To Kill a Kingdom

Elian, Yukiko, Lira, and Elian’s closest crew members climb the freezing Cloud Mountain. Lira thinks about Elian’s engagement to Yukiko, comparing it to her own situation with the Flesh-Eater. Everyone is quiet because it’s so cold, and Yukiko wants to reach the next camp before sundown. They have an hour until the sun sets, but it will take them two to reach the next camp. Yukiko and the crew don’t get along, and Lira challenges her.

The crew finally sets up camp, and when everyone is asleep, Elian and Lira sneak away. Elian shows Lira the clear night sky, telling her about the stories he creates based on the stars. Elian feels conflicted now that they are close to finding the Crystal. Lira tells Elian that if a human takes a siren’s heart, they become immune to siren songs. She explains that sirens dissolve quickly after death because Keto, their goddess, wanted to protect them from humans stealing their hearts. Elian wonders if genocide against the sirens is the wrong thing to do. Lira considers telling Elian that she’s really a siren, but she worries that it would change how he sees her. Instead, she asks him to kiss her. He does.

Yukiko finally leads the group to the ice palace, which is surrounded by an inexplicably warm moat into which waterfalls pour. They row across the moat in two boats and then follow Yukiko into the palace. They find the locked chamber, and Elian gives Yukiko the necklace, which fits into a special engraving in the wall. The wall opens and they enter the chamber, in the center of which is a steeple made of water that contains the Eye of Keto. The steeple, Elian discovers, is solid ice, and they realize that they can’t get to the Crystal. Lira tells them that they need siren blood to release the Crystal and that Elian has some in his magical knife. Elian tries plunging his knife into the center, but it fails.

Later, after everyone else is asleep, Lira goes to the Crystal alone. She lied about the need for siren blood; any blood will work if it’s fresh. She brings a sword, cuts her hand, and drips her blood onto the Eye. The ice melts and she retrieves the Eye. Princess Yukiko catches her and confronts her, accusing her of being a siren, which Lira admits, telling Yukiko that the Sea Queen turned her human as punishment. Yukiko realizes that she’s the Princes’ Bane, and before Lira can respond, she realizes that Elian has heard the entire conversation.