The Keepers' meeting room was small and cozy, with a low ceiling and a rectangular space, fitting a few people in intimate conversation.

Reiji had been here several times when the late Kaharaza had invited him to join discussions regarding the kingdom—most of them minor concerns, such as petty disputes between villages or delayed trades due to typhoons.

Reiji hadn't been in this chamber in over a year, but today he stared at the long table made of a darkly varnished thick mahogany slab with a live edge that followed the contour of the original trunk. He patiently waited for the members of the Keepers to join him. It was not his idea to be here today, and he didn't know why the Kahani had wanted him to attend this session.

He heard footsteps approach the closed door at the other end of the long table. When it creaked open, he tensed in his seat, unsure why he suddenly felt nervous.

Zamira stepped inside the room and stopped when she saw him. "Jiji?" She must have been startled to see him there to call him by his childhood name. Since the late Kaharaza died, she had often addressed him with titles of respect though sometimes she still used Jiji to show her endearment. She was like an older sister to him, one of the few who had treated him like a true family.

Heneral Arkan and Gat Garim followed behind her, pausing the same way and staring at Reiji with questions over their scrunched dark brows.

"My Matu!" Heneral Arkan shifted his reaction as if he was glad to see Reiji in the meeting room. "We were not expecting you." There was a sing-songy tune to his voice that made Reiji relax.

"The Kahani requested my presence," Reiji rose from his seat and stepped on the aisle to bow, greeting each of them.

Heneral Arkan did the same, pressing his palm to his chest, and Zamira and Gat Garim followed.

"Well, you are very welcome to join us," Zamira said as she found her seat.

Gat Garim sat beside her without saying a word, but he kept his eyes on Reiji, a hint of a smile coming over his face.

Reiji found Gat Garim's expression odd and unreadable, but the man was the Keeper of Espionage—a spy—and was expected to be a mystery.

Before anyone said anything else, a servant pushed the door open, and Master Rieta, the Keeper of the Treasury, entered the chamber. She looked at everyone in the room with a raised brow and inclined her head when her dark tired eyes landed on Reiji. It took her a moment before she bowed. "My Matu."

Reiji greeted her, too, and returned to his seat beside the head of the table.

"What brings you here, if I may ask, My Matu?" Master Rieta strode to the other end. She pulled a chair out for herself, scraping the polished coral rock floor. She smoothed out the front of her red karkan before sitting down.

"The Kahani—" Reiji started to explain but thought for a moment. He didn't have to explain himself to anyone. He was the Matu, and he had every right to come and go as he pleased anywhere in his kingdom. He had every right to join the Keeper's meetings whenever he liked.

"Our Matu will be joining us from now on," Heneral Arkan spoke for Reiji.

Master Rieta squinted at the general. Her wrinkles carved her skin as she frowned—a disapproving look—but she nodded and said nothing else.

Reiji glanced at Zamira. She studied him intently, but she smiled, putting him at ease. It occurred to him that he had always called her only by her name, never by her title as the Tenyente Heneral. When they were younger, he had called her 'ate', a word for the older sister. That same word formed in his mind now, and he was grateful for her smile. He felt his lips tug to a grin.

There were a few moments of awkward conversation led by Heneral Arkan's jests before the Kahani finally arrived. Servants opened the door for her as she strode into the room. Everyone stood from their seats, including Reiji, and bowed their heads, greeting her, "My Kahani," as the regent of their kingdom.

The Kahani was escorted by Master Hatari, who shooed the servants out once they were inside. Like all the others who entered before them, her brows raised when she saw Reiji. She stopped, finding Reiji in her seat, but she said nothing and composed her face, reaching for the chair beside him instead.

The Kahani's red mestiza flowed with her movement as she settled herself, sitting at the end of the long table. She glanced at Reiji with a blank face. Nothing about the look she gave indicated her thoughts of the other day when he barged into the dungeons. They hadn't spoken to each other since then.

"Master Irdu and Kapitan Huckana?" The Kahani asked, directing the question to no one in particular.

"They have other matters to attend to at the port of Azan," Heneral Arkan answered. "They won't be joining us today."

Queen Ara nodded. The shimmering curves on her dress crawled over her abdomen to her chest, and the same decorative pattern slithered over the bulbous shoulders of her gown, framing her collarbone and long neck. She seemed small, consumed by her high-back chair, but she sat straight, gaining height and power in her image as she gripped the wooden arms at her sides.

"We do not need those two anyway," Master Rieta gave her comment, gazing at the Kahani. "Today's discussion is on matters of finances." Her heavy brown eyes glittered at the last word as if mentioning money had everything to do with her life as the Keeper of the Treasury.

"There are two items I want to discuss today," the Kahani corrected, and Master Rieta's shoulders slumped as she shrank back in her chair. "Let's start with finances first." Queen Ara did not indicate her second topic for discussion, and Reiji tensed in his seat again, thinking back on the day he entered the dungeon. The hanging body and the blood on the floor flashed in his mind, and heat crawled over the back of his neck.

Reiji sensed eyes on him, and when he looked up at the table, Zamira, and Gat Garim stared at him. Zamira looked concerned, but Gat Garim gazed as if Reiji was an animal in a cage.

Heneral Arkan cleared his throat, getting the room's attention. "There are delays in the delivery of gold from the northern mines."

Reiji knew of this. He had caught wind of the situation earlier but pretended to be surprised. "Delays?"

"My spies found no evidence of foul play," Gat Garim supplied first as if answering the silent question in everyone's mind.

"The cause was an unfortunate accident," Zamira added, turning to the Kahani. "My father and I have sent soldiers to aid the injured miners." She inclined her head to the general.

"They've encountered a cave-in. Most of the current excavations this year were in that specific area. Some miners did not survive, and many were injured," Heneral Arkan said.

"And the gold?" Master Rieta asked, her voice rising with too much concern.

"Buried with the dead," the general answered her grimly.

"Then we should hire more miners. We cannot afford any delays," Master Rieta said without even a little remorse for those who died.

"It's not that simple, Master Rieta," Master Hatari said, leaning forward toward the other Maestra sitting across the table.

"I'm sure plenty of commoners would take the job," Master Rieta argued.

Reiji heard the heaviness in their voices, a sudden shift in the room's mood from the general's entertaining conversation to this grim discussion of death and money.

"It took months to dig that hole in the mountains, Maestra," the Keeper of Knowledge said, placing her hands on the table and lacing her fingers together. "You among us should know that we do not have the means nor the budget to dig those mines again."

"But what is the severity of the collapse?" Master Rieta questioned.

Zamira glared at Master Rieta. "I think we should first discuss what we should do about the dead miners."

"She's right," the Kahani spoke, and everyone turned to her, waiting for more. Her head slightly bowed as she stared at the plane of wood before her. The specs in her blue-gray eyes darkened. When she raised her head, she looked at Reiji. The pearls that hung from each of her ears shimmered as she moved. "What would you do?" She asked.

Reiji swallowed. He was not expecting it. The event may not have surprised him, but this question did.

He thought about how he felt about the situation and glanced at everyone else in the room—eyes were upon him now.

It occurred to Reiji that he did not go beyond to think of what should have been done for the miners who died and who were injured. It would have been what a good Kaharaza would do. He only listened to their conversation, but now that his opinion mattered, he had nothing to say.

They waited a long moment before the Kahani finally spoke again. "Give our condolences to the families of those we lost." She no longer looked at Reiji and directed her order at Zamira. "Give ten heds for each."

"Ten?" Master Rieta reacted, but she looked down regretfully when Master Hatari hissed at her.

"We will, My Kahani." Zamira nodded.

No one noted that Reiji hadn't answered the Kahani's question, but he knew what the members thought. It was another reason for them to believe Reiji was not yet ready to take the throne. And he wanted to redeem himself, speaking whatever came to his mind first. "If I may ask," he cut into the conversation. "Why is the gold needed immediately?"

"If you recall, My Matu," Master Hatari answered, and Reiji caught the hint of arrogance in her voice, "we are funding an important project."

"But we allotted a shipment of gold for Master Kazuri's project only two months ago."

The Kahani looked at him sideways, and he became aware that he should not have known how much funding was put into redeveloping the machine.

"It's an expensive project," Master Rieta said.

"Master Kazuri's experiments need continuous funding. We need to support this for the future of Daracka," Master Hatari added.

Reiji recalled the numerous times he'd seen men pulling carts of metal to and from the corner tower where the project was located, remembering that every time the Maestro did something, they needed to change some parts of the machine.

"Isn't that a little excessive?" Reiji asked. "We should have been diversifying our funds. We've barely given the army any support." That, again, was another thing he should not have known since he was not invited to the Keepers' meetings. It wasn't that he was not allowed to join them, but he'd felt that way since the late Kaharaza died, and the same people in this chamber now had judged him then for being too young and inexperienced.

"It's not necessary, My Matu," the general said, but there was regret in his tone. "The army survives with scraps." He took a deep breath and rolled his broad shoulders to sit taller.

Reiji sensed sarcasm in the man's voice, but the Kahani only nodded.

"We will review our funding again," Master Rieta said. "But I will allot more to the mines to continue excavating the northern mountains. We cannot survive without the supply of gold from those mines. It's the largest we have."

"Agreed," Master Hatari said, and everyone else concurred.

The Kahani nodded again. "We will wait for your review, Master." Then she glanced at Reiji. "Now, we can move on to the other matter I wanted to discuss."

Reiji expected punishment for his behavior the other day. He entered the dungeons unannounced and found the Kahani in an unappealing situation. He had gone there deliberately after the Kahani had told him not to get involved with the interrogation, and now he was about to pay the price. He lowered his head, waiting.

"Prince Reiji has matured faster than we expected," the Kahani said, and Reiji looked up at her. She gazed sideways at him, and a smile curved her thin red lips.

"Yes, in every aspect, he has," the general added. "Except on matters that concern women." He chuckled and lighted the mood of the room.

"We must revisit the decision of his ascension to the throne." The Kahani turned to the members, and Reiji heard whispers, likely from Master Hatari and Master Rieta.

"That's a wonderful idea," Zamira said, grinning.

"Is it?" Gat Garim questioned, and when Reiji looked at the man, a shadow of doubt fell on his face. He had not said much during the meeting, but now he seemed active in providing his opinion. "Is he truly ready?"

"He can be on probation," the general said, scratching his thick beard.

"The decision to wait until he turns into a man, eight years over his first decade, was already made. Why are we revisiting this now?" Master Hatari asked, clearly not liking the idea.

Reiji turned his gaze to the Maestra beside him, but he caught a glimpse of Gat Garim again. The man clenched his jaw, disapproving of the proposal.

"It is a suggestion," the Kahani said. "We will not overrule what we have decided before, but it's time for our Matu to be involved and learn how to run a kingdom. It is for everyone's benefit." She ended her statement with a smile.

This meant that no one would question Reiji's presence in Keepers meetings. He would be informed of every decision and activity in Daracka as he should have been since his father died. You should have already taken the throne, Gat Kiyo's words rang in his mind, and he felt lifted at the Kahani's suggestion. He would take it, even if he's not yet seated on the throne. He would take whatever scraps he could to be a part of it.

No one else argued with the Kahani's decision, and Heneral Arkan and Zamira had congratulated him.

They continued to discuss other minor matters, but it wasn't long before the meeting ended, and everyone headed out of the chamber to attend to their businesses.

Reiji came out to the corridor expecting Gat Kiyo to be waiting, but Gat Garim stood by a wall watching him instead. Reiji acknowledged him with a nod and began to turn the other way, but the man called him back.

"My Matu," Gat Garim said. His boots made no sound as he moved toward Reiji.

"Yes?" Reiji said.

Gat Garim paused a few steps from him and stared for a moment as if searching for the right words in his mind before speaking them. "Are you sure about this?"

"About what?"

"Being involved in ruling Daracka."

Reiji frowned. Of course, he was sure. It was his destiny—his right by blood to be on the throne. The question offended him, but he composed his emotions before answering Gat Garim. "I am sure," he said simply and firmly.

Gat Garim's jaw clenched. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "It won't be easy. You're going to have plenty of distractions. The people around you will keep you occupied to keep you from what's truly important. You have to be vigilant, especially now with so many attempts on your life." He swallowed and glanced around before continuing. "I understand that you have your own spies."

Reiji's eyes widened. How could Gat Garim know that?

The Keeper of Espionage raised two fingers to Reiji, and between them was a tiny scroll. "I caught a Ghost sneaking around."

Reiji snatched the paper from Gat Garim and clenched his teeth.

"You cannot trust anyone. Not even your family or those you treat as such," Gat Garim continued.

"What are you saying?"

Gat Garim opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Reiji heard footsteps behind him. The Keepers Member bowed. "My Matu," he said, then turned the other way, rushing to leave. His strides were long and fast yet without sound.

"Wait," Reiji said, but Gat Garim had already turned a corner. Looking back at whoever came his way, he saw Gat Kiyo coming down the hall.

Reiji quickly unrolled the tiny scroll and read the message.

Do you not want to be seated?

It was a pursuit of the original note he'd received and forgotten about when he was in Zircka.

"Forgive me for being late, My Matu," Gat Kiyo said, standing beside Reiji and bowing with a hand pressed to his chest.

Reiji rolled a fist over the note and nodded to Gat Kiyo.

.