In the guest suite of the palace, Jia and Eui sat down with Hayakawa Kaede and Seong Eunae to discuss their plans over tea. It felt a bit odd to be back in the palace—mostly because nothing had really changed. As tumultuous as things were, the world moved on. The nobles bickered and squabbled, fighting over scraps of power even moments after being shown just how fragile that power was. Jia was getting tired of it all, but for her friends, she was willing to endure it. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a bit put off by how short-sighted those in power seemed to be.

Not that she could throw stones...

“I had wondered if or when it would happen, but it would seem that whatever odd cultivation techniques you practice have finally driven you both completely insane.”

Kaede’s rebuke was delivered without malice or judgment, and somehow that made it sting even worse. Though not as much as Eunae politely not disagreeing.

“It’s...an audacious idea, to be sure. Why the sudden interest in Qin? You’re putting a great deal of faith into your interpretation of what is, by all appearances, a very thickly coded letter.”

Jia scratched her head, trying to find the words, but it was Eui who ended up voicing them.

“Yeah, we are. First of all, not a chance that Yan Yue would be happy about getting married off to some noble—that was her whole thing, remember? Second, she made a lot of oblique implications. They know we’re alive, they know where we are, and they’re probably monitoring her communications with us. That letter was carefully sanitized even by imperial double-speak standards.”

Kaede nodded in agreement.

“I’m of the same opinion. In fact, I’m amazed that the letter was delivered at all. It blatantly points out a weakness in the empire’s border security, and practically begs you to use it to infiltrate the country. The fact that something so flagrant was delivered at all suggests that it’s a trap, rather than an invitation.”

Jia shook her head vehemently.

“No! Yue wouldn’t betray us—not again.”

Kaede raised an eyebrow.

“You seem quite sure of that considering...”

“I know how it sounds, but you know how our cultivation is! You’ve even seen the shape of our soul firsthand, albeit in pretty tense circumstances.”

The Yamato princess tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully.

“You do have a unique ability to understand those that are close to you. But, consider this—that was the Yan Yue of nearly three years ago. How much might she have changed since last you saw her? Can you be certain that she wouldn’t betray you now?”

“I—”

Jia hesitated. She wanted to say yes—that she had reached an understanding with Yan Yue and knew that her friend would never betray her again—but she couldn’t be certain. Yue was a survivor above all else, and while she wouldn’t make the decision lightly...

To Jia’s surprise, Eui was the one to jump to their former roommate’s defense.

“Nah, she wouldn’t. She’s way too smart for that. She already fucked up once by making stupid short-sighted plans that focused on her immediate survival, yeah, but she learned from those mistakes. Playing ball with the empire would at best earn her gilded cage back, and she’d sooner die. No, if this is a trap, it’s not for us. Yue may be a stuck-up, self-centered bitch, but she is our stuck-up, self-centered bitch.”

Kaede pursed her lips at that, but Eunae giggled a little.

“Well said. Still, that doesn’t change the dangers. The letter was quite explicit—even if the Xin clan chooses to harbor you, Yan De himself will be present for the wedding. You won’t be able to escape if the Awakening Dragon sect chooses to go after you.”

Eui slammed both hands on the table, causing some of the tea to splash out of the cups.

“Fuck that! I’m sick of running away and being sheltered. We fought a xiantian elemental to the death and won! I want to show them that we’re not afraid! Never mind going in undercover and sneaking around—we need a blatant show of force!”

Jia pulled on Eui’s sleeve, urging her to sit back down.

“Eui...”

Gritting her teeth and suppressing her raging impulses, Eui returned to her seat and stared sullenly into her lap.

“Sorry...”

Eunae smiled politely as Hyeong Aecha appeared practically out of nowhere to clean up the mess.

“It’s no trouble, Eui. I understand.”

There was an awkward pause, before Kaede furrowed her brows and broke the silence.

“That...might actually work...”

Jia gave her a questioning look.

“What might?”

“A show of force. Refuge in audacity. If you make an appearance under heavy guard as representatives of both Yamato and Goryeo, it will limit the actions they can take without escalating the conflict to an all-out war.”

Eui looked askance at Kaede.

“Okay, I know I was the one that said it, and you’re agreeing with me, but didn’t we already establish that we lose that war?”

Eunae cocked her head and rested her chin on her hand.

“Mm, true—but that doesn’t mean that Qin wants to fight that war. Remember what the elementals said? If Qin could focus all of their efforts on the demonic enclave they’d break the siege in a year. So then what if all three nations did?”

Kaede nodded.

“The divine elementals have continuously insisted that an alliance with Qin is the swiftest path to opening the tomb. If faced with the option between a three-pronged war against the entire continent, or a swift victory over the demons followed by a guaranteed path to opening the Sovereign’s Tomb, I suspect that they will choose the latter. We’d be killing two birds with one stone.”

Jia frowned, staring intently into her teacup.

“Hold on, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. What about Yue?”

Eunae shook her head.

“It’s just pretense, Jia. Any alliance we formed with the empire wouldn’t last a second longer than it took to unseat the demonic enclave. Their plans to betray us would begin with the very first word of negotiations. Besides, somehow I suspect that whatever plans you have for Yan Yue will disrupt things beyond repair.”

Jia blushed and looked away.

“We’re not that destructive!”

Kaede and Eunae both silently sipped their tea, refraining from comment. Jia had never felt so judged. Eunae sighed and placed her empty teacup down.

“Then I suppose all that’s left is to propose the idea to my aunt. I’m not sure that she’ll approve, mind you—and I’m still personally against it—but I’ll do what I can to help you find your way into Qin.”

Eui leaned back in her seat and leveled one of her signature glares at Eunae.

“Don’t talk like you aren’t coming too.”

Eunae blinked in surprise and almost looked up to meet Eui’s gaze before catching herself.

“W-what?! No no, absolutely not—that is a terrible idea for so many reasons.”

Jia frowned. Eunae was right, and yet Jia hadn’t even considered the idea that Eunae wouldn’t go with them until that very moment. Eui had a point, though.

“Well, if it’s a show of force, there’s nobody that they’re more afraid of than you.”

Eunae stood up from her seat and clenched her fists, hissing her response through clenched teeth.

“I know! You don’t need to remind me! That’s precisely why I can’t go! My presence will only make things more dangerous.”

Eui crossed her arms and glared across the table at Eunae.

“We’re not going without you.”

Jia could feel Eui’s demonic core pushing her to be more demanding, and worried that she’d have to rein her in again. Eunae shook her head.

“Why are you being so vehement about this?! Jia, talk some sense into her.”

“I—”

Jia opened her mouth to respond, then frowned.

“No, Eui’s right. We can’t go without you.”

‘What?! Why not?”

That was a good question, and no matter how she wracked her brain, Jia couldn’t come up with an answer. Kaede glanced between them, narrowing her eyes.

“Does this have something to do with that bargain the fox spirit spoke of?”

Jia blinked in confusion.

“Bargain? What are you talking about?”

“During the battle with the elemental, when forming that sacred art, the spirit that looked like Princess Seong said—”

Kaede cut herself off as Eunae collapsed back into her seat, holding her hands over her mouth.

“Oh no....no no no no!”

Tears began to well up in Eunae’s eyes, and the other three girls flocked to her side. Jia placed a concerned hand on Eunae’s shoulder, but the other girl cringed away from her touch.

“Eunae? What’s wrong? Kaede, what are you talking about?”

Kaede gave her a confused look.

“Jia, you remember everything you do as Yoshika, don’t you?”

“Of course. I’ve said it before, I am Yoshika and she’s me. Same goes for Eui, why?”

She frowned, glancing briefly down at Eunae before responding.

“You remember Eunae’s inner spirit appearing when you pulled us all into your technique, then?”

Jia let out a frustrated huff.

“Yes, of course I do! What is this about, Kaede?”

“Jia, Eui—listen carefully and tell me exactly what comes to mind when I say these words—’You didn’t need to use everything. Keep at least this much aside so that you can complete our bargain.’”

Yoshika blinked with both bodies, suddenly feeling very uncertain.

“That’s...we’ve heard those words, but...”

Eunae shook her head.

“You shouldn’t—”

“Not a word!”

Kaede cut Eunae off with such sharpness that it startled Yoshika. Eunae just stared down at her lap and nodded meekly. Returning her attention to Yoshika, Kaede met Jia’s gaze.

“Where did you hear those words? What do they mean?”

“We...we don’t know. It’s like the more we try to remember the harder it is to grasp. As if our mind just slips off of it. We’re already having a hard time recalling exactly what the words are again.”

Kaede’s expression turned as hard as steel, and without looking, she put a hand on Eunae’s neck and began channeling essence into it.

“Explain. No false movements.”

Yoshika was tempted to step in, but a part of her felt the need to know. Eunae’s voice was barely above a whisper as she answered.

“It was during Rika’s tribulation. Yoshika wanted to try resisting my gaze—she thought it would help her to understand something she was stuck on. It didn’t make much sense to me, but she’s always had a talent for finding the answers to strange puzzles like that.

“Something happened. They made a connection with my inner spirit and peered into my soul. It didn’t appreciate the invasion and so it...I did something to them. Engulfed them in Soulfire. I didn’t mean to. One moment I was looking into Jia’s eyes, and the next, both of them were screaming in pain.”

Fat, heavy teardrops fell from Eunae’s face, staining her dress.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I knew it would. I should have warned you—should never have agreed—I should have—”

“Stop!”

Yoshika cut Eunae off before she could fall into a spiral of self-hatred.

“You did warn us. We knew the risks. Besides, whatever this is, it’s not so bad. We don’t feel compelled to follow your orders, or to love you unconditionally. We’re just...reluctant to leave you for some reason, and can’t remember why. Go ahead, tell us to do something. We can prove we’re not your thrall.”

Eunae started to glance up, but was stopped by Kaede’s hand pressing into her neck.

“Say it. Slowly.”

Eunae swallowed nervously, but followed Kaede’s order.

“Yoshika, leave this room.”

Yoshika stood still. She felt no compulsion to leave, and on balance was actually still kind of annoyed with Eunae.

“Nothing. Whatever this is, it’s not your fault, Eunae. Kaede, please stand down—we appreciate the concern, but we should be able to trust our friends, don’t you think?”

Kaede sighed, but stopped channeling her essence and sat down with a huff.

“What a mess...”

Well, Yoshika couldn’t exactly argue with that. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then Jia exhaled and opened them again. Crisis averted...sort of. Eui scowled irritably.

“Well this is fucked up. Now what are we supposed to do?”

Eunae hugged her arms tightly around her own chest, making herself look as small and closed off as possible.

“I’ll go with you. We’ll find a way to make it work. No matter what you say this is my fault—or at least my responsibility. I’ll stay by your side until I can find a way to make things right. Yoshika, I can’t describe how sorry I am. This is my worst nightmare come true.”

Jia sighed, reaching out to Eunae before recalling her earlier reaction and thinking better of it.

“It’s okay, Eunae. I trust you. Whatever happened to me and Eui, we’ll figure it out together.”

Eunae nodded sullenly.

“I just wish I could be certain that your trust was real, and not something inflicted on you by my stupid fucking curse.”

Jia pursed her lips awkwardly. What was she even supposed to say to that? She couldn’t really be certain either, and it kind of scared her.