Lanhui was first to see the coastline.

“Just another hour and we’ll make landfall,” he announced, turning toward Shivin’i and Euryphel. “Though traveling from Port Thumb to Zukal’iss will be another six hours at least.”

No matter how Ian craned his head, he couldn’t see anything but the dark green-blue of the waves. Overcast clouds cast everything in a dreary light, blocking out the morning sun.

“We weren’t detoured too badly,” Euryphel observed, his voice scratchy.

He still doesn’t look like he got much sleep, Ian noted, though not for lack of trying.

“Captain Del, can you foresee any complications?” the prince asked.

The captain looked almost as exhausted as Euryphel, his eyes tinged red. “None, unless we’re intercepted by assassins.” He said the last word softly, as though still coming to terms with the fact his vessel had nearly been destroyed by a team of hostile practitioners.

“They would’ve attacked again by now,” Euryphel said, Shivin’i and Lanhui both nodding in confirmation. “We’re too close to the coast at this point. If they started blasting us from here, they’d be signing their own lives away.”

Ian recalled the heavy artillery positioned all around the SPU’s coastline. When he snuck into the SPU originally, he avoided detection by limiting the use of his practice. If he’d come in like an elementalist, beams blazing...things might not have turned out so well.

Port Thumb eventually came into Ian’s field of view, a rather large port city that primarily serviced the SPU, Shattradan, and Kester. Ian observed that its docks were mostly filled with commercial and privately-owned vessels rather than warships. Though it was fairly close to Godora, the port was far-removed from all other Selejan allies, leaving it fairly unscathed by past decades of conflict.

“That was the longest ride of my life,” Diana moaned, breathing a sigh of relief as they approached the docks. “Y’jeni, I missed land.”

Shivin’i rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t that bad, Diana.”

“I was sick nearly three times after Lanhui turned on the turbo,” she muttered.

Ian agreed that the ride hadn’t been as pleasant after Lanhui used his water elementalism to speed the ship forward, making up time lost when they detoured after the attack. What had made it even worse was the stifling atmosphere of paranoia that now pervaded the ship, each of them silently preoccupied with the night’s dark implications.

Lanhui snorted and stepped up to the starboard side of the boat. “Stop whining: If I hadn’t sped us along we’d still be at sea for another few hours.”

“I know, Guardian,” Diana said. “I do appreciate your efforts to keep us safe.”

Ian, Lanhui, and Shivin’i all shared a look of incredulity. Had Diana just said that she appreciated someone?

Captain Del and Euryphel came up to join the rest of the delegation. “Captain, are we good to depart?” the first prince asked.

The captain nodded. “Safe travels to all of you.” He bowed his head to Euryphel. “And thank you for the offer...but as the boat and its crew escaped unmarred, I’m going to refuse.”

Ian had no idea what offer the captain was referring to; was Euryphel trying to offer compensation for entangling the crew in their mess?

Euryphel offered his hand. “Very well. At the very least, your crew has done the SPU a favor, one that won’t be soon forgotten. The captives are bound and unconscious; we’ll wait for the local soldiers to collect them and get out of your hair.”

Del smiled back and gave the prince a firm handshake. With that, the SPU delegation disembarked and stepped onto the dock, their feet unsteady. Diana in particular seemed off-balance, her heeled boots encumbering her more than the others.

Diana suddenly tripped, nearly stumbling into the bay. When Ian held out a hand to stabilize her, the fourth prince gave him a strange look.

“Thank you, Skai’aren.” She turned her gaze to Shivin’i and Lanhui, the Beginning practitioners giving her innocent looks. “It seems that at least someone was paying attention.”

She turned back toward Ian and began to speak, her words uncertain. “I appreciate your...arm?”

Lanhui snorted and covered his mouth with a hand.

“Diana, you’re remarkably thankful today,” Ian observed, tamping down on a grin of his own.

Ian noticed Diana glance at Euryphel. “I’m always grateful: I just don’t show it.”

Lanhui failed to conceal his laughter this time.

“What!?” Diana crowed, fixing Lanhui with a glare.

Lanhui shook his head. “Nothing.”

Ian shot them both a wry look. If this is how this voyage back is going to be, I’m not sure we’re going to survive the journey.

The first prince and Lanhui walked off to debrief a group of local guardsmen hailed by Euryphel’s wind elementalism. Ian noticed the locals’ ramrod-straight posture and racing heartbeats from afar. This is probably the most exciting encounter these men are ever going to see: the Crowned Prime, his delegation, two dead men, and three captives.

When Euryphel and Lanhui returned a few minutes later, they resumed their commute to the nearest hovergloss station.

“According to the local guards, this is the fastest way back,” Euryphel explained. “They had an armored hovergloss carrier that would normally have been able to take us, but it’s been under repair for the past month. We’ll just need to go through more standard channels.”

—

Due to space constraints, they split up into three hoverglosses and rode to Port Thumb’s transit hub. There they regrouped and boarded a cross-country hovergloss tram headed all the way to Mount Ziggura, stopping at Zukal’iss along the way.

How...did I end up next to Diana? Ian wondered.

He’d planned to sit next to Euryphel, but the prince instead pulled aside Shivin’i, the two discussing politics and plans in lowered voices. Since the larger hovergloss model was arranged such that people sat in groups of two, Ian had sat down behind Euryphel’s row...only to have Diana drop down into the seat next to him with a dramatic huff.

Half an hour later, as Ian was on the cusp of sleep, Diana addressed him.

“Skai’aren,” she began, “what did you think of the peace summit?”

Ian blinked himself awake. “The summit?”

Diana’s eyebrows furrowed, her voice growing impatient. “Yes, the summit.”

“I feel like I saw very little of it, to be honest. I mostly shuffled between my room and the tournament arena. I tried to stay inside as much as possible to avoid interacting with anyone that might be working with Selejo.”

Diana hummed her understanding, though lowered her voice and motioned for Ian to come closer. She whispered in his ear, saying, “But didn’t you meet the Eldemari herself, anyway?”

Ian swallowed his saliva, whispering back, “She sought me out, yes; it’s hard to avoid someone who always knows where you are and is trying to find you.”

Diana was quiet for a few seconds. “What was she like?”

“Domineering.” Alluring.

Diana leaned away and sat back in her seat, her knees raising up to her chest. “In what way?”

“She’s confident and acts like she knows exactly what she wants. She’s well-spoken and polite, but...you can tell there’s something underneath the surface, like she’s waiting for you to make a mistake. It’s unsettling.” Exciting.

Diana nodded her head slowly. “I’m not like that at all, am I?”

Ian sucked in a breath. “Well, not really. You don’t have the same presence. It’s not necessarily your fault. She’s been controlling people for decades: It’s natural she’d exude predatory confidence.”

“Ugh. I’d like to be like that. Everyone just thinks I’m a brat.”

“Yup,” Lanhui called out from the seat behind them.

Diana turned and grit her teeth. “Insolent...”

Ian placed a hand on her arm. “You need to earn people’s respect, Diana. Being prince won’t give that to you.”

“Hmph.”

“It’s not like you need to figure it out now,” Ian murmured. “You’re barely an adult: You’re just seventeen.”

“That didn’t exactly stop Euryphel–”

Ian cut her off. “Euryphel’s not the best example. Find your own way and stop worrying about it so much.”

The young prince turned away, clearly frustrated. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re so powerful you don’t even have to worry about earning people’s respect.”

“Y’jeni, Diana, you’re so angsty,” Ian remarked with a short chuckle.

Diana blinked and brushed back her hair. “I suppose I am, aren’t I?”

Everyone in the delegation simultaneously revealed that they’d been eavesdropping by chorusing their affirmation. “Yep.”

Diana’s face reddened and she sunk into her seat, arms crossed in front of her.

Ian frowned. It’s easy to forget how much younger she is than everyone else. She’s playing on the level of not just wisened adults but world sovereigns: If I feel overwhelmed and out of my league, she must feel doubly so.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain of light-colored soul gems, the less-dense variants he’d thrown together from ambient energy after the final duel. He threw the chain over to Diana, startling her.

She reached into her lap and held the gems aloft. “What’s this?”

“It’s a bracelet,” Ian explained. “Put it on and I’ll show you how to clasp it.”

A minute later, Diana held up her wrist, inspecting the way the crystallized Death energy refracted light.

“Euryphel has his hair clip; now you have your bracelet. It’s probably even more valuable than his sapphires,” Ian noted with a grin.

“Hair clip?” Euryphel interjected from the seat ahead.

“What do you call it?” Ian asked.

“A hair ornament,” the first prince replied.

“I love it,” Diana said quietly, ignoring Ian and Euryphel’s aside. Ian froze, surprised by her candor.

“I’m glad you like it.”

She smiled at him, heavy makeup failing to conceal her simple, youthful beauty. “Thank you.”

—

“Y’jeni...home at last,” Ian sighed, collapsing onto his bed.

A knock on the door interrupted him a few minutes later, stirring him from his nap.

“Mother...?” he muttered, recognizing the vital signature beyond the door. I didn’t even think she could enter the inner palace.

He opened the door to see his mother’s severe features pinched into a worried expression, her eyes narrowed and her forehead furrowed.

“Hello,” Ian said simply.

Mother closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, her arms tense at her sides. She opened her eyes again, her features relaxing. “I see you made it back alright.”

Ian nodded. “You heard about the array station going down, I presume.”

“Yes. I worried for you.”

Ian scratched the back of his head. “Well...we got back okay.”

She took a step forward and embraced him. Ian’s eyes widened, his entire body stiffening.

I can’t remember the last time she hugged me, he realized, a feeling of hollowness coming over him. He stepped back, disoriented, but she held on, her grip like solid iron.

“I truly had no idea the level of your power,” Mother breathed softly. “To win the entire Fassari Summit...”

Ian gritted his teeth and forced himself from her arms. “Does that matter so much to you?”

“It’s an incredible accomplishment,” she replied, her voice clipped and emotionless. “I wished to express my congratulations. You’re clearly more capable than I ever could have hoped.” She smiled sadly. “No thanks to my own pitiful actions as a mother.”

“What do you want to discuss?” Ian sighed, leaning against the door. “I don’t think you came just to congratulate me.”

Mother flexed her fist, rubbing her thumb over her index finger. “The princes are going to have a discussion about you.”

Ian frowned. “Pertaining to what, exactly?” The way she said it didn’t make it sound like the discussion would be positive.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Mother replied. “I’ve been speaking with Guardian Druni; she seems to think that the princes are debating war. And at the crux of their discussions is, of course, you. The princes, the Congress, and the generals have all been tied up in meetings ever since you won the tournament.

“I do know that you should be careful,” Mother continued. “From what I understand, your prince is going to be stuck in nonstop meetings regarding the SPU’s path forward. I believe that he’ll be advocating for you to be treated fairly, but he very-well may be outvoted or outmaneuvered, as he hasn’t been here to politic the past few days. You’re going to need to prepare yourself for the kind of responsibility you’ve never wanted.”

Ian licked his lips, his mouth dry. “You think they’ll choose war?”

“It’s likely. And if they do choose that path, I believe they’ll move quickly and decisively, seizing upon the current moment.”

Ian had reached a similar conclusion that morning, as he silently surveyed the bay for assailants. If the Eldemari was bold enough to orchestrate an attack on the delegation, it meant the Union’s window of opportunity would soon be closed. If Achemiss spoke the truth, Pardin can still be saved. Even if I fail my ascension...

He looked up at Mother, whose stern look had dissolved into an unfamiliar expression. Why are you afraid Mother? Ian thought. Do you fear what will happen to me, or what I will become?

“Thank you for telling me,” Ian murmured. “I can see you’ve been trying to make yourself useful.”

“What else would I be doing here?” Mother replied, a bit of heat entering her voice. “If I were just going to sit around idly, I’d have returned to Jupiter.”

Ian’s expression tightened. “Do you know anything else?”

“Unfortunately not. I did my best to keep my eyes and ears open, but there’s a limit to my gossip-mongering abilities,” she replied, a bit of dark humor seeping into her tone. “Meanwhile, your sister’s been trying to read every article that’s come out about you. She has an entire projection board mapping public sentiment from the beginning of the tournament through the present day.”

Ian’s heart swelled, a smile lighting up his face. “That’s incredible.”

Mother nodded. “She is.”

An awkward silence fell upon them.

Ian sighed and rubbed his eyes. “It’s been a long week, Mother. I appreciate your concern and congratulatory remarks.”

Something about his words seemed to have affected her; she began to blink rapidly and turned away. “Yes, well, I tried my best. Reach out to your sister, won’t you?”

“Of course, after I get a bit of rest.”

She nodded. “I’ll take my leave then.”

Soon Ian was alone in the doorway, his thoughts tangled.

Mother...I hope that one day, I’ll be able to forgive you.