“… forty-eight… forty-nine… fifty!”

I took my hands from my eyes and glanced around, trying not to grin too broadly. I’d called loudly enough that I was sure Xiaodan knew I was finished. Other cultivators could probably hear that from farther away, but I didn’t care. We were in a rather lonely part of the palace grounds, a secluded park on the upper terrace close to the mountains. There weren’t as many hiding places as in the wilderness, but more than enough for a good game of hide-and-seek.

I started walking slowly, glancing around. According to the rules of the game, I wasn’t supposed to cheat by using qi, so I’d shut down my qi senses as much as I could and was keeping all of my qi in my dantian instead of using it to search for my little sister.

Not that I needed to. I still had sharp eyes, and Xiaodan wasn’t that good at the game. She got too excited and had problems keeping still.

I padded across the grass, choosing a curved path and making sure to keep my steps silent, at least to someone in the lower stages. I heard her shifting as I closed in on her position, even before I caught a glimpse of her hiding in a little nook between a stone wall and a copse of trees. My arm snaked out and caught her, hauling her into the air a few centimeters as I dragged her out.

“Look what I caught here,” I grinned.

Xiaodan pouted. “You cheated! No way you found me this quickly.”

I shook my head, still smiling. “I don’t need to cheat to beat you, young lady. You rustle too much, and I could see a peek of your red cuffs from over there.”

My little sister glanced down at the robe she wore and pouted even harder. She tugged at it to smooth it out. I reached out and gently removed a few leaves that had found their way into her hair, brushing a few strands back.

“Sorry, Big Sister,” she said with visible reluctance.

“It’s okay. It’s alright to be frustrated, as long as you recognize when you’re wrong.” I smiled down at her. “Now, do you want to catch me this time?”

She frowned, probably considering the offer and her chances of finding me. But before she could answer, something pricked my senses. I whirled around, registering a deep rumble in the air even as I did. There was a light shockwave, barely more than a sudden gust of wind. But I felt a feeling of dread creep over me that stood in stark contrast to the sunny day and playful mood I’d been immersed in a second ago.

“Xiaodan,” I said, my voice tight. “Take my hand and hold on.”

She looked confused, but didn’t struggle as I scooped her up into my arms. I glanced around, taking a defensive talisman from my storage ring absently and noting the guards drawing closer around us.

There was a dark blur in the sky to our northeast, coming from the northern plains, perhaps. It didn’t look like more than a smudge in the air, hard to see even for me, but my qi senses were telling me there was a lot more to it. The sensation was steadily intensifying, and I could almost hear the palace’s wards groaning around us. I didn’t wait for the guards to act, just started running, my little sister clutched tightly to me.

I’d never let loose like this on the palace grounds, but the paths were empty enough that I could really put on speed. It only took a few seconds for me to reach the main palace area. I slowed down slightly, taking in what was happening. Guards were assembling, some of them setting up objects laden with enchantments, probably defensive weapons and such. Courtiers and servants were running around in the beginnings of a panic. But I dismissed all of them from my attention as soon as I caught sight of Mother. She was accompanied by the largest contingent of guards and officers, and all of the really strong cultivators were gathering there, as well.

I put on another burst of speed, barely waiting for guards to get out of the way before I reached the group. Carefully, I set down Xiaodan, who was looking around with wide eyes.

Mother nodded at me and spared a look at one of the guards. “Ling, take my youngest to safety and make sure her guard detachment is prepared.” She gave Xiaodan a brief smile and switched to English. “It’s alright, little one, just hold tight and wait. I love you.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, even as the guard scooped my sister up and went running. She must be heading to the city.

“We’re under attack, it looks like.”

“Who would have guessed,” Kariva growled. “How could you have completely missed this, Acura?”

This was the first time I’d ever heard her use my Mother’s first name in public. If nothing else, that showed me how serious the situation was.

“You can yell at me for being distracted later,” Mother answered, staring north.

I followed her gaze, like most people here, and cycled more qi to my eyes. The wards were visible as a shimmer in the air, like a heat haze, which I knew was not a good sign. If the confused mess I got from my qi senses was right, they were already falling like leaves in the wind. I could also make out the shapes of people moving around behind them, maybe a few dozen in total. Not much of an army, but I could sense their power from here, even with the interference. At least one eighth-stager, maybe more.

I was about to ask how the Zarian could have possibly gotten here, then paused as I understood. “This is a coup, isn’t it?”

“It’s certainly an attempt at one.” Mother reached out and grasped a spear that just appeared from the air. It looked a bit like Fides, if you inverted the color scheme, with a white shaft and black runes. The veil on her aura lifted, making it hard for me to breathe under the pressure.

“You should get to safety,” Kariva said to me.

I shook my head. “They’re not going to let me through, and the inside of the palace is hardly safe anymore. I’ll stick with you.”

Mother started to rise into the air. “Everyone in the late part of the seventh stage, with me. The rest, support us as best you can, and protect my people.”

In that moment, I felt another shockwave, and realized with a shiver that the last ward just broke. The attackers were advancing now.

Mother and a group of guards and courtiers flew to meet them. As they did, I focused, trying to make out more details. It didn’t take long for me to recognize a few of the people.

Zun, the noble I’d met in the south. The eighth-stager beside him had to be his older brother. And was that general Wei? Damn it all.

I started to cross my arms around my body before I realized I was doing it and stopped, taking a deep breath. Kariva was pacing up and down, her aura roiling, clearly frustrated that she couldn’t follow Mother into the fight. None of the guards looked remotely happy, and I could see fear in a few of their eyes, but most of them showed grim determination. For a few endless moments, we just waited.

I could feel my connection to my father in my mind. He didn’t intervene, but I knew his attention was on me. My senses felt sharper, and there was the faintest thrill of energy running through me. I hope you’ll give me guidance, I thought at him, not sure if he’d even hear it.

The two groups met and seemed to exchange a few words in the air. Then one of the attackers made a fist and pointed, and the fight began.

It was like some giant reached down to shake the world. I just couldn’t keep up, it was happening too fast. There was only a vast amount of qi, light and fire and a stab of pain and the rumble of the earth. I found myself flying backward for a moment before a hand reached out and caught me, grounding me on the earth. A guard in the seventh stage, with her aura flared out so far she pushed some of the ominous density off me.

When I could focus again, several of the palace buildings were on fire, and some of the walls had fallen down. The air was beginning to fill with the scent of stone, dust and smoke. But I only had eyes for the fight, which was steadily moving closer. I couldn’t make out any individual people, so much as a bundle of qi all intertwined together, fighting each other.

Then one vaguely human shape struck out in our direction, and a massive lance of qi tore through the air, then through the group. I ducked on instinct, feeling the attack pass by close enough to singe my hair. It left our formation shattered. Like a child had reached out and scattered toy soldiers with a brush of their hand. Some of the cultivators had already lost their lives, and others had most of their qi drained.

There was a lull in the fight above, and I took the opportunity to edge away, closer to the nearest building and the flimsy shelter it promised. Mother had lost most of the guards she’d brought, I noticed, and was hovering in what had to be a defensive formation. It took me a moment to realize another group was approaching, just a few people this time. I couldn’t be sure at this distance, but one of them felt like Kiyanu. Before they could arrive, the fight resumed.

Then my attention was captured by a part of the attacking force that split off to descend over the palace. The largest group headed right for our location, the central knot of resistance.

I found myself surrounded by a few of the strongest guards in an instant. The qi shield they put up made it hard to sense what was happening outside, but I felt another shockwave. The guards continued to edge me away from the center of the conflict, towards the building. I stumbled along, gathering some darkness qi. But I knew I couldn’t really contribute to this fight. This was way above my weight class. I was having trouble just trying to keep up with what was happening.

The scent of blood had joined the other smells of fighting around us, and every second or so a low boom would shake my hearing. It felt like the world had shrunk around me.

We’d just reached the building when the protective formation around me fell apart. A huge wave of fire crashed around us, and a few of the guards stopped and advanced on it to hold it off. A moment later, a rain of icy spears jumped out of the dust, piercing through several more. I stumbled backward, shoved by one guard just enough to dodge one of them, and felt the timber of a doorframe poke me in the back.

‘Inaris!’ Mother’s mental voice reached me.

I winced at the sudden intensity. ‘Mother?’

‘Inaris, get to safety! Now!’ Her mental voice was strained, more than I’d ever heard in her physical speech. She hesitated for a moment, then continued in a lower, softer tone. ‘I love you.’

For an instant, I just stood there, shocked and shaken. Then I rallied myself. ‘Mother? Are you —‘

But she couldn’t hear me anymore, I realized with a sinking feeling of dread. The fight had captured her full attention again.

Swallowing hard, but still moving as fast as I ever had, I fumbled behind me for the doorknob. As soon as the door opened, I stumbled backwards through it, using some darkness qi to give me what cover it could. A few of the guards followed me through. I’d lost the rest somewhere along the way.

I turned around and started running. The palace looked different, bore little resemblance to the safe home I’d left behind this morning. Furniture and decorations lay scattered and broken, the windows were almost all gone. In random places, the walls had crumbled or been blown out enough to allow me a glimpse outside.

I paused for a moment, trying to get my bearings. From what I could tell, Kiyanu was fighting one of the hostile eighth stagers, drifting farther away towards the mountains. The terrain around them was scoured by tornadoes, icy gales and the concentrated power of storms, enough to strip the vegetation off the slopes. From here, I couldn’t see Mother or the rest. I hope they’re okay. She has to be fine.

I didn’t believe it even as I was thinking it. If not for the adrenaline rushing through my veins, the need to focus and fight, pushing everything else to the background, I might have been sick. The unease I’d felt before was back and magnified. It took me a minute to realize that I didn’t even know where I was going. Not that I let that stop me. My feet seemed to know their way, and I found myself hurrying through the sprawling palace complex with purpose.

Several times, the guards pushed and pulled me into alcoves and niches, where I suppressed my aura and pulled a bit of darkness qi around us, waiting until the attacking fighters had moved off and we could continue. Instead of getting better, the palace seemed to be in worse shape as we moved further, and in some places I could see the sky through holes in the ceiling.

One time, we weren’t quick enough. One of the trees in an interior courtyard moved suddenly, its roots shredding through the earth and grabbing one of the soldiers. I stumbled back yet again, throwing a glob of darkness at it. Then I realized that it was too late, and the life had fled his eyes.

I turned and ran, stumbling through a narrow corridor, away from yet another fight that had broken out behind me. Only a few footsteps followed me this time.

I emerged in another new building, one that I only vaguely recognized. But the location at least tickled a memory, and suddenly I knew were I was going, where I had to go. I was almost there.

I took a step, then paused. The wall in front of me was almost completely crumpled, a large hole punched into it by the boulder that now lay half buried in the wall behind it. The hole offered me a good view out onto the battlefield, and this time, I could see the main fight between the titans. I was closer than I’d realized.

As I watched, one of the figures was punched out of the air. Light and darkness screamed around them, and with my heart hopping into my throat, I realized it was Mother. She seemed to fall in slow motion, in an arc that brought her close to my current location. The man who’d punched her, the older Zun, was attacked by one of our guards, and turned away, so her flight continued uninterrupted.

Before I realized what I was doing, I took a step forward. I watched as Mother slammed into the ground not even a hundred meters away from me, on an upper courtyard only separated by us from a low, almost destroyed stone wall and a steep jump. The impact stirred up more dust and qi. But I could sense that she was still alive, if, most likely, badly hurt.

I took a deep breath. She’d contacted me earlier, and it felt like the remnants of that link were still there. Perhaps she’d only shut it down, not severed it. So I threw all of my focus and mental strength into it, trying to get through to her. ‘Mother! Mother! Come here!’

Seconds passed, and I began to fear that I’d been wrong. Then, I could make out a figure slowly standing up among the rubble. She seemed to glance at the fight, then at me. With agonizing slowness, she turned and staggered in my direction.

I breathed in sharply and felt my nails dig into my fists as I got a better look at Mother. She was limping towards me with all the grace of a drunk toddler, at a pace barely fast enough for someone in the second or third stage, and her posture was hunched. She’d lost her entire right arm to the fight, and it didn’t seem to be healing. There was foreign qi in the wound, infesting her. It was probably nature qi, but I couldn’t be sure, not with the almost physical reek of decay and pus. Some poison technique, perhaps, a part of my mind noted.

I shook off my shock as she reached me and stepped forward, catching more of her weight than I intended as she almost toppled over.

“Nari,” she mumbled.

“It’s alright, Mother,” I grunted.

I heaved her remaining arm over my shoulder and grabbed her legs, lifting her into an awkward carry. The two remaining guards finally got to work, one of them filling up the hole in the wall while the other wove qi shields around us.

I started walking. Mother felt terribly fragile and light, even for my cultivator strength. I would’ve given her one of my healing pills, but I didn’t know enough if it would make things worse with the attack eating away at her. And besides, she had to have much stronger pills herself.

Get a grip, I told myself. I just need to get her to a safe place, first.

‘I need to fight,’ Mother mumbled into my mind.

‘Not like this,’ I answered, shifting her weight as I turned into another corridor. ‘Just hang on. There’s one place we’ll be safe here.’

Despite the risk, I sped up again. They wouldn’t let either of us get away that easily. If Mother died, they won and nothing else mattered, anyway.