Outside, the wind howled, toppling topiaries and ripping branches off the trees. The councilmembers began weaving their way through the flooded garden toward the highest point on the isle, Constellation Temple.
Another typhoon wave roared and crashed down on them. It knocked Glass Lady off her feet, sending her careening into a broken lamppost. Thick splinters from the wood beam pierced into her torso. Salt water swallowed her whole, and she struggled to surface while blood blossomed from her wound.
No. Despite being in her mid-sixties, she was still strong. She kicked frantically and pushed with her arms. Her lungs burned. She found the ground beneath her and shoved up, breaking the surface of the churning water and gasping for air. She’d deal with the injury to her side later.
The waves kept coming.
Finally, the taigas made it to Constellation Temple. Battered and soaked, the councilmembers tumbled into the temple and climbed the stairs quickly, straight to the observation pavilion at the top.
“Commander,” Strategist said, his gray beard looking like a drowned squirrel. “You’ve been wounded.”
Glass Lady glanced at shards of wood still protruding from her side. She waved him away. “Later. There are more important things right now.”
She turned to the ocean in the direction from which the waves came, expecting a wide swath of water that swelled and grew like a wall.
Instead, the waves came from a single point in the sea.
“It’s not a storm,” Glass Lady whispered.
“What do you mean?” Scythe asked.
Glass Lady squinted at the ocean. Was that a black spot on the water? “Someone find me a spyglass,” she said.
Strategist ran down the stairs into the temple. A minute later, he returned and placed a telescope in her hand.
She focused on the point from which the waves seemed to emanate.
“Daggers!” she cursed. “There’s a ship out there.”
“They’ll never survive the typhoon,” Bullfrog said. “Should we attempt to rescue them?”
Another wave rose to monstrous heights and sped toward the island. It slammed into where the dining hall had been.
Gods help us. That was no Imperial Navy ship out there, nor was it a merchant or even pirates. It was nothing Glass Lady knew how to handle.
She turned to the councilmembers and shook her head. “There’s no way we could save that ship. Besides, they don’t need rescuing. They’re causing the waves.”
“What? How?” Strategist asked.
She tried the spyglass again, but visibility was poor. “I don’t know. But the waves are originating from that ship. We have to get out of here. Whoever and whatever that is out there, this is an attack, and we have no way to fight it. We’ll cast sailfish spells on ourselves and swim from Haven Cove.”
It was the most direct path from Isle of the Moon to the shores of Kichona, even though the waters would be rough.
“Rough” was an understatement.
Glass Lady kept an eye on the mysterious ship as the taigas evacuated. But she couldn’t see much through the typhoon. The wind was so violent, it was hurling water high into the sky. And the massive waves kept growing and coming for the island.
“Commander?” Strategist said. “We need to go.”
She hesitated for a moment, paralyzed by not knowing what it was they faced.
“Commander. Now.”
She blinked. Nodded. They sprinted for the cove.
When they arrived, Bullfrog turned to her. “What are we going to do about this? How do we fight a threat we don’t even understand?”
“Just focus on swimming right now.” She gave him a stern look, even though he was also a councilmember. As if acting unafraid would actually make it true.
Bullfrog either didn’t pick up on Glass Lady’s fear or he was too well trained to question her. He put both fists over his heart. “Yes, Commander.”
The Council cast their sailfish spells to help them hold their breath longer underwater and swim faster. Glass Lady forced herself not to look back at the ship. And they dove into the vicious, frigid sea.
Chapter Six
Kichona’s empress was up late, perusing a report on the projected wheat and rice harvests, when a messenger rushed into her study.
“Your Majesty,” he said, huffing to catch his breath, “the commander of the taigas is here to see you.”
“What? Why?” Aki rose from her desk, alarmed. Glass Lady was a meticulous planner. She had come to Rose Palace unannounced on only one occasion before.
“All I know is it’s an emergency,” the messenger said.
“Have her brought to the throne room. I’ll be there soon.”
He nodded and ran off to carry out her orders.
Aki hurried out of her study. As she stepped into the corridor, Imperial Guards surrounded her and strode with her.
They reached the throne room, and Aki settled into the velvet cushions that had once belonged to her father. The moonlight sparkled brightly here, focused through the crystalline prism of the ceiling like a celestial beam upon the empress’s head. Sometimes, the effect was a reassurance, reminding Aki her reign was blessed by Sola, the sun goddess. Other times, she felt unworthy of the spotlight, as if she were an imposter. It was her father who was supposed to be sitting on this throne.
Aki shifted uncomfortably. But she didn’t have time for self-doubt, for the commander of the taigas entered the room.
Glass Lady was completely disheveled. Her hair—usually pinned with great precision—stuck to her face, stiff from the salt of the sea. Mud streaked her uniform. Her boots squelched as she moved. Aki gasped.
Despite her appearance, the commander was as poised as ever. She dropped gracefully to her knees and laid herself prostrate on the marble floor. “Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting your night.”
Aki rose shakily from her throne. “What happened?”
“A typhoon hit Isle of the Moon this evening, and the Council had to evacuate,” Glass Lady said as she stood up.
It was then that Aki saw the sticky dark red that covered the left side of the commander’s uniform. It had been camouflaged by the wetness of the fabric. “You’ve been injured!”
The commander waved at her to sit down. “I’m fine; I’ll have a doctor look at it when I return to the Citadel. It’s much more important that I finish my report to you first.”
Aki had the distinct sensation that she was swimming in deceptively calm waters but about to be carried out to sea by a riptide. She didn’t want to sit down. But the commander gave her a firm look, like a tutor scolding her student. Aki obediently sat.
“Um, please continue,” she said, trying to regain her authority as empress.
“It’s not typhoon season,” Glass Lady said. “What struck us today was not a storm. It was a calculated attack, using magic we’ve never seen before.”
“I . . . I don’t understand,” Aki said.
“There was a ship in the distance, launching the wind and waves at the isle. We don’t know how. But whoever or whatever that was, I’m certain this will not be their only attempt at Kichona. They must have known the Council would be there. It’s possible they wanted to wipe us out because we run the Society of Taigas.”
The whole room seemed to pitch. Aki gripped the armrest of her chair. The last time Kichona had pitted magic against magic—the Blood Rift—was still raw in her memory. Aki had barely won that time, and she’d known it was coming because it was her brother she’d faced. But now? She couldn’t prevail if she didn’t know her enemy or what they were capable of.
“Which of the nearby kingdoms is attacking?” she asked. “And why?” Other than its tiger pearls, there was nothing special about Kichona, and it hadn’t bothered anyone in decades. The kingdom traded pleasantly with countries on the mainland but otherwise minded its own business—wasn’t that enough to have everyone else in the world leave Kichona alone? Aki’s breath hitched as if the riptide were swirling around her, testing its grip. “What do we do?”
“All squadrons will be immediately dispatched back to their posts around the kingdom,” Glass Lady said. “We don’t know who the enemy are or what they want, but when they attack again, they will most likely hit close to where we saw their ship. For that reason, we will send additional taiga warriors to reinforce the squadrons already based in the cities in the north.”
“And what of their magic?” Aki asked.
“Our best scholars will research day and night until we figure out what sort of magic can control the elements, and how we can defeat it,” Glass Lady said. “They will sleep in the library if they have to.”
The fact that the commander seemed confident was like a life preserver thrown to Aki. This is the Society’s job, she reminded herself. I am empress, but I don’t have to solve all the problems alone. She exhaled, even though she still drummed her fingers on the cushion of her chair.
“I think we should keep the knowledge of this attack within the Society,” Aki said, “until we have a better understanding of what or who it is out there. I don’t want the citizens to panic.”
Glass Lady dipped her head. “I agree that is wise.”