855 A.G.M.

3 years before

Rainwater drizzled from the eaves of the rooftops and silver streaks of lightning flashed in the distant sky. Though puddles filled the street and chilling wetness the air, women stood outside the brothels under the protection of brightly colored parasols.

They fluttered their paper fans, coy eyes fixed on Minerva as she walked down the street.

"Hey, pretty girl!" one of them called after her. A revealing lavender robe clung to every curve of her body. "Why don't you come work with us? You're small, but there's market for that too!" The woman giggled, one of her perfectly painted eyebrows arching.

Minerva ignored her.

She hated being on the streets alone. Inside her sleeves, she was sure her knuckles were white from gripping her daggers.

Charna always chose the worst possible haunts and gambling dens. Less chance of having the place turned over by imperial guards, she said.

Imperial guards, my butt, Minerva thought for the hundredth time, she just wants to cheat and the fishier the company, the better.

A dim lantern swung by the wooden sign of a crooked tavern ahead. The Black Lix, Charna's favorite spot to skin unsuspecting players.

"You'd better be here," Minerva grumbled. I'm tired from trudging around in soggy boots and some half-roasted toka's tail in the last place tried to put his hands on me. A smile flickered across her face.

She'd put a knife through his hand then left him howling and trying to unpin it from the wall. Charna hadn't been there, so she'd shown herself out before a bouncer could.

The Black Lix had a guard posted at the door. The awning didn't lean out far enough, so the woman's cloak shoulder showed dark from the damp.

"Identification," she said to Minerva.

Minerva brushed her hood back and let the woman get a good look at her face. A brief flash of pride warmed her chest at getting to show off her newly acquired Kirukkan Dragon markings—three white dots painted beneath each of her eyes.

The guard waved her hand. "Turn your cloak out, weapons left by the door," she said by rote.

Minerva nodded in return. No one actually gave up their weapons. Maybe in the middle or upper rings of the city, but not here.

The door hung off its hinges, scraping deeper into a quarter circle mark on the floor when it opened. Minerva wrinkled her nose at the reek of sweat and alcohol, only somewhat covered up by the questionable smells of food.

She found Charna in the back, past tables of drinking or already passed out men. The female servers would call for a bouncer who'd shoulder and dump them in some corner. If they woke up with clothes on, it'd be considered a mercy.

Minerva took up her post leaning against the far wall, with a clear view of the door and everyone who entered. Charna sat with her back to it, sacrificing safety for lighting. She preferred to be able to see her opponents' faces while keeping her own in the shadows.

She and five other men crouched on the floor. Hands shuffled cards and coin clinked. Minerva didn't know the rules of this particular game, never bothered to learn.

"Can I get you anything, miss?" one of the waitresses asked while balancing a tray on her shoulder.

Minerva crossed her arms. "Do you have any Aeron wine?"

"Well, we do keep some in the back, but—"

Minerva flipped her a silver drachma. "A full glass of Erathellen d'Venturi, if you have it." She looked uneasily around the room while the woman walked off, scanning for potential threats.

A resounding groan came from the game corner. Charna pocketed a handful of silver mina, the slightest of grins visible on her lips and a delicate flush on her cheeks. Her eyes were far from delicate though, sharp black jades that matched her cropped hair.

Not good. Things always took a turn for the worse when the stakes rose too high. Charna knew when to get out in terms of losing the game, but she stayed even when people became dangerous.

Minerva rolled her shoulder. That's why she has you, idiot. To be the unexpected muscle when tempers flare.

The server returned with her wine.

Minerva watched the game, less interested in the mechanics of it than in trying to catch the small hints Charna looked out for.

"There are patterns," Charna whispered, dealing cards faster than the eye could follow. "You watch for them, but you can't spend too long thinking. If you do, then the opportunity passes or you'll miss the next crucial hint in your opponent's mannerisms."

"It's just a game, Charna. You take it so seriously." Minerva laughed. They'd rented a small room to discuss guild jobs—which ones to take, whether they should try for membership. Yet all Charna appeared interested in was honing her card sharp skills.

Charna shook her head, hands incessant in their motions. She never believed she'd be smooth or fast enough, so she shuffled and dealt even in her sleep. Or close enough to it, anyway. "This isn't the only game we're playing, Kozakura."

Minerva huffed and tried to pay closer attention. It was a lost cause though. Charna told her she relied too heavily on memory and not enough on instinct.

"The rules apply everywhere. Politics. Jobs. You watch to see what people might have and what they might need. They'll tell you without knowing. Then you've gotta keep several steps ahead of the other players." Charna put her cards down with a sigh, taking a moment to crack her knuckles. "It's all one big game."

"I'm not sure I follow," Minerva said slowly.

Charna raised her dark eyes and held up a silver drachma. She tapped the engraved surface—an image of Korlana Pyroline, the first Empress. "Power and coin. From cards to guild bosses to the Imperial Family. That's all it is. Some people are born with one or the other, but you can't make it all the way without both."

"What about us then? We don't have either one," Minerva scoffed.

"Don't pretend you don't have power, Kozakura," Charna said softly. "Humility doesn't suit you. And as for me" —Charna tapped a finger to her temple— "I have something better.

"We're going to make it, you and I," she continued. "Climb the ranks, skin some unfortunates. We'll conquer the underground. Together." The intensity and purpose in her words rang true and strong.

So Minerva believed her.

They'd made it one step up the ladder tonight. No one went anywhere worth mentioning in the underground unless they rose through the ranks of a guild. That meant passing an initiation test.

Minerva glanced over to Charna—the girl had wiped the guild markings off her face already. Probably a wise move, they were in neutral territory but that wouldn't stop some people. Minerva drew a cloth from her sleeve then tucked it away again. She'd bled for the three white dots and she wasn't ready to part with them, even temporarily.

Two main factions existed in the guild world. The white guilds and the red guilds. Each one was composed of a tri-alliance: The Kirukkan Dragons, Twilight Enclave, and Conclave for the white, and the Blood Shadows, Saboteurs, and Phoenix Kin for the red.

Charna's plan was to play both sides and join a red guild as well as a white. Minerva didn't concern herself too much with the fine points of tactics as long as she knew the general strategy. She'd set her own goal: to keep both of them alive and safe.

She sipped her wine, rolling the liquid over her tongue to savor the flavor.

It was slightly bitterer than she recalled for Erathellen d'Venturi.

Minerva gasped.

The glass shattered at her feet. Even though she knew it might already be too late, she pumped her body temperature up to try and burn out the toxins. Her tongue swelled in her mouth. Weights settled on her eyelids.

Charna grabbed her shoulder and stepped the both of them aside for a maid to clean up the mess. "What happened?" she whispered.

"In the wine," Minerva said heavily. "We need to get out." Her legs locked and Charna had to lower her to the floor. She fought to keep her eyes open. The last thing Charna needed was to drag her unconscious, good-for-nothing body out.

Charna's unnerving gaze flitted around the room, likely searching for the culprits. She nodded to herself, seeming to come to a decision. Draping Minerva's arm over her shoulder, she helped the both of them to stand. Charna's other hand disappeared into the depths of her sleeve.

They shuffled toward the door.

"I'm sorry," Minerva whispered. The words came out thick and sluggish.

Charna didn't answer.

She must be mad.

They reached the door amidst some mocking laughs. Minerva felt someone slap her on the back. "Had one too many, girl?"

Blessed rain caressed Minerva's face.

Charna gently smacked her on the cheek. "Hey, have you tried boiling it out?"

"Tried," Minerva mumbled. A lot of pretty colors swirled before her eyes.

"Ashes," Charna cursed. "Get on my back, you're not going to be able to walk soon." She turned to the door guard. "Kinu, hire me out a bouncer or two for the hour? I can pay the house."

Minerva cracked an eyelid to see Charna offering the full pouch of her night's winnings.

Kinu had extended her hand to take the coin when the tavern behind her lit up like the sun.

The Black Lix exploded.

Minerva coughed and groaned. Embers burned in her lungs. Someone rolled her over and swabbed at her face with a rough sleeve. Minerva tried to bat their hand away.

"Kozakura, can you hear me?" Charna asked. Her voice sounded shaky.

Minerva tried to stand, but everything spun too quickly. "What happened?" she moaned.

"Someone wants us dead," Charna growled. Soot smeared her face. "Now get on my back, we're not going to let them succeed."

Flame light shadows danced across the walls. Minerva twisted her neck around. Charna had dragged her into some alleyway.

She pushed Charna's hand away. "Leave me," she said, closing her eyes.

"Like Phoenix's pyre, I'm leaving you!" Charna sounded like she was ... crying.

"I think they're hiding over here!" a voice shouted.

"Get up, you fool!" Charna hissed. "Didn't we promise we're in this together?"

"Abandon your companions, your partner, and you have already chosen to die like a dog! It's a crime comparable to imperial treason, for we are your family! Your blood! Fight for us!"

Minerva cried with the rest of them—her shrill child's voice among the soldiers'—as Matsudo rallied them to battle. They marched beneath the white banner and the black circle of its sun.

Minerva gritted her teeth. She wouldn't let Charna down. "Help me." She was dizzy, but she hadn't drunk too much poison. Charna propped her up. Her feet stayed under her. They had a single shot.

All she was betting on was a hunch—one over eight years old. But a lesson you learned from manticores was that you were strongest when backed into a corner, already wounded and with nothing to protect but your own.

The hunters appeared at the other end of the alley—she and Charna were trapped in the dead end. Over a dozen Saboteurs closed in, with chaotic lines of painted red branching out across their necks and faces.

Minerva called on her power and it rushed in. As if it had been waiting to be summoned as her last resort. The empty place demanded she act on only the purest of instinct, with no time for rational thought.

There'd be a price, but Minerva was willing to pay it. In blood. In tears. In screams.

She couldn't lose anyone again.

"Stand back," she told Charna. Her gift was selfish and wouldn't protect another. Minerva clasped her friend's hand and felt the pressure returned. "We'll make it out. Together." Releasing Charna, she took a deep breath. Golden flames ignited from her hand. Heat gathered behind her eyes to set them aglow.

She unsheathed her shining white blade.

And advanced on the enemy.