The sickening yellow light of the Emperor's magical array pulsed beneath the floorboards. The vacuum of energy in the Golden Hall was suffocating.
"Kitsune!" Akira yelled, stepping in front of me. The blue fire ignited around his hands, casting a terrifying glow over our table.
"Now, Yuki!" I screamed in my head.
Beneath the Emperor's chair, Yuki's turquoise eyes flashed in the dark. The ancient cat spirit braced himself to flip the leylines and completely short-circuit the Emperor's core.
The Emperor threw his hands forward, his eyes manic and desperate.
But before his magic could even touch Akira, a piercing, hysterical scream shattered the tension in the room.
"TREASON! PROTECT HIS MAJESTY!"
It wasn't a guard. It wasn't me.
It was Lady Renge.
Crown Prince Ryu's disgraced mother lunged out of her seat. She didn't look like a defeated, pathetic woman anymore. She moved with terrifying speed, her faded gold silk robes whipping around her.
