The engines gave out just as the fortress came in sight. Yeijiro fought with the controls, keeping the nose up as well as he could, willing the stolen ship to stay in the air just that much further.

The communication panel flashed on, but the viewscreen flickered and died, leaving Yeijiro with audio only.

“Unknown vessel, remain in neutral airspace and identify yourself.”

The pilot wheel required all Yeijiro’s strength to hold steady. He had to hope the ship’s AI was still awake enough to send his answer. “This is Imperial Marshal Miyōshi Yeijiro. My ship is damaged. I’m losing power. I can’t change course.” After a pause, he added, “Please don’t shoot me.”

“Marshal Miyōshi, you are not cleared—” An arc of electricity ran through the board and the voice went silent.

Yeijiro’s hopes died with the panel. In all his plans, his calculations, he’d missed this. So busy worrying about the trail of investigation, about infiltration and exfiltration, trying so desperately to make it back to safety he’d never thought about what might go wrong once he got here.

From behind the fortress wall, a squadron of phoenix guard rose, the jetted wings of their flight suits in attack position and each carrying a gun large enough to finish the job their traitorous clansmen had started.

Could they be part of it? A new cascade of fears threatened to paralyze Yeijiro’s exhausted mind. The names on his list—did any match those people flying towards him right now? Or the dispatcher who’d sent them? Had he been identified? Targeted? Did they know what he knew? Were they waiting for him?

Maybe it wouldn’t matter. At the rate he was losing altitude, Yeijiro would crash long before he reached the fortress.

Or…the ancestors were merciful. As the phoenix guard closed, Yeijiro recognized the face in the lead. He gave up on the wheel to gesture frantically through the pilot window.

Nita Corinne pulled up, her wings arching as she circled around the rest of the squad. Yeijiro could see her talking, but he was as cut off from her as he was from anyone.

Whatever she said, it saved him. The guard slid their guns onto their backs and surrounded his ship. A jolt and a shudder as they arrested his descent, their jets straining against the weight. The back hatch popped open and Corinne shouldered her way in, wings folded, the forcefields of her flight suit almost too massive for the narrow space. “Yeijiro! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He was so close to being home. So close to the end of his terrible burden. “Corinne, I need to—”

He stopped, immobilized by second-guess upon second-guess. He needed to trust someone. He couldn’t trust anyone. He needed help. He didn’t dare ask for it.

Yeijiro hadn’t slept for two days. He was operating entirely on caffeine and adrenaline. He hadn’t thought past getting here—getting back to the fortress with the information he carried. He had to get it to the right hands. He hadn’t planned for how.

If he didn’t tell her enough, she could take him into custody. She’d apologize, certainly, but that wouldn’t make it any better. That wouldn’t erase the disastrous delay.

“I need to get inside.”

Corinne lifted her eyebrows. The protective field of her flight suit gave her dark skin a shimmering, golden cast, rippling with sparks of light. The nima at work, awaiting Corinne’s next command. “You just flew an unregistered ship through three security fences and are making an unauthorized approach on a military fortress while the Emperor is in residence,” she said in a flat voice.

“I know.”

“They’re going to arrest you as soon as we put you down.”

“That can’t happen,” Yeijiro said with desperate calm. “I have to—I have to make my report. After that—it doesn’t matter. But I need to—” His thoughts jumbled, tripped, as he flailed for the right words.

Corinne looked at him, looked around at the ship, at its burnt and cracked panels.

“Who shot you up?”

“Rebels in the pass.” That much was true. As far as it went. “They chased me most of the way here, but broke off once we were in range of the fortress.”

Corinne’s eyes narrowed. She was too smart to believe that was the whole of the story, and this was her territory.

Corinne was a friend. One of the few he’d made over Shadow Court. She was an officer in the Phoenix Guard, one of the Dragon’s elite military units. Her parents were two of the most important people in the clan. Before today, that would have been enough for Yeijiro to risk putting his faith in her. But he didn’t know her well—not well enough. The information he carried was testament to the fact he didn’t dare trust anyone.

“You should have…” Corinne looked out the window, towards the fortress, then back at Yeijiro, her sharp eyes studying him with discomforting intensity. When she spoke, her voice was pitched louder to carry over the network. “This is squad leader Nita Corinne. Marshal Miyōshi is cleared for immediate landing on my authority.”

It was so unexpected, Yeijiro reflexively asked, “What are you doing?”

Her lips quirked, almost a smile. “You want my help or not?”

Relief washed through Yeijiro, a release of tension that had been building for days. But he didn’t understand. “Why are you…” He trailed off, his tired mind stuttering around the question.

“Because it’s pretty obvious someone needs to.” Taking two steps back, she dropped out the hatch. Her wings snapped into flight position as she rejoined her squad. Yeijiro squared his shoulders and watched the ship slowly descend into the fortress, readying himself for whatever came next.