"We need to talk," Haia said as she shut the stone door behind her, rushing down the rocky steps leading to the Olija rebels' underground hideout. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of mildew and mold permeating through the narrow tunnel. Dragons, she'd never grow used to the reek, even after visiting the rebels' stronghold thirty-two times.

This was her thirty-third time visiting in total— and her first since stealing the Blood Pearls.

After spending time with Kenji the day before, Haia had been wracked with guilt for risking her brother's life, and his innocent face had haunted her every time she had closed her eyes to sleep. Her mind had wavered between continuing with her original plans and giving in to Mai's demands the entire night, until finally, the thief had decided it was time for an important conversation with the rebel general who had set all this into motion in the first place.

If only the general had never asked me to steal the Blood Pearls, she thought through gritted teeth. Kenji would be safe.

Safe, but trapped with Mai, her mind reminded her.

Shut up, she told it, not wanting to deal with the schism of voices in her mind today. She needed all her wits about her for the conversation ahead, so she collected her scattered thoughts, gingerly hopping down the last of the steps leading to the entrance of a dimly lit, dungeon-like room.

At the center of the room was a stone table with detailed rebel plans laid out on its surface, and behind the table stood a powerfully built middle-aged man with narrow eyes, goatee, and long mustache— the Olija general.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your appearance today?" he asked, not bothering to look up at the thief as he surveyed the plans on the table.

He knew who had come, who that arrogant voice belonged to. He would have recognized it anywhere.

Haia waited a few moments for the general to look in her direction, but when he continued to flip pages, ignoring her, she slammed her fists against the stone table, glaring until he glanced her way. Her presence would be acknowledged.

"I've come to change the terms of our agreement," she told him, her tone leaving no room for debate.

The general looked up from his plans now, one eyebrow raised as he stroked his bearded chin.

"Come to change the terms?" he asked.

"Yes," Haia said, confident that he would do as she asked. After all, she was the only one who knew where the Blood Pearls were hidden. If the general needed them as badly as she knew he did, he would listen to her.

So, the thief waited patiently for the general to tell her he was ready to hear what she had to say.

Unfortunately for Haia, the general was not ready to listen today. The thief had already grated on every last nerve in his body, and he had little patience left to entertain her ridiculous requests— as if their initial deal had not been ridiculously dangerous already.

So rather than asking Haia what her new terms were, the general exploded with anger.

"You want to change the terms of a deal that you haven't even managed to uphold?" he hissed viciously, his nonchalant facade entirely broken now.

Haia faltered for a moment, taken aback by the venom lacing the general's voice. Was he angry that she hadn't shown up to deliver the Blood Pearls in the way she had promised? That wasn't her fault. Things had gone to hell before she could, hadn't they?

Upon seeing Haia's flustered expression, the general continued. "What? You think I haven't heard about your botched mission? How the Golden Guards found out that the Blood Pearls had been stolen and are now hunting for the thief? You're risking the entire Olija movement just by dragging your sorry ass over here, and you don't even have the Blood Pearls to hand over. So pardon me if I'm not open to changing the terms of the deal when you couldn't even do what you were hired to do!"

"I didn't botch anything, General Kiso," Haia corrected him with deadly calmness. She would not be talked down to. Not when she had risked everything to do what this thankless man had asked her to do. "I have the Blood Pearls."

Kiso's disgruntled expression flickered with doubt as he eyed the thief with a new curiosity. "Is that so, Silver Serpent? Hand them over then. Come on. Don't be shy."

"I don't have them with me, you old fool," Haia snapped, picking at the scabs on her arms. "Besides, things have changed, and I need some kind of insurance before I give them to you. That is why I've come to change the terms of our agreement."

Kiso crossed his arms across his chest, his dark eyes discerning Haia's neutral expression. "Let's say I believe you about your possession of the Pearls. Why do you wish to change the terms at all?"

"That's none of your concern." Kiso didn't need to know about the threat on Kenji's life. Haia wouldn't tell him that part if she could help it. It would make her appear weak, careless.

And she was neither of those things.

"Oh, I assure you it is my concern, Serpent," the general replied, "considering your compensation for retrieving the Blood Pearls involves kidnapping Kenji Gozen, the adoptive son of the Empress."

The general's flint eyes flashed sparks as he glared at the insolent thief. Such arrogance!

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"I'll remind you again, General Kiso," Haia said, ignoring his sharp words, "it is none of your concern why I wish to change the terms of our agreement. I'm the one with the Blood Pearls in my possession. If you want your goods, then you'll do as I say. After all, the entire Olija movement depends on you having the Pearls, doesn't it?"

The rebel general narrowed his eyes at the young thief. The little, conniving wench! He wished he had never struck a deal with her in the first place. If only he had not walked into her trap one month ago...

That fateful night, Kiso had found Haia at her favorite bar, competing in a drinking contest against one of the usual buffoons. The general had shoved the man aside, instead challenging Haia himself. He had stated that if he won, she would have to do whatever he asked, but he would give her additional compensation for it. If she won, he would do anything she asked.

Haia hadn't taken his words seriously, assuming he was just another typical drunkard looking to take advantage of a young woman like her. She had smiled slyly, agreeing to the match since he most likely underestimated how well she could hold her liquor.

Unfortunately for the thief, Kiso had beaten her soundly. She had nearly blacked out from intoxication as a rowdy crowd cheered for her opponent. Kiso could have left her alone at the table that night, or he could have dragged her away and done unspeakable things.

Instead, he had forcefully dispersed the crowd around them and had waited patiently until Haia came to her senses a few hours later.

"What do you want?" she had asked him angrily, frustrated that she had lost so terribly. Haia had seldom been bested before, and she hated it. The Silver Serpent wasn't supposed to lose!

"I want you to steal the Blood Pearls for me," the general had said, stopping the thief in her tracks as she had tried to rise from the table. "I know who you are, Silver Serpent. I've been watching your movements for some time now."

Haia had been shocked by his outrageous request and the fact that he had recognized her as the Serpent without her special cloak, but she hadn't shown it on her face. Instead, she had simply refused his request.

"Oh, no, no, no. Do you think I'm stupid to agree to something so dangerous? Ask for something else," she had said, waving him away as she stumbled out of the bar, whipping back her long braid as she brushed away the loose strands of hair waving into her face.

"I won't ask for something else," Kiso had said, chasing the thief out onto the dark streets, "but I can make you an offer. I will give you anything you want if you do this for me."

Haia hadn't believed him at first, and she had almost dismissed him completely until she noticed the insignia stitched onto his cloak.

It stopped her heart for a moment. A thousand memories from a long-gone night flooding her hazy mind with a sharp clarity that she despised for she knew that sign all too well.

It was the same one that her father had tattooed onto his right shoulder, the one that had always been at odds with the Golden Dragon Empire crest he wore as part of his soldier's uniform.

"You're an Olija rebel general," she had told the man matter-of-factly.

The general had been taken aback, stunned that the young woman would know such a thing. "And how would you know that, Serpent?"

"I've heard about your people before." Haia didn't feel like explaining the real reason why she knew. He didn't need to know that the rebels were the reason her father had died in the first place.

"If you know who we are," the man had said, "then you know what we do. What we seek."

Haia had nodded. "You want to replace the Empress with your own puppets. Fat chance I'm helping you lot. A durian by any other name is still a durian."

With that, Haia had started to drunkenly stumble away again, but the man had grabbed her hand, yanking her back.

"Wait," he had said firmly, his dark eyes glinting calmly in the moonlight. "What is your greatest desire in the world?"

Irritated that this man wasn't letting her go, Haia stuck her tongue out at him, fully intent on keeping her secret desires to herself. Should she punch him? His face looked so punchable...then he'd shut up...leave her alone...stop asking for secrets she didn't want to tell. Oh, but it had been so long! No one ever cared to ask...ask her how she was...ask her what she wanted. No...they only took, took, took from her...

"I want to have my brother by my side forever," she slurred, the truth barreling out of her drunken mouth before she could stop herself. Dragons, she hated being drunk like this. No more competitions for her...no more...no more...

"Really?" Kiso had asked, his bushy eyebrows rising, curiosity piqued. "Why is that?"

"He was taken from me. Any more nosy questions?" Haia had grumbled, her dark eyes flashing with annoyance as she violently wrenched her hand away. Unfortunately for her, she lost her balance, pitching forward again as her braid whacked her in the face.

"Just one more," the man had said, helping upright the drunken girl as a plan started to form in his mind. "Do you know where he is now?"

Haia paused, tortured by the truth. Angered by it. She hated knowing where Kenji really was. Who he lived with.

"Yes, unfortunately," she said through gritted teeth, the loose strands of her hair falling into her face again. Curse her stupid, unruly hair. She was going to chop it all off! "He's stuck in the Dragon Palace, a slave to the Empire."

The man had nodded thoughtfully. He knew many of his own men and women who had lost their family to the Empire— children, siblings, spouses— so he understood the frustration, the deep-ended rage that danced across the Serpent's face.

"What if in exchange for you stealing the Blood Pearls, we rescue your brother from the Palace?" he suggested. "A few of our rebels are caught in the dungeons, now slaves themselves, so it would be no trouble to rescue one more person during our next breakout."

Haia had nearly rushed to tell him that would be impossible considering Kenji Gozen was no simple prisoner, but she had somehow found it in her alcohol-addled brain to hold her tongue. This was a golden opportunity to free Kenji from Mai's clutches, and she would be a fool to deny the general's offer. If she just worded this carefully enough, perhaps she could get more out of this deal than she had initially expected...

"Steal the Blood Pearls, you say?"

"Yes. If there is anyone who can steal the Blood Pearls, it is you. All of Haan knows your skill," the general had replied, hoping to persuade the thief through flattery.

Haia had waved away his compliments, however, unfazed. It was a fact that if anyone could steal the Blood Pearls, it was her. She was simply that talented, that practiced in the art of thievery. She didn't need others to tell her that.

"My brother for the Pearls?" she had finally said. She needed the man to agree aloud. To be as sure of the deal as she was.

"Your brother for the Blood Pearls," the man confirmed, offering his hand. Haia quickly grabbed it with both of hers.

"You have yourself a deal," she told him, nearly losing balance as she vigorously shook his arm. Great Dragon, how much alcohol had she drunk?

"Good," the man had said, releasing her while he steadied her swaying body with his other hand. "The name is Kiso, by the way. General Kiso."

"Pleasure to work with you, General," Haia had slurred, a sly grin returning to her face. Oh, this was going to be perfect. She was positively giddy at the thought of finally having Kenji by her side again. She could think of little else.

As she turned to walk away, Kiso had called after her.

"You didn't say his name!" he had shouted.

"Whose name?" Haia had giggled stupidly.

"Your brother's!"

The thief had turned around, her obsidian eyes sparkling with dangerous amusement. The general wasn't going to like what he heard next.

But she didn't care.

"His name?" she had said. "His name is Kenji. Kenji Gozen."

With that, the thief had skipped off into the night, leaving the slack-jawed general behind.