“Coming in,” Lei yelled.

I ducked my head out of reflex, then looked up. A black spot fell from the sky, quickly coming close enough that I could make out all the details of the small flier. It was an unmanned model, only about a meter long and controlled by qi formations. The noon sun shone off its black finish.

Then the flier released its payload, which impacted the grass with a bang, the explosion digging into the ground. I blinked against the dust it raised, but it had clearly fallen a few meters outside of the circle we’d drawn. That was mostly destroyed now.

“Not bad,” I said, looking over to Lei. “But we definitely need to work on the precision.”

He was walking towards me, looking at the testing ground. “Yes, you’re right. This could be the difference between hitting an enemy qi shield or not.”

I sighed and glanced away. I’d never been a supporter of arms buildups, or pouring money into military research and development when there were other areas in dire need of it. But we’d be fools not to take steps with how things stood with the Zarian Dominion. Hopefully, if we could overhaul our military technology drastically enough, we could deter them. And it wasn’t like this had no civilian applications.

“Now we just need the manned planes to work as well,” Tenira said, pulling a hairclip out and shaking out her hair.

I combed my own hair out with my fingers and nodded. “Yeah, this whole thing isn’t worth as much without long-range capability. But as long as our other projects are working out, I’m content.”

Lei grinned. “I can’t wait to get the radio ready for production. Now we just need to get a few more tests done. Long-range and stress tests.”

“Maybe Inaris could call her father,” Tenira joked.

Lei chuckled while I shook my head, but I couldn’t help the smile on my face. I’d told both of them what I’d learned, of course, and except for the occasional teasing they didn’t seem to care. That was nice.

“Wait,” Lei said, suddenly serious. “Is that Aston?”

I followed his gaze and saw a familiar figure walking towards us. My heartrate accelerated and I couldn’t help but smile. With Tenira and Lei behind me, I went to meet him.

Aston bowed. “Your Highness, this one is reporting for duty.”

“Good to see you back and cleared,” Tenira said, smiling.

Lei nodded in agreement, smiling as well. “Welcome back.”

Then Tenira tugged at Lei’s sleeve. “Come on, let’s take a closer look at the model.”

I started walking in the other direction, with him following. Guards surrounded us in a wide perimeter, most of them still new faces. But I took a closer look at Aston. He looked pale and drawn, like he’d lost a few kilos. That wouldn’t normally happen to high-level cultivators in a few days.

“It’s good to see you again, Aston,” I finally said. I didn’t mention my observations. He might not appreciate it, and I didn’t want to put him in an awkward position.

Aston bowed down again. “My princess, I humbly apologize for my failure to discover the traitor and prevent him from getting to you. I swear I will not fail you again.” He held the position, looking at the ground.

I sighed. “Rise, Aston. You’re too formal sometimes. I’m sure if you were responsible, Kariva wouldn’t let you get back on duty. Besides, the backing he had isn’t the sort I could expect you to take on.”

Aston straightened up and nodded, his face set in a serious expression.

At that point, we were interrupted by another guard, who approached me and bowed. “Your Highness, Her Majesty requires your presence. You are to meet her on the terrace.”

I stifled a sigh, but nodded. “Let’s go. Would someone inform the others?”

I moved quickly, though of course the guards kept up without any problem. We’d set up the testing field a few hundred meters away from the palace proper, but I reached it in a few seconds. As always, I headed for the side entrance. Few people were around, though I could feel all of their positions easily. I hurried up the stairs and nodded in response to the bows I got. At this point, I’d become so used to them I barely noticed it anymore.

More guards were stationed at the entrance to Mother’s private area, but they stepped aside for us. At the door out onto the rooftop terrace, I stopped and looked back at my guards. “Give us privacy, please.”

Then I went outside. It was a nice day, with a lot of light and qi coming from the sun, despite a cold breeze. Mother was sitting at a large table with several documents on it. She looked up as I entered. I bowed. “Mother.”

She pulled out a chair for me with her qi. “Inaris, please sit down. Kariva, you really should make yourself noticeable.”

My attention turned to the other side of the table, where the veil of qi lifted and Kariva’s figure became visible. She inclined her head, a slight smile on her lips. I kept a blank expression as I sat down.

Mother tapped a few documents on the desk. “We’re just sorting out the aftermath of the war, and could use your input.”

I nodded, picking up a few papers and glancing through them. “How are we handling the Zarian involvement?”

Mother grimaced. “Our options are limited. I would prefer not to escalate the situation any further. We’d rather not have a war. And unfortunately, we have no hard proof. So, we’re concentrating our efforts on the Zarieni for the moment. If we can fan the tension between the tribes and the Dominion, that would be good.”

“Perhaps even a steppingstone for some further retaliation,” Kariva added. “We’re also trying to expand our network in the Zarian Dominion and looking for opportunities to take discreet action there. They’re a little short on disaffected groups with any strength, though.”

This sounded like the cold war was heating up. Not that I disagreed with their efforts, especially since we needed information. “Sounds good. And the south?”

“The affected areas are recovering as well as can be expected,” Mother said with a serious expression. “It will take a few years, of course. But the economic hubs of the southern continent are going strong. We’ve increased the forces at the border, and are working on larger plans to expand our defenses. You’ll be asked for input for that, as well. We’ll have a meeting with the military soon.”

Mother paused, and smiled slightly. “In other news, Blue Valley City is planning to build a monumental statue of you to commemorate the victory. From what I’ve heard, they had the impression you don’t like them and want to turn that around.”

“What. Really?”

“Apparently,” Kariva said, “the major wanted to build you a palace but couldn’t get the budget.”

I groaned. I guess in different worlds, the more things change, the more they stay the same. “Well, you can tell them I’ll only approve if they build a memorial to the victims of the war.”

Mother smiled, but instead of replying, she looked through a few other papers.

For the next ten minutes, we went more into detail on the aftermath of the war. I learned a few numbers and made a few suggestions, although it felt more like a briefing. Or like Mother just wanted to make a point to include me.

“We’re also looking to improve our relationship with other countries,” Mother said. “We’ve got an interesting offer from the Kingdom of Terbekteri. An extensive trade agreement sprinkled with a non-aggression pact and a few other goodies. And they propose to seal the deal with a royal marriage. Apparently, the King wants a bride from our clan’s scions for the favorite nephew, and you’d get the tenth son.”

I sputtered in surprise. “No. You’re not seriously suggesting this?”

Mother chuckled. “I thought I’d mention it in case you like the idea of marrying a dashing prince. He is supposed to be kind and handsome.”

I shook my head. “I’m sure we can arrange this alliance another way.”

Kariva nodded. “Hopefully. We’d want to push for at least a promise of military aid of some kind, for times of war. We should find someone halfway talented among the Leri clan who’d like to marry a foreign prince and go to the kingdom with that kind of position.”

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t comment on it. I knew marriage alliances were common on Earth back in the day, maybe even today for some people. Actually, if news of my bloodline gets out, I might get more offers like this.

I looked for another paper and sighed. “I should have realized something sooner. The number of shrines to the Moon doubled in the last few decades. I never asked why you’d build so many of them.”

Mother shrugged. “To be fair, my mother started promoting his worship. It fits with our affinities.”

I knew that was to be expected, but it still felt odd. Like politics out of antiquity mixed with more modern considerations.

Kariva stood up. “With your leave, I’ll return to my work.”

Mother nodded in response, and Kariva left quickly, leaving the two of us alone. I shifted in my seat, a little thrown off by this.

After a moment of silence, Mother straightened up and looked me squarely in the eyes. “I’m glad you’re back safely and with your bloodline awakened, Nari. I should have said this before, but … I’m sorry that you had to go through this, that I wasn’t quick enough to stop you from being poisoned or react at once.”

I sighed. I was still feeling a little resentful over what she’d told me, and the fact that she hadn’t done it sooner. Even though I knew I shouldn’t hold a grudge. “Thanks. Were you working in the palace?”

She nodded. “Sort of. I was distracted by a spirit. It was only when I tried to check on you that I realized something was up.”

I sat up straighter. “By a spirit?”

“Yes. They approached me for a conversation.”

I rubbed my temple. “From what I’ve learned in that place, that’s probably not an accident. It seems there’s at least one powerful spirit who has it in for me.” I paused and narrowed my eyes at her. “You brought me into quite the situation. Do you even know about that?”

Mother grimaced. “Somewhat. I’m sorry for this. It’s the reason I tried to keep your parentage quiet, for fear you might be drawn into the spirits’ affairs. But I didn’t think it would be such an issue regarding humans.”

“Well, there’s your bargain,” I pointed out, frowning in thought. “And Carston. He told the Zarian something about me, right? Almost certainly who my father is and that I was made to be a great ruler of the Empire or something. They probably feel threatened. And if some spirit meddled the way they did with Kei Weriga …”

Mother nodded, her face grim. “That was my thought as well.” She started twirling a line of light on her fingers, obviously in thought. “Did you meet someone who looked like an old warrior, male with long hair and a narrow nose?” A bit more qi from her formed an image of the spirit who’d confronted me.

“Yeah. You know who that is?”

“They call him ‘The Pioneer’. He’s powerful, almost at the level of a Greater Spirit. I probably couldn’t beat him. He’s a spirit, I assume, who’s been known for a few millennia if I read the records right. An ally, servant, vassal, or something like that to the Greater Spirit Jideia.”

I frowned again. This really doesn’t sound good. Like there’s an organization to this, people with a plan and a grudge, or some other reason to go after me.

I stood up and started pacing, trying to work out what I should do about this. But I just didn’t have enough information. It was probably best to concentrate on worldly matters and trust my father to handle his own business, along with taking some defensive measures.

“Actually,” Mother said after a minute of silence. “Have you figured out the details of your new bloodline yet?”

I stopped and turned to her. “Not entirely. I’ve got increased affinity to light and darkness qi, and my cultivation is going faster. I can feel spirits better … even the ones hanging around the palace occasionally.” I shrugged and turned to face to the southwest, where I could just make out a minor spirit scurrying through a courtyard. “At least they’re discreet.”

Mother chuckled. “We have some defenses, don’t worry.”

I nodded absently. “Besides that, well … do you have a bracelet? A tight one?”

She raised an eyebrow, then took something from her storage and tossed it to me. A simple golden band with an elaborate clasp, a bit of qi woven into it.

I nodded and slipped it on, closing the clasp tightly. It fit snugly to my wrist, directly behind my hand. “Watch,” I said.

Then I shook my hand. I focused on my sensation of it, and the qi woven throughout it like the rest of my body. It took a few moments, before the bracelet slid over my hand and I caught it in my left one.

I shook out my hand and looked closely. It didn’t seem any different, as if it hadn’t turned narrow enough to get the thing off for a second.

Mother whistled. “Impressive, if that’s what I think it is.”

I returned to her and took my seat again. “Some kind of lesser shapeshifting ability, I assume. It’s going to need a lot of practice.” I shrugged and couldn’t help a bit of pride in my tone despite that caveat. “I guess it makes sense, if I’m half-spirit, that I may inherit some of their changeable nature.”

Mother leaned back, smiling. “It’s a nice surprise.”

I nodded and fell silent for a moment. It wasn’t easy to use this ability, but it had improved with practice even in the short timeframe I’d experimented with it. I knew it was limited, the way the qi interlaced through my body made me feel that. But there was still a lot of potential. I may be limited to humanoid form, but I had a feeling I’d be able to make extra organs or limbs.

For a few minutes, we sat there, enjoying the sun. Or appearing to. I still felt tense.

“Actually, Mother,” I said as something occurred to me. “Can you tell me about the white stage?”

Mother blinked, then smiled slowly. “Of course. It’s the stage after the eighth, or black, stage. Not much is known, and many people think it’s a myth. But it’s real, just different from the previous stages. Reaching it is a true ascension. Becoming an Immortal. People who’ve reached it generally leave the mortal world behind. They become different kinds of beings, something close to spirits. If they’re rulers, they give up their positions. I assume it’s an agreement. Otherwise, it would be far too easy for someone to conquer all their rivals, right?”

I shook my head at myself. I should have asked about this earlier. Well, at least she was in a helpful mood right now.

“Is that why you want me to reach the eighth stage so quickly?” I asked. “There’s no way you don’t want to ascend.”

Mother grinned. “I guess you’ve seen through me. Yes, that’s part of the reason. The white stage is different. Technically, you don’t even need to be at the peak of the black stage to reach it, if you believe the records. But it’s very rare, and no one really knows how exactly to do it.”

“Well, I guess I just got a new long-term goal,” I said, tapping my fingers on the armrest.

She cocked her head a little. “I was wondering if you’d want that.”

I shrugged and stood up from the chair, stretching my arms. I haven’t been sure before, but … no, I don’t want to lose myself in some way.

“I’ve died once. I have no desire to do it again.”