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Koh had not gotten her in a very long time, but she was always a difficult opponent in a direct confrontation. Much like Avar, she could wield the Firelight, which was by its very nature always in conflict with the Darklight. Unlike the Earthlight, Windlight, and Waterlight, those two could not meld or even coexist with one another. A clash was all but inevitable.

And if she was supporting Sai-hee in some way--even if only to manipulate her--then Koh knew to be doubly wary of the empress here. A blessing from Makirë might have granted her all sorts of troublesome new abilities.

But that wasn’t going to make him balk, of course.

A new lead for the Prime Hunt. And a new obstacle, too.

There was only one course of action to be taken now. The empress was compromised. Untrustworthy. Even if Morgunov did manage to talk her down here and now, she would soon become a problem when Koh went after Makirë next.

It bore little thinking about. Koh’s instincts told him all he needed to know.

He attacked.

Wreathed in darkness, he rocketed toward her like a missile through air, uncaring of the fact that she had been mid-sentence.

Before he could even reach her, however, light burst out from her position, blinding him and cutting into his swirling shadow like a hundred swords.

Not such a problem for him, though. He didn’t need his eyes. Or even his soul senses. Aura and scent were more than enough.

He still found her and bit down, right through her torso.

But his teeth phased through her harmlessly, snapping shut without drawing a single drop of blood.

She zipped away, out of immediate reach, and Kallmakk’s shadow pursued on its own while Koh reassessed.

She wasn’t a light-wielder. He knew her servant ability, and that wasn’t it. So that must’ve indeed been the result of a blessing.

Moreover, she’d been ready for his attack. She’d known.

Any remaining uncertainty vanished. She belonged to the enemy.

But she was also not his objective. Ettol was. So while the Darklight took on a life of its own through Kallmakk and kept her busy, Koh went after the Trickster again.

And again, Dozer got in his way.

This time, it was Koh who was ready. There was no talking their way through this now.

Koh’s howl tore through the dampening bubble that Sai-hee had created for them. The storm was again trying to converge back in on everyone, but the howl pushed it back, making the air tremble.