"We need to kill the emperor."Both Adom and the Archmage were looking at Professor Kim, eyes wide, shock evident on their faces.Kim stared back at them, completely unfazed. "What? It's true. You both know it's true."The silence that followed was heavy. Adom's pulse picked up slightly. He glanced at the Archmage, who looked back at him with the same measured expression. Then they both turned their attention back to Kim.The Archmage's foot began a quiet rhythm against the floor. Tap tap. Tap tap. Adom had never seen the Archmage do the tap tap thing before. This was serious.And the thing was, Kim was absolutely right.Adom had been thinking about it for three days now. Ever since the changeling incident had made it crystal clear that their current approach to the emperor problem wasn't working. The whole mess could have been avoided if they'd dealt with the root cause instead of constantly playing defense against the symptoms.He suspected the Archmage had been having similar thoughts, based on the way the old man had been staring at his tea during their previous meetings and making noncommittal humming sounds whenever someone mentioned Imperial policy. There was a particular quality to the Archmage's silences lately that suggested he was working through scenarios in his head. Unpleasant scenarios that involved permanent solutions to temporary problems.But there was a significant difference between thinking something and saying it. Kim had just crossed that line with the casual confidence of someone ordering breakfast. He'd taken the thought they'd all been carefully not voicing and dropped it on the table like an explosive crystal.The silence stretched on.Outside the tower windows, Adom could hear the steady rhythm of waves against the rocky shore below. The wind moved through the stone corridors with a low whistle, carrying the salt smell of the sea. Normal (...)