There are two things beyond price. The dress I gave my daughter for her seventeenth birthday, and the smile she gave me when she saw it. -James Cohl, Captain of the Siren Song

  I don’t know why Xinya was so excited about the idea of a feast, but the moment that Iza Kirana mentioned it, she seemed to go through a whole flurry of emotions that hit me like a runaway cart. However, as soon as the day came, it became crystal clear.

  The Sect Leader had insisted on meeting with Xinya an hour before we needed to leave, something which I found exceptionally surprising given that it was her duty as hostess to ensure that nothing went wrong for her guests. If she was here, then it meant that she deemed it far more important to help Xinya get ready for the event than it was to supervise her own last-minute preparations.

  It was a clear political play from the Obake. Lin and I were now the strongest cultivators in the Fourteenth Armillary District, which put us on the level of lords in her eyes. Though we weren’t yet strong enough to challenge the Sect Leaders of other districts, seeing as the Stormchaser Sect had a major branch in the Eighth district that was headed by a Quartz artist, two ranks above Gold, Sect Leader Iza still recognized that getting on our good side was likely to earn her quite a bit of social leeway, especially if we actually succeeded in pushing the Shattered Moon Sect out of the district. In fact, I would not have been surprised in the slightest if this feast was more to celebrate our advancement to Gold than it was about celebrating a good harvest.

  Yet, despite the obvious politics that went into the decision, I couldn’t bring myself to find fault in the Sect Leader’s actions. Iza was spoiling Xinya, after all, something which I tried to do at every opportunity. How could I argue with that?

  “They’re taking too long,” Lin muttered as he paced back and forth around the inn’s main room. “We should have left a half hour ago. Something must be wrong.”

  “You didn’t take Hanako to many parties, did you?” I mused, sipping tea idly.

  “We didn’t exactly have many formal events in Saikan besides the local festivals,” he admitted.

  “And how long did she and her sister take to get ready for those?”

  He blinked. “I…I’m not sure. I was busy getting things ready.”

  That explained it. I just smiled at him knowingly. Having grown up with two sisters, and attended many formal events with Chouko, I knew exactly how long it took for women to get ready. The answer was always “longer than you think.”

  Not that I was ever much better, but Flash Back was a wonderful technique for ensuring that I started my preparations early enough to be on time. Others didn’t have that advantage.

  Lin sat down grumpily. He wasn’t used to the idea of “Fashionably Late” but in this case, the risk of offending our hosts was non-existent, since our host was the reason we were running behind. All was forgiven when Xinya descended the stairs.

  Sect Leader Iza had outdone herself, buying the young girl a brand-new dress made of the finest silks the Black City had to offer. In a lot of ways, it was similar to several outfits I’d seen Iza herself wear, only with more fabric to preserve a bit more of Xinya’s modesty. The top was shimmering purple, with a collar and sleeves that were embroidered with beautiful patterns of forking lightning. When her sleeves flared, the light caught the embroidery in such a way that made the threads flash like true lightning. Beneath Xinya’s exposed midriff, her skirts were similarly embroidered. The layered fabric shifted as she moved, and the lightning sparkled like a storm. It was truly dazzling to the eye.

  “Are we really going to let her wear that?” Lin muttered to me as she came down the stairs, the brightest smile lighting up her eyes with excitement that crept into my own mind through my new technique. I couldn’t bear to see that excitement diminished in any way, which was why I elbowed Lin sharply in a not-so-subtle signal to remain quiet.

  “Uncle Yoru! Uncle Lin! Look at my dress! Isn’t it pretty?” She didn’t pause long enough for either of us to answer before she was already speaking again. “And my hair! Big Sister Kirana and Chiho worked together! Doesn’t it look great?”

  I had to admit. It did look fantastic. Her long hair had been looped and pinned with both the crown from Half-Moon Manor, as well as the coral and moonstone hairpins I’d given her in Saikan. Beneath the pins, two beautiful Heaven’s Lilies gleamed with qi from where they’d been woven and pinned into her hair.

  As Xinya twirled around, emotion welled up inside me. The way she smiled, the way the Heaven’s Lilies brought out the color of her eyes, the way she looked at me as if she wanted nothing more than for me to shower her with praise…suddenly, I felt as if I was thrust back in time. I could see so much of Chouko in Xinya, even though my sister’s looks had long since disappeared from the little girl’s lineage.

  “You look beautiful,” I said, kneeling next to her. “Give me another twirl.”

  She did as she was told. The lightning in her skirts sparked. It did not escape my notice that the outfit would be easy to move in, something that I was certain that Iza Kirana had considered when picking out the outfit for the young cultivator.

  “I figured she should have the very best for her debut feast,” Iza said. “And, I could hardly leave that preparation to two men, even if one of them does have fine taste in jewelry.”

  “You make it sound like you’re presenting her for potential suitors,” Lin said.

  Iza shrugged. “Adults will be adults, but every little girl wants to feel like a princess at her first social event. Highborn or lowborn matters little.”

  I couldn’t disagree with that. Xinya and I shared a conspiratorial look, and I felt the little girl’s excitement double. After all, the whole reason she’d adopted me as her uncle was to be a princess. Not only was she adopted royalty of this very city, but she had the crown to prove it. She held her head high and took my hand.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Come on! Let’s go! It’s a long walk!”

  “Walk? Oh, goodness no,” Iza protested. “My guests of honor will not be walking to a party I host. I ordered us a carriage. Don’t forget your blades. It’s bad etiquette for a cultivator to attend an event without their weapons.”

  I nodded. Eclipse was in my hand, as the more ceremonial weapon, and the one that people hadn’t seen me fight with publicly yet, thus making it good enough to fulfill the etiquette requirements without being as much of a threat. However, I left my bow in the carriage, just in case there was an altercation. I didn’t think it likely that the weapon would be needed but having it around wouldn’t hurt.

  What was more of a concern to me, however, was how my new technique would react to being in a crowd. By immersing myself in the void’s voices and opening my mind and heart to them, I’d developed a qi technique that warped the space around my core in a more metaphysical sense. I called the technique Echo Chamber, as it amplified those voices which always seemed to be lurking out of reach. However, the technique also had another component. With focus, I could cross the distance between myself and those around me, creating a tangential connection to their qi. From that, I could feel their emotions. It worked particularly well with Lin, thanks to the connection we already shared through the binding on my core. In a crowd, I hoped it wouldn’t be overwhelming, but I wouldn’t know until we got there.

  The ride to the Blushing Rose Sect was not long. The Fourteenth District was not that big, and most of the people were off the streets thanks to dozens of smaller feasts taking place with the common folk throughout the city. Soon, we arrived at a grand estate with rose emblems carved into the doors and surrounding buildings. Curling on the roofs were carefully trimmed vines sporting roses of every color, and I could smell the perfume even before we stepped from the carriage itself. This was a sect run by current and former courtesans. Everything was designed to seduce the senses with the promise of sensuous delights.

  We were met by several young girls wearing more traditional sect uniforms in Blushing Rose pink and red. After all, every sect needed its disciples and though there weren’t many, they moved with efficiency, directing us swiftly inside and up the stairs to the main hall. Within, I was surprised to see the Sect Leader waiting. When had she slipped away from our group?

  When the woman waiting for us began to morph her body, I realized exactly why Iza had felt so comfortable helping Xinya get ready. The conniving shapeshifter had one of her kin fill in for her and fulfill her duties as hostess.

  “Clever,” I noted. The real Sect Leader flicked open her fan to hide her smile.

  “I know I am.” She took her place as the true hostess, bowing to us. “I welcome you, Tsuyuki Yoru, Tenri Lin, and Lang Xinya, to our humble feast. Please, allow me to show you to your seats.”

  Given how late we were, most of the other guests had already gathered. Every leader of the organizations who participated in the defense of the Starlight Path was present. The Chikara Chief, a man who stood a good head taller than me and burly with muscles beneath his formal robes stood with his son, Shion, and his daughter behind him. The oni was staring at Satoro, who looked to be using Ishida and Xiaolong as cover to avoid the aforementioned chief. In another corner, Crescent and the Moon Guard stood just outside the attention of the living. They probably weren’t much for parties, but it would have been rude of them to refuse the invitation. Through all the gathered people, brightly dressed members of the Blushing Rose Sect entertained their guests and kept wine cups filled.

  Iza led us to four tables situated several steps above the rest. I raised an eyebrow. The rest of the leaders, including the Chikara Chief and the Moon Guard, had been assigned seats at the tables arranged in rows around the center of the room, as was traditional. That we were seated with the Sect Leader herself…that was a position of esteem far greater than for a mere guest of honor. That was the kind of seating you’d give to visiting royalty.

  Iza caught my gaze and raised a coy eyebrow over her fan. “Something wrong, Master Tsuyuki?”

  “Just curious about your seating arrangement. You honor us greatly,” I said to her.

  “It would be inappropriate if I didn’t show the utmost respect for those willing to enter Half-Moon Manor and escape alive,” she answered. “Only the best for my guests. Did you know that I travelled to the Twenty-fifth District for your niece’s dress? They have very interesting statuary over there. It’s far more intact than what we have here in the Fourteenth.”

  So, that’s why she’s being so nice, I realized, finally seeing the thread behind her actions. The Sect Leader knew my identity. Leave it to an Obake to be so keen on recognizing faces.

  “Perhaps I’ll have to visit sometime.” My tone was polite, even if I was considering breaking whatever statue of me she’d run across into a thousand pieces for ruining my secrets.

  Yet, part of me didn’t seem to mind. The fear of my own identity that I’d felt since Saikan was a far duller blade than it once was. Maybe…it was alright that she knew. I expected that a woman in her profession was well used to keeping secrets, and she hadn’t shown any malicious intent so far.

  Perhaps it would be okay after all.

  “Listen, I don’t recall giving you permission to speak to me,” growled a grumpy voice that I recognized. Nobody could grouse quite like Satoro.

  While I’d been distracted by the seating arrangements, the Chikara chief had crossed the room. Clearly, he’d mustered the courage to actually speak to his grumpy elder.

  “Master Satoro, please, I simply wished to-” the Chief was clearly trying to be diplomatic, but I could see a vein throbbing on his forehead at being so clearly dismissed by one who appeared his junior.

  “I know exactly what you wanted, and I’m not interested,” Satoro snapped. “And, if you had even half a brain in that rather large skull of yours, you’d have at least gotten someone to introduce you to me rather than approaching a clear superior on your own.”

  As much as I hated Satoro, he had a point. By oni customs, smaller oni were superior to larger ones. The Chikara Chief was large, standing a full head taller than me, and I was even an inch or two taller than Satoro. Shion and his sister were shorter than their father, but I wasn’t sure they were yet of age for the usual power structure to apply, though both were reasonably attractive, which was probably a better sign of their power. Either way, none of the oni in the room could hold a candle to the fair face of the Oni Prince. He’d even cleaned up a bit, and I suspected that Ishida had brushed his hair for him, though she probably did so while restraining him with her plants.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Sect Leader Iza bowed to Lin, Xinya, and I. “It seems my duties as hostess call. Please forgive me.”

  “Nonsense. In fact, would you mind if we joined you? Satoro can be quite a sour guest,” I offered, but she shook her head.

  “Oh, no. That’s very kind, but I wouldn’t dream of imposing upon my guests that way, especially not your esteemed selves. Please, have some wine. I’ll have this wrapped up shortly.”

  Iza Kirana bowed once more and stepped away. Lin and I did as we were asked, talking quietly between ourselves and the leader of the Imori Warriors, a small group of tiny lizard yokai who had helped supply the seeds that were sown into the Starlight Path.

  “I already told you, I’m not looking for a marriage, you overgrown flesh sack!”

  I flinched as Satoro’s anger spiked in the surrounding qi. Echo Chamber filtered his anger back to me, and I sighed. It was giving me a headache. I held out my cup to a passing Blushing Rose Disciple to refill and drained it immediately.

  By the looks of things, Iza was not going to have this wrapped up shortly.