I would imagine you have more than your share of enemies, Highness. I do wonder, however, how many friends do you have? There is nothing in this world more beautiful than sharing good tea with good friends on a warm, sunny day.

  -Shinseina Sora, the Princess of Ren

  Lin was already waiting when I stepped over the threshold at Half-Moon Harbor. Though it was late, no patrons graced the quiet tavern floor except for Satoro, who could hardly be called a patron since he practically lived at his table. He, Lin, and Hua Zhen all shared his table in a peaceful silence that betrayed just how exhausted our two master thieves actually were.

  However, when Pharyx stepped through the door behind me, Lin’s face lit up. He leapt to his feet and rushed around the table.

  “Pharyx!” he greeted, bowing politely to the hornet before clasping his hand. “When did you get here? Sit, sit! I’ll bring tea!”

  “Shenshou’s already on it,” I answered with a twinkle in my eye. The Fate’s Eclipse disciples were all practically dead on their feet, but they held it together in the name of serving their master. It seemed Shattered Moon hadn’t gone completely astray in their teachings.

  A moment later, the tired fox bustled out with a tray in hand. He bowed his head, first to me, then to Pharyx and Lin. “Highness, where will you and the Queen be taking your tea? With Demon Kaishin or one of the…nicer tables.”

  “I heard that, Hei Shenshou,” Satoro grumbled. “Careful. Your tails look like they’d make a great coat.”

  “Lay a finger on any of my disciples, and you’ll lose the entire hand.” Despite the hostile words, this was a normal occurrence for us. I may as well have been discussing the weather, or lack thereof, within the city.

  “You forgetting how our last fight went, Lunar Pipsqueak?”

  I smirked. “Are you referring to the one five years ago where I threw you through a building?”

  “That wasn’t you and you know it.”

  “It was me, just not the friendly version.” I flipped a piece of hair over my shoulder before turning back to Shenshou. “One of the nicer tables. Leave Satoro to rack up his tab further. In fact, let’s go to the large room upstairs. May as well use it, since we have no guests.”

  “Yes, Highness.” Shenshou dutifully bowed his head and rushed up the stairs to serve the tea before we followed.

  Pharyx leaned on his lance, watching the fox’s tails disappear to the second floor. “So, when did you become royalty, and why wasn’t I invited to the coronation?”

  I flinched. He really knew how to cut right to the issue. My reaction must have been quite obvious, since Lin put a hand on my shoulder a moment later.

  “Let’s bring this upstairs, shall we?” he suggested. “Satoro, Captain Hua, if you two would direct Xinya upstairs when she arrives, I would be grateful.”

  Satoro waved his cup in our general direction as a form of acknowledgement, but Hua Zhen actually nodded his agreement. The two ancient warriors continued enjoying their silence as the three of us climbed the stairs.

  I bit my lip. My heart was climbing into my throat with every passing moment. I’d fought giant sea serpents and moths big enough to eat me whole, yet somehow I was more apprehensive of being in the same room as the Queen Hornet than I’d been during any of those occasions.

  “How have you been, Pharyx?” Lin asked as we walked. “You’re practically shining with power, now.”

  “You’re too kind,” he answered with smile. “Advancement is necessary in times of war.”

  Lin stopped in his tracks, and I nearly ran into him. “War? What war?”

  “The war on the Moon-Soaked Shore,” he answered. “Hanai has declared independence from Governor Hong and the Lunar Hunt’s authority. Saikan followed, along with the Honey Hive and most of the eastern towns. The governor didn’t take it well. We’ve been stuck in varying degrees of stalemate for almost five years.”

  I exchanged a look with Lin. We’d had no idea. As far as we knew, we were fugitives to be hunted anywhere within the borders of the Moon-Soaked Shore. Since the gates of the Black City connected only to one’s hometown, the only place we could go was Saikan, so we’d stayed away.

  “We didn’t know,” Lin whispered. “Is everyone alright?”

  Pharyx nodded. “Kansi Ren holds the front lines while Pollen is coordinating logistics between the hives and the humans.” He paused, trying to think of words from home for Lin. “Oh, Zhao Jaili advanced to Bronze. She is studying under Pollen to become familiar with the spiritual side of the healing arts. Her land domain is Saikan and the surrounding reefs.”

  “That’s wonderful! I know Hanako would be proud of her.”

  I could see the tears in Lin’s eyes at the news that his sister-in-law had become a cultivator. Family was important to him, and Zhao Jaili was one of the only family members he had left. It made me wonder, how much of life was he missing out on because he was at my side?

  “Shen Taihua threw a-”

  Before he could continue, heavy footsteps and loud voices interrupted from the hall. Xinya and Shion had finally returned.

  “I don’t understand why this is such a big deal?” Shion grumbled. “It wasn’t a duel, and the enemy was defeated. Why does it matter who got the final blow?”

  “Because I had things under control!” Xinya shouted. “I did not ask for your help, nor do I-” She broke off her sentence to cough several times. “Nor do I need it!”

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  “Your sickness is getting worse. It’s starting to interfere with-”

  “Don’t tell me what’s ‘interfering’ with my fighting, Chikara Shion. I know my condition better than you do!”

  I winced and sighed, while Pharyx politely pretended not to have heard anything. With a sigh, I stood and went to the door.

  “Xinya, you’re-”

  “Don’t you ‘Xinya’ me! It’s Lang or Chieftess Lang to you,” my niece growled.

  “But you’re-”

  The door snapped open, and I glared at the young man outside. The crimson-skinned oni froze as soon as he saw the displeasure in my eyes, as rightly he should. Even if his concern was for my Xinya’s welfare, his blatant disrespect in referring to her by anything but the highest respect was not appropriate.

  “What’s the problem here?” I asked.

  “No problem, Uncle,” Xinya answered sweetly. “Shion was just leaving. He has a great many tasks to see to for the clan.”

  The young oni looked between Xinya and I, trying to decide which one to risk angering. In the end, he merely performed his most formal bow and retreated down the stairs.

  “Do I even want to ask what that was really about?” I said to the teenager.

  She stubbornly held her head high, but the effect was ruined by another series of coughs that shook her shoulders. “I’m fine. I just need to stop by Miss Ishida’s later for some more of her remedy tea. I ran out last night.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I didn’t notice until this morning, and there wasn’t time to stop by before the mission.”

  It was an excuse and both of us knew it, but we also both knew that there was no point in arguing. It would only lead to hurt feelings and no resolutions. Besides, I was fairly sure that Shi Reili, Xinya’s personal ancestral guardian, had already scolded her enough…or would soon if she hadn’t already. After all, it was the Void bloodline from Shi Reili that was causing this problem in the first place, as it tried to corrupt Xinya’s body and core towards the Void.

  “Well, I think I have something that should make you feel better,” I said with a smile. “Did Hua Zhen tell you what’s going on?”

  “He said you had a guest and I was requested as soon as I returned,” she answered. “Who’s the guest?”

  I decided not ask why she was so loud coming up the stairs if she knew full well we had a guest. It wasn’t worth the argument. Xinya was wild, and nothing I could do would ever change that, even if I did wish she sometimes exercised her manners more freely.

  “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

  Curiosity urged her past me and into the large room we reserved for special guests. Immediately, she squealed with delight.

  “Uncle Pharyx!!”

  I was right behind the young girl, but by the time I entered the room, she was already on the other side and in the process of throwing herself at the hornet. The startled look on his face was priceless as she wrapped herself around his shoulders and squeezed.

  “When did you get here!? Is Aunt Pollen here, too?”

  Pharyx looked leagues out of his depth, but his hair started to shimmer with Sun qi, just as it always did when he was pleased. His eyes flicked between me and Lin, looking for an explanation. We shared a smile and just watched the spirit hornet flounder under Xinya’s affections.

  “Xinya, you’ve gotten so big,” he began, clearly unsure where to even start.

  “I was ten when we left, of course I grew!” she scolded him. “You, however, are exactly the same.” She reached up and pulled at a strand of his shining golden hair.

  He scowled and looked away, his cheeks coloring with embarrassment even as his hair shone even brighter. Xinya always knew how to push his buttons, even back when she was ten. Such was the fate of all those who the girl declared her family. We all were hopelessly wrapped around her finger.

  “S-since when was I your uncle?” he asked, trying to regain his footing in the conversation. I watched him carefully. There was a time when he wouldn’t have missed a beat in the face of Xinya’s familiarity. Had he really changed so much? Or was Pharyx I knew just the mask?

  “Since I said so. Besides, you saved us from the Governor after Uncle Yoru accessed his full strength to erase Shen Tori from existence.”

  Pharyx seemed to suddenly remember why he was here. His hair dimmed, and he gently peeled Xinya from around his shoulders.

  “I hope that act was enough,” he murmured before looking up at me with a pleading look in his eye. “Master Tsuyuki, I know we’ve had our…differences. When you needed me most, I willfully stood aside and let you face Shen Tori alone. I abandoned you to face the Tide Serpent and then failed to offer my aid to rescue Xinya after being kidnapped by a man I knew was a monster.” He lowered his gaze. “Not a day goes by where I don’t regret those fear-driven actions. I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I have nowhere else to turn.”

  In a flash of light, Pharyx returned to his hornet form. He bowed his head to the floor and splayed his wings to either side. It was an incredibly vulnerable position, one which left his wings, neck and abdomen open to attack. I could see his legs trembling slightly as he brought his forelimbs before him to emulate the more human kowtow as best he could.

  “Please help us,” he begged. Even through the buzzing tone of his hornet voice, I could hear his passion and desperation. “The hive is on the brink of collapse. Our human allies may desert us at any moment. The enemy has called foreign sects to assist them. Our backs are to the wall, and I-” Pharyx’s hornet voice cracked under the strain, but he forced himself to continue. “I c-cannot lead them to victory. Please, Master Tsuyuki. I’ll do anything.”

  A pang of sympathy throbbed in my heart. I had been where Pharyx was, faced with an enemy he could not fight, forced to make choices that were beyond desperate, and willing to give his entire self to make it just one more day. It was exactly how I’d felt facing the qi drought that led to sacrificing my humanity and becoming voidspawn.

  “Pharyx, you don’t know who I am,” I said softly.

  “You’re a servant of the Darkened Moon, yes? That’s what everything I’ve learned said.”

  “Not-”

  He pressed his head deeper into the ground. “I don’t care anymore! The Dawn Empress has refused to help further. She says I need to make my own allies. I can’t do this alone. You could be the Darkened Moon himself, and I’d still be here begging for your help! Please, Tsuyuki. I heard what those sect disciples called you. They said ‘your highness.’ You must have some power to have that title, right?”

  That’s a change of tune, I thought. Things must be quite desperate.

  “Yoru, as much as I want to immediately agree,” Lin began, but he trailed off before he could finish. Anguish colored his features, and Xinya wasn’t much better off.

  If we went back to Saikan, what would happen to Fate’s Eclipse? What would happen to the Chikara without Xinya to lead them? They might dissolve to infighting before Shion or Erisa could take charge.

  And what about my work with the defense array? The stabilization of the Fourteenth District improved the lives of everyone within its borders, but in the districts beyond, blackouts still killed, albeit less often thanks to my changes to the arrays.

  This was my city, my capital. I had a responsibility to the people here, but by that same logic, the Moon-Soaked Shore was once part of Lanyue, too. The people of Saikan, Heimian, and Pemai were descendants of Lanyue citizens. They were just as much my responsibility as the Black City was, especially with no modern Ascendant to support them.

  “Pharyx.”

  “Please. I know I am asking a lot, but-”

  I raised a hand to silence him. “How much did you mean what you just said?”

  “Which…part?”

  “The part where you’d ask me for help even if I was the Darkened Moon himself?”

  Light flashed, and Pharyx returned to his human form, likely so we could read his emotions better. “I swear it on my name, my hive, on my mother’s name, and that of my grandmother, the Sun Queen. I don’t care. You’ve shown no hostility towards the Shore.”

  I glanced at Xinya. Lightning flickered through her eyes before she turned to me and nodded. He was being truthful.

  “Good.” I moved around the table to put a hand on his shoulder, lifting him from the kowtow to look into my face. “Because I am the Darkened Moon.”