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“B??0??2ri Khan fights alongside a witch,” the guard said.</p>

This time, no one tried to hold back their gasps. The sound filled the room. This was terrible news.</p>

“There is no place for witches in this kingdom!” the Chancellor shouted. “Sorcery was outlawed over a hundred years ago.” His outburst surprised even himself. The Chancellor had honed his skills at keeping his emotions hidden. But witches? Witches made his blood boil.</p>

“And yet,” the guard said, with the slightest shrug of his shoulders, “it is her skill that leads the Rouran army to victory.”</p>

“How do you know this?” the Emperor asked, stepping forward and causing his guards and scribes to scurry after him. Moving farther into the throne room, the Emperor seemed to grow larger. And despite his own chancellor’s obvious anger, the Emperor remained calm.</p>

“I only know what I saw with my own eyes,” the guard answered. “The witch is powerful.”</p>

For a long moment, the Emperor stood still, his face betraying nothing. But watching him, the Chancellor knew the man’s mind was busy. There was no denying it. The Rourans were back, with a new leader. A leader who, like his father, wanted nothing more than to destroy the Empire. And this time, the Rouran had the help of a powerful witch. The Chancellor didn’t need a priestess to tell him what these signs meant. They meant chaos. They meant war. They meant an end to the peace the Emperor had worked so hard to achieve.</p>

As if hearing his chancellor—and friend’s—thoughts, the Emperor lifted his eyes. He looked toward the distant window and the Empire on display beyond. “We are not afraid of dark magic,” he said. “We will destroy this Rouran army—and their witch.” As he went on, the Emperor’s voice grew louder, stronger. “Here is my decree: We will raise a mighty army. Every family will supply one man. We will protect our beloved people and crush these murderers.”</p>

His decree complete, the scribes around him frantically wrote down his words. It would be their job to deliver his decree to the people of the Empire. And as it was decided, no family would be allowed to object. The Emperor would have his army.</p>

Watching the court bustle into frantic motion at the Emperor’s decree, the young guard who had narrowly escaped the Rourans moved toward the exit. With a nod to the Chancellor, who was in the middle of speaking to several scribes at once and barely acknowledged him, the guard made his way through the long throne room and out into the hall.</p>

As he moved along, his shoulders straightened. His head, which he had kept bowed the entire time he had been in the presence of the Emperor, rose. Stride by stride, his gait began to change. By the time he reached the palace exit and had made his way onto the busy streets, he was walking swiftly, with no sign of the injuries inflicted by the Rourans.</p>

People of all nationalities passed by him, some nodding at his uniform, a few young women even smiling slightly. But he paid them no heed. As he turned down an alley, his pace eased. Reaching up a hand, he removed a pin that had been hidden behind his ear and let it drop to the ground. As he walked, more pins fell around his feet. Soon the ground was littered with the pins—along with the guard’s unconscious body. Standing above it, no longer in need of the man’s form, stood the witch. Xianniang stretched, happy to be back in her own shape. Then, with a careless glance at the guard who had unwittingly just helped her cause, she ran.</p>

Faster and faster her footsteps came and then, with a cry, she leapt. As her body lifted into the air, it once again transformed. Only this time, instead of the guard, she became a giant, graceful hawk. As she soared up and over the city, Xianniang let out a triumphant caw. B??0??2ri Khan would be pleased. She had seen the flash of fear in the Emperor’s eyes when she had mentioned the warrior’s name. Raising an army of civilians was just what B??0??2ri Khan had hoped for. Leave the villages empty of their strongest men. It would make taking them over all the easier.</p>

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