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the gift that allowed me to leave the tunnels. But I can’t admit that to her. “Be careful. You don’t want to jeopardize your work with the Ministry.”
    “Nonsense. My friend says we have to rub their noses in the truth of us, of what they’ve done to us. That even if we don’t go as far as the Destroyers did, we can’t stay quiet.” She shakes her head. “I—I’m sorry, Miss Livia. I don’t mean to get you in trouble by talking this way.”
    I grip her hand and give it a sharp squeeze. “No, Sora. I’m only sorry that I can’t be of more help. If there were anything I could do to help you get your citizenship papers—”
    “Sure. I know you’d help me if you could. But don’t worry. I’ve got…” I watch her chew at her lip through the mirror. “Options.” She drops into a curtsey. “I’ll send word to the Minister you’re on your way.”
    Fear pricks at me like frost, but I force myself to my feet. Like when Brandt and I cross the threshold into the heart of an operation: the only way out is through. I pray for the Dreamer to make me strong for whatever lies ahead.
    The Minister of Affairs, Petran Durst, is a wiry man, his hair ashy against ruddy, high cheeks and his goatee pinched to a point from years of stroking it while in deep thought. He’s already pacing his office when Brandt and I enter; he looks up at us as if he can’t remember who we are for a moment before finding his composure.
    “Brandt. Livia.” If any of his fury at me has returned, he’s hiding it well. “I need your report on the Iron Winds right away. It may aid us with another issue that’s arisen.”
    “Yes, sir. The situation with the Land of the Iron Winds is worse than we feared.” I take a deep breath. “The Commandant is planning to invade through the harbor, and we think Barstadt aristocrats are helping him from within the city.”
    Brandt steps forward. “We’ll write a full report with the battle plan details tonight, but we need to act now. Alert the Emperor and the Admiralty. They’re planning a direct attack on Barstadt City. And the Commandant seems to be building toward some sort of new … weaponry.”
    “A direct attack? And a new weapon to empower them?” He blinks a few times, like clearing something away. “I—yes. I’ll need all the details, but your full report will have to wait. I need Livia to—”
    “Wait?” Brandt cries. “Beg pardon, Minister, but Barstadt City is in imminent danger. I’m not sure what could possibly trump that.”
    “A delegation from Farthing’s secret police is here,” the Minister says, his tone bladed. “The Emperor just authorized an information-sharing agreement with the Farthing Confederacy. It would seem we aren’t the only ones concerned about the Commandant’s recent aggression. Several Farthing ships have been chased through the straits by well-armed Iron Winds naval vessels. The Farthing Confederacy is spooked, and they don’t scare easily. They’ve decided to offer us their wealth of intelligence in exchange for Barstadt’s superior naval protection, should the Commandant attack either of our nations. Which sounds very likely, based on your report.”
    Farthing, willing to share intelligence with Barstadt? The Barstadt Empire’s relationship with Farthing has always been a tenuous one, which I suppose is the best that can be hoped for when dealing with a nation of pirates, privateers, and merchants known for their ruthlessness. We don’t try to absorb them into our Empire, and they mostly leave our ships alone, turning their efforts to the north and east in the Farthing Sea to pick over the Eastern Realms’ ships instead. But I suppose the threat of invasion by the Commandant’s overwhelming numbers is enough to make them swallow their isolationist pride. Their military is skilled, but unequipped to repel the sheer number of the Commandant’s forces.
    “The Emperor’s already agreed to their terms,” Durst says, “and your