“All of this evidence paints a picture, but it’s still too blurry to make out any of the faces,” Wei said.

  I nodded, flipping through the notes I had made on my desk, struggling to bring myself to some sort of epiphany.

  “Assuming the picture itself isn’t entirely a distraction,” I said.

  “You’re a better investigator than I ever expected. You see fws in stories and patterns that others miss. I’ll admit, when I heard you were from PanTech, I expected…”

  “An arrogant, egotistical academic with no means of transting their knowledge into real-world situations?”

  He smiled, and I knew I’d hit the nail on the head.

  “Something like that. Yet, you adapt quickly. It seems like with each passing moment I have to remind myself more and more that you aren’t a native here. It hasn’t taken you long to grasp our politics.”

  “Your politics aren’t as unique as you may think, Commander. The decorations and titles change a bit, but everything else more or less stays the same. Whether it’s all the zones or PanTech itself.”

  Ghost perched quietly, listening to our conversation while looking out the window. Ghost being quiet was nothing unusual, but he was being even quieter than usual.

  A servant walked in to collect our dishes, and an idea came to me before she made it out the door.

  “Excuse me. Could you collect a copy of Chief Adviser Tannis’s schedule for the week leading up to his death? Please include any invitations he might have sent or received, whether declined or not. I also want to know if anyone else made such a request before his passing.”

  The woman smiled, bowing her head before disappearing with the trays of dirty dishes.

  I wondered for a moment why she was smiling, then realized this was probably an exciting task for someone who had been asked simply to bring me food and clothes. I had no doubt she’d be able to do it. If you can do one thing reliably, you can do most things reliably.

  Wei seemed uncomfortable for a moment, but only a moment. So briefly I might have imagined it.

  “Do you think someone might have used that tactic to pn his death in advance, in a way that wouldn’t implicate them in other ways?”

  I shrugged.

  “At this point, I’m just grasping at anything that might bring new facts.”

  “Why do you care so much, Taylor?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I am normally more reserved about what I say but… I will be frank with you. Wouldn’t the removal of Prince Renyi from power benefit your goal of spreading the vaccine to the people here? Prince Dao, for example, was fully in favor of overturning the foreign aid w and distributing the vaccine. Doesn’t your effort to protect Prince Renyi contradict your mission?”

  “It doesn’t,” I said. I didn’t feel the need to expin myself on the topic, and I also didn’t want to expose Renyi’s pns to put the vaccine issue to a vote. Wei had proven himself trustworthy, but it wasn’t my pce to speak on the matter. Maybe he wanted to keep it a secret until he made an official announcement.

  He continued looking at me for a moment, as though he expected me to say more.

  “I see… I will take your word for it. You are clearly motivated beyond what I ever expected, so I know you’re sure of what’s in your heart.”

  “Thank you, Commander Wei. I appreciate your confidence.”

  He gave a firm nod, his smile returning.

  “I believe we have enough evidence that we should update Prince Renyi. However, his every move is being watched here in the pace. We will need to meet with him at one of his secret locations—one very few know about, which only recently includes myself.”

  “Understood.” It made sense. Whoever was targeting him was very close—so close that they likely knew his every move and could be monitoring his every conversation. In fact, it would be wise for me to check for listening devices when we all arrived at the meeting pce before anything sensitive could be discussed.

  In the back of my mind, I worried a lot about Adversity Management’s involvement in all of this, especially with the barrier trap. But who they were backing was another story, and I’d learned the hard way that going after them directly was always a bad idea. They didn’t fear any confrontation, which made the smoke and mirrors all the more strange. Maybe this Adversity Management team really did fear confrontation and found it wisest to swear fake loyalty and then make themselves small until the right moment.

  Renyi likely already suspected all this, but acting directly would be even more difficult for him than it was for me. Crushing an enemy in open war is one thing; crushing them after they’ve surrendered is another.

  “I’ll make the arrangements,” Wei said.

  ***

  As we entered the moonlit clearing, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Normally, I wouldn’t even fear the possibility of a trap. In fact, part of me had grown to look forward to it. Traps made for a good opportunity to turn indirect conflict into a much simpler, more direct one—my preference.

  Now, I was nothing more than a slightly above-average woman. I was experienced, quick to adapt, and could handle myself against probably any other woman in a fight. But a trained soldier, twice my size? With my enhancer, almost too easy. Without it? Well...

  “Thank you for coming, Taylor,” Wei said. “I’m gd you were able to find it alright since you aren’t as familiar with our nd. This isn’t the easiest pce to locate, even with directions, especially since you memorized them all.”

  “You were very thorough and descriptive, Commander. You made it easy.”

  He nodded, smiling. “Now, all that’s left is to inform the prince of our arrival so he can sneak away at the first opportunity. Can we count on you, Ghost?”

  Ghost hesitated, looking at me.

  I nodded to him, smiling.

  Since the issues with the enhancer started cropping up, Ghost had become more protective than usual.

  With my wordless approval, he took to the skies.

  Wei watched him carefully as he grew smaller and smaller in the distance until he finally disappeared entirely beneath the moonlight.

  I heard the slightest sound in the bushes nearby and held up my hand, pcing a finger to my mouth to signal to Wei to stay silent. I didn’t want to use my enhancer, but it was called for here. If someone was spying on us, I wanted to know.

  I slowly approached the sound, careful not to make even the tiniest noise.

  As I grew closer, it became more distinct—breathing, human breathing. More than one. At least four.

  In an instant, another sound erupted. So swift that it would have been impossible to react had my enhancer not already been active. At the st possible moment, I dodged, ducking downward. I saw strands of my hair drifting slowly toward the ground, cut from my head by a viciously sharp bde. The whistle of the bde, swung with overwhelming force, lingered in the air. It was meant to be a killing blow, and there was no doubt of that. The air dispced by the strike could be felt on every exposed part of my skin, like a concentrated gust of wind.

  With that amount of skill, a follow-up strike was coming. I pnted my feet, dodging forward with a leap, careful to avoid the edge of the clearing where more attackers waited. I pivoted, and what I saw made my heart sink.

  Wei’s strike had narrowly missed. He hadn’t meant to leave anything to chance or underestimate me. It was a sneak attack and his very best swing.

  “I can’t believe you dodged that,” he said. “Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe it. And here I thought your PanTech upgrades were defective.”

  “I may not be quite as bad off as you believed, huh? By now, you should know you aren’t leaving here alive,” I boasted, a wicked smile on my lips.

  Only it was all a bluff. I was already feeling sick, and not from the betrayal. My head swam. It was possible that was the st enhanced action left in my arsenal. If it was, I was the one who wouldn’t be walking away. With luck, maybe he’d surrender.

  No such luck.

  Wei assumed his stance, and four more men entered the arena, careful to surround me from all sides. They weren’t taking any chances. Of all the times to be given the proper respect, I wished that this wasn’t one of them. They were treating me like a dangerous tiger, as if one mistake would cost them their lives.

  I drew Twisted Key and smiled at Wei as though I had expected this shocking outcome all along. Truly, I felt content. This was as good a pce as any to die, especially if my time was already limited. Better to go out this way than writhing on a hospital bed.

  I had only their fear to give me an advantage. They had all just seen me dodge that attack and were likely second-guessing everything. I could sense their fear in their heartbeats.

  I was determined to make their fears a reality.