During every long night since her confrontation in the Imperial Palace, she went over each and every choice she had made, trying to determine whether or not she could have saved him and the Empire.

She knew it was a fruitless exercise, but she could not stop wondering.

Torturing herself was the least she could do for him.

They were not pleased.

She did not know why she had expected a different reaction. True, the Black Whirlwind did not seem to find the presence of the man who had hounded them across the Empire too disconcerting, and nothing bothered Kang, but the others…

They did not understand. It had been so easy to bind him to her will. Sun Li had only recently come to the Water Dragon's power and he had not known that she did not need the amulet to exercise her abilities as a Spirit Monk.

And her powers burned inside her now, just like ice on wet skin. They begged to be used against him and his soldiers and assassins. The fight against Death's Hand had barely whetted her appetite for revenge and wrenching control of him away from Sun Li was easy.

Ignoring Sun Kin's pleas for release was also very easy.

Once, someone had told her to take every chance that she could get. Death's Hand would be a poignant reminder to her former Master that she had defeated him once and that she could defeat him again. And there was no doubt that having an unquestioning warrior at her side would make her more powerful.

Apparently, the others didn't see it in the same way.

Lian was furious, perhaps furious that the thing she had feared the most was now at Wu's command. "You cannot do this. He is a member of the Royal Family."

"Please don't do this." Dawn Star added. Hers was not a plea of fear though; Dawn Star truly believed that what she was doing was wrong.

"It's for the good of the Empire," Wu explained. "For your Empire, Lian."

"You will not tell me what is good for the Empire," the princess retorted. But she took a step back from Wu and from the look in her eyes.

"This isn't like you," Sky added and perhaps it was his words that broke her patience. Perhaps if he hadn't tried to understand her when she knew he knew nothing about her – about what this journey had driven her to and what she had become – then maybe she would have explained. Maybe they would have agreed with her reasoning or maybe they would have convinced her of theirs.

But he had and she didn't and then she saw the path that she should not take. She saw the dissent and she saw how easy it would be to silence them.

There were their spirits and there were their bodies and here was her mind. It was only a matter of joining them together. She could see it so easily.

Dawn Star, Sky, Hou and Lian were lifted into the air for moment from the force of the joining. They hung there like rag dolls for a moment, helpless in her power. When they fell, they went to their knees and it reminded her of another time, when helpless opponents had bowed to her on the sand of the Arena.

She cut that thought off and they slowly stood up. There was no way to cut the string that tied her to them without losing control. They would all have to deal with this situation for now though. She would not fail when she was so close to destroying the man who had destroyed her home, her life, and her love - all for the sake of a nebulous idea called the Empire.

Sky said this was the act of a coward; the act of someone who didn't deserve the power. Yet she knew she was strong enough to walk away from this. She only had to stop Sun Li. Beyond that, she'd suffer the consequences of her decisions. She faced the four, their fury burning in her mind. "I know you don't believe me, but I need Death's Hand to win. To throw away the advantage we have now would be madness."

She did not speak of forgiveness. It would be an insult to the hate and betrayal they were feeling now in their hearts. "Ready the flier, Kang."

She followed the now nervous inventor. The bound ones walked in her footsteps like they were tied to her waist with chains. She felt the pull of their souls on her. She could not wait to undo this.

Death's Hand's voice was a rumbling in her chest. "I've seen someone take this path before."

She nodded. "And after me, no one will be able to find it again."