Azura couldn’t stay. That much was clear.

“Are you really going to do this?” Lyra asked, sitting on a nearby chair and watching Azura pack items into a satchel.

“I have to,” she said, tossing rejected items on the bed. She wouldn’t need pens and ink, what was she thinking? Strictly survival.

“It is a big world out there,” Lyra said.

Azura stopped and met Lyra’s silver eyes. “You don’t think I can do it? You think I’m some pampered princess like all the rest?”

“Of course you can survive on your own. That’s not it. You will be on the run. You’ll have to evade your mother’s best hunters. You heard what she said in the throne room. You’re part of her plan. She won’t rest until she has her heir back.”

Azura fought back angry tears. “I wish I’d never been born a Shigetsu. I wish I wasn’t a moonburner. I wish I was an ordinary woman, not part of anyone’s plan, or peace treaty or alliance.”

“If you really had that choice, you would take it?” Lyra asked. “Truly?”

Azura stopped for a moment, thinking. Imagining her life. She didn’t want luxury or riches or power. She wanted to be free. To choose for herself. “Yes,” she replied. “If I could give it up, I would.”

A troubled look flashed across Lyra’s furry features.

A knock sounded at her door. “Just a minute!” Azura cried, stuffing her bag and discarded items under her bed.

“Come in,” she said.

It was Master Vita. His graying hair was even wilder than usual, and he looked wary.

“Master Vita,” she said, ushering him into the room. “What brings you here?”

“I saw your expression in the throne room when Ozora sentenced Takeo. I can’t stop thinking about it. You mean to leave, don’t you? To go after Takeo. To rescue him.”

Azura sat down at one of the chairs at her little table, unsure of what to say. He followed her lead and sat in the chair opposite.

“Yes,” she said, finally turning her gaze to meet his. “I’ll leave while my mother and the sunburners deliver Takeo to the desert. By the time they get back, I’ll be gone, on my way to save him.”

“How will you survive the desert?”

“I will bring enough water and food for both of us. With Lyra and Bako’s help, we will be able to find our way out before we run out of provisions.”

“I could tell your mother what you plan,” he threatened.

“If you were going to do that, you wouldn’t be here,” she said, praying she was right.

He was silent for a moment. “And what of your duties as heir?”

“I can’t stay in the citadel after what my mother has done,” she said.

“I know you are angry at your mother for sentencing Takeo, but she was just doing what she thought was right. To protect Airi.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Azura said. “She knows Airi is lying and she knows Takeo and I are in love. She sentenced him to death so he wouldn’t ruin her plan of a royal marriage.”

His bushy white eyebrows flew up. “How do you know this?”

“She told me,” Azura said. “Before she threatened to hurt everyone I care about if I don’t do exactly as she commands.”

He blew out a breath in disbelief. “I’m sorry Azura. I wish I were more surprised by this revelation. I understand why you want to leave. But…” he hesitated. “What of the kingdom? You would abandon Miina to your sister? After the poor judgment she has shown?”

“Airi is young, she’ll grow out of this phase,” Azura fiddled with a dirty teacup left abandoned on the table top from breakfast. “All I know is that the thought of staying here and following my mother’s command suffocates me. I would rather die.”

“I always knew you were too good for this life, even as a child. Running a country is a dark business. But I had hoped…that you would bring us all into the light.” Master Vita said softly. He sighed and leaned back, the chair creaking softly beneath him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and Azura held her breath, feeling her future poised on the edge of a knife.

When his eyes opened again, they were filled with resolve. “I love you like a daughter, and I cannot see you suffer. If I can’t stop you from leaving, then I can at least help you. Give you the best possible chance.”

“Thank you,” she said, grabbing his hands and squeezing, her body flooding with relief. “I’ve always been able to count on you.”

“Your plan won’t work,” he said. “As soon as they find you gone, they’ll realize where you went, and will head back to the Tottori to retrieve you. There is nowhere to hide from their koumori in the desert, and you won’t make it to shelter in time.”

Azura’s spirits fell. He was right. They would stand out like black pieces on a white goa square. “What can I do?” she asked.

“The only way they won’t look for you—the only way you can truly be free of the citadel and your responsibilities—is if they think you’re both dead.”

“Dead?”

“Dead.”

“I don’t understand,” she admitted. “I suppose they will assume the Tottori will kill Takeo. But why would they think I am dead?”

“Because we will make it seem like you are dead.”

“I think you’re going to have to start from the beginning,” she said.

Master Vita laid out his plan. Through a tonic mixed from a powerful sedative and a small dose of nightmark poison, Azura would succumb to a sleep that mimicked death. Her heart rate, breathing, and vital signs would lower to the point of being undetectable. Master Vita would “discover” her body and raise the alarm. She would be placed in the royal crypt, which had a secret exit out the back. When all was clear, Master Vita would sneak into the crypt, free her, and she would make her escape. Master Vita knew a rancher on the outskirts of town who bred koumori and could provide Azura a mount. She would rescue Takeo, and escape into the wilds of Miina or Kita. No one would ever come looking for them.

“It’s a miracle of a plan,” Azura said when he finished.

“The only problem is that you and Takeo will be highly recognizable as sun and moonburners. You might draw unwanted attention.”

“It’s fine,” Azura said. “We will avoid towns and people, stay in the wilderness. We won’t be recognized.”

“That sounds like a lonely existence,” he said. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“It is,” she said with conviction. “It’s the only way.”

“It is not the only way,” Lyra said. She had been noticeably quiet the whole time Master Vita shared his plan.

“What do you mean?” Azura asked.

“It is ancient knowledge, but it is possible to give up your burning abilities. To become a normal person.”

“What?” Azura and Master Vita said at the same time.

“Do you know how to do it?” Azura asked, excitedly.

“Yes,” Lyra said, hesitantly. “But think about whether it is what you really want. It is irreversible. Is a normal life with Takeo what you want more than anything in this world?”

“Yes,” Azura said. “Absolutely.”

“Then it is settled,” Lyra said. “I will instruct you on the technique when the time comes. Until then…I guess we have to kill you.”

Azura stood in the courtyard as the koumori swept off the ground, bearing their riders to the west. King Ozora, General Ipan, Takeo, Headmistress Lakota, and two more moonburner guards accompanied Takeo, the wings of their koumori melting into the black of the night sky.

Azura fought the sense of dread creeping up her spine. She couldn’t help but feel that it was the last time she would ever see Takeo. She shook off the feeling. No. Master Vita’s plan would work. It would be time for her to take the tonic soon.

Azura turned to leave and saw Airi standing at the far side of the courtyard, arms wrapped around her small body. She stood alone. Her face flickered with something that looked like regret.

“It almost looks like she’s sorry,” Lyra remarked softly.

“She better be,” Azura replied. She wanted to stalk over to her sister and scream at her until she truly understood what her selfishness had caused.

“Do you remember when you and Airi were kids, and you broke that porcelain heron statue that your mother loved?” Lyra asked.

“How could I forget? I don’t think I ever saw mother that furious.” Azura still remembered cowering against a wall as her mother shouted at the sisters. “Until yesterday, that is.”

“Do you remember that your mother blamed Airi?” Lyra asked.

“What? She yelled at both of us.”

“Not exactly,” Lyra said. “You confessed, but she didn’t believe you. She thought you were covering for Airi, so she punished both of you.”

Azura sifted through the memory, trying to recall. “I guess,” she said. “What’s your point?”

“Things have always been harder for Airi. It’s not an excuse for her behavior…but maybe…maybe it makes it more understandable. You might never see her again. Perhaps before you leave…you should tell her you forgive her. Be the bigger woman.”

Azura grimaced. Should she try to make peace with her sister? Would Airi welcome her overture or spit in the face of her efforts? Azura shook her head. The gap between them was already too wide to bridge. “It’s too late for that,” she said. “She said she hates me. Besides, I’m leaving. That’s probably the biggest kindness I can do for her. “

“Your choice,” Lyra said softly.

“Let’s go,” Azura said, turning her back on her sister’s lonely figure.

Azura made her way back to her room, the bottle of precious tonic clutched in her sweaty hand and hidden inside the pocket of her dress. They had agreed that she would take it right before lunch. Master Vita would come to find why she had missed their arranged “lesson” and discover her body.

When she got back to her room, she closed the door behind her and sagged against it. Her heart was racing and her skin was clammy.

“I’m scared,” she admitted to Lyra. “What if something goes wrong? What if the dose is too strong and I actually die? What if I wake up in the crypt and no one rescues me?”

“Nothing will go wrong,” Lyra replied. “Master Vita will get this right. He won’t let you die alone in the crypt.”

Azura blew out a breath, fluttering the strands of hair off her face. “I have to be brave. For Takeo.”

“For yourself,” Lyra said softly.

Azura swooped Lyra up in her arms and buried her face in the soft silver fur of her back. “Thank you for not thinking this is madness.”

“Oh, this is madness,” Lyra said, nuzzling her head in Azura’s neck. “But I know you. You cannot go on any other way.”

A nervous laugh escaped Azura’s lips as she set Lyra down, taking the clear vial from her pocket. She held it up to the light, examining the innocuous liquid. It gave no hint of its dangerous contents. “Kampai,” she said grimly, tilting the liquid back.