Gin watched as Captain Zalez pointed to the map and devised an immediate plan to rescue Ria in Cadrid. They were in another room in the palace, which he could guess to be the war room, where a multidimensional map spread over a long table.

The chairs surrounding the table were filled with several of the king's advisors, Captain Javo, Migal, Captain Zalez, and the king's general, while the crew of the Opal stood at the side where the guards had their rifles pointed at them like prisoners.

Gin sighed, wondering what would happen once they had rescued Ria. Would the king treat them like heroes or still like criminals?

"You and your army can wait in this cove," Captain Zalez said to the king, finger tracing the curve of a beach on the map.

"Prepare a battalion," the king said to the general, a large, tall man in a dark blue coat, arms striped with yellows for his rank.

"You can't make that much movement," Gin said over Captain Zalez's shoulder without moving. "People will notice. Whispers will reach Cadrid. Something big like this will have ears everywhere. If they hear action from the army like moving a battalion, they won't proceed with the auction."

The king looked up at Gin and waved his hand at the guard who pointed the rifle at him. "Come closer."

The guard lowered his weapon and allowed Gin to step forward.

"How many then?" the king asked when Gin stood beside Captain Zalez's and Migal's seats.

"Just a handful," Captain Zalez said.

"I'm not comfortable with the king outside these walls with just a handful of soldiers and guards," Captain Javo noted with a cautious tone.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you should stay here," the general suggested.

"We'll be able to focus on saving the princess without worrying about you, my king," Captain Javo added.

The king pressed a finger to his lips, looking at the map. An advisor to his right leaned in and whispered in his ear. He then glanced at everyone in the room and nodded. "Alright. But she comes straight to the palace once you have her," he said. It was an order.

Gin realized that the king was a reasonable man--a good brother who would do anything for his sister. He nods. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"So, we walk in like normal participants." Captain Zalez continued with the plan.

"Under Tiani's name," Gin added, recalling the flower they'd taken from the Seniora, which was now placed under the king's custody somewhere in the palace for safekeeping.

"The general, Migal and I will wait at the cove with a handful of soldiers then," Captain Javo said. "If we hear or sense any commotion inside the building, we go in." The Black Market Auction House was right on a beach near the cove he pointed at on the map.

"No, I want to be in there," Migal contradicted the plan.

"You know you're not exactly what one would call stealthy, right?" Captain Zalez said. "You look too clean, not to mention too tall. You'll give us away."

"Tell them I'm your bodyguard. Make up something," Migal argued. "I won't sit on that cove just waiting for you to get the princess out of there."

Gin noted the anger in his voice. When the king understood the situation, knowing when to allow others to do their jobs, Migal had been too managing, wanting to do things his way.

"It's fine," Gin said. "He can come."

After their short planning, they immediately left to sail to Cardid, the smallest province and island in the Draga Isles and the closest to Sivona, only a few hours away. But they needed to hurry, for the sun was setting, and they would likely reach the island by sundown.

When they reached the province, they headed first to the cove and went over the plans again. With the curve of the beach, the cove was hidden from the view of the Auction House, and the soldiers to wait would have the cover of the night. The crew of the Opal, on the other hand, took a boat with Migal and rowed from their ships to the Black Market.

As soon as their boat turned the bend and the treeline freed their vision, the Auction House loomed on the shore--tall and expensive with arched windows and spire-decorated roofs. It looked like the mansion of a wealthy person, but the estate was owned by an organization--a group of wealthy men and women with illegal trades.

Gin, Juli, Sam, Rodri, Captain Zalez, and Migal docked the boat on the shore and walked up to the front door of the house.

Guards greeted them and looked for their invitation.

Gin showed the man the blue rose. It was accepted, and they were all patted down for weapons before they were allowed to enter the building.

They came inside and walked into a ballroom filled with gathered people wearing grand attires of different exotic fashions. The circular room was dimly lit with yellow lighting, mainly from the chandelier above them.

As soon as they merged into the crowd, Sam and Rodri moved away from the group and headed toward a buffet table. They were tasked to create a diversion when the rest of them were in place and ready to grab Ria from the stage.

When midnight struck, the whole room grew dark, and the only light was a spotlight that lit the center where the stage was set. A man stood beside a large metal box with holes, like those shipping containers for live poultry.

Gin's jaw clenched. Ria was likely inside the the metal box.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the man on the stage started. "Welcome to this glorious night as we gather again for another auction. And this night, we have something special. A rare species. No, not rare. The last of its kind. The only living psychesi from the Marena Tribe. The princess of the Draga Isles."

The metal walls of the box fell, and Ria was exposed to the light as she sat on a chair, eyes blindfolded, lips taped closed, her legs and arms bound, chained to the floor of the stage.

Everyone in the ballroom gasped and awed.

Gin immediately saw that Ria's hand was missing and bandaged. Heat rose in his chest, and he wanted to break someone's teeth, tightening his fists.

Juli held him by the shoulder. "You alright, cousin?" she asked. She rarely called him that, but the word jolted him back to the room and the task. It was not his part to cause a commotion. He needed to wait for Sam and Rodri to do that before doing anything.

Gin realized that most people here weren't Dragans, and if they were, they likely had business outside the Draga Isles, where they could take Ria to get her out of the king's reach.

He heard a clanging noise from the buffet area and thought it might be Sam and Rodri's distraction, but the noise was too low and too far. Heads turned for only a second, then returned to the stage, and the auctioneer's voice boomed through his microphone again. "We will start this lot off at one million pridas."

Gin's jaw dropped at the opening amount as the bidding started. He saw Ria's lips quiver. She was crying. "Stop this," he whispered through gritted teeth as he watched hands raise one by one from the crowd, and the amount asked rose.

Migal stepped forward, seeming to move toward the stage.

Bang!

A gunshot rang right beside Gin's ears, causing him to duck. When he looked up, Captain Zalez had pulled out a weapon, raised it to the ceiling, and shot through.

"Where in the blue oceans did you get that?" Juli asked, also ducking like Gin.

Even Migal had lowered himself and turned back to them.

They all straightened.

"I know where to hide mine." The captain grinned. "Now, go."

They ran to the stage, and finally, Gin saw Enzo among the panicked audience. He wanted to dive right at him, but Ria was the priority, so he kept his strides in her direction.

Juli diverted, targeting Enzo. "I'll get him!"

"Juli!" Captain Zalez ran after her.

Now, it was only Gin and Migal running to the stage and pushing against the people who started to run in all directions. They should have positioned themselves closer.

Gin saw someone climb the stage first and tugged at Ria's chains. He leaped from the ground, directing a high kick to the man's face, pushing him off the stage as he landed.

Migal came up in front of Ria and pulled off her blindfold.

"Migal!" Ria's voice sounded so relieved, and Gin hated that it wasn't his name she called. But it was not the time for jealousy. He reached out to her bonds and let his concretostringere flow, making the chains brittle until he heard a crack. He tugged on them and pulled, and they broke like glass, scattering into chips on the floor.

Migal picked up Ria and carried her in his arms. She ducked her head and injured hand to his chest.

It made Gin wince. It should have been him. But he growled. "Get her out of here," he said to Migal.

Migal nodded and ran from the stage. Guns started firing, and Gin looked in the direction it came from backstage. He rushed to them--he recognized them as Acantians working with Enzo.

There were three of them, and he didn't have his knives. One of them pointed a pistol at him. He dodged the bullet and kicked the gun out of the guy's hand before swinging his arm, landing a fist on his face, and knocking him to the ground.

The other two men poised with their weapons, ready to shoot, but Gin jumped at one of them and wrestled him to the ground. He grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the gun and pointed it at the other Acantian. The gun fired, and the Acantian dropped and grunted as he pressed on his bleeding wound.

Gin wrapped his arm around the man's neck, squeezing until he went slack and unconscious.

He then ran in the direction where the Captain and Juli went to go after Enzo and the documents, but when he reached a hallway, he saw Juli and the Captain running back.

"What happened?" Gin asked.

"He jumped on a boat!" The captain shouted.

Gin pivoted. They needed to alert the royal navy to chase after Enzo, or they would lose the documents. They met up with Sam, and Rodri and Gin led them back to the main entrance. He saw Captain Javo first, then the guards and soldiers behind him.

"Captain Javo!" Gin said. "Hurry! They're getting away!" He jogged toward them.

When they reached the company, the guards moved to them, surrounding them and grabbing them by their shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Gin asked as he was pushed down to his knees by two guards.

Captain Zalez growled. "That's my good pistol! Give it back!" he barked as one of the guards took his weapon.

"Let go!" Juli shouted.

Gin heard the rest of the crew, Sam and Rodri, tried to put up a fight, but at least two dozen guards surrounded them.

Gin's hands were bound, and a gun pointed at his head.

Captain Javo walked up to him, his boots shiny black as he stood in front of Gin. "You are all under arrest... again."