10
Aihi
Aihi paced across from her mother’s sickbed, her wits worn so thin she couldn’t stand still.
She was supposed to be the Exalted Dragon Princess, Acting Shōgun, five steps ahead of her enemies. Yet, once again, Lacotl got the best of her. How, when he was locked beneath the Cedar Palace in a cell meant to entrap the strongest warlocks? Severed from ki and the outside world?
No, that wasn’t true. Months ago, Aihi witnessed the power he still controlled when he knocked her off her feet. He’d somehow manipulated the corrupted aki into attacking Mika. Did he have enough power to exert pressure outside of his cell? Could he really be working with Sānlóngguó, or, at least, the Magician’s Guild?
Aihi had never expected the kan’thir to involve himself in politics. In her understanding,
