The smoke and haze cleared from the room, leaving the group standing alone inside the immense welcoming hall. Cailu had his sword drawn while Naeemah and Kirti maintained a watch of their flank—that oversight in the tunnel would never happen again.

The high ceilings of the citadel were the same as Cailu remembered all those years ago when he’d first stepped foot on this desiccated island. However, many of its windows were replaced by stained glass depictions of dragons. Dozens of decorative light fixtures dangled low from the tall ceiling, forming a dizzying circle of glass spheres with twin wires lit and maintained by magic.

Naeemah knelt, fingering the rich red carpets that covered the floors beneath their feet. “Not a single expense spared.”

“Oh? You didn’t enjoy luxury while residing in this citadel, Nae?” Kirti twisted her hand in the air, smiling as the lights flickered in response.

“Do not put words in my mouth,” Naeemah snarled. She stood, shoulders tense as she studied the room.

“Not to this degree, Kirti.” Cailu shook his head. “I advise we abstain from idle chatter, lest we find ourselves once again surrounded.”

“Most of the Ejderha should be dead, right?” Matt asked quietly.

“Yes. But Magni still lives,” Cailu replied. “Split up.”

Matt nodded, then moved to the left side of the room with his Party while Tristan occupied the right, Zahra following closely behind him. There was an echo of what sounded like a high whimpering. Kirti’s ears twitched to the side, and she looked in Tristan’s direction with mild curiosity.

“Guys,” Tristan hissed. After catching the group’s attention, he pointed to the hallway leading to the next chamber, then cupped his ear as if listening in.

Cailu nodded, leading their entourage into the corridor with a wave. If he recalled correctly, Naeemah had fashioned the next hall into a reception room for Ichi’s citizens to hold conference with her.

Though never to this magnitude.

A hush befell the room as they entered the reception hall. No small feat, seeing as over a hundred catgirls and their offspring had been herded inside like cattle. Many of them were pregnant, and most had multiple kittens that clung to their sides, whimpering at the sight of the newcomers and their bloody, dirt-stained aspects. The room was impossible to navigate without stepping on toes or tails. Cailu halted their advance at the edge of the crowd.

“At last, the hunter leads his mongrels to the slaughter,” a deep voice announced from the back of the room. “Will you kill my women and children, too?”

“Magni,” Cailu hissed.

The man himself sat at the center of a dais on a tall glimmering throne bedecked in precious jewels and deep purple cushions. His curved horns dripped with golden chains, and the thin black braids of his hair held tiny clasps of silver. Shining, unmarked armor that rivaled Cailu’s [Combat Mode] Equipment wrapped around his chest and limbs, embellished with a purple cape. Magni’s languid posture and apathetic expression summoned the latent fury in Cailu’s blood.

“No one’s here to kill your people, Magni,” Tristan called.

“You’ve done a good enough job of that yourself,” Matt growled.

“Hm. Interesting.” Eerie white eyes studied each person in their group in turn, then rested on Naeemah. “Are you not too old to continue this farce, Naeemah?”

“I could ask the same,” Naeemah retorted. “Only a child hides in their room when confronted with a difficult truth.”

“Truth?” Magni raised his head, then slowly stood from the throne. “What truth is that?”

“That you are a plague on the people of Ichi Island,” Zahra said suddenly. “You starve, torture, overwork, and underpay them. Every city fears your wicked Ejderha and meaningless tax.”

“Is that so?” Magni crossed his arms over his chest and studied Zahra with a frown. His gaze snapped to one of the women in the room, and he barked, “Eshe! Bring them the books.”

“Eshe,” Naeemah murmured.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” A white-haired catgirl with silver eyes curtsied to Magni, holding three thick tomes to her chest with one arm. Her dark face was just beginning to bear hints of crow's feet and small wrinkles at the corners of her mouth.

“Mama, wait!” A dark-haired kitten with eyes just like her mother’s clung to Eshe’s silk dress. Tears streaked her soft cheeks, and her eyes were bloodshot. “Please don’t go. I don’t want them to kill you, too.”

Naeemah hissed a rushed breath between gritted teeth. Cailu raised a hand at his side, cautioning her to silence.

Magni had painted their retinue as monsters, labeling them murderers and doubtlessly blaming them for the tunnel’s collapse. Ravyn’s melting of the door hadn’t won them any favors—the panicked tension in the room was palpable. Ichi Island’s man had grown into a cold calculator since their previous encounter. We must keep our reactions in check.

“We will not hurt your mother, child,” Cailu assured her, sheathing his sword before turning his icy gaze on Magni. “Though, one must wonder the reason for this pompous ceremony.”

Eshe tiptoed through the crowd, curtsying to Cailu. She turned to Naeemah with the same motion, then stopped herself. Magni’s gaze narrowed, and Eshe’s face flushed.

“I wish to confront you with a difficult truth, Cailu.” Magni slowly paced the dais, his cape flowing behind him. “You have come to destroy everything we have worked for.”

With shaking hands, Eshe passed Cailu the first book.

“What is this?” Accepting the tome, he flipped through its yellowed pages. Each one was filled with carefully penned ink depicting charts, lists, graphs, and notes.

“That is a current and accurate account of Ichi Island’s exports and imports. Beneath my rule, we have brought in twice the amount of capital than Naeemah ever mustered,” Magni replied.

“May I?” Naeemah asked, holding a hand toward the book.

Cailu passed it to her, accepting the second book from Eshe.

“And you used your shiny piles of Bells to decorate your castle?” Ravyn snapped.

Keep silent, wretch.

Magni gestured to the throng of women and children in the room. “You yourself have borne witness to the Second and First Shells. My citizens live without fear of wondering where their next meal will come from. They’re educated and pampered. All of this comes at great cost.”

“What about the Third Shell? They live in squalor, Magni,” Tristan countered.

Magni raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue. “Boys are leading islands now? I thought this was a man’s job.”

Tristan flushed, fists clenching in his palms.

Matt put a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “You’re ignoring his question.”

“You understand that things take time, surely? Luxury and protection will extend into the Third Shell, then the Fourth. The ones worthy of it already have it.” Magni spread his arms wide, sweeping them over the crowd. “Do any of these women look tortured to you?”

“You’re basing the happiness of your citizens on a small percentage. What of the outside cities? Madhyam? Kandota?” Tristan pressed.

“Time, boy. At current, each city receives a monthly stipend from the collected taxes. How they choose to use it is of their own volition.” Magni pointed at Cailu. “That book lists taxes, payouts, and criminal records.”

Naeemah paused her skimming, eyes locking with Magni’s.

A slow smile spread across the self-proclaimed king’s face. “That’s right, Naeemah. Your rule required multiple tomes dedicated to criminal record keeping. Ichi Island’s number of crimes are obsolete in comparison.”

“That’s because you lock them in cages!” Matt snapped. “The Ejderha bully these girls until they fight back, and you let them bake in the sun.”

“You insinuate that I show favor. My Ejderha are not exempt from punishment, as I’m sure you noticed with Aliye.” Magni descended the stairs that led to the throne, and the girls parted to let him pass. “Allow me to level with you. You infiltrated my city, ignored protocol and regulation, kidnapped my hunters, murdered my Ejderha, destroyed one of the walls offering us much-needed safety from the Encroachers, and Defiled. You carry the blood of my second in command, Sanrai, on your hands. Progress on the Fourth Shell must not only be halted but stalled as we rebuild the First Shell’s wall.” He reached Cailu, standing nearly a head taller, and used his full height to look down on him. “All of this in the name of a summit—” he glanced to the side at Matt and Tristan, then frowned, “—with children.”

Cailu stared at Magni in silence, his hatred for the irredeemable bastard striking at his patience like a hammer to the forge. It was an emotion he hadn’t experienced in what felt like lifetimes. Once again, he stood on the defensive against a manipulative, self-indulgent monarch that had won the people to his side with underhanded tactics and ego-driven business practices. Why hadn’t these political confrontations died with him? Vanished with Fera and Heiki?

But… Won the people? Magni has done no such thing.

“Magni, your proposed ‘satisfied populace’ in the Second Shell and Third Shell are outside dismantling that wall with matched enthusiasm.” Cailu forced his voice to remain unwavering. “Your claims of improving this island and its inhabitants lose all meaning by hiding behind those who can’t fight.” He mocked Magni’s sweeping gesture toward the filled room. “Pray, tell me what would happen if you greeted the Second and Third Shell citizens right now? Would they welcome you with open arms?”

Magni’s mouth pulled into a long, thin line as he set his jaw.

“You are the one who brought children to a summit,” Cailu snarled. “You are a coward, Magni.”

“Are you implying I cannot fight?” Magni’s sharp teeth shimmered in the light.

“You fight the weak—the ones who cannot fight back. A detestable, pusillanimous tactic.”

“What are you suggesting, Cailu?” Magni hissed, his features twisting with anger. “Should I strike down one of your boys? Will that satisfy your bloodlust?”

“Fight me, you fatuous bastard.” Cailu straightened his back, never allowing Magni’s gaze to go free. “To the death.”