under cover. Then there’s the matter of this knight…”

“Actually, I have a quick question about that.” Raising her hand, Abi also stepped into the conversation, her features tense with anxiety. “How is it that the changeling could be me? I don’t know much about them, so I’m a bit confused.”

In response to her question, it was Nakoma who provided the proper answer. “That doesn’t surprise me. Changelings are the title bestowed upon users of biological magic, a subset of nature as I’m sure you know, to alter their own appearance or the appearances of others. An average user can most likely change themselves to look like another person of their own sex, a more advanced user can change their sex, and those who manage to learn the most challenging and near impossible spells can even change their species.” The Master of Fire shook his head. “It’s dangerous as all hell, and if you’ve ever seen biological magic gone wrong, well, the results will haunt your nightmares for the rest of your lives. It’s banned in Ijiria everywhere except Krato, where only basic alterations are allowed. Trovia and Dunnovia also ban it, but Sukon’s laws lack teeth, and Norania, in some ways, encourages its usage.”

“So the changeling probably learned somewhere down south,” Nigreos murmured. “And, assuming she’s not some advanced user, they’re probably female?”

Nakoma nodded. “Even if she is advanced, it’s still less risky to remain as the same sex, so I’m almost certain we’re looking for a woman.” He then turned back to address Abi. “And in order to be you, all she would have needed was to know what you looked like. Even if she couldn’t get your proportions exactly as is, Caeli said she was wearing a cloak, so as long as she was moderately accurate in your size, he wouldn’t have noticed right away.”

“That’s…unnerving,” Abi said with a grimace. “Knowing that somebody pretended to be me…”

“We need to find this woman at once,” Malloway growled. “I want to know what she’s after. Captain Vesh, I want the entire guard scouring this castle and the city to locate the changeling and the knight. Understood?”

Vesh immediately bowed. “Yes, My Lord. At once.”

The captain swiftly departed the room, and once he was gone, Malloway let out another sigh and then gently bowed his head both at Princess Ilirianna and even Ryokumo. “I am sorry to both of you. I never should have allowed my son to accuse you the way I did, and now knowing what may have happened, I admit that I feel quite guilty for it. Please forgive me, Princess, Mr. Caeli.”

Knowing that Ryokumo was actually behind that break-in, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad about accepting such an apology from someone as powerful as a lord of a Great City, but since they needed to keep up appearances, he still did so regardless.

“It’s no problem, My Lord. It was understandable given how overbearing I may have been on Mallicent,” Ryokumo replied. “No harm done.”

“Yes, it’s no problem,” Ilirianna said. “And we’re all willing to provide whatever aid you may need in your hunt for these individuals. One of my teammates was nearly killed tonight, so these people have now made it quite personal. I want them found and I want them found soon. Just say the word, and I’m there.”

Malloway smiled pleasantly at her, seeming very relieved that they didn’t hold any grudges. “Thank you, My Princess. We would love the aid, and I promise that your team will not be attacked again. We’ll increase security both for your team, as well as for Aeyir’s celebration. If they try anything, they will be instantly apprehended.”

“Good. I am glad.”

Bidding them goodbye to go and attend to the many duties he almost certainly had for that night, Lord Malloway left the room, and once he was certain that they were out of earshot, Ryokumo whispered the last extra detail that Princess Ilirianna and Master Taurus needed to hear.

“Master Rana has been compromised.”

Ilirianna’s eyes went wide in surprise before she let out a weak exhale and nodded. “Good to know. We’ll do our best to inform her of this incident so she can take precautions. It’s probably best to get her out of the city quickly.”

“But what do we do now?” Album asked fearfully. “Are we still going to stay for the ball, what with Ryokumo clearly being a target of theirs now? I mean, this has to have been caused by the break-in, right?”

“Oh no, don’t leave on my account,” Ryokumo hurriedly insisted. “Like the princess said, this has become personal. There’s no way we can’t attend this ball now. I want to see what these bastards are gonna do, and I want to stop them. If they want to take another shot at me…” He grinned smugly. “Then I’ll be ready for them this time. They’re not getting the jump on me twice.”

Album, Nigreos, Abi, and even Nakoma, seemed nervous about his confidence after nearly getting killed, but Princess Ilirianna met his smile with one equally as smug, and Ryokumo found his respect for her increasing with each interaction they had.

“Yes, I agree,” she stated. “We stay for the ball, and we’ll be ready for whatever happens. Nobody attacks my allies and walks away alive. Let that be known by all of you. So long as you’re a part of this team, you’re under my protection.”

The princess then ensured that she looked each member in the eyes with the confidence befitting a future queen.

“That I promise you.”

***

“Well that went terribly,” Leiolai Sartella grunted upon entering the subject room of the lab, her features and body having already reverted back to her typical appearance and her brown cloak having been discarded in the front room. “I told you I wouldn’t be able to pull it off and now all we’ve succeeded in doing is drawing even more attention from Princess Ilirianna and Nakoma Taurus. So are you pleased, Doctor?”

She put her hands on her hips and glared across the room to where Doctor Uma Miyon was standing silently, gazing up at the floating form of The Angel with an odd smile on his bespectacled face, as if he hadn’t even heard a word she had just told him. But before she could demand to know whether he was listening or not, Uma chuckled softly and shrugged.

“I mean, it was worth a try, I suppose.”

She snorted, taking a threatening step toward him. “Was it? Was it really? Because now they know we have a changeling among us, and my failure to trick Caeli only resulted in Barron having to get involved.” She shook her head with frustration. “And even he couldn’t kill him, though not for a lack of trying. The bastard was practically inhuman.”

“And why did the trick fail? Was your impersonation of Abigail not accurate?” he inquired, still without looking back.

“No, it was next to flawless,” Leiolai snapped. “I might not have perfectly mimicked her body, but her face was identical. Caeli was just ridiculously observant. He figured it out before I could even leave the stairwell and if Barron hadn’t intervened, he would have dragged me off to face the princess.”

Uma sighed, then turned around and finally looked at her, his features disinterested, which only told the young woman that he wasn’t fully grasping the extent of the consequences they were facing.

“So you failed to use the Teritus on him?”

“I did,” she confirmed.

Uma shrugged once more. “A pity. Oh well, we’ll deal with him at the reckoning then. No harm done.”

“No harm done? Are you fucking kidding me?!” Leiolai’s features contorted in rage as she took another few steps in his direction. “Princess Ilirianna and Lord Malloway are both going to be on our asses for this! Vesh already said the lord ordered him and the guard to hunt me and Barron down!”

But Uma merely brushed her worries aside. “And he will not find you—at least not with Captain Vesh and Mallicent covering for us. Nobody can stop the reckoning anymore. The charms have already been cast and thus, the Princess will be powerless to do anything. The dear girl can bear witness to the first act of many that will begin the downfall of Ijirian autocracy. And perhaps with enough luck, we can even cut her down while she’s here.” The doctor clapped his hands together and grinned. “Is there anything else you’d like to add?”

Leiolai rolled her eyes, knowing that arguing with an Omaruan magicless who couldn’t ever comprehend Iiji power was pointless, so she merely scoffed and nodded. “Yeah, one thing. Before he figured me out, Caeli let it slip that Nakoma Taurus is not the only Master of Ijiria in Hiriech. The Master of Water, Nyx Rana, is somewhere in the city. She could be a threat to us as well.”

“Master of Water, eh?” Uma considered the information. “Then we have two Masters presented to us on a silver platter? Perfect. They’ll make fantastic sacrifices to the goddess alongside the beautiful princess. And with Master Rana not even in the castle, well, that makes her an easier target.”

Leiolai cocked an eyebrow. “You really think we can take down two Masters and the princess?”

“If we play our cards right, yes,” Uma stated confidently, turning back to gaze up at the sleeping Angel. “We simply need to use our knowledge of the situation to our advantage, and we should be good to go. We’ll call the others together and decide on a plan of action. I wouldn’t worry, Leio.”

I swear, if our ideals weren’t so aligned… Leiolai grimaced and shook her head with anger. I’d leave you for dead in an instant, you magicless fuck.